Florida Executes 77-Year-Old Man for 1986 Deputy Killing, 18th This Year
Florida has executed a 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran for the 1986 killing of a sheriff's deputy, marking the state's 18th execution this year and putting it one away from tying its own record.
William Reaves was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, The Associated Press reported. When asked if he had any last words, Reaves said, "No, I do not." About 30 seconds after the injection began, he took several large breaths and then stopped moving. A few minutes later, a medic was called in to check for a heartbeat before he was declared dead.
The 1986 Killing of a Deputy
Reaves was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Indian River County sheriff's deputy Richard Raczkoski.
On Sept. 23, 1986, Raczkoski responded to a 911 call that Reaves had made from a payphone at a convenience store in Vero Beach. The two struggled after a gun fell from Reaves' pants, and Reaves shot the deputy four times as he tried to run, Fox News reported. Raczkoski died later that day.
The case took years to resolve. The Florida Supreme Court overturned Reaves' first conviction because of a conflict of interest involving the prosecutor and ordered a new trial. He was convicted again and resentenced to death in 1992. He then spent more than three decades on death row as his case worked its way through the courts.
Final Appeals Rejected
In the weeks before his execution, Reaves' lawyers made several last-ditch efforts to stop it. They challenged Florida's three-drug lethal injection method and argued that jurors were never told the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had rated Reaves 100% disabled from post-traumatic stress disorder tied to his service in Vietnam.
More than 100 veterans asked Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to halt the execution. DeSantis did not intervene, Newsweek reported.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected his final appeals last week, and the U.S. Supreme Court turned down his last-minute appeal without comment.
"Finally Received Justice"
The deputy's brother, Marc Raczkoski, was among those who watched the execution. Afterward, he said his brother "finally received justice." For the Raczkoski family, the wait lasted 40 years.
But Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers saw it differently. He called the execution closure rather than justice. "Would we all be so lucky to be 77 years old and to die so peacefully," Flowers said. "That's not justice in any way, in my opinion."
Florida on Pace for a Record Year
Florida set a state record with 19 executions in 2025. With Reaves' death, the state has now carried out 18 executions this year and could tie that record next month.
Reaves was also the eighth Florida prisoner over the age of 70 to be executed this year, a sign of how much the nation's death row population is aging.
DeSantis, who leaves office in January after two terms, has pushed aggressively to carry out death sentences, saying victims' families deserve justice.
Florida has been leading the nation. The United States carried out 47 executions in 2025, with Florida responsible for 19 of them. So far in 2026, there have been 32 executions nationwide, and Florida accounts for more than half.
The death penalty has been in the headlines in other states, too. In Tennessee, executions were halted after Christa Pike survived a botched execution earlier this month. Meanwhile, Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan is set to be executed by firing squad.
Florida's next execution is scheduled for Nov. 5. Jesse Guardado, 64, is set to be put to death for the 2004 robbery and killing of a 75-year-old woman.
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