Add The New York Post on Google A cold-blooded Florida menace who slaughtered a teen girl was set to be executed Tuesday, marking the Sunshine State’s 14th execution this year.
Harold Gene Lucas, 74, was scheduled to be put down with a three-drug cocktail at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke at 6 p.m.. The decrepit killer was convicted of the 1976 murder of Jill Piper, 16, after she swatted away his romantic advances.
“I’ve been on death row for 50 years, and I have no desire to carry this any further,” he told a judge, according to court transcripts.
Harold Gene Lucas, 74, will be administered a three-drug lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS “The sooner it’s over, the better I’ll enjoy it. I am tired.”
The aging perv spent his final hours with his sister before having a last meal of steak and fries, prison officials said.
Lucas was hit with five death sentences by two different judges for gunning down Piper and wounding her two friends, Richard Byrd Jr. and Terri Rice.
Records show the killer was 24 when he was busted for trespassing at Piper’s Bonita Springs home IN August 1976 — after the teen dumped him.
At the time, the age of consent in Florida was 18.
Lucas had spent four years around the girl and her family while working for them.
He had even told friends he planned to marry the teen.
A week after his trespassing arrest, while Piper was staying with Byrd and Rice for protection, Lucas fatally shot the teenager and wounded her friends.
Law enforcement vehicles sit parked outside the Florida state prison on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Starke, Fla. AP Photo/David Fischer Florida’s state-leading 13th execution this year — which accounts for more than half of the 24 inmates put to death across the US — was carried out earlier this month as outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to purge the prison system’s death row.
In July, the Sunshine State executed two prisoners on death row in a single day, the first state in almost a decade.
Last year, Florida also led the way, accounting for 19 of the 47 people put to death across the US, including 19 prisoners by lethal injection.
DeSantis, a Republican, has signed more death warrants than any governor in the state’s history — and has tacked on two more scheduled for later this month.
The executions bring long-overdue justice to families who have waited decades to see their loved ones’ killers finally pay the ultimate price, he said.
