A Florida man who murdered a 16-year-old girl after she rebuffed his romantic interests and injured two of her companions is scheduled for execution on Tuesday, marking the first of three lethal injections set to occur in the state this month. At 6 p.m., 74-year-old Harold Gene Lucas will be administered a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison, located near Starke. His execution will be the 14th carried out in Florida this year, with Republican Gov.
Ron DeSantis having signed death warrants for an additional two executions planned for later in September. Lucas declined to submit appeals to either the Florida Supreme Court or the U.S. Following the issuance of his death warrant, he informed a circuit judge of his decision to forgo all post-conviction proceedings, a request the judge formally approved a few days later.
"I've been on death row for 50 years, and I have no desire to carry this any further," Lucas told the judge, according to court transcripts. "The sooner it's over, the better I'll enjoy it. I am tired." After being convicted of first-degree murder along with two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the fatal 1976 shooting of Jill Piper and the wounding of her friends, Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice, Lucas was handed a capital sentence—and subsequently resentenced to death four additional times.
Court records indicate that Lucas was 24 years old in August 1976 when he was taken into custody for trespassing at Piper’s residence in Bonita Springs, south of Fort Myers. Authorities said Lucas had known the teenager for four years and had worked for her family. The two had previously dated, and Lucas had told a friend he intended to marry her.
Roughly one week after his arrest, Lucas and Piper were involved in two separate disputes on the same day, spaced a few hours apart, according to investigators. Witnesses offered testimony stating that Lucas had threatened Piper's life. Seeking protection, Piper asked Byrd and Rice to stay at her home that evening, officials said.
Lucas later arrived armed with a rifle, shooting Piper repeatedly while she pleaded for her life, before shooting and injuring her two friends. Investigators arrested Lucas the following day. Legal records show Lucas received his first death sentence in 1977 following a unanimous 12-0 jury recommendation.
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