Florida applied this tuesday by lethal injection It’s the sixth execution so far this year for Michael Duane Zack III, 54, for the 1996 killings of two women in the Panhandle region on this southern state’s northeastern coast. Zack was pronounced dead after receiving a message at 18:14 local time (22:14 GMT) today. lethal injection at the Florida State Penitentiary (FSP, English) in the town of Raiford (north), the prison agency reported. The execution order was signed last August by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican.
When asked if the prisoner wanted to say his last words, he replied, “Yes, sir,” and lifted his head toward the observation window and told witnesses, “I love you all,” according to the local Pensacola News. Daily.
Sixth execution in Florida so far this year
It was the sixth execution carried out in Florida so far this year after the Court of Appeals refused to stay the death penalty due to the convicted man’s alleged “mental incapacity”.
The convicted man was arrested in 1996, according to court documents. Kill Laurie Rosillo and Ravonne Smith during a crime escalation in the Florida Panhandle where he was found guilty of first-degree murder in both cases. In September 1997, the jury found Zack guilty of first-degree murder. as well as robbery with a firearm and sexual assault.. Lawyers for those sentenced to death were unsuccessful in their attempt to appeal the sentence on the grounds that the prisoner had post-traumatic stress disorder and an intellectual disability.
Prison officials said Zack’s wife, who was unable to witness her husband’s execution, visited his cell at Florida State Prison in the morning. The prisoner rose at 5:30 local time (09:30 GMT) and met with a spiritual advisor after first receiving a visit from his wife. He denied the prisoners the last meal they could have asked for before they were executed.
Floridians for an Alternative to the Death Penalty filed a clemency petition to Governor DeSantis this afternoon, signed by nearly 200 religious leaders from around the world, asking that the sentence be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Yesterday, Monday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit refused to stay the execution at the request of his lawyers, who included the prisoner’s claim of “fetal alcohol syndrome.”
This execution was the 105th execution in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.According to Florida Department of Corrections (Prisons) records, there are currently 300 inmates on “death row,” three of whom are women.
Eighth execution under Governor DeSantis
It was also the eighth execution in Florida during the tenure of DeSantis, who has implemented a judicial reform that allows a simple majority rather than unanimity to impose the death penalty in the state. This reform is often one of the messages touted during the current campaign for the Republican nomination ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Former President Donald Trump is the clear favorite among conservatives, polls show.
Since 1973, more than 190 people in the United States have been released from death row because they were proven innocent.Florida is the state with the highest number, with 30 exempt from the death penalty, followed by Illinois (22) and Texas (16).
The lethal cocktail given to prisoners sentenced to death in Florida consists of three chemicals. The first is an injection of etomidate, an anesthetic. The second injection is rocuronium bromide, a paralyzing muscle relaxant, and the third is potassium acetate, which causes the heart to stop, followed by an injection of saline solution. The executioner also injects a saline solution to ensure the drug enters the prisoner’s veins.
Source: Informacion
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