All writs petition on lethal injection filed for dozens of Florida death row prisoners - named case Ian Lightbourne

THIS COURT SHOULD REVERSE THE LOWER COURT’S ORDER

BECAUSE MR. LIGHTBOURNE’S LETHAL INJECTION CLAIM IS

TIMELY AND WARRANTS AN EVIDENTIARY HEARING.2

The State argues that Mr. Lightbourne’s lethal injection

claim is untimely and that the lower court correctly followed

this Court’s precedent in denying relief without an evidentiary

hearing.

2 Since Mr. Lightbourne filed his Initial Brief, the State

of Florida executed Angel Nieves Diaz by lethal injection on

December 13, 2006. Eyewitness accounts detail that Mr. Diaz was

“grimacing in pain,” and “he appeared to move for 24 minutes”

and a rare second sequence of drugs was required to bring about

his death. Ron Word, “Man Executed for Miami bar slaying takes

34 minutes to die,” Gainesville Sun, December 13, 2006.

Based on the problems that occurred during the Diaz

execution, Mr. Lightbourne filed an Emergency Petition Seeking

to Invoke this Court’s All Writs Jurisdiction on December 14,

2006 to address, inter alia, whether the State of Florida’s

current lethal injection procedures violate the Eighth Amendment

to the U.S. Constitution and the corresponding provision of the

Florida Constitution.

This Court granted partial temporary relief and

relinquished jurisdiction to the Circuit Court for an immediate

determination of Mr. Lightbourne’s request for an independent

autopsy of Mr. Diaz and ordered the Circuit Court to act on all

other issues raised by Mr. Lightbourne in his All Writs

Petition. Order, Lightbourne v. Crist, SC06-2391 (Fla. December

14, 2006).