Post by Anja Nieser on Oct 1, 2006 6:24:24 GMT -5
Killer claims state's death penalty flawed
Condemned killer A.D. Rutherford has filed an appeal in Santa Rosa County
circuit court asking that his conviction be set aside, saying Florida's
death sentence process is not fair and consistent.
Rutherford's lawyers argue, among other things, that Florida's death
penalty is arbitrary and capricious -- and thus unconstitutional -- on the
basis of a recent report that was sharply critical of the state's judicial
process.
Rutherford was sentenced to death for the 1985 death of Stella Salamon, a
63-year-old murdered in her Milton home.
Rutherford, whose execution is set for Oct. 18, bases his appeal on the
new report by the American Bar Association that Florida's system has
serious flaws.
"The information, analysis and ultimate conclusions contained in the ABA
report make clear: Florida's death penalty system is so seriously flawed
and broken that it does not meet the constitutional requisite of being
fair, reliable or accurate," Rutherford's motion states.
Martin McClain, one of Rutherford's lawyers, said the report describes a
system that does not meet the standards the U.S. Supreme Court established
more than three decades ago, requiring that "the death penalty must be
imposed fairly, and with reasonable consistency, or not at all."
Mark Schlakman, program director of Florida State University's Center for
the advancement of Human Rights and one of the eight members of the
assessment team that researched and produced the ABA report, said it's
inappropriate for him to comment on the use of the report in Rutherford's
motion.
He did say, however, that the report does not call for a moratorium on
executions. The eight members of the team included opponents and
proponents of the death penalty.
(source: Pensacola News-Journal)
Condemned killer A.D. Rutherford has filed an appeal in Santa Rosa County
circuit court asking that his conviction be set aside, saying Florida's
death sentence process is not fair and consistent.
Rutherford's lawyers argue, among other things, that Florida's death
penalty is arbitrary and capricious -- and thus unconstitutional -- on the
basis of a recent report that was sharply critical of the state's judicial
process.
Rutherford was sentenced to death for the 1985 death of Stella Salamon, a
63-year-old murdered in her Milton home.
Rutherford, whose execution is set for Oct. 18, bases his appeal on the
new report by the American Bar Association that Florida's system has
serious flaws.
"The information, analysis and ultimate conclusions contained in the ABA
report make clear: Florida's death penalty system is so seriously flawed
and broken that it does not meet the constitutional requisite of being
fair, reliable or accurate," Rutherford's motion states.
Martin McClain, one of Rutherford's lawyers, said the report describes a
system that does not meet the standards the U.S. Supreme Court established
more than three decades ago, requiring that "the death penalty must be
imposed fairly, and with reasonable consistency, or not at all."
Mark Schlakman, program director of Florida State University's Center for
the advancement of Human Rights and one of the eight members of the
assessment team that researched and produced the ABA report, said it's
inappropriate for him to comment on the use of the report in Rutherford's
motion.
He did say, however, that the report does not call for a moratorium on
executions. The eight members of the team included opponents and
proponents of the death penalty.
(source: Pensacola News-Journal)