Hoping for a Stay of Execution

October 7, 2007 on 5:33 pm | In Uncategorized | |

October 11, 2007

The Florida Supreme Court heard the cases of Ian Lightbourne and Mark Schwab today, October 11th. Mr. Lightbourne is not under warrant, but Mr. Schwab’s execution is set for November 15th. We are hoping for a stay of execution.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a very important lethal injection case which may determine if the 3 drug combination that is currently used in most states, including Florida, is “cruel and unusual,” and violates the 8th Amendment. Most legal analysts believe that the Florida Supreme Court will wait until the U.S. Supreme Court makes a ruling on this lethal injection issue before allowing an execution to take place. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case in early 2008. We will keep this website updated as we hear news.

Sheila Meehan, Chair TCADP

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October 9, 2007

Dear friends,

• This is a reminder that the cases of Ian Lightbourne and Mark Schwab will be heard at the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, October 11 beginning at 9:00 a.m.

• Mr. Lightbourne’s lawyers will argue that Florida’s lethal injection procedure constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

• At approximately 9:40 a.m., Mr. Schwab’s lawyers will argue the appeal of his death sentence. Mark Schwab is scheduled to be killed on November 15th at 6:00 p.m.

You are encouraged to attend the hearings in Tallahassee. If you cannot attend, you can watch them on local (Tallahassee) television on cable channel 4. They can also be seen on line at www.floridasupremecourt.org by clicking on “oral arguments” and following the instructions from there.

Lastly, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Kentucky case on lethal injection. The briefs in the case must be filed by December 28th and the arguments will be heard in early 2008. This case may impact the Mark Schwab execution and we are hopeful that it will be delayed as a result of the Supreme Court case. If it is not, we will have a vigil on November 15th and a memorial service the following day. We will keep you posted as things develop.