I am going to speak first
on what we already know, then what is happening and finally what we can do.
Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. in the state of Florida. Florida was the
first state to reintroduce the death
penalty after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down all
statutes in the country in the 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision. 19 states and the District of Columbia do not
have the death penalty
When the U.S. Supreme
Court struck down Florida's death penalty law last month, the state was left
with no functioning capital punishment
statue. In an 8-1 ruling , only Justice
Samuel Alito dissenting, the court found Florida's law violated the Sixth Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights related to
criminal prosecutions, because judges,
not juries, make the final decision imposing the death sentence. (among the 31
states that allow death penalty only Alabama and Delaware do not require
unanimous jury decisions and Delaware's law is under review. Alabama requires a 10-2 vote and only Florida
has a 7-5 majority rule.
All the way back to 2005 the Florida Supreme Court
suggested that there should be a unanimity rule on jurors but our Legislature
has ignored this judicial warning for 10 years.
Now these, our elected legislators, are thrown into a tizzy! Trying to
come up with and pass a law that will allow the scheduled executions to
continue. The Florida Senate favors unanimity, which is all jurors voting for the
death penalty, the logical way to go.
Most polls suggest Floridians don't want
the death penalty at all according to the Miami Herald
Right now, there are
40 or more cases in active appeal according to the Miami Herald in which the
death penalty can no longer apply. And
an article in the Orlando Sentinel adds that the Florida court already heard
arguments in the Michael Lambrix case, originally scheduled for execution in
March, but hasn't yet decided on whether the latest U.S. Supreme Court decision
applies retroactively. If it does,
nearly every Death Row inmate, now at 393, would have a new avenue for appeal.
30 sates have not
carried out an execution in several
years
Only 2% of all
counties in the U.S. Are responsible for over 50% of all executions since
1976****
156 innocent people
have been freed from death row.
Florida has had 92
Exeutions since 1976
And we continue to be
the first in the nation. The first in
Exonerations at 26, more than Texas or
Louisiana
And as Mark Elliot of Floridians for
Alternative to the Death Penalty says “a person who has been wrongly put to
death cannot be exonerated! He goes on
to say that “Killing locked up people is too dangerous, too expensive, and
absolutely unnecessary”
Governor Scott
has signed more death warrants than any of his predecessors
Also of note, and
this is important, important because it is little known,
In Duval County
Florida, (Jacksonville) an elected public defender fired respected senior
capital litigators in 2009 and installed
as deputy chief and head of homicide defense a lawyer, Refik Eler, who has at
least 8 former clients on death row – the most of any lawyer in Florida. Eler has already been found ineffective by
the Florida Supreme Court in three capital cases for failing to investigate
both guilt and penalty issues according
to the Death Penalty Information Center.
While the use of the
death penalty in the United States has been steadily declining in recent years
it is now largely isolated to a handful of state which actively use it.
Despite this
diminished use, the flaws and failures of the death penalty are more apparent
than ever. There is still racism in the application of the death sentence. Inadequate support services are given to
the families of victims as well as for
prison workers who carry out the execution. According to Equal Justice USA
executions traumatize corrections and government officials. “Every execution requires a team of workers
who watch the inmate in the final days, who strap the inmate to the gurney, who
insert and often reinsert te needles, and who remove the body after the
execution. Corrections officials haunted
by the experience of putting people to death have committed suicide, turned to
alcohol, or suffered mental and physical health problems.
“Sometimes I wonder
whether people really understand what goes on down here and the effect it has
on us. Here is what some have to say:
Many of us who take part in this process live with
nightmares
For me, those nights
that weren't sleepless were plagued by nightmares.
There are many quotes
of this nature
Executions also
Traumatize clergy, jurors, and journalists
who report
symptoms of anxiety,
nausea, and nightmares among those who recently witnessed an execution
And a new set of
victims is created among family members of the condemned who watch - the stories told by the mothers who saw
their sons being put to death “Some would just wail out crying. It's a sound you'll never hear any place
else, an awful sound that sticks with you “ says Jim Willet, former warden,
Huntsville Tx who oversaw 89 executions
Some current presidential candidates have announced their
opposition to the death penalty and more have pointed to the numerous problems
with it according to the National Coalition to abolish death penality
Jeb Bush says “I have to admit that I'm conflicted about
this As governor he signed 21 death warrants. As governor he
voted to accelerate the appeal process
and increased the number of executions. This would be in opposition to the
Catholic church's stand on the death penalty and Jeb does claim to be Catholic.
Hillary Clinton 's opinion has shifted over the years. As a lawyer in AK she defended people on death row and was an
opponent. As First Lady she voiced
support for the death penalty but recently she began to qualify her support and
how frequently it is applied
Ted Cruz is a passionate supporter of the death penalty During his legal career he argued in favor of
the death penalty in front of the Supreme Court five times
Marco Rubio says “ protracted legal battles in death penalty
cases hinder justice for the victims and erode public confidence He advocates for an increase in the pace of
executions
Bernie Sanders opposes the death penalty and always has. “The state itself, in a democratic, civilized
society, should itself not be involved in the murder of other Americans.
And Donald Trump, just as we would expect :” I have always been a big believer, and
continue to be, of the death penalty for horrendous crime” ( He
paid for an ad in NYT when a teenager was on trial for murder- that called for
the death penalty. The teen was later
cleared by DNA after serving 13 years on death row)
Charley Wells, a retired justice of the Florida Supreme Court
from 1992 to 2009 and as chief justice 2000-02
argues that in Florida, the appeals procedures mean that inmates can be
on death row for up to 30 years, and says “for such long periods this is cruel
punishment” He recommends that if the
death penalty will not be executed within the next two years, the sentence be
commuted to life, and the prisoner removed from death row restrictions. He goes on to say “this is not only the right
thing to do ; it will save tax money, which can then be used for beneficial
services, some of which may prevent some person from becoming a death row
inmate.”
MVFR, Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation is an organization and a community led by family
members of murder victims and the executed that advocates for ending and
replacing the death penalty. Understanding that victim families are on a
spectrum of recovery, MVFR identifies, engages and mobilizes its members to
build communities of support that educate the public on the harms of the death
penalty, the true needs of the victim families and the transformative power of
restorative justice. MVFR works with a variety of individuals and organizations
that share a commitments to build a safer society and heal the damage caused by
violence. One of the questions asked by
a member “ Do two wrongs make a
right. If my child is murdered must I
seek the murder of another?” The
director of MVFR is Dr. Jack Sullivan whose sister Jennifer was murdered in
Cleveland in 1997, a crime which remains unsolved.
“On behalf of thousands who have lost loved ones to murder,
myself included, I rise to say to our elected officials that murdering those
who were convicted does not bring us closure, does not produce healing....
Their Mantra: We do
our job best when we create space for our members' stories and voices to be
heard.
Most recently the Florida house thinks it found a fix for a
law on the death penalty so that executions can resume. The House voted 93-20 Thursday, February 18,
for a compromise bill aimed at restoring the law, the same law that was struck down last month by the U.S. Supreme Court?? The bill HB 7101 would require juries to
unanimously find an aggravating factor, whatever that means, that warrants death and then vote by a least
10-2 to impose the sentence. This bill does however, leave the decision of
death sentence in the hands of the jury taking away the power of the judges to
impose the penalty.
It is the opinion of many in the justice system that a law
must require juror's unanimity in death penalties. Common sense suggest
according to the Miami Herald that if the new statute lacks this crucial rule,
the nation's highest court will turn thumbs down again on the Florida death
penalty statute.
In the meantime Gov
Scott has ordered that Mark Asay be executed on Mar 17.
Finally a voice of reason within the Florida Republican party
Saying that if one is looking to identify "failed
government programs ..., Florida's death penalty certainly fills the
bill," Brian Empric , vice-chairman of the Florida Federation of Young
Republicans, presents a conservative case against the death penalty. In a
recent guest column for the Orlando Sentinel, Empric says that - as the Florida
legislature weighs its response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hurst v. Florida - the state should halt all
executions "[u]ntil the constitutionality of our sentencing process is
satisfactorily addressed.... [M]ore important," he adds, "Floridians
are being presented with a great opportunity to re-examine capital
punishment." Empric argues that the death penalty conflicts with
conservative pro-life values and that "it is impossible to square capital
punishment with these views." He goes on to describe systemic
problems in the administration of capital punishment that he believes violate
conservative principles. He highlights the "prosecutorial misconduct, mistaken
eyewitness testimony, and reliance on erroneous forensic testimonies" that
has led to Florida's 26 death row exonerations - the most in the nation.
"The human element in the process," he says, "assures us that
the death penalty will never be entirely accurate, but when potentially
innocent lives hang in the balance, we cannot accept anything less than
perfection." He cites a study that found Florida could save at least $50
million by replacing the death penalty with life without parole, and notes that
Jefferson County, "was forced to freeze employee raises and slash its
library budget just to fund two capital cases." He calls the death
penalty, "a government program that fails to achieve its intended
objectives," and concludes, "It's an issue that should be of concern
to every voter
And what can
we do as concerned citizens.
Call Gov
Scott's office
850 488 7146
Send a
letter to Gov Scott
Call your
local representatives, house and Senate.
Only by
making our voices heard can we be the change we want to see.
A copy of my
letter to Scott is available at the door for those who might want to use it as
a basis. Be aware that if you choose to
e mail our Governor it becomes a public record on the internet - it is therefore my choice to use postal
correspondence.
`
Governor Rick Scott
State of Florida
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, Fl. 32399-0001
Dear Governor Scott
As a citizen of Florida
with a deep conviction of the
sacredness of all life, I strongly urge you to declare a moratorium on death penalty executions. Of the 142 death row inmates found not guilty
nationwide, that is exonerated, Florida
leads the nation with 26 exonerations.
This is more than any other state in the union according to
articles by the American Bar Association, the National Death Penalty
Information Center and Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. . Would these facts alone not point to the need
for a moratorium for those already waiting execution?
I wonder, has DNA evidence been used in all cases to
eliminate the possibility that innocents may be facing death? According to the Death Penalty Information
Center some 27 innocents were put to death and later found not guilty. Appalling!!
Is this not murder by the states?
What else can we call it?
No matter what one’s position on the morality of the death
penalty, we can all agree it is a tragedy if an innocent person is
executed. The American Bar Association
called for a moratorium in 1997. It
cites “serious problems with the administration of capital punishment across
the country.” And now the Supreme Court
finds Florida’s death penalty unconstitutional!
Governor Scott I urge you to seriously consider a moratorium
on executions in the name of all that speaks to “liberty and justice for all”
Sincerely
Thanks for a thoroughly researched, compelling post on the problems associated with the death penalty and its application in Florida .
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