STARKE, Fla. – A Florida man convicted of beating and choking his 13-year-old step-niece to death nearly 50 years ago was executed Thursday evening.
James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, received a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Hitchcock was initially sentenced to death in 1977 after being convicted of first-degree murder in the July 31, 1976, killing of Cynthia Driggers. Following a series of appeals, he was resentenced to death in 1988, 1993 and 1996.
This would be Florida’s sixth execution so far this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.
News 6’s Mike Valente is at the prison near Starke to witness the execution. Follow along below for updates.
6:57 p.m.
Family members of Cynthia Driggers, the victim in the James Hitchcock murder case, spoke after Hitchcock’s execution.
Lynn Cobb, Driggers’ younger sister, said they had dreams of becoming airline attendants together and traveling the world.
“My family and I stand here in unison for Cindy. We have lost loved ones in the last 50 years, but we have gained new ones who stand with us,” Cobb said.
Chip Meadows, Driggers’ cousin, said he could breathe today.
“Free at last, free at last, our monster is dead,” Meadows said.
6:23 p.m.
James Hitchcock was executed at 6:12 p.m. by lethal injection, according to News 6’s Mike Valente.
Valente said Hitchcock’s final words were, “Just to say goodbye to Joshua, my friend. Thanks for all you’ve done.”
Hitchcock lifted his head in the direction of a man sitting in the first row of the gallery, who raised his hand.
5 p.m.
News 6’s Mike Valente is one of three media members who will witness the execution of James Hitchcock tonight. He filed this update.
3:47 p.m.
State officials updated the public Thursday afternoon ahead of James Hitchcock’s execution.
Hitchcock’s last meal consisted of salad, chicken, ice cream, pie and soda.
He also had a visit from a family member, believed to be a cousin.
1:12 p.m.
News 6’s Mike Valente explains how the execution will proceed and what he expects to see later tonight in the video below.
12 p.m.
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Hitchcock’s stay of execution. The ruling was issued by Justice Clarence Thomas.
History of the case
According to court records, Hitchcock was unemployed and had moved into his brother’s Orlando home several weeks before the July 31, 1976, killing of Cynthia Driggers, the stepdaughter of Hitchcock’s brother. After several hours of drinking beer and smoking marijuana with friends, Hitchcock returned to the family’s home, he told police after his arrest. Hitchcock, who was 20 at the time, went to the 13-year-old girl’s room and raped her, investigators said.
When the girl told Hitchcock that she had been injured and planned to tell her mother, Hitchcock tried to stop her from leaving the room and then began choking her, officials said. Hitchcock took the girl outside, where he beat and choked her until she stopped moving and then left her in some nearby bushes. Hitchcock then took a shower and went to bed.
Hitchcock later recanted during trial, testifying that his brother walked into the girl’s room shortly after she and Hitchcock finished having consensual sex. Hitchcock said his brother took the girl outside and began beating and choking the girl in a fit of rage, and she was already dead by the time Hitchcock pulled his brother off the girl.
Hitchcock said he had initially taken the blame to protect his brother.
The Florida Supreme Court denied an appeal last week to halt Hitchcock’s execution. His attorneys had argued that he was innocent and that the state had illegally refused to grant him access to public records related to the death penalty.
A final appeal was still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.
Also Thursday evening, a man who claims he was not the shooter in a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago and who says prosecutors misused rap lyrics he wrote to secure his death sentence faced execution in Texas.
Another execution is planned in Florida on May 21. Richard Knight, 47, is scheduled to received a lethal injection for his conviction in the fatal stabbing of his cousin’s girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection if a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.