Inspired by a suggestion and some ground work laid by Rev. Emory Hingst, several TCADP members put the finishing touches on a booklet of  statements on the death penalty from approximately twenty different faiths.  Nancy Smith Fichter and Robert Fichter worked to get as many statements as possible and to obtain the most current available.  We printed 350 booklets and are making sure that every member of the Florida Legislature, Governor Rick Scott, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, all have a copy.  Click the link to download a copy of this booklet published by TCADP as part of our lobbying effort.

Faith Comments 2-4-13

Here’s the link for the House Broadcasts.You will have to click on the link and then scroll down to the 2 pm Criminal Justice Subcommittee around 2 p.m. It’s a live broadcast.

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/HouseCalendar/broadcast.aspx

The TCADP Board has a lot of news to share.

1) First, we share the sad news that Governor Scott has signed another death warrant. Paul Howell is scheduled to die by lethal injection at Florida State Prison at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 26th. We will keep you posted with any news of appeals.

2) We are watching two bills in the Florida Legislature. Senate Bill 148, introduced by Senator Thad Altman, requires a unanimous jury for a death sentence verdict. Florida is one of only two states that do not require a unanimous decision by a jury. House Bill 4005, introduced by Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, abolishes the death penalty in Florida. Both legislators will need our help with calls and letters during the legislative session. We will let you know when action is needed.

3) The TCADP board has been hard at work on an important booklet. “The Faith Community – Responses to the Death Penalty” is a compilation of statements on the death penalty from approximately twenty different religions. It will be used in a variety of ways, but primarily to lobby the legislature. We plan to have 300 printed at an approximate cost of $1 each. As you know, we rarely ask for donations, but would greatly appreciate any contributions toward this important project. If you are able, please send any donations to: Terry Farley, TCADP Treasurer, 132 Ferndale Drive, Tallahassee 32301. Donations are not tax deductible. Any amount is appreciated.

4) Agnes Furey, TCADP board member, has recently published a book comprised of letters written by her and by Leonard Scovens, the man serving a life sentence for the murder of Agnes’s daughter and grandchild. Agnes saved Leonard Scovens from a death sentence and ultimately became his friend. “Wildflowers in the Median: A Restorative Journey into Healing, Justice, and Joy” can be purchased on Amazon and in local books stores where it has sold out several times.

Nancy and Robert Fichter will host a book signing with Agnes Furey on Sunday, February 10 at 3 p.m. at their home at 710 Waverly Road. Agnes will read from her book and her friend, Thomas Wilson, will read the part of Leonard Scovens. Light refreshments and beverages will be offered. Please put this on your calendar. We will send a reminder and details later.

Sheila Meehan
TCADP Board
www.tcadp.net
and on Facebook

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

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

 Stephen Hanlon

Steve Hanlon, attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Holland & Knight, will speak on the death penalty from a national perspective.

Hanlon was Chair of the Death Penalty Moratorium Project of the American Bar Association and Chair of the Constitution Project.  The Moratorium Project researched and reported on the death penalty in eight states, including Florida, and found serious flaws in every state.

“In determining who gets the death penalty,” Hanlon said, “all too frequently, it seems to be not the person who has committed the worst crime, but the person who has the worst lawyer.”

“We just do not have confidence in the capital justice system after studying it,” Hanlon, told ABC News. “Capital defense systems are being underfunded, and unqualified and under-resourced lawyers are defending death row inmates.”

Monday, October 29

7 p.m.

 O’Brien Hall

St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral

900 West Tennessee St.

Tallahassee, FL 32304

Sponsored by Tallahassee Citizens Against the Death Penalty

   www.tcadp.net

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.

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.

Monday, October 29
7 p.m.
O’Brien Hall
St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral
900 West Tennessee St.