Post by janet on Feb 2, 2006 12:04:17 GMT -5
Governor Jeb Bush acknowledged Wednesday that Florida's death penalty is likely on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court can rule on issues raised by two death row inmates whose executions were blocked in the last week.
The high court blocked the executions of Clarence Hill and Arthur Rutherford so it can decide whether death row inmates can make last-minute civil rights complaints that execution is cruel and unusual. Hill's execution was blocked last week. Rutherford's was stopped Tuesday evening. The high court expects to rule on the issue by June.
At a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, Bush paused when asked if the death penalty was on hold until the summer.
"Yeah, probably. We don't know why the Supreme Court's done what it's done, so the uncertainty probably does create a need to wait," Bush said.
Bush also said he didn't expect to sign any more death warrants until the court issues a decisions.
"I don't think they are ripe anyway," he said. "Given our twisted system, it takes forever to get to the point where people exhaust their appeals. They slow 'em down. They wait."
Bush has pledged to speed up the time it takes to execute death row inmates. The average stay on Florida's death row is just under 13 years.
Bush expressed frustration in 2000 when the Florida Supreme Court unanimously struck down the Death Penalty Reform Act, which Bush had championed as a method to quicken the process. He again has appeared frustrated by the recent stays.
"Any changes in federal ruling or state rulings creates another avenue for another appeal," Bush said. "So the advocates of abolishing the death penalty are winning without any discussion by elected officials in the Legislature. I think it's wrong."
Since the death penalty was re-established in the 1970's, Florida has executed 60 people, an average of one about every five months. The pace has slowed since 2000, however, with only 10 executions in that time.
Lake City arrotney D. Todd Doss, who has represented Hill since 2003, said the Supreme Court could remand the case back to the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee for a trial on the merits of the chemicals and procedure used in Florida executions by lethal injection.
The high court could also deny Hill's appeal, which would allow Bush to set a new execution date. The Supreme Court could also decide that Hill's attorneys waited too long to bring the argument and deny his appeal.
(source: St. Petersburg Times, Alex Leary and Chris Tisch
The high court blocked the executions of Clarence Hill and Arthur Rutherford so it can decide whether death row inmates can make last-minute civil rights complaints that execution is cruel and unusual. Hill's execution was blocked last week. Rutherford's was stopped Tuesday evening. The high court expects to rule on the issue by June.
At a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, Bush paused when asked if the death penalty was on hold until the summer.
"Yeah, probably. We don't know why the Supreme Court's done what it's done, so the uncertainty probably does create a need to wait," Bush said.
Bush also said he didn't expect to sign any more death warrants until the court issues a decisions.
"I don't think they are ripe anyway," he said. "Given our twisted system, it takes forever to get to the point where people exhaust their appeals. They slow 'em down. They wait."
Bush has pledged to speed up the time it takes to execute death row inmates. The average stay on Florida's death row is just under 13 years.
Bush expressed frustration in 2000 when the Florida Supreme Court unanimously struck down the Death Penalty Reform Act, which Bush had championed as a method to quicken the process. He again has appeared frustrated by the recent stays.
"Any changes in federal ruling or state rulings creates another avenue for another appeal," Bush said. "So the advocates of abolishing the death penalty are winning without any discussion by elected officials in the Legislature. I think it's wrong."
Since the death penalty was re-established in the 1970's, Florida has executed 60 people, an average of one about every five months. The pace has slowed since 2000, however, with only 10 executions in that time.
Lake City arrotney D. Todd Doss, who has represented Hill since 2003, said the Supreme Court could remand the case back to the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee for a trial on the merits of the chemicals and procedure used in Florida executions by lethal injection.
The high court could also deny Hill's appeal, which would allow Bush to set a new execution date. The Supreme Court could also decide that Hill's attorneys waited too long to bring the argument and deny his appeal.
(source: St. Petersburg Times, Alex Leary and Chris Tisch