-Caveat Lector-
http://news.excite.com/news/r/990924/19/news-crime-electricchair
Florida High Court Again OKs Electric Chair
By Michael Peltier
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - The Florida Supreme Court Friday ruled the use
of the state's electric chair in executions was constitutional and is not
cruel or usual punishment.
But the court also agreed that the state legislature should give death row
inmates a choice between electrocution and lethal injection.
In a 4-3 vote, Florida's highest court ended months of uncertainly following
a bloody spectacle at Florida's last execution in July.
When blood flowed from the nose of Allen "Tiny" Davis during his execution,
attorneys for Thomas Provenzano, the next inmate scheduled to die in the
electric chair, began a legal challenge, arguing the use of the chair was
unconstitutionally cruel.
The court, for the second time in two years, disagreed.
"The record in this case reveals abundant evidence that execution by
electrocution renders an inmate instantaneously unconscious, thereby making
it impossible to feel pain," the court's majority wrote. "The record also
contains evidence that the chair is and has been functioning properly and
that the electrical circuitry is being maintained."
The use of the electric chair has been under legal scrutiny in Florida for
years. Most of the 38 U.S. states where capital punishment is legal have
switched to lethal injection, a process some say is a less objectionable
method of executing inmates.
In October 1997, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the chair's use by a 4-3
majority. Its constitutionality was challenged after flames leaped from the
mask covering the head of Pedro Medina during his execution in March of that
year.
The Medina execution was the second in a decade in which fire erupted when
the executioner threw the switch. In 1990, a synthetic sponge placed on the
head of inmate Jesse Tafero burst into flames.
Despite their support for electrocution, the Supreme Court Friday urged
lawmakers to offer inmates a choice other than the electric chair, which has
been the state's sole means of execution since 1924.
"I urge the Legislature to revisit this issue and pass legislation giving
inmates the choice between lethal injection and electrocution as the method
of carrying out the death penalty," Chief Justice Major Harding wrote.
Three dissenting justices agreed.
"I am convinced that the time has now come to address this issue head on,"
wrote Justice Leander Shaw. "It is my conclusion that electrocution as it is
administered in Florida is unconstitutional."
The high court's action was denounced by human rights groups and death
penalty opponents, who said the decision not only kept intact a cruel form
of punishment but reinforced the death penalty despite growing international
opposition.
Sam Jordan, director of Amnesty International's efforts to abolish the death
penalty, said the court's decision is a giant leap back.
"This throws our civilization backward to a dependence on a cycle of
violence and vengeance," he said. "This is about getting even."
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hailed the court's ruling.
"The court's decision is a resounding victory for all Floridians, especially
those who have been victimized by the cruel and malicious acts of those
inmates on death row," Bush said.
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
