I am disheartened to share the news that Governor DeSantis once again, despite a non-unanimous jury sentence and significant evidence of mental illness, has just signed a death warrant for Louis Gaskin and set an execution date for April 12, 2023 at 6 p.m.
Four members of Mr. Gaskin’s jury voted for a life sentence and the trial judge found that Mr. Gaskin was under the influence of an extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the murders, yet sentenced him to death anyway. In the coming days, we will be sharing actions on what you can do to help to stop this execution.
As always, for the next 30 days, we will work together, and we will keep in our minds and hearts: Mr. Gaskin, his legal team, the families of his victims, and all of those in the criminal justice system and the corrections personnel who will have to participate in the process of systematically killing a human being.
Additionally, we learned late today that CS/HB 555, Sentencing Proceedings in Death Penalty Cases (Jacques) is now scheduled for a hearing in the Florida House Justice Appropriations Committee this Wednesday March 15th at 8 AM. Take action today and contact the Committee Members who have the power to vote NO on this bill. Let them know that you OPPOSE this legislation.
We have a massive fight on our hands in Florida. But we are strong, we are not alone, and we will not give up.
Onward,
Maria DeLiberato