![\"Rania](\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/RaniaKhalek21.jpg\" "\\"Independent")
<\/a>Rania Khalek<\/p><\/div>\n
Florida Passes Bill To Speed Up Executions<\/strong><\/h1>\nFor a state with\u00a024 death row exonerations<\/a>\u00a0under its belt (the highest in the country), you would think Florida might want to slow down its execution process to avoid putting innocent people to death. But Florida lawmakers are doing just the opposite.<\/p>\nLate last month both the Florida House and Senate passed the \u201cTimely Justice Act\u201d, which Republican Gov. Rick Scott is\u00a0expected to sign into law<\/a>, according to\u00a0Reuters<\/em>.<\/p>\nUnder Florida\u2019s current process, the Governor signs and issues death warrants at his discretion. The Act would change this by setting up automatic deadlines for filings to speed up the appeals process. Once appeals are exhausted and clemency denied, the Governor would be forced to issue a death warrant within 30 days and an execution date within 180 days.<\/p>\n
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, or FADP,\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a013 of the\u00a0405<\/a>\u00a0inmates on death row in Florida fall within this category and would therefore be issued death warrants immediately. Another 80 prisoners have exhausted their appeals and are waiting on clemency hearings, making them vulnerable to immediately issued death warrants as well. That means that if the \u201ckill them faster\u201d Act is signed into law, the state of Florida could execute as many as 90 inmates within the first six months of its signing.<\/p>\nProponents of the Act argue that the appeals process is too lengthy, costly and delays justice. Indeed, the process can take decades and cost million$, but that is to ensure justice not delay it. After all, several of Florida’s condemned were on death row for over a decade before proving their innocence. One example is\u00a0Juan Melendez<\/a>, who spent 18 years on death row and lost three appeals in front of the Florida Supreme Court before his release. Had the \u201cstreamline murder\u201d Act been in place at the time there\u2019s a good chance Melendez and others like him would have been killed for crimes they didn’t commit.<\/p>\nIf the state insists on taking someone\u2019s life (a morally corrupt position to start with), shouldn\u2019t it be 110 percent certain the accused are guilty? And therein lies just one of the many, many problem with the death penalty; rarely does this kind of certainty exist. The state can always overturn a sentence if an inmate is later found innocent, but not if they\u2019re already dead. Lethal injection is permanent.<\/p>\n
Republican Senator Rob Bradley basically admitted that he doesn\u2019t care if Florida puts innocent people to death,\u00a0saying<\/a>, \u201cthis is not about guilt or innocence, it\u2019s about timely justice.\u201d Apparently, in Flordia, convenience is more important than life-or-death justice.<\/p>\nAs appalling as Bradley\u2019s comments were, his argument was at least based in reality (a morally deficient one), as opposed to the many legislators who cited scripture<\/strong> as the basis of their claims.<\/p>\nMatt Gaetz, a Republican lawmaker who sponsored the House bill, actually\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0during the House debate, \u201cOnly God can judge. But we sure can set up the meeting.\u201d Last I checked, the constitution made no reference to the judicial power of the mythical being in the sky.<\/p>\nOne reporter described the House debate as, \u201csound[ing] like a church service<\/a>\u00a0at times, with quotes like \u2018Vengeance is mine, sayeth the lord,\u2019 \u2018Genesis 9:6. If man sheds blood, by man shall his blood be shed,\u2019 and \u2018Those of you who are without sin, cast the first vote yes\u2019 echoing through the chambers.\u201d<\/p>\nInstead of citing scripture, how about using facts, beginning with this one: Florida inmates spend an average of 13 years on death row, which is already below the national average. On top of leading the country in exonerations, Florida has executed 75 inmates (second only to Texas, which is nearing 500) since resuming capital punishment in the 1970s, which comes out to one exoneration for every 3 executions.<\/strong> And for the past two years in a row, Florida has sentenced\u00a0more people to death<\/a>\u00a0than any other state, a result of its failure to require unanimous jury recommendations for death sentences<\/strong>, among other deficiencies.<\/p>\nDespite all of this, Florida\u2019s GOP, the same party that claims to value life above all else, wants to speed up the death penalty conveyer belt. As more and more states\u00a0lean towards abolition<\/a>, Florida seems to be sprinting in the opposite direction, so much so that Gov. Scott is fast tracking inmates to the death chamber with or without signing the Act.<\/p>\nSince entering office in 2011, Scott has signed nine death warrants,\u00a0three<\/a>\u00a0of which were issued recently with executions scheduled over a 26 day stretch beginning May 29. Of course, this shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise considering this is the same man who axed the\u00a0commission<\/a>\u00a0that oversaw capital cases to save\u00a0$400,000<\/a>\u00a0per year, a pittance to be exact.<\/p>\nSeth Penalver, who was acquitted last year after spending 13 years on Florida\u2019s death row (18 years behind bars) for a triple murder he did not commit, said that if given the chance\u00a0he would say the following to Gov. Scott<\/a>:<\/p>\n\u201cBefore he signs it, I would ask him to sit down with those who were convicted and later exonerated or got new trials because of evidence that was withheld. By speeding up the appeals process, are you willing to kill an innocent man? Would you kill me?\u201d<\/p>\n
I urge you, particularly Floridians, to contact Gov. Scott\u2019s office and demand he veto this bill. Otherwise I\u2019m afraid his answer to Penalver will be \u201cyes\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nGov. Rick Scott: 850-488-7146 Email: rick.scott@eog.myflorida.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Rania Khalek on May 14, 2013 Florida Passes Bill To Speed Up Executions For a state with\u00a024 death row exonerations\u00a0under its belt (the highest in the country), you would think Florida might want to slow down its execution process … Continue reading
Late last month both the Florida House and Senate passed the \u201cTimely Justice Act\u201d, which Republican Gov. Rick Scott is\u00a0expected to sign into law<\/a>, according to\u00a0Reuters<\/em>.<\/p>\n Under Florida\u2019s current process, the Governor signs and issues death warrants at his discretion. The Act would change this by setting up automatic deadlines for filings to speed up the appeals process. Once appeals are exhausted and clemency denied, the Governor would be forced to issue a death warrant within 30 days and an execution date within 180 days.<\/p>\n Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, or FADP,\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a013 of the\u00a0405<\/a>\u00a0inmates on death row in Florida fall within this category and would therefore be issued death warrants immediately. Another 80 prisoners have exhausted their appeals and are waiting on clemency hearings, making them vulnerable to immediately issued death warrants as well. That means that if the \u201ckill them faster\u201d Act is signed into law, the state of Florida could execute as many as 90 inmates within the first six months of its signing.<\/p>\n Proponents of the Act argue that the appeals process is too lengthy, costly and delays justice. Indeed, the process can take decades and cost million$, but that is to ensure justice not delay it. After all, several of Florida’s condemned were on death row for over a decade before proving their innocence. One example is\u00a0Juan Melendez<\/a>, who spent 18 years on death row and lost three appeals in front of the Florida Supreme Court before his release. Had the \u201cstreamline murder\u201d Act been in place at the time there\u2019s a good chance Melendez and others like him would have been killed for crimes they didn’t commit.<\/p>\n If the state insists on taking someone\u2019s life (a morally corrupt position to start with), shouldn\u2019t it be 110 percent certain the accused are guilty? And therein lies just one of the many, many problem with the death penalty; rarely does this kind of certainty exist. The state can always overturn a sentence if an inmate is later found innocent, but not if they\u2019re already dead. Lethal injection is permanent.<\/p>\n Republican Senator Rob Bradley basically admitted that he doesn\u2019t care if Florida puts innocent people to death,\u00a0saying<\/a>, \u201cthis is not about guilt or innocence, it\u2019s about timely justice.\u201d Apparently, in Flordia, convenience is more important than life-or-death justice.<\/p>\n As appalling as Bradley\u2019s comments were, his argument was at least based in reality (a morally deficient one), as opposed to the many legislators who cited scripture<\/strong> as the basis of their claims.<\/p>\n Matt Gaetz, a Republican lawmaker who sponsored the House bill, actually\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0during the House debate, \u201cOnly God can judge. But we sure can set up the meeting.\u201d Last I checked, the constitution made no reference to the judicial power of the mythical being in the sky.<\/p>\n One reporter described the House debate as, \u201csound[ing] like a church service<\/a>\u00a0at times, with quotes like \u2018Vengeance is mine, sayeth the lord,\u2019 \u2018Genesis 9:6. If man sheds blood, by man shall his blood be shed,\u2019 and \u2018Those of you who are without sin, cast the first vote yes\u2019 echoing through the chambers.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead of citing scripture, how about using facts, beginning with this one: Florida inmates spend an average of 13 years on death row, which is already below the national average. On top of leading the country in exonerations, Florida has executed 75 inmates (second only to Texas, which is nearing 500) since resuming capital punishment in the 1970s, which comes out to one exoneration for every 3 executions.<\/strong> And for the past two years in a row, Florida has sentenced\u00a0more people to death<\/a>\u00a0than any other state, a result of its failure to require unanimous jury recommendations for death sentences<\/strong>, among other deficiencies.<\/p>\n Despite all of this, Florida\u2019s GOP, the same party that claims to value life above all else, wants to speed up the death penalty conveyer belt. As more and more states\u00a0lean towards abolition<\/a>, Florida seems to be sprinting in the opposite direction, so much so that Gov. Scott is fast tracking inmates to the death chamber with or without signing the Act.<\/p>\n Since entering office in 2011, Scott has signed nine death warrants,\u00a0three<\/a>\u00a0of which were issued recently with executions scheduled over a 26 day stretch beginning May 29. Of course, this shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise considering this is the same man who axed the\u00a0commission<\/a>\u00a0that oversaw capital cases to save\u00a0$400,000<\/a>\u00a0per year, a pittance to be exact.<\/p>\n Seth Penalver, who was acquitted last year after spending 13 years on Florida\u2019s death row (18 years behind bars) for a triple murder he did not commit, said that if given the chance\u00a0he would say the following to Gov. Scott<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cBefore he signs it, I would ask him to sit down with those who were convicted and later exonerated or got new trials because of evidence that was withheld. By speeding up the appeals process, are you willing to kill an innocent man? Would you kill me?\u201d<\/p>\n I urge you, particularly Floridians, to contact Gov. Scott\u2019s office and demand he veto this bill. Otherwise I\u2019m afraid his answer to Penalver will be \u201cyes\u201d.<\/p>\n Gov. Rick Scott: 850-488-7146 Email: rick.scott@eog.myflorida.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Rania Khalek on May 14, 2013 Florida Passes Bill To Speed Up Executions For a state with\u00a024 death row exonerations\u00a0under its belt (the highest in the country), you would think Florida might want to slow down its execution process … Continue reading