death penalty

TALLAHASSEE, FL—A nonprofit organization opposed to the death penalty is accusing the Governor of being "calculated" and "hypocritical" in the Thursday evening execution of rapist and murderer Loran Cole, citing confusion over why the Legislature would honor victims of a horror boys' school that Cole attended but still choose to execute him. Floridians for Alternatives […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Murderer and rapist Loran Cole is trying to use a new DeSantis-signed law as his get-out-of-jail-free card—literally. The issue? He's a murderer and rapist. So, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the 57-year-old's death warrant on July 29th, 2024—the first execution of the year. Cole is set to be executed on Aug. 29th, though he argues […]

SAINT PETERSBURG, FL—Five new bills cracking down on pedophiles were signed into law Wednesday, which increase penalties for child groomers, provide funds for catching online molesters, and create new training requirements for law enforcement officers. "In Florida, we stand for the wellbeing and the innocence of our children," Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a Saint […]

STUART, FL—Tuesday Morning Governor Ron DeSantis signed a retail theft bill into law, instituting a severe crackdown on the Sunshine State's high levels of shoplifting and porch piracy. "We're a law and order state. If you do the crime, you do the time," DeSantis said. He hosted his press conference at a Walgreens in Stuart, […]

Over the weekend, Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) announced on X (formerly Twitter) that she will introduce legislation this week increasing the Federal minimum sentence for child sexual abuse to a capital offense or life in prison, saying, "You cannot cure predators." I am introducing a bill this Thursday that will raise the federal minimum […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL---A new bill defining and punishing child-grooming passed House committee Friday afternoon, branding offenders with a second-degree felony. If the bill becomes law, it would make Florida the first state to have a criminal definition of grooming. "The closest thing to the Devil in human form are the people that do this." The sponsor […]

With 2023 coming to a close, the state of Florida has gone under great changes this year, the most notable being the use of capital punishment.  Florida was one of the leading states this year in executions along with states like Texas. The state of Florida only executed less people than Texas, with six executions […]

Earlier this year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed CS/HB 1297 into law, which made sexual assault and battery on children 12 or younger a capital offense, taking effect in October. Florida's Fifth Judicial Circuit could see the first application of the new law in a case now. Florida's Fifth Judicial Circuit, which covers Lake, […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed into law CS/CS/HB 1297 – Capital Sexual Battery bill, the legislative measure that allows the death penalty to be allowed for individuals convicted of committing sexual battery on children, or child rapists,  under the age of 12 years old. During a press conference in Titusville, Florida with Attorney General […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed into law Senate Bill (SB 450), the death penalty legislative measure that would do away with the existing unanimous decision by a jury to put a criminal to death. The bill, which was sponsored by State Senator Blaise Ingoglia,  now allows just a supermajority of jurors to decide if […]

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would allow the death penalty for people who commit sexual batteries on children under age 12, sending the issue to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Lawmakers hope the bill (HB 1297) will ultimately lead to the U.S. Supreme Court reversing a 2008 decision that barred the […]

Speaker of the House Paul Renner (R-FL) and other Florida lawmakers are moving to support a multitude of pieces of pro-law enforcement, including a measure to modify the death penalty legislation. State Representative Jessica Baker (R-FL) introduced HB 1297, which looks to require that only a majority threshold – rather than current law which needs […]

TALLAHASSEE — In a move that likely would spur a constitutional fight, Florida lawmakers appear ready to pass a proposal that would allow the death penalty for people who commit sexual batteries on children under age 12. The House is scheduled Thursday to take up its version of the bill (HB 1297), while the Senate […]

This week, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed another death warrant for a Florida inmate that has sat on death row since 1986, Darryl Bryan Barwick. In 1986, Barwick was arrested for the murder of Rebecca Wendt.  Wendt was sunbathing at her apartment complex in Panama City when Darryl Barwick spotted her. Witnesses saw Barwick lurking […]

Following the tragic trend of mass shootings in schools across the country, the state of Florida has moved to lower the death penalty standards via SB 450. The bill would change the law to require only 8 jurors to vote in favor of the death penalty, rather than a unanimous decision for a death penalty […]

TALLAHASSEE — A key Senate committee Wednesday supported eliminating a requirement for unanimous jury recommendations before death penalty sentences can be imposed, but it backed giving judges discretion in making the ultimate decisions. The Senate Rules Committee voted 15-4 to approve a bill (SB 450) that would allow death sentences to be imposed based on […]

The death penalty has remained one of the most controversial political issues for decades. Now, Florida will look to carry out the latest execution with Governor DeSantis (R-FL) signing the death warrant for Louis Bernard Gaskin. Another one bites the dust. Gaskin was arrested and given the death penalty in 1989 for multiple murders.  On the […]

Democratic lawmakers have differing views on Republican proposals to change the state’s death penalty laws, including eliminating a requirement of unanimous jury recommendations before judges can impose death sentences, leaders said Monday. Republicans have filed a series of proposals (SB 450, HB 555, SB 520 and HB 609) for consideration during the legislative session that […]