A Florida man who has spent nearly four decades on death row is set to be executed Thursday despite his defense team’s claims of dementia and gender dysphoria.
Duane Owen, 62, was convicted for two separate murder cases and two attacks, all targeting women in Palm Beach County in 1984, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Owen is one of the longest-held inmates on the state’s death row.
Owen’s execution through a lethal injection, scheduled for 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Starke, will be the fourth in Florida in 2023, after no executions were carried out since 2019. The man’s crimes, including the rape and murder of 14-year-old babysitter Karen Slattery, as well as the rape and subsequent murder of 38-year-old mother-of-two Georgianna Worden, sent shockwaves through the community at the time, according to AP. (RELATED: Ron DeSantis Signs Bill Authorizing Death Penalty For Child Rapists)
One of the longest-held inmates on Florida’s death row is set to be executed for two 1984 slayings. Duane Owen is set to receive a lethal injection for the March 1984 rape and stabbing death of a teenager, and the rape and attack on a mother of two. https://t.co/99m1Wl3fV9
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 15, 2023
Owen’s defense team cited his alleged schizophrenia and gender dysphoria as grounds for exemption from the death penalty. The state Supreme Court rejected the appeal early June, and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision Wednesday. State-appointed psychiatrists contest the defense’s claims of severe mental issues, arguing that Owen does not present himself as a female and comprehends his execution as a consequence of his crimes, AP reported.
The defense also pointed to Owen’s traumatic childhood, marked by the early death of both parents and his own experiences of physical and sexual abuse, according to the outlet. However, state psychiatrists reportedly argued against the diagnosis of dementia and gender dysphoria, asserting Owen is sexually sadistic.