Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 19, 2006 18:12:19 GMT -5
Before execution, be absolutely sure----OUR OPINION: FLORIDA SHOULD REPAIR
FLAWED DEATH-PENALTY SYSTEM
Just as doctors take every precaution not to cause a wrongful death, so,
too, should the state of Florida take every precaution not to execute an
innocent person. To Florida's shame, though, the state is doing much less
than it should be doing to prevent an innocent person from being
wrongfully executed. The governor and state Legislature have the ability
to change laws and tighten procedures to make it less likely that the
wrong person will be killed by the state -- and they should do so
promptly.
22 have been spared
State officials already know that Florida leads the nation in the number
of exonerations of death row inmates. Since 1973, at least 22 inmates set
to be executed have been spared, primarily based on their claims --
affirmed by appellate courts -- that they were innocent or wrongfully
convicted. During this same period Florida executed 60 persons.
Now there is more evidence that Florida's death penalty is badly flawed.
In an exhaustive report released Sunday, the American Bar Association
found that the state's death penalty is ''fraught with problems,''
including continuing racial disparities.
The report compared Florida procedures with 93 ABA standards and found
that Florida was in compliance with only eight. An ABA experts' panel
unanimously recommended 11 changes, including requiring a unanimous
verdict for death sentences; having qualified lawyers represent
capital-case defendants; creating uniform statewide standards for deciding
who is charged with a capital crime; and rewriting the rules forbidding
death sentences and executions of persons with serious mental
disabilities.
The panel also recommended that the state look into racial and
geographical disparities, noting that since the death penalty was
reinstated in 1972 no white defendant has been executed for killing a
black person. The ABA's most-important recommendation is that Florida
create a commission to study its wrongful convictions and develop an
assessment of what can be done to prevent innocent people from being
executed.
Save the innocent
It may be politically difficult for state lawmakers to take up this cause
because being ''tough on crime'' is often a winner at the polls. But if
Florida is going to execute those who commit heinous crimes, it should do
all that it can to make sure the judicial system is fair and unfailingly
accurate.
Gov. Jeb Bush's recent support of a law that eliminates the deadline for
defendants claiming to be innocent to complete DNA tests certainly will be
helpful. But no DNA evidence is available for most defendants who claim to
be innocent. So it is up to the state to find and fill other gaps in the
system that could result in the death of an innocent person.
(source: Opinion, Miami Herald)
FLAWED DEATH-PENALTY SYSTEM
Just as doctors take every precaution not to cause a wrongful death, so,
too, should the state of Florida take every precaution not to execute an
innocent person. To Florida's shame, though, the state is doing much less
than it should be doing to prevent an innocent person from being
wrongfully executed. The governor and state Legislature have the ability
to change laws and tighten procedures to make it less likely that the
wrong person will be killed by the state -- and they should do so
promptly.
22 have been spared
State officials already know that Florida leads the nation in the number
of exonerations of death row inmates. Since 1973, at least 22 inmates set
to be executed have been spared, primarily based on their claims --
affirmed by appellate courts -- that they were innocent or wrongfully
convicted. During this same period Florida executed 60 persons.
Now there is more evidence that Florida's death penalty is badly flawed.
In an exhaustive report released Sunday, the American Bar Association
found that the state's death penalty is ''fraught with problems,''
including continuing racial disparities.
The report compared Florida procedures with 93 ABA standards and found
that Florida was in compliance with only eight. An ABA experts' panel
unanimously recommended 11 changes, including requiring a unanimous
verdict for death sentences; having qualified lawyers represent
capital-case defendants; creating uniform statewide standards for deciding
who is charged with a capital crime; and rewriting the rules forbidding
death sentences and executions of persons with serious mental
disabilities.
The panel also recommended that the state look into racial and
geographical disparities, noting that since the death penalty was
reinstated in 1972 no white defendant has been executed for killing a
black person. The ABA's most-important recommendation is that Florida
create a commission to study its wrongful convictions and develop an
assessment of what can be done to prevent innocent people from being
executed.
Save the innocent
It may be politically difficult for state lawmakers to take up this cause
because being ''tough on crime'' is often a winner at the polls. But if
Florida is going to execute those who commit heinous crimes, it should do
all that it can to make sure the judicial system is fair and unfailingly
accurate.
Gov. Jeb Bush's recent support of a law that eliminates the deadline for
defendants claiming to be innocent to complete DNA tests certainly will be
helpful. But no DNA evidence is available for most defendants who claim to
be innocent. So it is up to the state to find and fill other gaps in the
system that could result in the death of an innocent person.
(source: Opinion, Miami Herald)