I’m not an advocate of the death penalty.  I  believe that the death penalty is not a deterrent to violent crime. Many of the people on death row share a common denominator, mental illness at some level, coupled with substance abuse.  I cannot condone executing mentally ill people, despite the heinous nature of their crimes. Moreover, there’s no justice in an execution by lethal injection.  The cost is also great as the litigation is complicated.  Perhaps, the more civilized, moral and practical approach is to actually incarcerate the individual for the remainder his or her natural life.  

That all being said, why does an individual sit on death row for 20-30 years after he has been sentenced to death.   I tried to outline it, in brief bullet points, no pun intended:

  • You sit in county custody for a year, maybe two, maybe three, waiting for for your trial.
  • You will be analyzed by multiple doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, experts, investigators and attorneys.
  • There will be multiple court hearings.
  • The attorneys need time to prepare your case, take depositions (court reported testimony), investigate, litigate.
  • Ironically, the state pays for everything, including but not limited to the court, incarceration, prosecutor, law enforcement, experts, investigators, the defense.
  • You get a Jury Trial on the issue of Guilt or Innocence.
  • You get a Jury Trial on the issue of whether the Jury will recommend a sentence of natural life or death.
  • If the Jury recommends “life”, you get a life sentence.
  • If the Jury unanimously  recommends “death”, then you get another hearing, before the Judge, on whether or not the Judge should follow the jury’s recommendation of death.
  • The court imposes a sentence of death by lethal injection. 
  • They ship you from County Jail to your new cell on Florida’s death row, in Raiford, FL.  Your new home is a cell measuring 6 x 9 x 9.5 feet high. There is no air-conditioning, nor heat. There is mesh wire over the bars. You shower, only every other day.  You get very little or no contact with other human beings. You have little or no time outside your 6×9 cell.  When you do get moved from your cage, for any reason, you will always be shackled.
  • After the trial court imposes death, you get a direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
  • If you lose the appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, you can petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.
  • You then get post conviction proceedings in the Circuit Court.  This is a hearing to determine whether or not trial counsel(s) rendered ineffective assistance of counsel.
  • When you lose the post conviction proceedings, you get another direct appeal of the post-conviction.
  • If you lose on direct appeal, you can petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court
  • You will be given the opportunity to challenge the effective assistance of your appellate counsel.
  • If you lose the appeal challenging the effectiveness of appellate counsel, you can petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court
  • Once all your state remedies are exhausted, you can petition the United States District Court for Habeas Corpus relief.  
  • If the District Court denies habeas relief, you can appeal the denial to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
  • If the 11th Circuit denies relief, you can appeal to the US Supreme Court.
  • Then, there’s always the last ditch effort to the governor for a commutation of sentence (asking the governor to use his constitutional authority to commute your sentence to life in prison or a pardon.
  • If at any point in this complicated process, a court grants your relief, the process could start all over again, all the while you remain in custody.
  • By the time you get your death warrant from the governor and meet your fate, you will probably have gone at least 20+ different appointed lawyers. 
  • Your file will be at least an overwhelming 100+ bankers boxes large.
  • In between appeals, you wait and wonder, when and if the Florida Governor will sign your death warrant.
  • Assuming, none of these appeals are granted, each court agreeing with the other, the governor signs your death warrant. 
  • The end result is your death, by lethal injection, as sentenced, maybe 20+ years ago.
  • Notably and again, the state has paid for all of this, since day 1, including your defense.
  • You will strapped down to a gurney.  There’s a phone in the death chamber in case the governor changes his or her mind.  Spectators watch from behind glass.  An IV needle will be inserted in your arm, the poison being dripped slowly into your veins, causing your lungs to stop breathing and your heart to stop beating. Then, nothing. Darkness. It’s over.