Florida plans to execute James Duckett on March 31 at 6 p.m. for the 1987 murder of Teresa McAbee. But serious questions remain about the reliability of his conviction — and critical evidence has never been tested using modern DNA technology.

Mr. Duckett has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. The prosecution’s case relied entirely on circumstantial evidence that has since been undermined. The State’s key eyewitness later recanted her testimony, stating investigators pressured her and suggested what she should say.

The forensic testimony used to connect Mr. Duckett to the crime was also provided by an FBI analyst whose work was later found by the U.S. Department of Justice to have repeatedly overstated or misrepresented forensic conclusions in criminal trials.

Most troubling of all, biological evidence from the case has never been fully tested using modern DNA methods. A court recently authorized advanced SNP DNA testing that could identify unknown contributors to the evidence — and potentially reveal the real perpetrator. Those results are still pending.

Once an execution is carried out, the truth can never be discovered.

Florida must not carry out an irreversible punishment while critical evidence remains unresolved. Governor DeSantis has the authority to stay the execution until the DNA testing process is complete.