MEDIA ADVISORY
FROM
FLORIDIANS FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY (FADP.org)
7 January, 2003
Contact: Abe Bonowitz - 800-973-6548
Florida Should Follow Illinois and Maryland
By Imposing A "Time-Out"
On
Executions and Reviewing The System
A study released today by the University of Maryland has found
significant
disparities in that state's application of the death penalty,
affirming
that death sentences are more predictable based on racial and
geographical
factors than on the severity of the crime. Maryland Governor Parris
Glendening commissioned the study and imposed a "time-out" on
executions in
that state pending its release. Maryland became the second state in
the
nation to have a "time-out" on executions.
Conservative Republican Governor George Ryan imposed a moratorium in
Illinois and appointed a blue ribbon panel to examine that state's
application of the death penalty after recognizing that Illinois had
executed 12 prisoners, but released 13 from its death row when they
were
shown to be innocent. The Ryan Commission report called for 85
specific
reforms to that state's laws and procedures pertaining to capital
murder
investigations and prosecutions. Because the Illinois legislature
has
largely ignored the recommendations of the Ryan Commission, Governor
Ryan
has been considering commuting the death sentences of some or all of
the
more than 160 prisoners currently on death row in that state. Ryan
is
expected to announce his decision this Friday.
"Florida has almost twice the number of death row exonerations as
Illinois,
and no one can deny that racism pervades Florida's criminal justice
system," said Abe Bonowitz, Director of Floridians for Alternatives
to the
Death Penalty. "The entire application of the death penalty in
Florida
needs a thorough review. The system is broken. At the very least,
Governor Bush and the Florida Legislature can save the taxpayers a
lot of
time and money by recognizing that Florida's death penalty system is
fatally flawed, and by implementing the applicable recommendations of
the
Ryan Commission report. They might end up saving a few innocent
lives as
well."
The Maryland report is available at:
http://www.urhome.umd.edu/newsdesk/pdf/finalrep.pdf
The Illinois report is at
http://www.idoc.state.il.us/ccp/index.html
SENT BY:
Abraham J. Bonowitz
Director
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP)
800-973-6548
fadp@fadp.org
www.fadp.org
PMB 335, 2603 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy,
Gainesville, FL 32609
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty works for
restorative
justice in the form of effective alternatives to the death penalty.
It
does so by
supporting and coordinating the work of organizations and
individuals
educating and energizing the general public and state legislators
supporting the many persons affected by capital crime and
punishment
advocating specific legislative improvements
