Christ names ex-prisons chief , 4 others to lethal injection panel

Crist names ex-prisons chief, 4 others to lethal injection panel
Associated Press
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/16448968.htm


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Charlie Crist named former Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Harry Singletary and four other members Friday to a panel that will study the state's lethal injection procedure following a botched execution.

Then-Gov. Lawton Chiles appointed Singletary to head the department in 1991 and he served in that capacity for eight years. The electric chair was used for executions throughout Singletary's tenure. He lives in Tallahassee.

Crist's other appointments to the Gov.'s Commission on Administration of Lethal Injection:

_ Rodney Doss, Tallahassee, director of victim services for the attorney general's office.

_ Bill Jennings, Tampa, capital collateral regional counsel for the Middle District, representing death row inmates in court.

_ Dr. Peter Springer, Ormond Beach, Volusia County Emergency Medical Services medical director and an emergency medical physician.

_ Dr. David Varlotta, Tampa, an anesthesiologist.

They will join six members appointed by other officials. Gov. Jeb Bush created the panel following the Dec. 13 execution of Angel Nieves Diaz, who had been convicted of fatally shooting a topless bar manager in Miami 27 years ago.

It took about a half-hour, or twice as long as normal, for Diaz to die. He grimaced and was given a second dose of fatal chemicals.

Doctors later concluded needles had been pushed through his veins into soft tissue, delaying the flow of chemicals into his blood steam and possibly causing pain.

Attorney General Bill McCollum previously named three members: Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Harley Lappin, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Carolyn Snurkowski and Dr. Steve Morris, a physician and project director for bioterrorism and disaster training at the University of South Florida's nursing school.

Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis has appointed Circuit Judge Stan Morris, who sentenced serial killer Danny Rolling, executed last year for killing five college students in Gainesville.

Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, has appointed Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, who chairs the chambers Civil and Criminal Justice Appropriations Committee.

House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-Coral Gables, has yet to announce his selection.