Rejecting arguments that he should avoid lethal injection because he is insane, the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday approved the execution of a Death Row inmate convicted of killing two women in 1988 in Miami-Dade and Columbia counties.
Justices unanimously upheld a Bradford County circuit judge’s ruling last month that Marshall Lee Gore can be executed.
“In its order, the circuit court found that Gore is feigning delusional thoughts that his execution was scheduled in order to harvest his organs, a conspiracy theory purportedly involving China, the Illuminati, Satan worshippers, the national debt, and the Governor,” the Supreme Court said in eight-page opinion. “In fact, the circuit court determined that ‘[t]here is no credible evidence that Gore’s mental state is such that he believes he is being executed for any reason other than the murder of (the Miami-Dade victim).’ ”
The Supreme Court opinion comes after Gov. Rick Scott set execution dates for Gore on June 24 and July 10 — both of which were scuttled because of the dispute about his sanity.
Scott signed the death warrant in Gore’s murder of Robyn Novick, whose nude body was found in March 1988 in a rural area of Miami-Dade County. Novick, who was last seen alive in the parking lot of a tavern, had been stabbed and asphyxiated. Gore told authorities that he owned an escort service and that Novick worked for him, according to court records.
Gore, now 49, also was sentenced to death for the killing of Susan Roark in Columbia County, though the death warrant does not apply to that case. He was arrested in 1988 in Paducah, Ky.
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars states from executing people who are insane, with Tuesday’s opinion saying a defendant “must have a rational understanding of his impending execution and the reason for it.”
In a brief filed last month, Gore’s attorneys said executing him would be unconstitutional.
“To execute someone like Marshall Gore would disserve the penological purposes of the death penalty and exact a uniquely cruel punishment at odds with the core value of the Eighth Amendment — human dignity,” they wrote.
Justices pointed to a circuit-court finding that “Gore is not mentally ill [and] that he has a rational understanding that he is being executed because he murdered Ms. Novick and will die as a result of that execution.”
–News Service of Florida
FRANK DILIBERTO says
YES!!! ANOTHER ONE GONE.
Monk says
Yep….Its the Illuminati organ harvesters. That’s it…You betcha !!!! BYE BYE
Ben Dover says
yup they finally just killed one that had been on death row since the 70`s, millions and millions of tax payers dollars go to keep these animals alive , they didn t give their victims the choice to live 30 more yrs, our criminal justice system is corrupt , they keep all these scumbags alive to create jobs for crooked guards that smuggle drugs and weapons into these prisons , help inmates continue to run their criminal activities while incarcerated , if we`d kill these animals right after a speedy trial like they do in other countries we wouldn` t need thousands of prisons , our deficit would balance out, and our crime rate would drop tremendously, it makes absolutely no sense to pay to keep these guys alive 30 yrson death row at over 150.000 a year to take care of them , they get better medical and dental then most hard working honest americans, our government is so so so dirty it isn t funny
brian says
lets step up the pace..how about 1 a week IF we have unquestionable proof[dna, video, victim that survived] BOOM there it is!!!
Nancy N. says
It says something very sad about the state of human society that there are people here literally celebrating the impending death of another human being. What happened to the sanctity of life? Even if you support the death penalty, it should be viewed at best as a necessary evil, not a reason to celebrate. Ending a life, no matter what your judgement of that life is, should always be a matter of gravity and regret.
Marissa says
It’s really very humane compared to what they committed against victims.
m&m says
These penalties should be carried out 6 to 12 months after the verdict is handed down.. Why prolong them for 20 or 30 years and let lawyers get rich over that time..