U.S. Army Veteran Jeffrey Hutchinson Executed 5/1/2025
Tonight, the State of Florida executed U.S. Army veteran Jeffrey Hutchinson. It was the State's fourth execution in 2025.
Tonight, the State of Florida executed Jeffrey Hutchinson, carrying out his sentences of death for murdering his girlfriend Renee Flaherty and her three children in 1988. It was the fourth execution in the State in 2025. Hutchinson was 62 years old.
Final Claims
Florida Supreme Court (No. 24-7079)
Hutchinson filed a petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision affirming the circuit court’s denial of his third successive postconviction motion raising newly discovered evidence related to his Gulf War Illness. He also filed an application for a stay of execution. This petition was fully briefed before today.
The filings can be accessed on the Court’s docket here.
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (No. 24-7084)
Hutchinson filed a petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of the Eleventh Circuit’s decision affirming the denial of his request for reconsideration of a prior judgment in his case. He also filed an application for a stay of execution. This petition was fully briefed before today.
The filings can be accessed on the Court’s docket here.
Florida Supreme Court (No. 24-7087)
Hutchinson filed his third petition related to the Florida Supreme Court’s affirming the circuit court’s denial of his fourth successive postconviction motion and denying his petition for writ of habeas corpus. This petitoin was fully briefed before today.
The filings can be accessed on the Court’s docket here.
Florida Supreme Court (No. 24-7111)
Around 3:00 p.m., Hutchinson, through his attorneys, filed a petition for writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision issued yesterday (covered here). The petition presented the following questions:
Shortly after the petition was filed, the State filed its Brief in Opposition. Around 5:00 p.m., Hutchinson filed his Reply in support of his petition.
The filings can be accessed on the Court’s docket here.
Federal Habeas Claim
As TFDP previously covered, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida denied Hutchinson’s federal petition for habeas corpus around 10:30 a.m. Around noon, Hutchinson filed an emergency motion for stay in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Around 1:00, the Eleventh Circuit denied the motion, writing:
Fifth Petition for Writ of Certiorari (No. 24-7117)
Around 3:00 p.m., Hutchinson, through his attorneys, filed a petition for writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the Eleventh Circuit’s decision. The petition presented the following questions:
A brief of amici curiae was filed in support of the petition joined by various mental health organizations. The Summary of the Argument states:
This Court has made very clear that the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits executing a prisoner who does not rationally understand the reason for his execution. . . . Jeffrey Hutchinson does not rationally understand why Florida seeks to execute him, and his execution should not be allowed to proceed based on the current record.
Mr. Hutchinson served our country in the U.S. military, first in the U.S. National Guard and then in the U.S. Army, where he saw combat duty as an Army Ranger. He served in the 1990 Gulf War, where he experienced brutal violence, exposure to chemical weapons and toxic substances, and multiple artillery explosions in combat. His service to our nation resulted in long-term physical and mental disabilities, including post-traumatic stress disorder, Gulf War Illness, and traumatic brain injury, all of which left him with significant cognitive defects.
Additionally, since returning from war, Mr. Hutchinson has suffered from delusions related to his military service. For over 20 years—his entire time on Florida’s death row—Mr. Hutchinson has believed that the crimes underlying his conviction and death sentence were part of a government conspiracy meant to silence him from speaking about the horrors he experienced during the Gulf War.
The lower court’s decision that Mr. Hutchinson is competent for execution is based on a flawed and medically deficient examination by the Governor’s Commission—the fastest on record and contrary to years of evidence in the record that Mr. Hutchinson does not rationally understand the reason for his imminent execution. Allowing Mr. Hutchinson’s execution to proceed would result in the most extreme and irreversible Eighth Amendment violation and a blatant disregard for persons suffering from mental illness across the country, including those with illnesses caused by their service to our country.
Shortly after the petition was filed, the State filed its Brief in Opposition. Around 5:00 p.m., Hutchinson filed his Reply in support of his petition.
The filings can be accessed on the Court’s docket here.
SCOTUS Denial
Just after 7:00, the U.S. Supreme Court denied all five petitions. There were no dissents.
Information About the Execution
At the 3:30 press conference, DOC officials reported that Hutchinson awoke at 4:30 a.m. and had three visitors during the day, including his sister and a spiritual adviser.
At the press conference after the execution, members of the victims’ family spoke.
The time of death was 8:14 p.m.
Other Information
Ironically, around 2:00 this afternoon, Florida Representative Berny Jacques posted that May is Military Appreciation Month:
Statement of Dr. Joseph E. Thornton
Statement from Ryan Sanshuck
To Whom It May Concern,
My name is Ryan Sanshuck. I served in the US Army from 2004-2016 . . . . I served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a truck driver, 88M, from 2006-2007. I am a recipient of the Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge. . . .
Like Jeff, I am diagnosed with Gulf War Illness for my Service in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Like Jeff, I have PTSD and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. . . . However, one major difference between Jeff and I is that I was able to get treatment from the VA a lot quicker than Jeff did. It took about a year to get my VA Disability in place, but there was a mechanism to get it done. Jeff Hutchinson did not have that ability when he came home from the Persian Gulf.
. . . .
A Soldier who has similar trauma and similar disabilities like myself is about to be executed, only tells me that the State of Florida, and the United States in general, doesn’t care about Veterans in the end. And what bothers me the most about this, is that VA failed Jeff Hutchinson. And the failure by the VA in refusing to treat Jeff Hutchinson’s symptoms may have led to him committing the heinous crime that he did. And now he is going to be executed without the mitigating factors of his mental and physical disabilities being taken into account. He is going to be executed without acknowledgement of the VA failing to provide services when he need it most.
Like Jeff, I had my black out rages, my anger issues, easily prone to anger and violence ideologies that Jeff likely has. The difference between Jeff and I is that I was able to get my VA benefits up and running, and I had access to those resources that Jeff didn’t have. . . . I am in a good place. I have learned to live and even embrace my mental and physical ailments. It wasn’t an easy road, I had suicide ideations in the past. I had impulse control issues. I had alcohol abuse and drug abuse. I also abused tobacco. I have given all of those things up and I am clean now, but it was a struggle for me. Just like it was for Jeff. The only difference is, is that Jeff succumbed to his inner demons and he committed murder. However, his heinous crime was predicated on Jeff not receiving the proper treatment for his mental and physical disabilities from the VA. I do believe that his mental and physical disabilities should be taken into account along with the fact that the VA Healthcare system failed him, and he should be shown a modicum of mercy as a result of this.
. . . .
Thank you for reading my letter and I pray to God that Jeff is spared execution.
FADP Statement
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) issued a statement following the execution that said: “Typically, when a veteran dies, they are thanked for their service to our country and honored with flags, salutes, and accolades. Instead, tonight, we, the people of the State of Florida, murdered one.” The full statement can be found here.
*This post will be updated with additional information about the execution as it becomes available, so check back for more information.
TFDP Prior Coverage of the Hutchinson Warrant
2025 Executions
Below is a map of where the crimes occurred that led to the 2025 executions. The relevant county is also where the execution-related litigation occurred in each case.
My thoughts are with everyone involved in the warrant- and execution-related process.
You're right. He is a veteran. But he is a mass murderer first and foremost, and rest in peace to Renee and her children he brutally shot to death.