Florida to execute Gulf War vet Jeff Hutchinson today for quadruple murder. What to know.
Florida to execute Gulf War vet Jeff Hutchinson today for quadruple murder. What to know. Hutchinson was convicted of killing his girlfriend, Renee Flaherty, and her three children: 9-year-old Geoffrey, 7-year-old Amanda, and 4-year-old Logan. It'll be Florida's fourth execution this year.
A Gulf War veteran whose attorneys say was "broken" by his combat experience is set to be executed Thursday for the 1998 murder of his girlfriend and her three children.
Jeffrey Hutchinson, 62, was convicted of killing his girlfriend, 32-year-old Renee Flaherty, and her three children: 9-year-old Geoffrey, 7-year-old Amanda, and 4-year-old Logan.
If Hutchinson's execution by lethal injection proceeds, he will be the 15th person executed in the U.S. this year and the fourth in Florida.
Hutchinson's legal team has sought to stop the execution, pointing to trauma suffered during the former Army Ranger's service as a mitigating factor.
Hutchinson's appeals have been unsuccessful, and only the U.S. Supreme Court or Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis can stop it now.
Here's what you need to know about the Hutchinson's execution, who the victims were and the case.
More: War 'broke' Army veteran before quadruple murder of mom, 3 kids, defense says
When will Jeffrey Hutchinson be executed?
Hutchinson is scheduled to be executed shortly after 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 1.
How will Jeffrey Hutchinson be executed?
The Florida Department of Corrections will execute Hutchinson by lethal injection. The state uses a three-drug protocol of etomidate, rocuronium bromide and potassium acetate.
What was Jeffrey Hutchinson convicted of?
On the night of Sept. 11, 1998, Hutchinson fought with his girlfriend, Renee Flaherty, after which he packed some of his clothes and guns into his truck, and went to a bar, according to court records.
The bartender testified that Hutchinson told him that Flaherty was angry with him, while other witnesses testified that he drove recklessly when he left, according to court documents.
Hutchinson then returned to the home, "busted down" the front door and shot Flaherty, Amanda and Logan in the head in the master bedroom, a forensic pathologist testified − according to court documents.
The pathologist testified that Hutchinson shot Geoffrey last in both the chest and the head while the child "was able to see the bodies of his mother, sister, and brother," according to court records.
"The terror suffered in that moment is incomprehensible to this court," Hutchinson's trial judge said, according to the Associated Press.
After the killings, Hutchinson called police and told a dispatcher: "I just shot my family." Police arrived to find him spattered with blood and lying in a daze on the garage floor, still holding the phone, according to court documents.
Hutchinson was convicted of all four murders and given a death sentence for the murder of each child.
Who were Renee Flaherty and her children?
Renee Flaherty did her best to provide for her three children.
Even though there wasn't always "much on the shelves," the rural mail carrier and single eastern Washington mom worked hard to put food on the table and loved her children dearly, said her brother, Wesley Elmore.
"Her kids were a priority. She made sure that her kids were fed and took care of," Elmore said.
Elmore went through a divorce around when Flaherty separated from her husband. Elmore credited her with helping him navigate the turbulent time.
Elmore recalled a time when, in almost stereotypical fashion, Elmore's son and Flaherty's 9-year-old son Geoffrey attempted to remove the heads from the Barbie dolls of Flaherty's 7-year-old daughter Amanda. "They thought it was funny and Renee was just furious at both the boys ... they were kids, just mischievous."
As for Flaherty's 4-year-old son Logan, he had a knack for taking advantage of the 5-acre home the family had in eastern Washington.
"There were times where Logan would be walking around just, you know, an underwear and a pair of rubber boots, (Renee was) like, 'you know, I dressed him early this morning, so he had clothes on.'"
More: He promised to care for Washington mom and her 3 kids. Then he killed them all in Florida.
Defense argued that Gulf War veteran should be spared
Hutchinson has maintained that the murders were committed during a struggle with two home invaders, though his legal team has pointed towards the former Army Ranger's Gulf War Syndrome diagnosis as a reason to stay the execution.
Psychiatrist William Baumzweiger found that Hutchinson's form of mental illness could result in unconscious fits of rage, the Tampa Bay Times reported at the time of the trial. Baumzweiger concluded that possible exposure to chemical or biological weapons caused Hutchinson to suffer from a "diminished mental state" at the time of the murders.
The judge rejected that, instead agreeing with two prosecution psychologists and saying that no correlation between Hutchinson's diagnosis and the murders had been established, reported the Lakeland Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Hutchinson's legal team appealed for a stay of the execution shortly after it was scheduled, arguing that "newly discovered evidence related to his brain damage and mental health ... would have resulted in an acquittal of first-degree murder and/or a life sentence."
On April 21, the Florida Supreme Court upheld a county circuit court ruling against Hutchinson. The court found that his exposure to "sarin gas and numerous explosions while serving in the Middle East as well as his various post-war symptoms were well-known during or before his trial."
On April 30, the Florida Supreme Court denied the last of Hutchinson's appeals and cleared the way for the execution.
Maria DeLiberato, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives for the Death Penalty and liaison for Hutchinson's legal team, told USA TODAY that there are significant questions around Hutchinson's competency to be executed.
She argued that there should be a pause in the proceedings "to have a full and fair and complete hearing to determine the significance of his long-standing mental illness and brain damage and how that impacted him back then, at the time of trial, his sentencing, and how it impacts his ability to proceed with this execution."
Who will witness the execution?
Flaherty's brothers, Wesley Elmore and Darran Johnson, and their wives, are set to be among the witnesses.
It's unclear whether any of Hutchinson's family will be there.
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