Florida executes 77-year-old William Reeves for deputy sheriff’s murder — NDTV World

In Florida, United States, 77-year-old William Reeves was executed after being convicted of the first-degree murder of Indian River County Deputy Sheriff Richard Rachkowski in 1986. Reeves was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. after receiving three drugs at Florida State Prison near Starke, NDTV World reports.

Before the procedure began, Reeves was asked whether he had any final words. He replied that he did not. According to the outlet, this was Florida’s 18th execution since the beginning of the year and the eighth execution of an inmate older than 70.

Deputy sheriff’s murder

According to court records, on September 23, 1986, Rachkowski responded to a call at a store in Vero Beach. Reeves later admitted that he had made the 911 call from a payphone near the store.

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During a conversation between the men, a gun fell out of Reeves’ shorts, after which they began struggling over it. Investigators said that Reeves regained possession of the weapon and shot the deputy sheriff four times as he tried to flee. Rachkowski died from his injuries later that day.

Appeals and defense objections

Reeves was first sentenced to death about a year after the murder, but the Florida Supreme Court overturned the sentence because of a conflict of interest involving the prosecutor and ordered a new trial. In 1992, Reeves was found guilty again and sentenced to death for a second time. Subsequent appeals were unsuccessful.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the condemned man’s emergency appeal without explanation, while the Florida Supreme Court had also denied his petitions a week earlier. Reeves’ lawyers challenged the three-drug lethal injection protocol. They also said jurors were not informed that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had determined Reeves to be 100% disabled due to post-traumatic stress disorder related to his service in the Vietnam War. More than 100 veterans appealed to Governor Ron DeSantis to halt the execution.