After Gov. Charlie Crist refused clemency, the Florida Supreme Court decided to stay Johnston's execution pending Intelligence Quotient [I.Q.] test results, since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that it is unconstitutional to execute retarded people because it stands in violation of the constitutional right against 'cruel and unusual' punishment.
David Eugene Johnston was scheduled to be executed in Florida last week, on March 9, for the murder of 84-year-old Mary Hammond of Orlando. The stay grants time for the debate over Johnston's I.Q. scores, for he had previously scored 84 in older versions of the test, while in the newer -supposedly more accurate version- he only scored 61. It makes a difference -a life and death difference- what score a death row inmate earns.
The magic number is 70. If death row inmates receive 70 or above, they are considered able to understand what they have done and responsible for it. However, severe mental retardation, registered at below scores of 70 in I.Q. tests and inability to perform basic self-care duties by the age of 18, means that inmates probably cannot be made as responsible for their actions. For that reason, the U.S. does not execute those with severe mental retardation.
David Johnston, who has been on death row for over 25 years, had attended school for the mentally retarded as a child. The convict also had been diagnosed with schizophrenia decades ago. Also, in 1983, when he committed the crime, if he indeed did so, he was a minor. Any of these reasons should prevent his execution. However, the worse part is that he may indeed be innocent.
There were no eyewitnesses, and the evidence is a little controversial. His conviction hung on mostly on claims that the victim's blood was found on Johnston's shirt, socks, and shoes. However, according to his defense lawyer -D. Todd Dos- when the defense appealed to have these items DNA-tested, some of the samples could not be located, and on those items that were located, no blood stains were found at all by the independent laboratory contracted to do the testing. In addition, DNA from nail clippings and clothing were large enough for the defense to perform testing on, but not for the Court to accept as evidence of his innocence. His current defense lawyer claims that his client had been seriously under-represented for decades.
The irony of the story is that it was precisely David Johnston who had called 911 to report that he had found Ms. Hammond. Identifying himself as Martin White, he claimed that someone had killed his grandmother. It would be interesting to research how many killers actually call 911 to report the murder.
A calendar of scheduled executions nationwide, on the Pro Death Penalty Resource Community website, is available online. Though the comments of their Pro Death Penalty community might be difficult to bear for some, the website offers a lot of information regarding the different styles of execution, and a historical fact sheet. Some of the items included are as follows:
Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, 1,047 convicted murderers have been executed in the United States. (As of October 1, 2006)
Of those executed, 11 were female. (The last was Frances Elaine Newton in Texas on September 14, 2005).
Of those executed, 22 were under the age of 18 at the time of the murder. (The last was Scott Allen Hain in Oklahoma on April 3, 2003).
Of those executed, 603 (58%) were white and 362 (35%) were black.
Of those executed: 878 (84%) were executed by lethal injection, including 392 of the last 396 executions.
153 were executed by electric chair (The last was Brandon Hedrick in Virginia on July 20, 2006).
11 were executed by gas chamber (The last was Walter LeGrand in Arizona on March 3, 1999).
3 were executed by hanging (The last was Billy Bailey in Delaware on January 25, 1996).
2 were executed by firing squad (The last was John Albert Taylor in Utah on January 27, 1996).Executions were held in 32 different states: 376 (36%) were in Texas and 17 were in Indiana.
On the other hand, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty presents, among others, words from former Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, Gerald Kogan, who at a time was the chief prosecutor of the homicide and capital crimes division of the Dade County State Attorney's Office. With over 40 years of up-close experience, he is one of the most knowledgeable people in terms of the death penalty.
Their website also offers a fact sheet with information about the death penalty in Florida, as well as a call to action to end Florida executions. Currently, only 12 states lack the death penalty in our nation.
The Florida Department of Corrections publishes a list of executions online, with names of convicts, ages, dates of execution, and counties, as well as a list of death row prisoners. Florida has one of the highest rates of death row convictions, as well as one of the highest rates of exonerations of wrongful convictions in the nation.
Former Florida warden Ron McAndrew, who was the superintendent of the Florida prison where death row inmates were detained, presents his side of the story as well.
"The Right Thing To Do"?
Recently, on February 16, Martin Grossman was executed in Florida, after spending a quarter of a century in prison. Repeated clemency appeals from rabbis and the Vatican went unheard. His last words were a remorseful apology [accepting responsibility even if he could not remember his actions], the Jewish prayer 'Shema Yisroel,' and 'Ahavas Yisroel' -which seems to mean something to the effect of 'love for no reason' or 'love the wicked as you love the good.'
Prior to him, John Richard Marek had been executed in Florida on August 19, 2009. He had been convicted of beating, raping, and strangling a woman in 1983, along with Ray Wigley, who only received life in prison. Though Wigley claimed Marek had been the one to strangle the victim, three of Wigley's former cell mates testified that he had admitted to the murder.
Wrongful convictions, arbitrary death sentences granted to some while others are sentenced other punishments for same crimes, lack of proper handling of evidence or of reliable DNA testing, proof of non-determent of further violent crimes, and exorbitant cost -in comparison to much lower cost of life imprisonment without parole- are often cited for abolishing capital punishment in Florida.
Catholic Social Teaching defends all human life from the moment of conception to natural death.
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