The Supreme Court has ordered a re-sentencing in the case of David Snelgrove, sentenced to die 15 years ago in the double-murders in Palm Coast of an elderly couple.
florida death penalty
Mark James Asay Is Executed for 1987 Jacksonville Murders, 24th on Scott’s Watch
Asay is the first Florida inmate to be put to death in more than 19 months and the first execution under a lethal injection procedure never used before in Florida or any other state.
Florida’s “Execution Machine” Back On As Gov. Scott Schedules First State Killing In 18 Months
Gov. Rick Scott rescheduled the execution date of convicted killer Mark James Asay for Aug. 27. The killing was put on hold after the U.S. and Florida supreme courts declared the state’s execution methods unconstitutional.
In Unprecedented Move, Gov. Scott Shifts 21 Death Cases Away From State Attorney Ayala
Scott said he removed Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala “in the interest of justice” following her decision not to consider capital punishment in any case.
In Bizarre Move, Court Stops Prosecutors From Seeking Death Penalty, Then Rescinds Order
The release of the Florida Supreme Court order, a mistake, according to a court spokesman, further muddled Florida’s embattled death penalty, on hold for nearly a year following a U.S. Supreme Court decision last January.
Seizing on Orlando Murder Case, Justice Breyer Asks Court to “Reconsider Constitutionality of Death Penalty”
Justice Stephen Breyer characterized the death penalty as cruel and unusual in light of the case of Henry Sireci, 68, who’s been on Florida’s Death Row for 40 years and has yet again been cleared for execution.
Revealed: Florida Stockpiling Lethal Injection Protocol Never Used Before, Inviting Litigation
The new triple-drug cocktail would be the only one of its kind among the states that rely on similar procedures to kill prisoners, including a drug never used to that end before.
Florida’s Death Penalty Law in Disarray, Supreme Court Throws Out Yet More Sentences
Signaling how it is likely to handle scores of Death Row cases, a majority of the Florida Supreme Court threw out death sentences and ordered a new penalty proceeding for a convicted triple-murderer.
Florida Justices Overturn 42-Year-Old Death Sentence in “Black Revolutionary Army” Killing
Jacob John Dougan, Jr., now 69, was convicted in the 1974 murder of Stephen Orlando, an 18-year-old white man, whose body was found in Jacksonville Beach accompanied by a note signed by the “Black Revolutionary Army.”
After Reaching Record Pace, Executions in Florida Are on Hold as Ruling Muddies Syringes
Executions are on hold, judges across the state are postponing death penalty cases, and defense lawyers are seeking additional reviews in the aftermath of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in January that struck down Florida’s death-penalty sentencing process.
Florida Continues to Suppress Lethal-Injection Records in Face of Challenge by Death Row Inmates
Lawyers for seven Death Row inmates and the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona in June filed a subpoena seeking years of records related to Florida’s triple-drug lethal injection protocol, including the types of drugs purchased, the strengths and amounts of the drugs, the expiration dates of the drugs and the names of suppliers.
South Florida Judge Declares State’s New Death Penalty Law Unconstitutional
While the decision is not necessarily controlling in Flagler County and the rest of Florida, it again muddies the fate of a law barely eight weeks old, and further sheds a harsh light on Florida’s outlier system of executions.
Florida’s Death Penalty Alive and Willed as Guzman Is Sentenced to Die For 3rd Time in Daytona
A jury in Daytona Beach today voted 11-1 to recommend death for James “Chico” Guzman in the hacking to death of David Colvin, 48, at a motel on Ridgewood Avenue on Aug. 10, 1991.
Court Backs New Death Penalty Law But Asks Florida Supremes to Rule on Constitutionality
The 5th District Court of Appeal today sided with the state in two death penalty cases, saying that blocking the executions “impermissibly invades” the discretion of the state to seek the sentence.
Supreme Court Halts Double Murderer James Asay’s Execution, 2nd Stay in 4 Weeks
Hours after hearing arguments in the case, the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday indefinitely postponed the execution of Mark James Asay, a convicted double murderer scheduled to die on March 17.
Too Many Questions Beg The Answer: End the Death Penalty in Florida
Rick Scott shouldn’t plan on signing any more death warrants soon, if ever, argues Martin Dyckman, even as the Florida House “cured” what the U.S. Supreme Court specifically found wrong with Florida’s death penalty.
Florida Still Outlier as Death-Penalty Fix Falls Short of Requiring Unanimous Jury Verdicts
The measure would require at least 10 jurors to recommend the death penalty for the sentence to be imposed and would empower juries to decide whether defendants should die or be imprisoned for life without the chance for parole.
Florida Supreme Court Halts Executions Indefinitely; 389 Death Row Inmates In Limbo
The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Florida’s death-penalty sentencing scheme on Jan. 12, forcing the state to rewrite its law but also putting in question whether the new law must apply to all 489 death row inmates.
Florida Lawmakers Urged to Require Unanimous Verdicts in Death Penalty Cases
Florida is the only state in the nation where a simple jury majority is enough for a death penalty recommendation, one of several problems at odds with a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Florida’s capital punishment system.
Lawyers for Condemned Florida Man Call for Halt To Execution in Light of “Tectonic Shift”
Lawyers for Cary Michael Lambrix, who has been on Death Row for more than three decades, have asked the Florida Supreme Court to halt his execution in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring Florida’s court process unconstitutional in such cases.
Quadruple Murderer Jerry Correll Will be Executed as Florida Supreme Court Lifts Stay
The unanimous decision issued today clears the execution by lethal injection. Correll murdered his wife, 5-year-old daughter, mother in law and her sister in Orlando in 1985.
Will U.S. Supreme Court Rule Florida’s Cavalier Death Penalty Unconstitutional?
In 27 of the 31 death penalty states, the jury’s decision to impose life imprisonment is final and may not be disturbed by the trial judge under any circumstances. But not in Florida.
Scott Signs 21st Death Warrant 3 Days After UN Vote Calling for Capital Punishment Moratorium
The warrant is for the execution of Johnny Shane Kormondy, 42, accused of murdering Gary McAdams and participating in the gang rape of his wife Cecilia during a robbery in Pensacola in 1991, when Kormondy was 21.
Eddie Wayne Davis Is Executed for Murder of 11-Year-Old Polk County Girl
Davis is the 19th person executed by Florida since Gov. Rick Scott took office, the most in any governor’s single term, and surpassing the 18 executions that occurred under former Gov. Lawton Chiles, who served two terms between 1991 and 1998.
John Ruthell Henry Is Executed, 18th Inmate Put to Death on Rick Scott’s Watch
No other first-term governor has signed the execution warrants of so many inmates since Florida re-instituted the death penalty in 1976. Since then, the state has executed 87 inmates. One in five of those has been executed on Scott’s watch, in less than four years.
Florida Supreme Court Upholds “Timely Justice” Law Fast-Tracking Executions
In a concurring opinion of the unanimous decision, Justice Barbara Pariente emphasized that the law would not affect the Supreme Court’s “solemn responsibility” to block executions if needed to ensure that defendants’ rights have been protected.
U.S. Supreme Court Declares Florida’s Death Penalty Too Rigid in Low I.Q. Cases
The court, in a 5-4 decision, said Florida’s use of an IQ score of 70 “creates an unacceptable risk that persons with intellectual disability will be executed, and thus is unconstitutional.” “Intellectual disability is a condition, not a number,” wrote Justice Kennedy for the majority.
Gov. Scott Sticking By Lethal Injection Formula Despite Gruesome Execution in Oklahoma
A new report issued by the Constitution Project on Wednesday recommends that states like Florida scrap the three-drug lethal injection cocktail that resulted in a botched execution in Oklahoma last week and switch to a single drug instead. But Gov. Rick Scott’s administration says it’s making no changes.
Florida Supreme Court Orders Review of Lethal Injection Cocktail Ahead of Feb. 26 Execution
Before the scheduled execution of inmate Paul Augustus Howell on Feb. 26, Justices have ordered a circuit court to hold an evidentiary hearing on whether substitution of the drug midazolam violates the constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment by the government.
Askari Muhammad Is Executed After 38 Years on Death Row and Numerous Legal Bungles
Muhammad was sentenced to death in 1975 for the murder in July 1974 of Sydney and Lillian Gans near Miami, and, after that sentencing was thrown out, sentenced to death for the murder of prison guard James Burke in 1980. He is the 13th individual executed on Gov. Rick Scott’s watch since 2011.
Scott Signs 14th Death Warrant: Juan Carlos Chavez, Murderer of 9-Year-Old Jimmy Ryce
Juan Carlos Chavez, will be executed on Feb. 12. Scott’s order comes less than a year after the death of Martha Ryce, who dedicated her life to advocate for missing children after the murder of her brother. Martha Ryce, considered the voice of her family, committed suicide on December 30th in Atlanta. She was 35.
Florida Supreme Court Stays Execution, Raising Questions About Cruelty of Lethal Injection Cocktail
A 5-2 Florida Supreme Court vote put the execution of convicted murderer Askari Abdullah Muhammad on hold Monday to consider claims that the three-drug cocktail used to put inmates to death could cause unnecessary suffering.
Emergency Lawsuit Charges Law Fast-Tracking Death Row Inmates Is Unconstitutional
The suit alleges that the law, which goes in effect July 1, would violate the separation of powers by imposing obligations on lawyers that conflict with judicially-determined rules, and that it would alter the court’s authority to govern capital post-conviction litigation and would violate due process and equal protection.
Scott Signs Fast-Track Execution Bill, Making 13 Death Row Inmates Immediately Eligible
In signing the so-called “Timely Justice Act,” Scott went against the tide of calls, letters and emails urging him to veto it. As of Thursday, his office had received 447 phone calls, with 438 opposed to the bill; 14 letters, with 13 opposed; and 14,571 emails, with 14,565 opposed.
Van Poyck, Third Florida Inmate Executed This Year, Leaves Stark Word Trail Behind
William van Poyck had spent nearly 26 years on death row after his conviction in 1987 in the murder of a prison guard. He spent many of those years writing books and maintaining a public blog, which chronicled in the last weeks his last days on death row. Excerpts are included.
Elmer Carroll To Be Killed at 6 p.m. as Stay Is Denied; Exonerated Men Will Deliver Petition to Scott
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday denied the last appeal by Elmer Leon Carroll to stay his execution, On Thursday, Herman Lindsey and Seth Penalver – the 23rd and 24th men exonerated from Florida’s Death Row – will deliver a letter to Gov. Rick Scott, asking him to veto the Timely Justice Act, which will fast-track executions.
Fast-Track Kill Bill Aside, Scott Speeds Death Warrants, Slating 3 Executions in 26 Days
Gov. Rick Scott is not waiting to sign a bill that would accelerate the pace of capital-punishment executions in Florida. The death warrants he’s signed since April lead to the fastest-paced series of executions since four inmates were killed in March 1998, when Lawton Chiles was governor.
Bill Speeding Up Executions in Florida Passes Despite Disturbing Rate of Exonerations
Florida lawmakers gave final approval to fast-tracking executions and reducing Death Row stays, with supporters saying they want justice for victims’ families — but critics warning about executing innocent people, 24 of whom have been exonerated in Florida since 1976.
Invitation to an Execution
Larry Eugene Mann was executed at Starke state prison Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. by lethal injection. I traveled to Starke with a Catholic Church group to witness the vigils–pro and con–outside the prison grounds.
Exonerated Death Row Inmates Tell Flagler Beach Group of an Enduring Florida Injustice
In turns moving, startling and informative, a day-long workshop on the death penalty in Flagler Beach, featuring two exonerated men, urged an assembly of 60 to more actively get involved in a movement to abolish capital punishment in Florida.
The Death Penalty Comes to Flagler Beach: Saturday Workshop Takes On “Broken System”
The workshop between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at Santa Maria Del Mar’s Community Hall, will feature former death row inmates Herman Lindsey (exonerated in 2006) and Seth Penalver (2012), along with several other death penalty experts and advocates for the repeal of Florida’s capital punishment.
Three-Year Effort to Abolish Death Penalty in Florida Fails in 9-4 Justice Committee Vote
The rare vote to kill a bill in committee, rather than just bottling it up never to be heard, gave death penalty opponents their first chance to extensively argue for a repeal, following several years in which the measure’s sponsor, Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, has been unable to persuade Republican leaders to put the bill before a committee.
Lethal Edict: Florida Supremes Rule “Isolated Mishaps” Aren’t Enough to Stop Executions
Clearing the way for executions by lethal injection, a unanimous Florida Supreme Court ruled invalid death row inmate Manuel Valle’s objection to pentobarbital, one of the three drugs used to put inmates to sleep–and to euthanize animals.