Florida Supreme Court Directs Acquittal of Death Row Inmate


Autopsy Photos from Botched Florida Execution Released

The New Republic has just released autopsy photos taken after the Florida execution of Angel Diaz in 2006. The execution was so badly botched that it prompted then-Governor Jeb Bush to temporarily suspend executions so the state's lethal injection procedure could be reviewed. The needles that should have been inserted into Diaz's veins were instead pushed through into the surrounding tissue, causing extensive chemical burns. Dr. Jonathan Groner, a professor of clinical surgery at Ohio State University College of Medicine, viewed the photos and said, “I’ve never seen anything like this from IV infiltration...That is the kind of injury we see when a kid has fallen in a campfire or set his arm on fire. My guess is someone who got this when alive would need skin grafts to heal.” When the first dose of the three drugs did not kill Diaz, the cycle was administered a second time. Since sodium thiopental, the first drug used in Diaz's execution, does not produce anesthesia when injected into tissue, Diaz was likely conscious as the other drugs slowly caused paralysis and prevented him from breathing. Witnesses to the execution said Diaz continued to move long after he should have been unconscious. The autopsy revealed large chemical burns on Diaz's arms and the medical examiner noted "extensive skin slippage," which occurs when the top layer of skin separates, revealing the white and pink subcutaneous layers beneath. The autopsy photos were recently found in the case files of another Florida inmate, who used them to challenge the state's execution procedure.

Supreme Court Strikes Down Florida's Strict IQ Cutoff for Death Penalty


Florida Passes Bill to Compensate Exonerated Death Row Inmate

As the last act of its legislative session, the Florida Senate passed a bill allowing the state to compensate James Richardson, who had been wrongfully sentenced to death and incarcerated for 21 years. In 1967, Richardson, who is black, was convicted and sentenced to death by an all-white jury for the murder of his seven children. Many years later, a former babysitter confessed to the crime, prompting an investigation that revealed that witnesses had been beaten to convince them to falsely testify against Richardson. In 1989, Richardson's conviction was thrown out and he was released. Richardson, now a frail old man, had not been able to receive compensation for this injustice because the evidence from his case had been lost or destroyed. Now he will be able to apply for compensation based on the special prosecutor's investigation and the order to release him from prison. Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a sponsor of the bill, said "This will allow him to have an opportunity to revisit some dreams that were deferred early in his very young life." Robert Barrar, an attorney who has represented Richardson, said, “The Legislature did the right thing. To right an injustice for all those years that were taken away from him.”

NEW RESOURCES: Latest "Death Row, USA" Now Available

The latest edition of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's Death Row, USA shows the total death row population continuing to decline in size. The U.S. death-row population decreased from 3,108 on April 1, 2013, to 3,095 on July 1, 2013. The new total represented a 12% decrease from 10 years earlier, when the death row population was 3,517. The states with the largest death rows were California (733), Florida (412), Texas (292), Pennsylvania (197), and Alabama (197). In the past 10 years, the size of Texas's death row has shrunk 36%; Pennsylvania's death row has declined 18%; on the other hand, California's death row has increased 17% in that time. The report also contains racial breakdowns on death row. The states with the highest percentage of minorities on death row were Delaware (78%) and Texas (71%), among those states with at least 10 inmates. The total death row population was 43% white, 42% black, 13% Latino, and 2% other races.

Supreme Court to Examine Florida's Narrow Standard for Mental Retardation

On March 3, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Hall v. Florida, a case addressing the strict standard for intellectual disability that Florida uses to determine if inmates are exempt from execution. Under the Court's 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia, individuals with intellectual disabilities (mental retardation) are constitutionally barred from receiving the death penalty. The decision "le[ft] to the State[s] the task of developing appropriate ways to enforce the constitutional restriction," resulting in various standards for determining intellectual disabilities across the states. Unlike almost all other states, Florida rigidly requires an IQ of 70 or below to demonstrate mental retardation, with no allowance for the test's margin of error. Freddie Hall, the death-row petitioner in this case, was first diagnosed with intellecutal disabilities in elementary school. Prior to the Atkins, a Florida court determined that “Freddie Lee Hall has been mentally retarded his entire life.” Despite these findings, Hall is still facing execution. Cornell Law Professor John Blume said, while the issue is limited, the case is important, "to make clear that states cannot narrow a categorical ban created by the Supreme Court intended to protect a vulnerable group from wrongful execution."

Lethal Injection Questions Prompt Official Reviews in Louisiana, Florida, Ohio

Questions about the appropriateness of new lethal injection methods have recently stayed executions in Louisiana and Ohio and caused the Florida Supreme Court to order a hearing prior to the next execution there. In Louisiana, Christopher Sepulvado received a 90-day stay to allow a federal court to determine whether the state's new protocol violates his constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment. He was scheduled to be executed on February 5. The Florida Supreme Court ordered a similiar hearing to be held before Paul Howell's scheduled execution on February 26 to examine the state's new protocol. In Ohio, Governor John Kasich ordered an 8-month stay of execution for Gregory Lott so the state can complete a review of its new lethal injection procedure, first used to execute Dennis McGuire on January 16, resulting in gasping and choking sounds from the inmate. The common drug in question in all three states is midazolam, a sedative used as the first drug in a 2- or 3-drug protocol. 

Two Defendants from the Same Case Illustrate Inequities in Florida's Death Penalty
