Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday she should not have requested an execution be rescheduled from the night of her “campaign kickoff” fundraiser.
Bondi’s statement came after Gov. Rick Scott said he was unaware that the waterfront Tampa fundraiser, scheduled for Tuesday, was the reason she had requested the delay in the execution of convicted murderer Marshall Lee Gore.
“As a prosecutor, there was nothing more important than seeing justice done, especially when it came to the unconscionable act of murder,” Bondi said in a release. “I personally put two people on death row and, as attorney general, have already participated in eight executions since I took office, a role I take very seriously.”
“The planned execution of Marshall Lee Gore had already been stayed twice by the courts, and we should not have requested that the date of the execution be moved,” Bondi added.
On Aug. 13, Scott had scheduled Gore’s execution for 6 p.m. Sept. 10. But less than a week later, Scott advised Florida State Prison Warden John Palmer that he was moving the execution to 6 p.m. Oct. 1 “at the request of the Attorney General.”
Speaking to reporters Monday outside the Capitol, Scott said he was simply complying with a request from a state Cabinet member when he rescheduled the execution.
“Her office contacted my office and asked for a postponement, and that’s what we did,” Scott said. “No, I did not know (the reason).”
When the execution date was rescheduled, a spokeswoman for the attorney general said the event conflicted with another previously scheduled event. On Friday, a different spokeswoman for Bondi confirmed that the Tampa fundraiser is the event that had been scheduled before Gore’s execution was set for the same night.
“We set the date, the attorney general’s office asked for a postponement, so we went along with that,” Scott responded when asked Monday if he thought the reason for the delay was proper. “We try to comply with when other cabinet members ask for something. We try to work with them.”
An invitation to the event lists members of the host committee, including House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and Sens. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, Bill Galvano, R- Bradenton, Tom Lee, R-Brandon, Wilton Simpson, R- Trilby, and Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, and Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.
Bondi has yet to receive a challenger to her 2014 re-election.
Gore, whose sanity has been the focus of efforts to block the execution, was convicted of killing two women in 1988 in Miami-Dade and Columbia counties.
Gore’s death warrant is for the murder of Robyn Novick, whose nude body was found in March 1988 in a rural area of Miami-Dade.
–News Service of Florida
Christopher V. says
Typical politician…say/do something absurd and then when the dirt hits the fan, plead stupidity. All politicians are a waste, even AG’s.
Geezer says
Wow, we have a big bimbo for an Attorney General.
I would not want to fall asleep next to that woman.
I may be missing parts when I awaken!
Cold and ruthless – even by Florida standards.
BIMBO is her name-o.
Anonymous says
Nice to know that politicians schedules are the primary consideration for their making the decision whether tp kill somebody today or not. Justice in Flori-duh…Ain’t it grand?
Nancy N. says
No person who takes the carrying out of the death penalty this lightly should carry the title of attorney – let alone attorney general.
The fact that she felt free to reschedule the DEATH of another human being to fit her fundraising schedule pretty much says it all for the Scott administration.
NortonSmitty says
Of the two, let’s have a peoples court and agree to send the one of the two to the chair who has done the most harm.
corey gollon says
Ricky Scott & his administration has a stench like no administration before them. Try to rest in peace Robyn Novick. I know it’s anything but easy.
Capt Chaos says
Hey, he’s the scum that murdered. Let him suffer some more knowing he has to wait again and then be put to death. Enjoy you fund raiser Pam !!!!
brian says
calm down, he’ll be dead soon enough
NortonSmitty says
How could you say that? She is wearing Pearls like any good Republican woman!
NortonSmitty says
Butters! You are Grounded! Go to your room!
Genie says
Have to agree with most posting here. This woman is too young, too immature to be the Attorney General. She just killed whatever confidence I might have had in her.
We need to outlaw fundraising AND campaign contributions.
Sherry Epley says
That Outrageous delay for Pam’s fund raiser will be causing further pain to the victims’ families and loved ones. . . in addition to costing the tax payers! She needs to be replaced right along with her uncaring buddy. Rick Scott needs to be voted out!!! This from Tampa’s newspaper:
“Wherever one stands on the death penalty, there isn’t anyone in America that believes an execution should be postponed for political fundraising,” said David Donnelly, executive director of Public Campaign Action Fund. “That Pam Bondi requested a delay in this execution shows how the nonstop chase for campaign cash has hollowed out the morality of our political system. Her moral compass is broken.”
The delay keeps Gore on death row an extra 21 days at a cost that the Department of Corrections estimates at about $1,000.
The Republican attorney general faces no serious challenger so far, and organizers expect her campaign kick-off event to attract 100 to 200 people. Among those hosting the event: Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, a Democrat; House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel; and state Sens. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, Bill Galvano, R- Bradenton, Tom Lee, R-Brandon, Wilton Simpson, R- Trilby, and Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg.
The governor won’t be there because he made other plans once the execution dropped off his Tuesday schedule. He will be at a reception in Broward County raising money for his re-election campaign.
Marissa says
Absolutely disgraceful. I’ll remember that on Election Day.
agnese says
Should that surprise Palm Coast ??
Reaganomicon says
Really, rescheduling an execution because you have to attend a fundraiser that night is a pretty good example to use when judging someone’s characte, and it makes me wonder exactly what Pam Bondi might have done to get into office in the first place.
oh my says
Only in Florida?
As I recall, the President left for a fundraiser during Benghazi.
RHWeir says
It’s just nuts that she would treat an execution as easily to reschedule as a hair appointment. I’m surprised that his attorney has not claimed cruel and unusual punishment for making him “twist in the wind” a bit more. A very immature and shallow move by the AG.
BIG JOHN says
Why don’t we do away with capital punishment once and for all.
NortonSmitty says
I’m thinking this may be one of Rick Scott’s investments with the hundreds of millions he stole from Medicare. When you look like Skeletor, it takes way more than a box of chocolates to get you laid. But I’m thinking maybe an appointment as Attorney General might do it. Enjoy, Rick. With those pearls and blue dress, she’s gonna’ look like Barbara Bush in about a hundred years or so.
Anonymous says
Let’s take a closer look at Ms. Bondi, shall we? I am sure she is somewhat bright but it probably didn’t hurt that her Daddy was a City Councilman and Mayor in Florida. She is so morally upright but has been married and divorced twice before recently marrying again in a “non-binding” ceremony (whatever that means) in the Cayman Islands…and all before the age of 48–quick work! She was the lead AG in recent GOP efforts to overturn the Affordable Healthcare Act. That, along with this most recent stunt of her’s, pretty much speaks volumes about her generosity of spirit and compassion. During her campaign for Florida’s AG post, she was endorsed by the magnificent Sarah Palin–That pretty much says it all right there. Oh, and she worked as a legal analyst for FOX news. Maybe that helps to explain how they have managed to get so many of their “facts” dead-wrong..
Joey Paparazzi says
And, drum roll – Can’t say she’s a dumb blonde with black streaks in her hair. I can say asinine.
BIG JOHN says
Really! A non-binding ceremony in the Cayman Islands? After two failed marriages?
I thought Republicans were morally superior….oops! Wrong Again!
Marilyn says
Pam Bondi shows no more empathy for the victim’s family and for others involved than Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer would have. Florida is a mess. Their elections are always a mess. Their public schools are a mess. Their criminal justice is really, really a mess. For-profit, corporation prisons practically run the place. Jeb did not help when he was governor. Do not let him follow his brother’s footsteps into the White House, and certainly do not reelect Pam Bondi, a selfish woman who is a politician, not a public servant.