FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Elliott
Director, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
(727) 215-9646, [email protected]
U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Glossip vs Gross
SCOTUS allows Oklahoma 3 drug lethal injection protocol that is essentially the same used in Florida’s Death Chamber
Tampa, FL, June 29, 2015 —Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there is not enough evidence that Oklahoma’s use of midazolam in it’s 3-drug lethal injection procedure violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
“Regardless of how it’s carried out, Florida has put 90 people to death since the 1970’s. At the same time, 25 wrongfully convicted people have been exonerated and released from Florida’s Death Row,” said Mark Elliott, Executive Director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP). “That’s more than one exoneration for every four executions.”
“More and more conservatives, libertarians, and progressives agree that the death penalty is broken beyond repair,” said Elliott. “The ‘red’ state of Nebraska recently got rid of their death penalty and it’s time to do the same here.”
“We call for a halt on Florida executions,” said Elliott. “No one knows how many more innocent people remain on Death Row or, God forbid, have already been executed.”
“You can free an innocent man from prison, but you can never, never, free an innocent man from the grave,” said Juan Melendez, who spent more than 17 years on Florida’s Death Row before being exonerated and released.
On the decline in most parts of the Western world, the death penalty has become a drain on Florida’s justice system since its reinstatement in 1979. The death penalty is six times as costly to the state as life imprisonment. The United States consistently ranks in the top five nations for most executions, along with China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
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Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) is a coalition of individuals and organizations united to abolish the death penalty in Florida. fadp.org .
Sent by:
Mark Elliott
Executive Director
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, FADP
P.O. Box 82943
Tampa, FL 33682
727-215-9646
FADP is a coalition of individuals and organizations united to abolish the Death Penalty in Florida