state of Florida (USA) Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, was executed Wednesday for the double murder he committed in 1989. and the jury was unanimously sentenced to death. Gaskin was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. (22:15 GMT) after receiving a lethal injection at the Florida State Penitentiary in the town of Raiford (north), as reported by the State Department of Prisons. This is the second execution ever to be held in Florida this year, and after exhausting all of her appeals for a suspension of defense, including the case to the U.S. Supreme Court on April 6, which was dismissed.
This execution came six weeks after 59-year-old inmate Donald Dillbeck was executed for two first-degree murders, the first by gunshot in 1979 and the other by stabbing in 1990. From the execution of Darryl B. Barwick, the Republican whose death sentence was signed on April 4 by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, will take place in three weeks. It will be the shortest time three executions have taken place in the state since 2014., under Republican Governor friend. Rick Scott. It’s also the third execution in Florida since 2019 (no executions between 2020 and 2022) and 101 executions since 1976, when the death penalty was restored in that state.
Gaskin, nicknamed the “ninja killer” (“ninja killer”) for wearing black ninja clothes while committing the crimes, was sentenced to death for the murders of Robert Sturmfels, 56, and Georgette Sturmfels, 55, on December 20, 1989. was shot with a rifle at the victims’ home in Flagler County, in the northeastern part of the state. Police found money, jewelry and objects stolen from the victims’ homes in Gaskin’s home, which he confessed to being the perpetrator of the murders, and which he was planning to give as Christmas presents to his girlfriend at the time. Florida’s highest court also rejected Gaskin’s plea for a “partially unconstitutional” death sentence (8 for and 4 against), given that the jury was unanimous in its recommendation.
In Florida, since 2017, a unanimous jury is required for a judge to decide on the death penalty, in accordance with the principle established by the US Supreme Court, which, like Gaskin’s, found a simple majority conviction unconstitutional. The Florida Supreme Court stated that a retrospective criterion of the decision, known as the Hurst, could not be applied in this case. mandatory unanimity The death penalty jury in this state, where more than 300 convicts, including three women, are currently in “execution cell.” In 2020, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that: no unanimous advice needed The jury sentenced the defendants to death in murder cases.
Since 1973, more than 190 people have been released from death row in the US as proof of innocence, with Florida having the highest number of 30 cleared from the death penalty, followed by Illinois (22) and Texas (16). ).
According to local media reports, the executed man ate his last meal today at 9:45 am local time and was served a menu of barbecued pork ribs, pork and turkey, chicken wings, shrimp fried rice and chips. Before execution, a prisoner may ask for one last meal. This Florida state agency notes on its website that “food to be prepared must cost no more than $40 and must be purchased locally” to avoid “splurge.”