Congratulations to his attorneys, Michael Ufferman and Sonya Rudenstine!

We have three important items to share.

1) Governor Rick Scott signed a death warrant for Manuel Pardo, Jr. He is scheduled to be killed on Tuesday, December 11th. Oral argument is tentatively scheduled at the Florida Supreme Court for Wednesday, December 5th. We will keep you posted.

2) John Ferguson who also had a death warrant signed by Governor Rick Scott has a federal court stay at this time. We will let you know if his status changes.

3) This month we will gather again to sign holiday cards for every person on Florida’s Death Row. For so many of these men it is the only mail they will receive all year. Nancy Smith Fichter and Robert Fichter will once again open their home to us for the card signing on Saturday, November 17 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday, November 18th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Fichters live at 710 Waverly Road. Please join us; all are welcome.

Sheila Meehan

TCADP Board

www.tcadp.net

Shelia Meehan
TCADP board member

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected three separate applications filed by John Ferguson’s attorneys to attempt to stay his execution. Then late last night the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an order granting a temporary stay. John Ferguson will be alive for at least two more weeks. A small group of Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty held a vigil outside the Governor’s Mansion at 6 pm last night when it was not certain if the execution was taking place.

A briefing schedule has been set in the case that requires Ferguson’s attorneys to file their petition by Monday, October 29, the State then replies on Monday, November 5th and Ferguson must answer on Tuesday, November 6th. It is expected that whatever decision is made by the 11th Circuit, it will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

It was a long and difficult night for many advocates, but as Mark Elliott of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) wrote, it is a welcome relief and a chance to do more to stop this execution. FADP is expanding efforts to persuade the Governor to convene the Board of Executive Clemency to commute the death sentence of John Ferguson to life without parole. Please contact Gov. Rick Scott – 850-488-7146 and email: Rick.Scott@eog.myflorida.com.

Don’t forget the TCADP sponsored event on Monday, September 29 when Steve Hanlon will speak on the death penalty at 7 pm at St. Thomas More. You can find the information on the Democrat’s calendar site here: http://search.tallahassee.com/localevents/100 and on the TCADP website: www.tcadp.net.

Sheila Meehan
TCADP

Please TAKE ACTION!!!
PLEASE contact Governor Rick Scott and ask him to convene the Board of Executive Clemency to commute the death sentence of John Ferguson to Life in Prison with No Parole, because he is incompetent to be executed.
Gov. Rick Scott – Phone: 850-488-7146
Email: Rick.Scott@eog.myflorida.com

In response to the Eleventh Circuit order, Ferguson’s attorney, Chris Handman, said:
“We are disappointed that a divided panel of the Eleventh Circuit vacated the stay of execution entered by Judge Hurley who had concluded that Mr. Ferguson’s case raises important constitutional issues that merit full consideration. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will reverse this decision because there is no evidence that Mr. Ferguson has a rational understanding of the reason for, and effect of, his execution. A man who thinks he is the immortal Prince of God and who believes he is incarcerated because of a Communist plot quite clearly has no rational understanding of the effect of his looming execution and the reason for it.”

Please remember: Letters-to-the-editor of your local newspaper reach thousands.

Please support the Florida statewide coalition effort to end executions.
Shine the light,
—Mark
Sent by:
Mark Elliott
Executive Director
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, fadp.org
P.O. Box 82943
Tampa, FL 82943

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is a coalition of organizations and individuals united to abolish the Death Penalty in Florida.
FADP works to build a strong, diverse, statewide grassroots movement which:
* Opposes executions
* Supports reforms aimed at reducing the application of the Death Penalty until it is abolished
* Protects the humanity of all persons impacted by the Death Penalty
* Educates Floridians about the Death Penalty
* Provides concrete action steps for individuals and groups

There are two important items to report.
1) There will be NO EXECUTION on October 23. The October 23 execution of John Ferguson has been stayed in Federal Court. The judge will hear arguments on Friday, October 26 as to whether Ferguson is incompetent to be executed. Governor Scott would have to set a new execution date (or convene the Board of Executive Clemency and commute the death sentence to life without parole). An article in the Miami Herald explains more. The link is below.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/20/3059400/court-halts-execution-of-john.html

2) TCADP is sponsoring an important talk on the death penalty on Monday, October 29. The details are below and a flyer is attached. Please join us and spread the word!
Sheila Meehan

TCADP Board

We got word from Mark Elliott of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty that the Governor has set the execution date
for John Ferguson for next week, Tuesday, October 23. The time is likely to be 6 p.m. A vigil will be held in front of the Governor’s mansion at that time. A Service of Remembrance will take place the following day, Wednesday, October 24 at 12 noon at the Capitol Rotunda.

Below is an editorial that appeared in the New York Times: “A Schizophrenic on Death Row.” Please read and share.

Sheila Meehan
TCADP Board
www.tcadp.net

A Schizophrenic on Death Row

Published: October 17, 2012

The Florida Supreme Court decided on Wednesday that the state can proceed with the execution next week of a 64-year-old inmate named John Ferguson. His lawyers immediately said that they will ask the United States Supreme Court to stay the execution and to review the case on grounds that Mr. Ferguson is mentally incompetent and that executing him would violate his constitutional rights as defined by the court in two earlier decisions.

The court must review the case. At issue are not only Mr. Ferguson’s life but also two differing interpretations of what constitutes competence: one Florida’s, the other the Supreme Court’s.

Mr. Ferguson believes that he is the Prince of God and that he is facing execution not for murders he committed but because of a conspiracy against him for being the prince. He believes that he cannot be killed and that he has “inner ears” so he can hear God whisper instructions. All of this is consistent with his being a paranoid schizophrenic, as he was diagnosed 40 years ago and many times since, including earlier this month.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1986 that it is unconstitutional to execute someone who lacks the “ability to comprehend the nature of the penalty.” In 2007, the court clarified that a “prisoner’s awareness of the state’s rationale for an execution is not the same as a rational understanding of it” and that evidence of psychological dysfunction may result in a “fundamental failure to appreciate the connection” between his crimes and his execution.

Yet this is not the way Florida sees it. Florida law requires only “awareness” — that Mr. Ferguson knows he committed murders and is set to be executed. On that basis, a trial judge ruled last Friday that Mr. Ferguson was competent and could be executed, and the Florida Supreme Court upheld that view, saying no “stricter standard” of competence is required.

Florida’s “awareness” test is plainly inadequate, because it assumes Mr. Ferguson has the kind of understanding of his situation that his delusions make impossible. Mistaken findings of competence like this have allowed states to execute scores of people with severe mental illnesses, including schizophrenia.

Beyond that, the Supreme Court’s 2007 ruling is the law of the land and should be applicable to Florida. The court now has a solemn obligation to explain why Florida’s standard clearly violates the Constitution and to block this execution.

The Florida Supreme Court has denied the appeals of John Ferguson and lifted the stay of execution. This will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Reports are that a new execution date has not been set. We will send out a bulletin as soon as we know more.

The State Supreme Court cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision that “the Eighth Amendment prohibits a State from carrying out a sentence of death upon a prisoner who is insane” However, they also cited precedent that, “In order for insanity to bar execution, the defendant must lack the capacity to understand the nature of the death penalty and why it was imposed.”

The Florida Supreme Court upheld a recent Circuit Court ruling, “that though Ferguson does have a diagnosed mental illness, paranoid schizophrenia, there is no evidence that his mental illness interferes, in any way, with his ‘rational understanding’ of the fact of his pending execution and the reason for it.”

“…we affirm the order of the circuit court finding Ferguson sane to be executed. No rehearing will be entertained by this Court. The mandate shall issue immediately. We vacate the stay previously entered.”

Here is a news bulletin from the Miami Herald

The FADP website has a new TAKE ACTION and information on pending VIGILS AND PROTESTS. We will be posting the latest statement from the Florida Catholic Bishops: Florida Should Reject State Sanctioned Killing. We are publishing the latest Evangelical Christian leader letter to Gov. Scott asking him to stop the execution of John Ferguson. Other faith leaders are joining the call for commutation. Please add your voice:

PLEASE contact Governor Rick Scott and ask him to convene the Board of Executive Clemency to commute the death sentence of John Ferguson to Life in Prison with No Parole, because he is incompetent to be executed.

Gov. Rick Scott – Phone: 850-488-7146

Email: Rick.Scott@eog.myflorida.com

Great column in the Miami Herald – PLEASE SHARE! A very well researched column by Fred Grimm of the Miami Herald lays out the most critical issues in the John Ferguson case in a way that says it all. This is a “must read” for those wishing to understand what the state is trying to do and what is at stake. “Nothing good about execution of mentally ill man.” Please post this on your lists and on Facebook and social media, along with the above request to contact Gov. Scott. If you Tweet, here is a sample tweet and a link: Crazy but still competent for execution in FL? Must read @MiamiHerald column about #JohnFerguson: http://goo.gl/thwrn

Statement from the American Bar Association:

Tallahassee Democrat | Oct 17, 2012

ABA denounces court’s decision on execution
LAUREL BELLOWS | President, American Bar Association

Our great American system of justice is demeaned when we execute the profoundly mentally ill. Nonetheless, a Florida trial court has ruled that the scheduled Thursday execution of John Ferguson should proceed, despite its conclusion that Ferguson’s mental illness is so profound that he hears and sees things that aren’t real and suffers from serious delusions.

This condition has persisted for more than three decades and has included years of involuntary confinement in mental hospitals and treatment with antipsychotic medications.

The American Bar Association has long been concerned about the special vulnerability of the mentally ill in our criminal justice system. These concerns follow hundreds of years of common law tradition that has consistently held that offenders with severe mental illness must be treated differently from other offenders.

Medical experts and the courts agree that Ferguson is profoundly mentally ill. He will be fully punished for his crimes, and society fully protected, if his execution is stayed and his sentence is commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Please remember: Letters-to-the-editor of your local newspaper reach thousands.

Please support the Florida statewide coalition effort to end executions.

Shine the light,

—Mark

Sent by:

Mark Elliott

Executive Director

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, fadp.org

P.O. Box 82943

Tampa, FL 82943

Last week we told you of John Ferguson’s scheduled execution at 6 pm on Tuesday, October 16 with a Vigil to be held in front of the Governor’s mansion and a Service at noon on the following day at the Capitol Rotunda. We do not know right now if or when the execution will take place, but another email will be sent as soon as we know.

On Thursday, October 11 the Florida Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of the execution until 4pm on Thursday, October 18 to give the courts time to consider Mr. Ferguson’s sanity.

Based on testimony from experts, on Friday, October 12, Judge Glant of the Eighth Judicial Circuit found that Mr. Ferguson is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, has genuine “Prince of God” delusions, and is not feigning or malingering any of these psychoses.
Despite his findings that Mr. Ferguson is severely mentally ill, the judge ruled that he is mentally competent for execution because Ferguson knows, as a factual matter, that the State plans to execute him.
His attorney, Christopher Handman said, “It is impossible to fathom that the State can constitutionally put to death a man who thinks he is the Prince of God and who believes he has a destiny of being the right hand of God and returning to purify earth after the State tries to kill him. That simply is not a rational appreciation for what’s about to befall him. We are confident that either the Florida Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court will prevent this unconstitutional execution from going forward. ”
We will send an email when we get notice from the courts. If an execution takes place then a Vigil will occur at the time of the execution and a Service will be held on the following day.