Post by Anja Nieser on Oct 1, 2006 6:23:43 GMT -5
Bid to halt execution says death penalty is flawed
Last week, the American Bar Association issued a 403-page report that
reprehended Florida's handling of the death penalty.
Today, renowned death penalty defense attorney Martin McClain hopes the
report will keep the state from executing one of his clients.
McClain filed a motion Thursday asking a judge to vacate the conviction
and sentence of Arthur Rutherford, who was sent to death row for killing a
woman in Santa Rosa County in 1985.
In a 56-page motion, McClain cited numerous examples from the ABA report
outlining the problems in Florida's death penalty system.
"The report makes it clear that Florida's death penalty system is
seriously flawed and is not fair or reliable," McClain said Thursday.
"This is from a comprehensive investigation performed by a panel that
includes judges and prosecutors."
A hearing on the motion is scheduled for today. Rutherford's execution is
set for Oct. 18. McClain's effort comes just one week after Florida
executed its first death row inmate in 18 months. That inmate, Clarence
Hill, halted the state's death penalty for months while he argued that
lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment.
Rutherford, who had won a stay while Hill's appeals were pending, then
received a new date for execution. Gov. Jeb Bush also signed a Oct. 25
death warrant for Gainesville serial killer Danny Rolling, one of
Florida's most notorious murderers.
If McClain succeeds in using the ABA report to get Rutherford's sentence
vacated, defense attorneys across the state likely will file similar
motions.
Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger said sweeping changes to the
death penalty system aren't likely.
McClain has the difficult task of proving that Rutherford - not death row
inmates in general - suffered as a result of any deficiencies in the
system, Dillinger said.
Add to that the Legislature's decision not to act on a challenge from the
Florida Supreme Court last year to address some of the same problems
raised in the ABA report, he said.
"The Legislature already ignored the Supreme Court," Dillinger said. "It
will be even easier to ignore the ABA."
The ABA team, which did not take a stand for or against the death penalty,
spent 18 months looking into Florida's system. The team compared the
state's procedures against 93 ABA standards and found Florida in full
compliance with only eight and partial compliance with 36.
Florida's system has problems with unqualified and underfunded defense
attorneys, ill-informed juries, secrecy in the clemency process and racial
disparities, among others, the report concluded.
Florida led the nation in death row exonerations with 22, the report
stated.
"Much more needs to be done to ensure that Florida's death penalty system
avoids executing the innocent," panel member and University of Florida law
professor Christopher Slobogin said when the report was released.
Team members called for reforms, including a requirement of unanimous jury
verdicts for death sentences. Florida is the only state that allows a jury
to recommend death by mere majority.
In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Eighth Amendment guaranteed
that the death penalty must be imposed fairly and with reasonable
consistency. The death penalty "smacks of little more than a lottery
system," the court agreed.
"If you read the ABA's report, it's hard to conclude that Florida's system
is anything more than just that, a lottery," McClain said.
McClain said the number of exonerations in Florida shows that the system
is broken.
In Illinois, 13 exonerations between 1977 and 2000 led to a moratorium on
executions. A subsequent investigation determined that four more death row
inmates were innocent.
As a result, Illinois implemented comprehensive reforms and vacated all
the death sentences imposed under the old system.
"Florida had even more exonerations," McClain said. "And, as the ABA
report showed, what has Florida done about it? Nothing."
(source: St. Petersburg Times)
Last week, the American Bar Association issued a 403-page report that
reprehended Florida's handling of the death penalty.
Today, renowned death penalty defense attorney Martin McClain hopes the
report will keep the state from executing one of his clients.
McClain filed a motion Thursday asking a judge to vacate the conviction
and sentence of Arthur Rutherford, who was sent to death row for killing a
woman in Santa Rosa County in 1985.
In a 56-page motion, McClain cited numerous examples from the ABA report
outlining the problems in Florida's death penalty system.
"The report makes it clear that Florida's death penalty system is
seriously flawed and is not fair or reliable," McClain said Thursday.
"This is from a comprehensive investigation performed by a panel that
includes judges and prosecutors."
A hearing on the motion is scheduled for today. Rutherford's execution is
set for Oct. 18. McClain's effort comes just one week after Florida
executed its first death row inmate in 18 months. That inmate, Clarence
Hill, halted the state's death penalty for months while he argued that
lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment.
Rutherford, who had won a stay while Hill's appeals were pending, then
received a new date for execution. Gov. Jeb Bush also signed a Oct. 25
death warrant for Gainesville serial killer Danny Rolling, one of
Florida's most notorious murderers.
If McClain succeeds in using the ABA report to get Rutherford's sentence
vacated, defense attorneys across the state likely will file similar
motions.
Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger said sweeping changes to the
death penalty system aren't likely.
McClain has the difficult task of proving that Rutherford - not death row
inmates in general - suffered as a result of any deficiencies in the
system, Dillinger said.
Add to that the Legislature's decision not to act on a challenge from the
Florida Supreme Court last year to address some of the same problems
raised in the ABA report, he said.
"The Legislature already ignored the Supreme Court," Dillinger said. "It
will be even easier to ignore the ABA."
The ABA team, which did not take a stand for or against the death penalty,
spent 18 months looking into Florida's system. The team compared the
state's procedures against 93 ABA standards and found Florida in full
compliance with only eight and partial compliance with 36.
Florida's system has problems with unqualified and underfunded defense
attorneys, ill-informed juries, secrecy in the clemency process and racial
disparities, among others, the report concluded.
Florida led the nation in death row exonerations with 22, the report
stated.
"Much more needs to be done to ensure that Florida's death penalty system
avoids executing the innocent," panel member and University of Florida law
professor Christopher Slobogin said when the report was released.
Team members called for reforms, including a requirement of unanimous jury
verdicts for death sentences. Florida is the only state that allows a jury
to recommend death by mere majority.
In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Eighth Amendment guaranteed
that the death penalty must be imposed fairly and with reasonable
consistency. The death penalty "smacks of little more than a lottery
system," the court agreed.
"If you read the ABA's report, it's hard to conclude that Florida's system
is anything more than just that, a lottery," McClain said.
McClain said the number of exonerations in Florida shows that the system
is broken.
In Illinois, 13 exonerations between 1977 and 2000 led to a moratorium on
executions. A subsequent investigation determined that four more death row
inmates were innocent.
As a result, Illinois implemented comprehensive reforms and vacated all
the death sentences imposed under the old system.
"Florida had even more exonerations," McClain said. "And, as the ABA
report showed, what has Florida done about it? Nothing."
(source: St. Petersburg Times)