Florida Executes Jeffrey Hutchinson for 1998 Family Murders

Jeffrey Hutchinson, a 62-year-old Gulf War veteran, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison for the 1998 shotgun murders of his girlfriend, Renee Flaherty, and her three young children. Hutchinson, who served eight years in the Army and struggled with severe mental health issues following his service, had long maintained his innocence, alleging that unknown assailants were responsible and claiming a government conspiracy. However, court records and evidence, including a 911 call in which a male voice confessed to the killings—identified by friends as Hutchinson’s—and gunshot residue on his hands, led to his conviction. The murder weapon, a shotgun registered to Hutchinson, was found at the scene, and he was apprehended in the garage with the phone still connected to 911. Hutchinson received three death sentences for the children's murders and a life sentence for Flaherty’s, with the court citing the especially brutal nature of the crime. Family members of the victims expressed relief that justice was served, though acknowledged their enduring grief.