Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 19, 2006 18:13:24 GMT -5
Bush defends death penalty
By Jim Ash
Capitol Bureau Chief
Governor Jeb Bush defended the death penalty this morning, two days after the American Bar Association released a harshly critical report on how the ultimate punishment is handed out in Florida, and a day before a Pensacola cop killer is scheduled to be executed.
"I believe that the death penalty process here is protected, correctly so, by an appeals process that is extensive," Bush said, adding that if anything, it is unfair to crime victims and their families.
"It can go on for more than 10 years. For a lot of people, that is denial of justice," Bush said.
The 454-page report, compiled by Florida attorneys who support and oppose the death penalty, found the process is racially biased and suggested that with an average of more than one exoneration for every three executions, there are not enough safeguards to protect the innocent.
Florida has executed 60 inmates since the death penalty was reinstated in 1973. During the same time, 22 condemned prisoners were exonerated.
Bush defended the rate, saying that inmates have their death sentences overturned for many reasons, not necessarily because they are innocent.
Bush's comments come a day before 48-year-old Clarence Hill is scheduled to die by lethal injection for killing police Officer Stephen Taylor during the Oct. 22, 1982, robbery of a savings and loan in Pensacola.
Bush predicted that Hill's latest arguments, that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment, will continue to be rejected by the courts. He pointed out that the method has been used 16 times in Florida, and survived numerous appeals.
"So my expectation is that the execution will go as planned," he said.
Bush recently signed a law eliminating a deadline for condemned killers to prove their innocence through DNA testing. He said his office was studying the report, which recommends, among other things, the creation of a commission to study wrongful convictions and claims of innocence.
He warned lawmakers to take a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling to heart that suggested Florida should require death penalty recommendations by juries be unanimous. A proposal to do just that was defeated earlier this year in the Legislature.
"I think it’s definitely worth consideration," Bush said. "When the Supreme Court sends a signal like that, it should be not just cast aside, because ultimately, they will have some say in how the death penalty will work."
By Jim Ash
Capitol Bureau Chief
Governor Jeb Bush defended the death penalty this morning, two days after the American Bar Association released a harshly critical report on how the ultimate punishment is handed out in Florida, and a day before a Pensacola cop killer is scheduled to be executed.
"I believe that the death penalty process here is protected, correctly so, by an appeals process that is extensive," Bush said, adding that if anything, it is unfair to crime victims and their families.
"It can go on for more than 10 years. For a lot of people, that is denial of justice," Bush said.
The 454-page report, compiled by Florida attorneys who support and oppose the death penalty, found the process is racially biased and suggested that with an average of more than one exoneration for every three executions, there are not enough safeguards to protect the innocent.
Florida has executed 60 inmates since the death penalty was reinstated in 1973. During the same time, 22 condemned prisoners were exonerated.
Bush defended the rate, saying that inmates have their death sentences overturned for many reasons, not necessarily because they are innocent.
Bush's comments come a day before 48-year-old Clarence Hill is scheduled to die by lethal injection for killing police Officer Stephen Taylor during the Oct. 22, 1982, robbery of a savings and loan in Pensacola.
Bush predicted that Hill's latest arguments, that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment, will continue to be rejected by the courts. He pointed out that the method has been used 16 times in Florida, and survived numerous appeals.
"So my expectation is that the execution will go as planned," he said.
Bush recently signed a law eliminating a deadline for condemned killers to prove their innocence through DNA testing. He said his office was studying the report, which recommends, among other things, the creation of a commission to study wrongful convictions and claims of innocence.
He warned lawmakers to take a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling to heart that suggested Florida should require death penalty recommendations by juries be unanimous. A proposal to do just that was defeated earlier this year in the Legislature.
"I think it’s definitely worth consideration," Bush said. "When the Supreme Court sends a signal like that, it should be not just cast aside, because ultimately, they will have some say in how the death penalty will work."