[FADPUpdate] Major Florida Court Victory

[melliott3 at aol.com]

Friends,

Important Court Victory in Florida!

Sunday, July 22, Fifth Circuit Court Judge Carven Angel issued a 
temporary injunction barring the State of Florida from carrying out the 
execution of Death Row inmate Ian Lightbourne.  The Judge stated that 
it would be improper for the Governor to consider taking up a Death 
Warrant at this time.

After hearing sworn testimony in the first courtroom review of the 
December 13, 2006 botched execution of Angel Diaz and the subsequent 
proposed changes to Florida's lethal injection protocols, Judge Angel 
found that the Dept. of Corrections and the State of Florida are 
unprepared to carry out an execution of Death Row inmate Ian 
Lightbourne.  Judge Angel said that the Governor must have confidence 
that Florida's execution process is compatible with evolving standards 
of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society and the dignity 
of man.  The judge further stated that executions should be carried out 
in a manner that does not result in the unnecessary and wanton 
infliction of pain and lingering death.

Testimony was heard in 5th Circuit Court that included a new eyewitness 
account that Diaz was "tortured to death", that both IV needles were 
never inserted in his veins and that then-Gov. Bush's office dictated 
the false official account read to the press following the execution.  
The court reporter was ordered to have transcripts prepared by 5PM on 
Monday.

The Lightbourne appeal is the first courtroom challenge to Florida's 
lethal injection protocol and procedure since the botched Diaz 
execution.  It has not yet been announced how the judge's final order 
will affect the Death Warrant signed last week by Gov. Crist, setting a 
November 15, 2007 date for the execution of inmate Mark Schwab.

Judge Carven Angel is to issue his final order on August 10.  The 
D.O.C. is to submit new protocols on August 17.  Hearings will be 
scheduled in Judge Angel's courtroom 5 weeks from that date.  The 
Florida Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearing arguments in this 
case on October 11.


Changes Judge Angel called for include:

Necessary and minimum qualifications of execution personnel with job 
descriptions and up-to-date training certification.

Current certification from the D.O.C. that all necessary equipment, 
facillities, heart monitors are evaluated and in place.

Certification that facilities are properly maintained and evaluated for 
improvements.

Formalized standards and process for legal and medical review with 
public input on the protocols including public announcements of the 
review process.

D.O.C. must provide a list of qualified medical personnel for Warden to 
pick from.

A complete procedural checklist must be submitted to the court.

**************************************************************

It is interesting to note that on Wednesday, July 18, D.O.C. officials 
testified, under oath in the 5th Circuit Court, that Florida's new 
execution procedures were not yet finalized and construction work on 
the death chamber was not completed.  On that same day, Gov. Crist 
signed his first Death Warrant and the official D.O.C. Spokesperson 
announced that "the state's execution team has now been trained under 
the new procedures.  Physical changes to the death chamber at Florida 
State Prison are also complete, she said.  'We are ready to go.'" 
---Gainesville Sun, July 19.

This is the same D.O.C. Spokesperson who made the now-discredited 
official statements to the press, immediately following the botched 
Angel Diaz execution, that "nothing happened that was not 
unanticipated", that they were aware that Diaz had a "liver condition 
that slowed the absorption of drugs" and accounted for the lengthy 
execution, that the state expected to use additional drugs to kill 
Diaz, and that he appeared peaceful and was snoring during the 
procedure.  These statements are now known to be false.

Secrecy, denial and deception have been "business as usual" for Florida 
executions.  This is representative of the harsh operational realities 
of our fatally-flawed, expensive and unnecessary Death Penalty system.  
Following the American Bar Association's scathing report on Florida's 
Death Penalty system and Florida's national record for having the 
greatest number of wrongfully convicted people on Death Row, our new 
Governor and all Floridians should be alarmed at this new judicial vote 
of "no confidence."

*************************************************************

It is not about what they did...it is about what we do.

Mark Elliott
Director, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, FADP.org

2840 W. Bay Drive, Belleair Bluffs, FL 33770
(727) 215-9646
mark at fadp.org






________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free 
from AOL at AOL.com.