Death Penalty Five Years Ago,

Death Penalty

Five years ago, the Florida State Supreme Court struck down a law that foreshortened the appeals process for death row inmates. Coming from the state with the second-highest number of executions only after Texas, the example set in the state of Florida bears attention and careful consideration by lawmakers everywhere. Regarding his state's Supreme Court's decision, Governor Jeb Bush stated, "On behalf of victims' families and the people of this state, I remain steadfastly committed to finding ways to have all death penalty appeals resolved within five years." It sounds like mixed messages for policy makers: the Governor remains a staunch advocate of speeding up the execution process while the judiciary in his state hopes to ensure that justice has been served. Similar conflicts cloud the issue of whether or not statues of limitations should apply equally to sex offenses as to other felonies. On the one hand, sex offenders should be afforded the same treatment by the state and federal justice systems as any other perpetrators and therefore statutes of limitations would apply equally across the board. On the other hand, when the victims of sex crimes are minors it could take years, even decades for them to come forth and use the law to their advantage. When the perpetrators are members of the clergy, coming out can be far more difficult than usual, which is why we can take heed of cases in such states as Massachusetts.

Many issues are at stake with both the death penalty appeals and the statute of limitations issues. Most of these issues are financial and ethical. First, death row inmates take up enormous amounts of taxpayer resources. Their appeals cases add to that amount, as most inmates require the assistance of state-funded attorneys in filing their appeals. To speed up the appeals process would minimize most costs associated with keeping inmates on death row for longer than is necessary. Similarly, unlimited statutes of limitations for any crime uses up taxpayer resources and can be burdensome on the legal system in general. We need to take into account the costs associated with both death penalty and with sex offender cases to come up with a reasonable and constitutional compromise.

On the other hand, limiting the time in which a convict can appeal his or her case might prevent the wrongfully accused from being released from death row. By the same token, a longer time for appeals means a higher possibility of successful appeals, as juries, judges, and lawyers all make mistakes. Similarly, an unlimited statute of limitations on sex offense cases ensures that crimes perpetrated against those who were too young to hire an attorney will be brought to justice. As someone who has worked both for the prosecution and for the defense, I believe that all criminal cases should be as speedy and as thorough as possible, but in no case should a person be executed or convicted for a crime he or she did not commit. Likewise, I believe that statutes of limitations might need to be lengthened or even eliminated so that older sex offence cases can be brought to trial.

In Florida, as in other states, death row inmates spend inordinate amounts of time awaiting their final sentence: execution. The average wait time in the Sunshine State is fourteen years; many inmates will wait even longer than to meet their final day on earth. Remaining in prison for so long is not only costly for taxpayers; it poses an emotional and psychological trauma for any potentially innocent death row inmates. One way that appeals processes can be sped up is by channeling further funds into the public defense system. Monies freed up by housing the innocently convicted in jail could be better spent on improved appeals processes. When attorneys have all the resources they need, appeals processes will be far faster and more likely to succeed. Similarly, channeling more money into better public defense and prosecution would make it more likely that older sex offence crimes can be quickly dealt with in the courts.