Jeffrey Hutchinson, 62, a Florida death row inmate, is scheduled to be executed on Thursday evening for the 1998 murders of his girlfriend and three young children.
Hutchinson, a Gulf War Army veteran, maintains his innocence, claiming that his mental health deteriorated after his service and that the killings were part of a government plot to silence his activism on Gulf War illnesses and veterans’ issues.
If carried out, the lethal injection scheduled for 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke will be the fourth execution in Florida this year under Governor Ron DeSantis, with another set for May 15.
Hutchinson spent eight years in the Army, including time as an elite Ranger. He has consistently claimed that the murders were committed by two unknown assailants.
Court records show, however, that on the night of the murders in Crestview, Florida, Hutchinson argued with his girlfriend, Renee Flaherty, 32, before packing his clothes and guns into a truck. Hutchinson went to a bar and drank some beer, telling the staff that Flaherty was angry with him before abruptly leaving.
A short time later, a male caller told a 911 operator, “I just shot my family” from the house Hutchinson and Flaherty shared with their three children, Geoffrey (9), Amanda (7), and Logan (4).
Everyone was killed with a 12-gauge shotgun found on a kitchen counter. Police found Hutchinson in the garage with a phone still connected to the 911 center and gunshot residue on his hands.
Hutchinson’s defense in his 2001 trial was based on the claim that two unknown men came to the house and killed Flaherty and the children after a struggle.
Hutchinson was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for Flaherty’s death, as well as three death sentences for the children.
Since then, Hutchinson has filed numerous unsuccessful appeals, many of which center on mental health issues related to his Army service. In late April, his lawyers attempted to postpone his execution by arguing that Hutchinson is insane and thus cannot be executed.
Bradford County Circuit Judge James Colaw rejected the argument.
“This Court finds that Jeffrey Hutchinson does not have any current mental illness,” Colaw wrote in his April 27 order. “This Court concludes that Mr. Hutchinson’s alleged delusions are demonstrably false. Jeffrey Hutchinson does not lack the mental capacity to comprehend the reason for his impending execution.”
Hutchinson’s lawyers claimed in court that he suffers from Gulf War Illness, a set of health issues caused by the 1990-1991 Iraq war, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder and paranoia stemming from his claim that he was targeted by government surveillance.
One of his lawyers, Chelsea Shirley, claims Hutchinson has “a decades-long delusion that he is being executed to silence his efforts to expose government secrets.” Two experts have concluded that he is unsuitable for execution. Based on these facts, we believe the court was incorrect in finding Mr. Hutchinson competent to be executed, but we are not surprised.”
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, the lethal injection protocol includes a sedative, a paralytic, and a heart-stopping drug.
So far this year, 14 people have been executed in the United States, including three in Florida, and Hutchinson will be the fourth. Glen Rogers, who was convicted of killing a woman in a motel in 1997, is set to be executed for the fifth time in Florida on May 15.
Rogers was also convicted of murdering another woman in California, and investigators believe he may have killed others across the country.
