Adrian
Florida is preparing to execute JEFFREY HUTCHINSON, a 62-year-old Army veteran convicted in the 1998 shotgun killings of his girlfriend and three young children. The lethal injection is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Florida State Prison near Starke, marking the state’s fourth execution this year.
HUTCHINSON has maintained his innocence, claiming that two unknown assailants committed the murders as part of a U.S. government conspiracy to silence him over his activism regarding Gulf War illnesses and other veterans’ issues. According to the Associated Press, HUTCHINSON served eight years in the Army, including time as an elite Ranger.
In court filings, his lawyers argued that HUTCHINSON suffers from Gulf War Illness (GWI), post-traumatic stress disorder, and paranoia stemming from his belief that he was targeted by government surveillance. The Department of Veterans Affairs describes GWI as a condition affecting Gulf War Veterans with unexplained chronic symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, joint pain, and memory impairment. A 2020 Department of Defense report estimates GWI affects 175,000 to 250,000 of the nearly 700,000 troops deployed during the 1990-1991 Gulf War.
On the night of the murders in Crestview, Florida, court records reveal that HUTCHINSON argued with his girlfriend, 32-year-old RENEE FLAHERTY, before packing his clothes and guns into a truck. He later went to a bar, drank beer, and abruptly left after telling staff that FLAHERTY was angry with him. Shortly after, a male caller told a 911 operator, “I just shot my family,” from the home HUTCHINSON shared with FLAHERTY and their three children: 9-year-old GEOFFREY, 7-year-old AMANDA, and 4-year-old LOGAN. All four were killed with a 12-gauge shotgun found on the kitchen counter.
Police located HUTCHINSON in the garage with gunshot residue on his hands and a phone still connected to the 911 center. At his 2001 trial, HUTCHINSON claimed that two unknown men killed FLAHERTY and the children after a struggle. The jury convicted him on four counts of first-degree murder, sentencing him to life in prison for FLAHERTY’s death and three death sentences for the children.
Last month, a judge rejected an appeal from HUTCHINSON’s lawyers, who argued he was insane and therefore ineligible for execution. Bradford County Circuit Judge JAMES COLAW stated in his order, “This Court finds that JEFFREY HUTCHINSON does not have any current mental illness.”
HUTCHINSON’s execution will be the 14th in the U.S. this year, including three in Florida. A fifth Florida execution is scheduled for May 15 for GLEN ROGERS, convicted of killing a woman at a motel in 1997.
Source: [Associated Press](https://apnews.com)
