Here’s what you need to know about the death penalty in Florida in 2023

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – C First execution in Florida since 2019 Expected to happen Thursday night, WPTV takes a look at some of the key facts to know about the death penalty in the Sunshine State.

Long history of the death penalty in Florida

Florida has a long history of capital punishment dating back to the 1800s.

The first known execution in Florida took place in 1827, when Benjamin Donica was hanged for murder.

In those days, public hangings were monitored and carried out by the sheriffs of the counties where the crimes were committed.

But that changed in 1923 when the Florida Legislature abolished public hangings and instead authorized the use of the electric chair as a more humane method of execution.

Mark Foley/AP

Frank Johnson was the first person to be electrocuted in Florida on October 7, 1924.

Electrocution was the only method of execution in the Sunshine State until 2000, when the controversial death of Allen Lee Davis prompted the state to switch to execution by lethal injection.

death row

There are currently 299 inmates in Florida on death row. according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

Of this number, only three are women. There are significantly more white inmates on death row than black inmates. There are 179 white inmates on death row compared to 108 blacks.

There were no executions in the US between 1967 and 1977.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, 99 murderers have been executed in the state of Florida — 44 by electric chair and 55 by lethal injection.

John Arthur Spenkelink was the first person to be executed in Florida in the modern era. He was electrocuted on May 25, 1979.

AP

The last execution in Florida was Gary Ray Bowles on August 22, 2019.

“Old Sparky”

Florida used the electric chair known as “Old Sparky” from 1924 to 1999. The rachitic wooden chair was built by inmates at the Florida State Penitentiary.

The Florida electric chair made headlines for its many malfunctions in the 1990s, namely the executions of Jesse Tafero, Pedro Medina, and Davis.

Mark Foley/AP

Flames were seen erupting from the heads of Tafero and Medina during their execution. It was later determined that the saline-soaked sponge placed between the prisoner’s head and the 2,300-volt spark electrode had been replaced with a synthetic sponge that caught fire during Tafero’s execution on May 4, 1990, while the sponge used during Medina’s execution March 25, 1997, apparently was not properly soaked in saline, which led to a fire.

The incidents led to a famous quote from former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth.

“People who want to commit murder better not do it in the state of Florida, because we might have problems with our electric chair,” Butterworth said in 1997.

A new “Old Sparky” was built before Davis’ execution on July 8, 1999. The new and improved “Old Sparky” had an adjustable headrest and a higher seat position to accommodate larger prisoners such as Davis, who weighed 344 pounds. But the electrical components remained the same.

Mark Foley/AP

Photographs presented to the Florida Supreme Court after Davis’s execution showed that he had a bloody nose.

Believe it or not, while lethal injection is the primary method of execution in Florida, it is not the only method. death row inmates can still opt for the electric chair. This happened as recently as 2015 when Wayne Doty asked the state to electrocute him instead. Doty, who remains on death row, is the first and only inmate to choose “Old Sparky” as electrocution became optional.

The most infamous Florida death row inmate who met his demise while sitting on “Old Sparky” was serial killer Ted Bundy in 1989 – 10 years after he was sentenced to death for killing two Chi Omega students at Florida State University.

Mark Foley/AP

Toxic Cocktail

Florida’s Lethal Injection Cocktail is a triple formula.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, protocol calls for the use of etomidate to sedate inmates before injecting a paralytic and then potassium chloride, which stops the inmate’s heart.

In 2017, the Florida Department of Corrections revised its lethal injection protocol, replacing the sedative midazolam with etomidate, which had never before been used for executions.

Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Mark Inch noted in May 2021 that he reviewed the state’s lethal injection procedures and concluded that they are “consistent with evolving standards of decorum that mark the progress of a maturing society, concepts of human dignity, and advances in science.” , research, pharmacology and technology”.

Florida’s most notorious prisoner to die by lethal injection was serial killer Danny Rolling, who was executed in 2006 for the 1990 murders of four University of Florida students and one student at Santa Fe College in Gainesville.

Phil Sandlin/AP

Marked for death

It depends on the governor of Florida. sign a death warrant this ultimately decides the fate of the next in line for execution in Florida.

The sentence cannot be carried out until the governor’s warrant is delivered to the warden, stating the appointed date and time of death.

In 2013, the then governor. Rick Scott signed a bill to speed up the abolition of the death penalty.

Phil Sandlin/AP

The law establishes shorter time limits for a person on death row to file appeals and motions after sentencing, and imposes progress reporting requirements.

Three years later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned part of Florida’s death penalty law, saying it was not enough for a judge to determine the aggravating circumstances that should be used in sentencing the death penalty. The High Court ruled that the Florida law violated the Sixth Amendment.

The Florida Legislature amended the statute in accordance with the decision in March 2014 and in doing so changed the method of sentencing to require a supermajority for the death penalty. If less than 10 jurors voted for the death penalty, a life sentence was imposed.

Previously, the judge delivered the verdict, and the jury presented only their non-binding opinion.

John Rau/AP

This new law was challenged, and in October 2014 the Florida Supreme Court overturned it by a vote of 5 to 2, holding that death sentences could only be handed down by a unanimous jury decision.

In March 2017, the State Legislature passed a new law consistent with the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling. It also provided that, in the case of a jury, a life sentence should be given.

The governor has the power to commute the death penalty. Governor Bob Graham granted pardons six times during his tenure. No other Florida governor has pardoned a death row inmate since 1976.