DeSantis Signs 9th Death Warrant of 2026 for Man Convicted in Infant's Murder

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his ninth death warrant of 2026 on Friday for death row inmate Andrew Richard Lukehart, 53, convicted in the murder of a five-month-old in Duval County — one day after Florida executed another condemned man.

Lukehart is scheduled to die by lethal injection June 2 at Florida State Prison in Starke. The state has a one-week window to carry out the sentence, running from noon June 2 through noon June 9, public documents show.

The warrant was signed the day after the state executed James Hitchcock, marking a rapid pace of capital punishment activity in Tallahassee. Lukehart's scheduled execution would be the 10th carried out or ordered within a compressed stretch of the year.

DeSantis has maintained an aggressive posture on death penalty cases since the Florida Legislature in 2023 lowered the jury unanimity threshold required for a capital sentence — a change that drew immediate legal challenges. The pace of warrant signings in 2026 reflects that posture, officials said.

Public documents did not fully detail the specifics of Lukehart's conviction, including the circumstances of the Duval County infant's death, the year of his trial, and his time on death row.

For Treasure Coast residents, the case is a reminder that Florida State Prison in Starke remains the state's execution chamber. The pace of capital cases moving through Florida's courts has accelerated sharply under the current administration.

Lukehart's scheduled execution is set for June 2, pending any legal challenges his attorneys may file before that date.

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