Comments on: Death Penalty Fix On The Fast Track

By: Lou

Lou — Sat, 18 Feb 2017 13:25:46 +0000

As one that has served on a jury before….there is Always one or two that don’t agree with the rest of the jury! Our laws need to be what the majority of the public wants done. Our judges need to do the job they are paid to do. Our prisons and costs are out of control. Majority should rule in death cases, limit number of appeals and carry it out within 5 years.

By: Fed Up Citizen

Fed Up Citizen — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 15:40:59 +0000

ROBERT;
I agree with you! 10 out of 12 should seal the fate.
And then we need to deal with the next real issue here-letting a convicted person sit on death row for 30+ years. There should be a time limit. Once you are sentenced to death-your sentence will be carried out within a year! Or whenever your appeals have been exhausted.(which we all know the a lawyer will drag that out as long as possible, so we may end up right back where we started)
We need to fix they system for sure. Some (I won’t say all) lawyers as just as crooked as the criminal, they don’t care about justice-they only care about “winning”, no matter the cost. Special place for them in the afterlife.

By: chris in Molino

chris in Molino — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 04:18:08 +0000

This is stupid. The death penalty wasn’t a deterrent before, so it dang sure won’t be now. With the world the way it is now we should be fast tracking every aspect of death penalty cases from indictment to carrying out sentance. But oh well. Instead lets love everyone. Let’s give everybody an award so they all feel special. Even folks who kill people. Wouldn’t want em to feel bad or anything.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 00:13:19 +0000

Bill….. J.C.Watts said “Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.”

IMHO, If you lay down with dogs you are going to get fleas. I would hope that I had raised a child that wouldnt put himself in a place to to get fleas or have his integrity tested. However, if that child had chosen to be a non-law abiding individual, the answer to your question is “Yes”, my sentiments would apply to him as well. No double standards from me. The taxpayers shouldnt be encumbered to have to support some career criminal criminal doing life for 20, 30, 40, 50+ years receiving three hots and a cot. The only successful rehab of a career criminal is with a bullet to the back of the head. Its a for sure guarantee that criminal wont harm another innocent party.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 20:57:31 +0000

Jason. Does that also go for your son? even though the guy that blame him recanted his story and the judge was up for a seat on the higher court.

By: Mike J.

Mike J. — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 14:35:34 +0000

Obviously public defenders want unanimous juries because it’s more difficult to get a death penalty conviction that way. Public defenders would rather send murders to prison for life and have good citizens pay for their housing and security. Public defenders sit at a table with murderers and feel sorry for the accused while the families of the victims suffer.

Everyone, even the obviously guilty, deserves a fair trial by jury.

Justice should be swift instead of agonizingly slow. Don’t make the victims suffer any longer.

In my opinion, every convicted murderer should be executed in the manner they used on their victims.

By: just saying

just saying — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 13:28:35 +0000

@Jason if a Jury has the ability to unanimously convict or aquit someone then yes they should be able to unanimously sentence someone to death. It is up to the prosecution to seek the death penalty and it is up to them to make a case to support such a decision and for the Jury to vote on it. I believe its the best way to keep the system as honest as it can be when someone life is on the line.

By: ROBERT

ROBERT — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 13:10:20 +0000

Laws like this are why juries like Jodi Arias happen…1 lone juror can secure their own agenda and a killer escapes justice. If 10 out of 12 people decide then it should be accepted.

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 07:44:47 +0000

The requirement of an “unanimous jury recommendation” has virtually assured that the death penalty will no longer be a viable option in Florida. The Supreme Court can rarely provide an “unanimous decision” and now they expect 12 lay people to be unanimous? In no other criminal case does the jury recommend a sentence. This final decision – as in all court cases – should belong to the judge and no one else.

If there was any “tweaking” to be done to the statute it should have been to widen the use of the death penalty to include those who are “career criminals”. Florida has more than enough “lifers” filling beds in our correctional institutions.