Between 2020 and early 2023, Florida put no prisoners to demise beneath DeSantis’ governorship, a departure for a state that, on common, has executed greater than two prisoners a 12 months since 1995. DeSantis’ spokesperson Bryan Griffin mentioned the hole in executions was a results of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The governor, who has maintained his help for the demise penalty, is seemingly resuming a extra typical tempo of executions within the state, signing off on demise warrants on three convicted murderers.
On January 23, DeSantis ordered the execution of Donald Dillbeck, who was sentenced to demise in 1991 within the deadly stabbing of Faye Vann in a Tallahassee parking zone following his escape from state custody. He was already serving a life sentence for killing a Florida police officer as an adolescent. Dillbeck was executed on February 23 after the Florida Supreme Court struck down his petitions for reduction.
Seven weeks after authorizing Dillbeck’s execution, DeSantis signed a demise warrant for Louis Bernard Gaskin. Gaskin was despatched to demise row in 1991 after he was convicted of first-degree homicide for killing Georgette and Robert Sturmfels in a random assault in Flagler County whereas sporting an all-black swimsuit, which led him to be dubbed the “Ninja Killer.” His execution is ready for April 12 at Florida State Prison in Raiford.
Then, on April 3, DeSantis signed a 3rd demise warrant, this time for Darryl Barwick, who’s now scheduled to die by deadly injection on May 3 at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison, barring any final minute delays and court docket appeals.
The 56-year-old was sentenced to demise after he was convicted of first-degree homicide in 1986 for stabbing a 24-year-old lady 37 occasions. On March 31, 1986, investigators mentioned, Barwick, then 19 years outdated, seen Rebecca Wendt tanning at her residence advanced in Panama City. He adopted her again contained in the residence earlier than attacking her with a knife, in accordance with police. Wendt’s sister found her sister’s physique wrapped in a comforter later that night.
Barwick was arrested on April 15, 1986, and later confessed to the killing. He claimed he had solely deliberate to rob her however “misplaced management” and started stabbing her. In addition to the homicide cost, Barwick was discovered responsible of armed housebreaking, tried sexual battery, and armed theft in November 1986. A jury entered a 9-3 vote in favor of a demise sentence.
However, on enchantment in 1989, the Florida Supreme Court reversed Barwick’s convictions on the grounds that three black jurors had been improperly excluded from the jury pool. Though Barwick and his sufferer had been each white, the court docket dominated that he nonetheless had the best to problem racially primarily based exclusion of jury candidates.
Barwick was retried in 1992 and convicted once more, after which level a jury voted unanimously in favor of demise. To no avail, Barwick had argued his unique confession was coerced by investigators. He continued to enchantment his conviction and sentence, however his challenges have been repeatedly rejected.
Dillbeck’s execution marked Florida’s one centesimal because the U.S. Supreme Court’s reinstatement of the demise penalty in 1976. Before his execution, the state’s final execution was that of Gary Bowles in August 2019.
DeSantis signed a demise warrant for James Dailey in September 2019, however his execution date was stayed by the court docket later that 12 months and by no means rescheduled after the keep expired.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the years during which Florida carried out probably the most executions had been 2014, when the state put eight prisoners to demise beneath Gov. Rick Scott, and 1984, beneath Gov. Bob Graham, who additionally licensed the execution of eight prisoners.
Last 12 months, after a Broward County jury couldn’t unanimously agree on a demise sentence for the Parkland highschool mass shooter, DeSantis voiced his help for decreasing the judicial threshold to condemn prisoners to demise. Last week, the state Senate handed SB 450, which might permit demise sentences by an 8-4 jury vote, scrapping the present requirement that the vote should be unanimous.