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Noticing that a death sentence is often practically a life sentence in Florida

By Douglas A. Berman

The Orlando Sentinel has this long article documenting the reality that defendants sentenced to death in Florida are just as likely to die while awaiting execution as being executed. The piece is headlined, "Justice denied? On Florida's death row, many lives end -- but not by execution," and here are snippets: Between March 1998 and November 2008, the Department of Corrections executed 26 prisoners. During that same period, another 26 death-row inmates died of other causes, the Orlando Sentinel found. Such figures don't surprise experts, since death-penalty cases can take years -- even decades -- to work through the legal system. While the condemned wait, they can fall victim to ailments traceable to years of unhealthy living before their convictions, including drugs and alcohol abuse...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 20, 2009 (boomark / email).