Florida man executed for 1976 killing of brother’s 13-year-old stepdaughter

Hitchcock, 70, was executed Thursday evening in Florida for a killing that prosecutors said took place in July 1976, when he beat and choked Cynthia Driggers, according to court and trial records described in reporting. Driggers was 13 at the time of her death. He was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke after a lethal injection, the Associated Press reported.

At the start of the process, the execution team began at the scheduled time of 6 p.m., with Hitchcock’s body covered by a sheet up to his head, the AP said. Hitchcock stared at the ceiling as the team warden made a call, then gave his final statement, in which he said: “Just to say goodbye to Joshua my friend. Thanks for all you’ve done,” without elaborating.

Witnesses in the room raised their hands as the statement ended, and Hitchcock lifted his head, the AP reported. As the drugs began flowing, he blinked rapidly and took several deep breaths. Minutes later, breathing became more shallow and quickly stopped. A doctor entered about 11 minutes into the execution, checked Hitchcock with a stethoscope and shone a light into his eyes before nodding to the team warden, who then declared him dead, according to the AP account.

The AP said members of Driggers’ family spoke to reporters afterward. Driggers’ younger sister, Lynn Cobb, described how she had lived with the aftermath for years, saying she added “life, fun and dreams” for her family during the 13 years Driggers was alive. Cobb said, “We now close the door on this chapter of our lives,” adding that her family would continue to remember Driggers and that “life is precious and time is valuable.”

Another cousin, Ginie Meadows, said Hitchcock never thought the execution would come. Meadows told reporters, “For those of you that do not understand why this process is justified, I am certain that you have not known the agony and emotional torture of having someone you love brutally murdered,” and said she had watched the process play out in court. Chip Meadows, another cousin, expressed relief that the execution was carried out, saying, “I’ve lived with this for 50 years,” and, “I can breathe today. I am loving life. Free at last, free at last. Our monster is dead.”

Court records cited in the AP report said Hitchcock moved into his brother’s suburban Orlando home weeks before the July 1976 killing, when he was 20 and unemployed. Prosecutors said that after drinking beer and smoking marijuana with friends for several hours, he returned to the home, entered Driggers’ room, and raped her. The records said when Driggers told him she had been hurt and planned to tell her mother, he tried to stop her from leaving and began choking her.

Authorities said Hitchcock then took Driggers outside and beat and choked her until she stopped moving, leaving her in nearby bushes. Afterward, the AP report said, Hitchcock took a shower and went to bed. The AP also said Hitchcock recanted during his trial and blamed his brother instead. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1977, with years of appeals followed by resentencing to death in 1988, 1993 and 1996, according to court records.

On Thursday morning, the AP reported, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Hitchcock’s final appeal. The execution came as Florida continued to carry out death sentences at a rapid pace this year, the AP said, noting that Thursday marked the sixth execution in Florida in 2026 under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The AP reported that DeSantis has overseen 19 executions in 2025, far more than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

The AP also reported that a total of 47 people were executed in the United States in 2025, with Florida leading the way, while Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each. Separately, the AP said Texas carried out another execution on Thursday evening, putting to death a man for a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago, and that Florida has scheduled another execution for May 21: Richard Knight, 47, convicted in the stabbing death of his cousin’s girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter.