Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant Thursday, setting a Sept. 1 execution date for Harold Gene Lucas, who was convicted of murdering a 16-year-old girl in Lee County nearly 50 years ago.
The execution is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1, at Florida State Prison in Raiford, according to an official letter sent by DeSantis to Warden Randall Polk.
Lucas was sentenced to death for the Aug. 13, 1976, murder of Jill Piper. He was also convicted of attempted murder for shooting at two of Piper’s friends, Ricky Byrd and Terri Rice…