There is a bill recently passed by the Republican-dominated state legislature on the desk of Florida Gov. Rick Scott awaiting his signature or veto. The bill titled as the ‘Timely Justice Act’ is designed to speed up the process between the conviction of a murderer sentenced to death and his execution.
According to The Miami Herald, “The bill essentially minimizes the time between sentencing and execution by creating tighter timeframes for appeals and post-conviction motions and by imposing reporting requirements on case progress. The measure also re-establishes a separate agency for north Florida to provide appellate-level legal representation to inmates sentenced to death, and requires them to ‘pursue all possible remedies in state court.’ It would also require a governor to sign a death warrant within 30 days of a State Supreme Court review of a capital conviction. The state would be required to execute the defendant within 180 days of the warrant.”
Opponents of the death penalty and former death row inmates who were exonerated are urging Gov. Scott to veto the ‘Timely Justice Act’ because they fear it would lead to the execution of innocent inmates before they could be exonerated.
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