“This could be the spark that sets it off for a real conversation nationwide, not just in Florida,” retired Florida Supreme Court Justice James E.C. Perry, an outspoken critic of the state’s death penalty system, told The News Service of Florida in a telephone interview. “Most transformative acts did not take a majority of the people. Only a few people started it, and it gained momentum. This could be one of those moments.”
But Senate President Joe Negron said the controversy swirling around the death penalty almost certainly will not diminish lawmakers’ support.
“There’s a strong consensus that the death penalty is an appropriate sanction for certain horrific murders that are committed,” Negron, R-Stuart, said. “I think that when the state is seeking to potentially execute a citizen for his crimes, there should be a very high level of scrutiny and due process. I also think that our current system provides that. I think it’s important that in certain egregious cases the judge and jury should be given the legal option of the death penalty.”
