Florida set to execute man convicted of 1984 murders

A person who has been on Florida's death row for a long time is scheduled to be executed on Thursday. The person was convicted of two separate murders in 1984. One was the stabbing of a 14-year-old babysitter while the children she was watching were asleep, and the other was an attack on a mother of two using a hammer.

Duane Owen is set to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. EDT in Florida State Prison, located in Starke. He was sentenced to death for committing two brutal crimes in Palm Beach County. On March 24, 1984, he raped and stabbed Karen Slattery, a 14-year-old girl. In May 1984, he also raped and killed Georgianna Worden, a 38-year-old woman.

In addition to the two mentioned incidents, Owen also assaulted two other women in Palm Beach County during the same time period. Fortunately, both of these women managed to survive the attacks. These four incidents took place around Owen's 23rd birthday. Currently aged 62, Owen is one of the inmates residing on Florida's death row, with a lengthy stay. Apart from his death sentences, he was also given six life sentences.

If the lethal injection is carried out, it would mark Florida's fourth execution in the current year, following a hiatus since 2019. The state's Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, signed the death warrants for each of these executions before announcing his candidacy for the presidency.

In the case of Karen Slattery, she was subjected to multiple stab wounds and sexual assault in a residence located in Delray Beach. This horrific incident occurred while two children under her care were asleep.

After a span of two months, Georgianna Worden was asleep in her home in Boca Raton when Owen attacked her with a hammer, striking her multiple times and committing rape. According to court records, one of Worden's children discovered her lifeless body the following morning while preparing for school.

It is worth noting that Delray Beach and Boca Raton are both located in Palm Beach County, approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Miami.

Owen's lawyers argued that he should not be executed because he is mentally ill. However, the state Supreme Court rejected his most recent appeal last week, and the U.S. Supreme Court also rejected it on Wednesday.

During the trial, a psychologist testifying for the defense stated that Owen believes he has absorbed the souls of his victims and that they still exist within him. Owen's lawyers claimed that he suffers from schizophrenia and experiences delusions.

Prosecutors contended that although Owen has mental health problems, his awareness of the punishment for his crimes makes him eligible for execution. State psychiatrists testified that Owen's claims of schizophrenia are a pretense that he only brings up during evaluations, as he does not display any other signs of the illness.

The defense asserted that Owen suffers from dementia and gender dysphoria, but state psychiatrists countered these claims. They stated that Owen has a good memory, does not display behavior consistent with presenting himself as female, and explained that gender dysphoria does not inherently lead to aggression or delusional thinking. Instead, according to court records, the psychiatrists concluded that Owen exhibits signs of sexual sadism.

According to court records, Owen experienced significant childhood trauma. His mother passed away when he was 11 years old, and his father tragically took his own life when Owen was just 13. Additionally, the records indicate that Owen was subjected to both physical and sexual abuse during his upbringing.