The execution of William Reaves, a 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran of the United States Army, is scheduled for this Tuesday by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison near Starke at 6:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).
He was sentenced to death for the murder of Deputy Richard Raczkowski of Indian River County, which occurred four decades ago, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Its execution will be the eighteenth in the state in 2026, bringing Florida closer to the record of 19 executions in a single year that it set in 2025.
Reaves will also become the eighth condemned prisoner over 70 years old to be executed in Florida this year.
The crime: one early morning, a weapon, and four shots
In the early morning of September 23, 1986, around 3:00 a.m., Reaves called 911 from a payphone next to a store in Vero Beach to request help in getting a taxi.
Agent Raczkowski, 29 years old, arrived at the scene. While they were talking, a gun fell from Reaves' shorts. The two struggled for the weapon, and Reaves regained control of it.
According to the court records cited by CBS12, the officer attempted to flee, and Reaves shot him four times in the back. Raczkowski later died due to the injuries.
In a recorded interview with investigators, Reaves admitted to the shooting and claimed that he had used cocaine and panicked.
He also explained that he was afraid of being arrested for carrying the weapon, as he believed he could face a mandatory three-year prison sentence.
Two trials and nearly four decades on death row
Reaves was found guilty for the first time in 1987, but the Florida Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 1991 due to a conflict of interest involving the prosecutor, who had previously represented the defendant in another case.
In a second trial held in 1992, a new jury found him guilty and recommended the death penalty by a vote of ten to two.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected its most recent appeals last week.
The defense also questioned the lethal injection protocol used by the state, which involves administering three substances: a sedative, a paralytic, and a drug that stops the heart.
The state court had previously endorsed that procedure in response to similar challenges.
The governor Ron DeSantis signed the execution order on September 18 and denied granting clemency.
The post-traumatic stress disorder that the jury was unaware of
The case has generated controversy due to Reaves' military history and the psychological aftermath of his involvement in the Vietnam War.
Deployed in Vietnam as an infantry soldier in 1969, at the age of 20, Reaves was recognized by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs with a 100% disability related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemming from his combat service.
His lawyers argued that the jury that recommended the death penalty was never informed of that medical evaluation.
More than a hundred veterans sent a letter to DeSantis on Monday requesting that he halt the execution.
Reaves' niece, Meredith Farrington, also urged the governor to commute the sentence to life in prison, without questioning the seriousness of the murder.
"The governor can keep him in prison for the rest of his life, and even so, he is being punished without killing him and taking another life," he stated to WFLX.
On his part, the sheriff of Indian River County, Eric Flowers, announced that he plans to attend the execution.
"My goal in going is that the last thing I see is a uniform from the Indian River County Sheriff's Department, knowing that justice has finally arrived," he stated, according to CBS12.
The family of the murdered agent has also expressed the impact that his death had over the decades. His brother Marc recalled: “Christmas was never the same for our family after Richard was killed.”
Florida is close to matching its execution record
Florida has carried out more than half of the 31 executions recorded in the United States so far in 2026, according to AP.
The state leads the national figures under the administration of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, whose term ends in January 2027.
In July, Florida executed two inmates on the same day, marking the first double execution carried out in any state in the United States since Arkansas in 2017.
On October 14th, Florida executed James Robertson, who had deliberately murdered his cellmate in order to receive a death sentence.
The following execution is scheduled for November 5th. The convicted individual is Jesse Guardado, 64 years old, sentenced for robbing and murdering a woman in 2004 to obtain money to buy drugs.
If the executions of Reaves and Guardado take place as scheduled, Florida would end 2026 with at least 19 executions, matching the state record set last year.
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