Amnesty International USA
Response to Creation of Commission on Administration of Lethal Injection in Florida
12/15/2006 5:26:00 PM
To: National Desk
Contact: Jason Opena Disterhoft, 202-544-0200, ext. 302
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Sue Gunawardena-Vaughn, director of Amnesty International USA's Program to Abolish the Death Penalty, issued the following statement in response to the creation of a commission on administration of lethal injection in Florida:
"With his executive order to create a commission on administration of lethal injection, Governor Jeb Bush has finally acknowledged the catastrophic failures of Florida's lethal injection procedures. By creating this body, the governor has conceded that executions need to be halted while the commission completes its work. However, it is deplorable that it took the atrociously botched execution of Angel Diaz on Dec. 13 for the governor to admit that Florida's lethal injection protocol might be unconstitutional as is. For the last year, significant criticism has been leveled against the state, with the U.S. Supreme Court issuing a last-minute stay to Florida inmate Clarence Hill based on a lethal injection challenge.
"While we welcome the creation of this body as a step in the right direction, the problems that plague Florida's death penalty system transcend issues surrounding the current lethal injection debacle. The inherent risk of executing the innocent, the biased and arbitrary nature by which the death penalty is administered at all levels, and the lack of demonstrable evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect on crime demonstrate that the death penalty is irreparably flawed. Instead of tinkering with the machinery of death, Florida should focus its resources on effective crime prevention measures and abolish the death penalty once and for all."
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