A group of military veterans is calling on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to stop the scheduled execution of a Vietnam veteran.
In a letter sent to DeSantis today, the veterans urge him to spare William Reaves, 77, who is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Reaves was sentenced to death for the 1986 fatal shooting of Indian River County sheriff’s deputy Richard Raczkoski. The 100 signatories represent multiple branches of service.
The veterans say Reaves’s jury never heard evidence of his combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder or how it affected his mental state during the shooting. They urge DeSantis to consider that evidence and grant Reaves clemency.
“Mr. Reaves served when his country called, and volunteered to go farther than his country had asked. When he returned wounded by that service, he did not receive the help he needed,” the letter reads. “Florida should not make that failure final by executing him now.”
The veterans appealed to DeSantis as a fellow veteran, emphasizing the lasting toll of military service.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Reaves would be at least the 235th military veteran executed nationwide in the modern era and the 14th veteran executed under DeSantis.
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