death penalty news April 8, 2005
FLORIDA: Raven Raven dies in muted public notice We've come a long way in how we kill. They injected him with drugs Tuesday, and convicted killer Raven Raven, once known as Glenn Ocha, quietly died many miles from the scene of his crime -- the 1999 murder of Carol Skjerva in Buenaventura Lakes. Only a select few got to witness his execution by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke. That's a lot different from the black and white photographs of Eddie Broome on a scaffold outside the Osceola County Courthouse. Broome was Osceola's last legal hanging. A crowd turned up because such events were popular social outings. The date was Jan. 19, 1912, and it happened on a gallows built right outside the historic courthouse. There are a series of black and white pictures in the state archives documenting the final moments leading up to Broome's death. Those photos may be the basis for local folklore about a "hanging tree" used on blacks on the courthouse's north side. Of course, it's entirely possible that there were lynchings in the area. We are talking about the days when blacks and other minorities were almost always treated as second-class citizens. But no one has ever presented me with historic record of such illegal, immoral killings from those stately oaks. Broome's case is in the history books. He was arraigned in November 1910 in the shooting of Samuel Boatright and indicted the next January, according to old accounts. Broome claimed he was attacked by a knife-wielding Boatright. His attorneys asked for a trial delay to find witnesses for Broome's self-defense plea. It's not clear if the men -- from Tampa and Miami -- ever turned up, but Broome was convicted Dec. 1, 1911, and sentenced four days later. Broome's crime would not be that remarkable today. Headlines in the Osceola Journal of the time screamed: "Eddie Broome is Finally Executed. Death is Speedy and Painless." In all he was tried, found guilty, sentenced and put to death in less than two months. The justice system doesn't move that quickly these days -- especially in capital cases. Raven didn't fight his execution, and so it moved faster than most. This week, the Sentinel's headline for Raven was of modest size and placement, stating: "After words of remorse, killer is executed." Skjerva's death was gruesome. And while I feel for her family, I'm still torn about the merits of the death penalty. We have other means to protect society, so do we kill the convicted for retribution? On one hand, I believe in punishment. But on the other, I believe in the sanctity of life and the fact that we will all be judged by a higher power. You could argue that some killers are akin to animals, with no trace of humanity. Does that make it ethical to execute? It's a weighty question that I'd probably have a hard time staying steadfast on. But Gov. Jeb Bush didn't waiver in fulfilling his legal obligations in the Raven case. No matter what you believe, Raven became the 60th person executed in Florida since the 1976 reinstatement of the death penalty. It's a list that doesn't include all those, like Broome, who in another era paid for their crimes publicly -- and a lot closer to home. (source: Commentary by Marc Pino, Orlando Sentinel)
