Florida Makes Death Penalty More Accessible With New Legislation

It is no surprise that Florida (as of October 3rd, 2023) makes up 30% of America’s executions when looking at their lenient laws towards sentencing inmates to death. As of October of 2023, 291 inmates in Florida are currently on death row (“Death Row Roster”). On average, these inmates spend 23 years on death row before execution, languishing for decades awaiting the end of their life (Cioffi).

For Governor Ron Desantis, the rules of capital punishment are too strict, however. On April 20th, 2023, he signed Senate Bill 450 that ended the previous law that required all jurors to recommend death penalty for an inmate to be sentenced to death and instead made it so that only 8 out of 12 of the jurors must agree. Keep in mind that 1 in 8 death row inmates are later proven innocent (“Death Penalty”). Why should we rush to sentence people to death when a shocking rate of them are innocent?

On April 18th, the Florida Senate Legislature passed a bill that allows the death penalty for people convicted of sexual assault on children under the age of 12 (“Florida Law Allowing Death Penalty in Child Rapes to Take Effect”). This bill was enacted in late September. The bill (HB1297) will likely be challenged in court due to its unconstitutionality. In 2008, the Supreme Court decided that it was a violation of the Eighth Amendment to sentence anyone to death for any crime other than homicide or crimes against the state (Kennedy v. Louisiana). In addition to this being unconstitutional, it is also anti-democratic for Florida to have the death penalty when 57% of Floridians favor a life sentence over capital punishment (Center).

It is important to note the impact that this bill could have on the victims of these sexual assault cases. Many people would not want to be responsible for the possibility of sentencing someone to death, no matter how they have mistreated them. Therefore, this bill could only contribute to the problem of under-reported sexual reports and actually let more offenders let loose.

From a purely cynical perspective, the death penalty is also a bad option because of how expensive it is on taxpayers. To fund the time on death row as well as the actual execution, $24,000,000 is taken in each year (“Take a Hard Look at the Real Cost of the Death Penalty”). Is this really an effective use of taxpayer dollars when a life sentence without the possibility of parole is a more viable, ethical, and cheaper alternative?

There are many other factors that contribute to the anti-death penalty argument, like mental health and lack of adequate healthcare for it, extremely low rates of education, high rates of poverty, and more (Carroll). I encourage you to research these other factors as well.

Florida needs to stop executing prisoners and start executing justice.

Sources:

“Death Row Roster.” Florida Department of Corrections, 2023, fdc.myflorida.com/OffenderSearch/deathrowroster.aspx.

Cioffi, Melanie Kalmanson &. Kimberly. “Sentenced to Death — by Dying While Waiting on Florida’s Death Row.” City & State FL, 7 June 2023, www.cityandstatefl.com/policy/2023/06/sentenced-death-dying-while-waiting-floridas-death-row/387216.

“Death Penalty.” Equal Justice Initiative, 17 Nov. 2023, eji.org/issues/death-penalty/#:~:text=For%20every%20eight%20people%20executed,death%20row%20has%20been%20exonerated.

“Florida Law Allowing Death Penalty in Child Rapes to Take Effect.” Tampa Bay Times, 27 Sept. 2023, tampabay.com/news/crime/2023/09/26/new-florida-law-death-penalty-child-rape-desantis.

Center, Death Penalty Information. “New Poll Finds ‘Strong Majority’ of Floridians Prefer Life Without Parole Over Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center, 27 Oct. 2021, deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/new-poll-finds-strong-majority-of-floridians-prefer-life-without-parole-over-death-penalty.

“Take a Hard Look at the Real Cost of the Death Penalty.” The Florida Bar, www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/take-a-hard-look-at-the-real-cost-of-the-death-penalty/#:~:text=He%20estimated%20that%20Florida%20spends,execution%20costs%20taxpayers%20%2424%20million. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023.

“Take a Hard Look at the Real Cost of the Death Penalty.” The Florida Bar, www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/take-a-hard-look-at-the-real-cost-of-the-death-penalty/#:~:text=He%20estimated%20that%20Florida%20spends,execution%20costs%20taxpayers%20%2424%20million. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023.

About Florida’s Death Penalty — Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. (2023, April 1). Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. https://www.fadp.org/florida-death-penalty-fact-sheet/

New Florida law that allows for death penalty against those convicted of raping kids under 12 to take effect. (2023, September 26). FOX 13 Tampa Bay. https://www.fox13news.com/news/death-penalty-in-child-rapes-to-take-effect

Pipitone, T. (2021, November 18). The Price We Pay: the Costs and Outcomes of Some Complex Death Penalty Prosecutions. NBC 6 South Florida. https://www.nbcmiami.com/investigations/the-price-we-pay-the-costs-and-outcomes-of-some-complex-death-penalty-prosecutions/2621922/

Today, U. (2023, July 7). Critics blast DeSantis for ramping up Florida death row scheduled executions ahead of 2024. USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/07/07/florida-executions-ron-desantis-2024-bid/70385763007/

Center, D. P. I. (2023, June 27). Execution Database. Death Penalty Information Center. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/database/executions?state=Florida&federal=No