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LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A man who was convicted in 1977 of murdering his 16-year-old girlfriend and trying to kill her friends will soon be put to death in Florida. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant Thursday for Harold Gene Lucas, who is now 74 years old and has been on death row for nearly five decades. He's set to receive a lethal injection at 6 p.m. on Sept. 1 at Florida State Prison near Starke. Investigators said Lucas and his then-girlfriend, Jill Piper, had been arguing weeks before the murder, and he had previously threatened to kill her.
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According to court documents, Lucas followed through on his threats on the night of Aug. The wounded 16-year-old was able to make it back inside the house, but detectives said Lucas followed her and shot her several more times.
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LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A man who was convicted in 1977 of murdering his 16-year-old girlfriend and trying to kill her friends will soon be put to death in Florida. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant Thursday for Harold Gene Lucas, who is now 74 years old and has been on death row for nearly five decades. He's set to receive a lethal injection at 6 p.m. on Sept. 1 at Florida State Prison near Starke. Investigators said Lucas and his then-girlfriend, Jill Piper, had been arguing weeks before the murder, and he had previously threatened to kill her.
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