|
Year of Reenactment
(since 1972 suspension) |
1972 | |
|
Year of First Execution
(since reenactment) |
1979 | |
|
History
|
1868-1922: hanging |
|
|
Current Method
|
Inmate choice of lethal injection or electrocution | |
 |
|
|
Florida has life without parole. Sentencing is decided by a judge, who can override the jury's recommendation. The Governor has the authority to grant clemency on the advice of the Board of Executive Clemency. However, the Governor has the absolute power to sign the death warrant. The Governor also has the power to grant reprieves of up to sixty days by executive order.
Since the death penalty was reinstated, Florida has had the most inmates released (23) from death row after evidence of their innocence emerged.
After the botched execution of Allen Lee Davis in 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the constitutionality of the electric chair for the first time in over 100 years. The Issue became moot, however, when Florida lawmakers, in a special legislative session, agreed to switch the state's primary method of execution from electrocution to lethal injection.