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The sentencing of a former police officer who was found guilty of murdering and raping a little girl almost 40 years ago is yet to be held after the state’s High Court rejected the government’s request to overturn the decision, according to court documents.
James Duckett, the former Mascotte police officer accused of robbing 11-year-old Teresa McAbee in 1987, was scheduled to be executed Tuesday.
The motion comes after DNA testing of biological material from the victim’s underwear, which prosecutors say could prove Duckett is innocent, came back inconclusive on Friday, court documents said.
Because the results failed to exonerate Duckett, Florida’s attorney general quickly overturned the decision, urging the state Supreme Court to allow the execution to go ahead as planned.
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The gun of James Dockett, who was found guilty of murdering and raping a little girl in 1987. (Florida Department of Corrections)
The high court, however, rejected the request on Monday, as six of the seven judges opted for a stay of execution while giving the lower court time to review “consequential requests” related to the DNA evidence and requiring it to resolve any outstanding issues by Thursday, April 2.
The case against Duckett – who has spent nearly 40 years on Florida’s death row – has come under intense scrutiny because of his former role as a police officer and his alleged innocence.
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General view of the Florida Supreme Court, Monday, Jan 12, 2026, in Tallahassee, Florida. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
On May 11, 1987, then-29-year-old Mascotte police officer James Duckett was seen questioning a little girl at a convenience store near Orlando before putting her in his patrol car, saying it was past curfew.
The 11-year-old reportedly went to a convenience store that night, but never came home, according to Fox 35 Orlando. Her body was reportedly found the next morning in Knight Lake, less than a kilometer from the store, and she had been sexually assaulted, strangled and drowned.
Duckett was identified as the last person seen.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks during a news conference at the Orlando Office of the Attorney General on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
At the time, an FBI expert testified that hair found at the scene matched Duckett’s, although hair microscopy has since been dismissed as an unreliable method.
Duckett’s and Teresa’s fingerprints were reportedly found on the roof of his car, and tire tracks in the pond matched the Mascotte Police Department’s “slush and snow” tires.
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In addition, Duckett’s radio logs showed a mysterious gap of more than one hour on the night of the murder.
Duckett represents one of the few former officials on death row. The case currently hinges on whether forensic evidence from the 1980s, such as hair matches, is sufficient to support a death sentence when modern DNA testing fails to provide a definitive answer.
