Florida Set To Execute 77-Year-Old Vietnam Vet On Death Row For Nearly 4 Decades

77-year-old William Reaves will die by lethal injection tonight after being convicted of first-degree murder for the 1986 shooting of Deputy Richard Raczkowski. He will become Florida’s eighth prisoner over the age of 70 to be executed this year, but more than 100 military veterans sent a moving letter to Governor DeSantis on Monday, urging him to commute Reaves’ sentence to life given his PTSD from the battlefield.

Meantime, Officer Raczkowski’s family and former coworkers say they’ve waited long enough for justice and plan to be at tonight’s execution. One deputy saying he wants the last thing Reaves to see is an Indian River County sheriff's uniform.

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