Man put to death for girl's killing as Florida carries out its 14th
execution of the year
[September 02, 2026]
By DAVID FISCHER
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of killing a teenage girl who
rejected his romantic advances and wounding two of her friends was put
to death Tuesday in the first of three executions planned this month in
Florida.
Harold Gene Lucas, 74, was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m following a
three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was
condemned for the 1976 shooting death of 16-year-old Jill Piper and the
wounding of her friends, Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice.
Lucas was strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm when the death
chamber curtain arose on schedule at 6 p.m. Asked by a warden if he had
any words, he responded, “No.”
The drugs began flowing soon afterward and Lucas began breathing heavily
and then gasping before he stopped moving. Minutes later, the warden
shook Lucas and shouted his name, but there was no response. A medic was
called in and declared Lucas dead.
Lucas was the 14th prisoner executed in Florida this year, and
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed death warrants for two more
lethal injections later this month. Florida has carried out more than
half of the two dozen executions conducted in the U.S. this year.
Lucas declined to file any last-ditch appeals, telling a judge: "I’ve
been on death row for 50 years, and I have no desire to carry this any
further,” according to court transcripts. “The sooner it’s over, the
better I’ll enjoy it. I am tired.”
Murder victim's brother expresses relief
Lester Piper, Jill’s brother, said it was good to see the legal process
finally at an end.
“I don’t know if closure is the right word to use, but I do believe
there’s a big sense of relief,” Piper said after witnessing the
execution.
Janice Rice, whose sister Terri survived the attack on Piper, said she
was sorry her sister was no longer alive to witness the injection.
“Terri survived that horrific night 50 years ago and lived with the
trauma and pain for 44 years,” Rice said afterward. “She wanted more
than anything to be here today to witness justice for Jill, but God had
other plans for her.”
Man had confrontations with the victim before the attack
Lucas was 24 in August 1976 when he was arrested for trespassing at
Piper's Bonita Springs home, south of Fort Myers, according to court
records. Lucas had known the teen for four years and had worked for her
family, officials said. Lucas and Piper had previously dated, the
records showed.
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About a week after the arrest, Lucas and Piper had two separate
confrontations hours apart, investigators said. Witnesses testified
Lucas threatened to kill Piper.
Piper asked Byrd and Rice to spend that night at her home for
protection, officials said. Lucas eventually showed up with a rifle
and shot Piper multiple times while she begged for her life and then
shot and wounded her friends, investigators said. Lucas was arrested
the next day.
Lucas was sentenced to death and resentenced several times
Convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted
first-degree murder, Lucas was sentenced to death — and eventually
resentenced to death four more times.
Lucas was initially sentenced to death in 1977 with a 12-0 jury
recommendation, court records show. The Florida Supreme Court later
ruled the trial judge was wrong to consider the heinousness of the
attempted murders while deciding the sentence for the murder. That
trial judge resentenced Lucas to death in 1980.
By the time a third sentencing was ordered, the original trial judge
had died and a new judge was assigned. That judge sentenced Lucas to
death in 1985, but the Florida Supreme Court later ruled a new jury
should consider a sentence recommendation, though the conviction
itself would still stand. The new jury recommended death by 11-1,
and Lucas was sentenced to death for a fourth time in 1987. The
Florida Supreme Court ruled that sentencing order wasn’t clear, and
Lucas received a death sentence again in 1990.
Florida leads in executions
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led
that year with 19 executions, a record in the state since the death
penalty was reinstated in 1976.
In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, the first state
in nearly a decade to do so. And two more Florida executions are
planned shortly, those of Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, on Sept. 10,
and Curtis Wilkie Beasley, 77, on Sept. 29.
Conahan was convicted of kidnapping and strangling a man he had paid
to pose for nude photos, and authorities suspect him of similar
homicides committed in the 1990s in southwest Florida. Beasley was
convicted of beating a woman to death with a hammer and stealing her
car in 1995.
All Florida executions are by injection of a sedative, a paralytic
and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of
Corrections.
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