Dominick Occhicone, an 80-year-old man who has spent nearly 40 years on Florida's death row, has filed a last-ditch legal bid to avoid execution on the grounds of his advanced age and declining health. He was sentenced to death in 1987 for the murder of his ex-fiancée's parents, Raymond and Martha Artzner, whom he shot at their home after their daughter called off their engagement. The case matters because, if carried out, the execution would make Occhicone the oldest person ever put to death in Florida.

Governor Ron DeSantis signed Occhicone's death warrant late last month, scheduling the execution for 28 July, roughly a month before his 81st birthday. On Monday, his legal team, led by attorney Ali Shakoor, filed a motion in Pasco County arguing that executing him would serve "only the purpose of vengeance" and no longer carries any retributive value. The filing details numerous health problems, including poor vision, hearing loss, kidney disease, a blocked artery, irregular heart rhythms, prostate issues and difficulty walking.