Justice system fails on many fronts

By Gerald Kogan, Special to the Times

Published Monday, June 30, 2008

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the method of lethal injection utilized by Florida, among other states, does not violate the Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

That should not be the end of the conversation.

Reasonable men and women of all political affiliations, faiths, and professional backgrounds have disagreed for decades about the morality of executing those who commit heinous crimes. As a former prosecutor, defense attorney, trial judge and chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, I have been involved in 1,200 capital cases and can personally attest to the complexity and uncertainty of that debate. Remarkably, the same individuals who agree on little else are beginning to find one piece of common ground: the belief that Florida’s system of capital punishment is broken. Read More

More frequent executions

Originally published July 3, 2008
Schwab’s legacy may be more frequent executions
By Paul Flemming
FLORIDA CAPITAL BUREAU
Mark Dean Schwab’s execution, Florida’s first in more than 18 months, is the start of more lethal injections for the 386 prisoners on the state’s death row. Read More

Executions – Now & in the Future

Governor Charlie Crist’s administration carried out their first execution on July 1st. Thank you to all who turned out for our Vigil for Mark Schwab and for the Service of Remembrance for Mark and his victim, Junny Rios-Martinez. Because the execution appears to have been carried out without being “botched,” as was Angel Diaz’s, this may pave the way for the signing of several more death warrants. In preparation for the killing of Mark Schwab, the Department of Corrections completed several “tests” on their so-called new lethal injection methods. It was reported that the tests failed 30% of the time. Consequently, it would seem that 1 out of 3 executions will be “problematic.” If two more warrants are signed then one of them will likely be “botched.”

We continue to be hopeful and will keep you apprised as things develop.

Sheila Meehan
Chair, TCADP

Mark Schwab to die Tuesday, July 1st at 6:00 p.m.

Dear Friends,

Despite appeals filed this week on behalf of Mark Schwab, things do not look promising. He is scheduled to be killed on Tuesday, July 1st at 6:00 p.m.

We will gather in front of the Governor’s mansion on Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. for a vigil for Mark.

On Wednesday, July 2, please join us at 12 noon at the Capital Rotunda for a memorial service for Mark Schwab and his victim, Junny Rios-Martinez.

Sheila Meehan
Chair, TCADP

Pictures from last night’s panel

Panel

Audience

CALL TO ACTION!

Subject: TAKE ACTION: CONTINUE THE TIME-OUT ON EXECUTIONS!
*Please forward and post widely*

Dear friends,
Late last year, executions in Florida were put on hold because of the flawed
process of lethal injection.  Now that a government commission has reviewed the lethal injection process (www.fadp.org, Governor’s Commission on the Administrationof Lethal Injection Releases Report), Read More

More Lawmakers Take a Stand Against Death Penalty

Read More

RESPONSE TO THE FINAL REPORT OF THE GOVERNOR’S COMMISSION ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF LETHAL INJECTION

Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty
Contact:  Walter Moore, Chair
(850) 877-1609;  wl_moore@comcast.net
RESPONSE TO THE FINAL REPORT OF THE GOVERNOR’S COMMISSION ON THE               ADMINISTRATION OF LETHAL INJECTION

The more information our citizens have about the actual administration of the death penalty, the less comfortable they will be with capital punishment as public policy.  Because we believe that,  we welcome the work of the Governor’s Commission on the Administration of Lethal Injection, and we commend former Governor Bush for directing that the Commission be established.  Their open hearings and their published report have shed a bright light on the methods and protocols of lethal injection as it has been practiced in Florida.  Read More

Report: State’s killings flawed Recommendations include training for executioners and a review of drugs used.

By Linda Kleindienst
The Orlando Sentinel
Friday, March 2, 2007

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s executioners need better training, and the mix of chemicals now used in lethal injections should be re-evaluated, a commission charged with reviewing a botched December execution said in a report released Thursday. Read More

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE : Florida Lethal Injection Commission’s Findings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:            Contact:  Ben Somberg, 212/633-4268
Thursday, March 1, 2007                     or Wende Gozan, 212/633-4247

Florida Lethal Injection Commission’s Findings “Should Give Pause to Those Who Assume That the Process is Orderly,” Says Amnesty International
Read More