The first public meeting of the new Governor's Commission on the Administration of Lethal Injection

Friends,

The first public meeting of the new Governor's Commission on the Administration of Lethal Injection will be held Monday, January 29th in Tampa. There are to be a minimum of three meetings, all open to the public. The locations and dates of the other meetings have not been released. One news source (Ch. 13, Central Fla) says that Gov. Crist will be there, but this has not been confirmed by the Gov's office.

Ex-Gov Bush issued an Executive Order to form this commission after the botched execution and torture of Angel Nieves Diaz and the subsequent cover-up by the Florida Dept of Corrections. Executions in Florida have been halted until the report is final. Nationally, 11 states have since stayed executions while resolving L.I. issues. The Commission's preliminary report is due to be sent to Governor Crist's office by Feb 1 and the final report issued by the Governor's office by March 1.

I will be in attendance. Although Ex-Gov. Bush purposely limited the scope of these meetings to the "Administration of Lethal Injection," it is imperative that the Commission know that the public is watching these proceedings and concerned about these killings. Please show up at this meeting. The more eyes and ears and brains that are focused on these investigations, the better the chance that this Commission will openly and comprehensively investigate and consider the issue.

Any open and honest discussion of any part of our broken Death Penalty system is welcome and long overdue. Botched executions are just the visible tip of the iceberg of Florida's broken Death Penalty system. Although the actual intent and outcome of these meetings is unknown, it is a potential step forward from the state of Florida's state of denial, stay the course, mentality of "Cross your fingers and kill."


(Note) The Offices of the Florida Bar, Tampa Airport - Conference Room A is located at the Tampa Airport Marriott Hotel on the Office Level (1 floor below the lobby).

Tampa Airport Marriott (813) 879-5151
The Offices of the the Florida Bar Assoc. Tampa Airport (813) 875-9821


Shine the light,

Mark Elliott
Spokesman
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, FADP.org
mark@fadp.org
(727) 215-9646