Should Florida become known as the ‘Death State’ in place of the Sunshine State?
July 2026
Two more executions are scheduled for same day – July 28th – in Florida as Governor Ron DeSantis pursues his mania for the policy. DeSantis said he believes the death penalty could be a “strong deterrent” to crime. “My view is it’s an appropriate punishment for the worst offenders,” he said. The evidence does not support his statement. Indeed the Death Penalty Project concludes:
‘Overall, homicide rates have been declining since the early 1990s across all US states. And increasing rates of homicide have not followed in those states which have abolished the death penalty during the past two decades. In fact, over the last 20 years, homicide rates in US states which retained the death penalty have been higher than those without it.
‘One study found that between 1974 and 2009, 447 executions occurred in the state of Texas, 13 occurred in California and none occurred in New York, yet rates of homicide followed similar patterns of fluctuation throughout this period across all three states, clearly influenced by factors other than punishments.’
‘Aping the President‘
Florida executed more than ever before in 2025. The State accounts for 40% of all executions in the US, a shocking statistic. The increase in the national statistic is almost entirely due to this one state. One commentator reflects in a Tampa Free Press article that DeSantis is aping the President “it matters to the President [Trump] so it matters to them.” It has also been suggested that the execution spree is part of the Governor’s desire to become the president at the end of President Trump’s term of office.
One of those due to be executed at the end of the month is 80 years old, Dominick Anthony Occhicone and his attorneys say he is in their opinion, too old to be executed.
There are still 246 individuals on death row in the state.
If these executions proceed, Florida will carry out two executions in a single day — the first time this has happened in the modern era of Florida’s death penalty. That fact alone should stop us in our tracks.
Amnesty opposes the use of use of the penalty in all circumstances. It is not a deterrent. It perpetuates violence. Mistakes cannot be rectified (and there have been 30 exonerations in this state alone). The US is the only state in the Americas continuing to execute its citizens.
Another case
Another truly shocking case involves a man called Suggs who is on death row. Reading the astonishing story you learn that the evidence is so weak and flawed it’s a wonder that the case ever came to court. But he may lose his life. There is a petition to sign and we’d be grateful if you’d add your voice.
Sources: Death Penalty Information Center, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Florida Today, Tampa Free Press, AP News.
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 
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