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

As Mark Elliott has pointed out, this is not about what the prisoner has done but about what we do.

On Monday, February 19, the Governor’s Commission on the Administration of Lethal Injection heard testimony from the medical professional who oversaw the execution of Angel Diaz. I invite you to listen to a portion of his testimony, as recorded by one of the reporters present at the meeting. Go to www.fadp.org and click on the box marked “Audio.” I found this testimony sobering, to put it mildly.

The state’s protocols for lethal injection provide that the prisoner first receives an anesthetic so he or she will be unconscious for the rest of the procedure. A second drug paralyzes the (now unconscious) prisoner, and a third induces cardiac failure. All agree that the third drug produces brief but intense pain. The main purpose of the anesthetic is to avoid that pain by first rendering the prisoner unconscious. Notice from the audio that the executioners inserted the IV in Angel Diaz’s other arm after they had difficulty with the first insertion. With the second set of injections they by-passed the anesthetic and went directly to the third drug.

As Mark Elliott has pointed out, this is not about what the prisoner has done but about what we do.

Bush signs death warrant for 1979 murder

Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Jeb Bush signed a death warrant Tuesday for Angel Diaz, convicted of murdering the manager of a Miami topless bar nearly 27 years ago. Read More

Gov. Bush sets executions dates for Rolling and Rutherford

You can read the Tallahassee Democrat’s overview of the Governor’s action by clicking on Execution dates.

Execution dates

A.D. Rutherford Danny Rollin

Death Row appeals support under fire ..

Critics are questioning whether state officials timed the release of a recent critical report about the chief attorneys of the two Florida death penalty appeals offices to undermine the program and ensure that the two men are not reappointed.

The report, by the Florida Department of Financial Services, headed by Republican Tom Gallagher, the state’s chief financial officer, was released late last month.

Read the entire piece here. Business Review

Supreme Court appeal

An article in today’s New York Times indicates the Clarence Hill case is once again working it’s way to the Supreme Court.

New York Times article.

America Bar Association report comes out ….

Dear TCADP & Kindred Spirits,

Below is the link to the “media kit” distributed by the ABA re: the Assessment of the Death Penalty. Once you click on it you will see a map. Click on Florida and follow from there. Assessment of the Death Penalty

DOC secretary giving inmates a break on fees

Article published Aug 5, 2006
Aug 4, 2006

DOC secretary giving inmates a break on fees

By JOE FOLLICK
Sun Tallahassee Bureau
TALLAHASSEE - While much of the state was focusing on corruption in the Department of Corrections that toppled his predecessor earlier this year, Secretary James McDonough couldn’t ignore e-mails from families of inmates. Read More

A matter of law and death

A matter of law and death
A St. Petersburg Times Editorial
Published April 10, 2006

As much as Gov. Jeb Bush and the Legislature would like to provide death row inmates with representation on the cheap, Florida courts are nobly standing in the way. The latest ruling by a circuit court in Leon County rejects an attempt by lawmakers to punish lawyers who provide their clients with legal assistance beyond a set number of compensated hours. It is a victory for due process and the proper administration of justice.

If this state has learned anything through the multiple exonerations of prisoners through DNA evidence, it is that the criminal justice system is fallible. Providing additional due process before taking a prisoner’s life helps ensure that the right person was convicted and the procedure was fair.

But for years the governor has tried to find ways to handicap the attorneys who do post-conviction death penalty appeals. He and Republican lawmakers have been frustrated by the success rate of the state offices of Capital Collateral Regional Counsel in suspending executions and getting death sentences set aside due to faulty process.

In 2003, Bush engineered the closure of one of the three highly specialized CCRC offices, replacing it with a list of private lawyers who generally had little experience handling death row appeals. The attorneys who signed up to be on the registry had to promise to limit their representation to 840 compensated hours. It was a figure that didn’t come close to the number of hours that an average death penalty case requires, which was closer to 3,000. The idea was to provide a lawyer, but not a very good one. Last year, Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero described the legal work of the registry lawyers as “the worst lawyering I’ve seen.”

The cap on fees was a clear attempt to keep attorneys from providing their clients with the full defense they are entitled to and was soon abrogated by the Florida Supreme Court. But not to be outmaneuvered, the Legislature came right back and adjusted the law to bar any attorney who requested fees above the stated maximums from remaining on the state registry. Late last month, Leon Circuit Judge Terry Lewis set aside that provision, too.

There is no reason for the state to appeal this latest ruling. Florida courts are not going to allow the Legislature to direct attorneys to violate their professional responsibilities toward their clients.

Experience has demonstrated that post-conviction death penalty work is most effectively handled by lawyers who specialize in the practice. To its credit, the Legislature is considering legislation (H.B. 325, C.S./S.B. 360) to substantially raise the minimum standards for all registry attorneys. Still, the CCRC model serves justice and Florida’s court system best. The state should reopen the office that was closed.