TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Over 100 religion leaders throughout the state are urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to halt loss of life penalty executions as Florida nears a modern-day report.
These leaders walked to the state capitol on Tuesday to ship a letter to the governor’s workplace, hoping he would think about their plea.
To date there have been seven executions this 12 months, now the state is on the observe to a report of 9 whole, with two extra executions scheduled.
“The governor alone decides who lives and who dies with no checks or balances. My mates, that’s not justice, that is what we name vengeance,” stated Demetrius Minor.
Religion leaders walked from the First Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee to the state capitol, delivering the letter by hand to the governor’s workplace, calling for a pause not simply in executions, however to open dialogue on the loss of life penalty’s future in Florida.
A kind of voices was Deacon Andy Grosmaire who shared a deeply private story about dropping his daughter who was killed by her boyfriend.
Grosmaire stated that in his eyes, the loss of life penalty solely prolongs the ache and prevents closure for grieving households.
“Now, by the assistance of God and thru our neighborhood by our religion, we discovered forgiveness for the younger man who killed my daughter,” stated Grosmaire.
Alongside Grosmarie, leaders like Minor, a preacher at Tampa Life Church, highlighted the issues round executing the harmless, saying there have been 30 people who had been sentenced to die however had been later confirmed harmless within the state.
“The query is, what number of extra harmless persons are we prepared to threat killing within the identify of justice?” stated Minor.
Nevertheless, DeSantis has defended capital punishment previously, calling it a obligatory response for the worst of the worst crimes.
“Whenever you see this stuff throughout your desk, these are brutal, brutal crimes,” stated DeSantis. “These things is simply overwhelmingly sadistic. It shocks your conscience.”
As religion leaders name for compassion, the governor defends justice, leaving Florida standing at a crossroads.
The place this dialog goes from right here stays to be seen. The governor’s workplace didn’t supply a brand new response Tuesday and pointed us to his earlier feedback on capital punishment from earlier within the 12 months.
