Florida
Death Row Fact Sheet:
July 2000
General
Facts
The Supreme Court and the death
penalty:
The case of Furman vs. Georgia
was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 1972. In
that case, the Court held that capital punishment was
unconstitutional and struck down state death penalty
laws nationwide. As a result, the death sentences of
95 men and one woman on Florida's Death Row were
commuted to life in prison. However, after the Furman
decision, the Florida Legislature revised the death
penalty statutes in case the Court reinstated capital
punishment in the future. In 1976 the Supreme Court
overturned its ruling in Furman and upheld the
constitutionality of the death penalty in the case of Gregg
vs. Georgia. Executions resumed in Florida in 1979
when John Spenkelink became the first Death Row inmate
to be executed under the new statutes.
Means of execution:
Florida administers executions by
electric chair or lethal injection. The three-legged
electric chair was constructed from oak by Department
of Corrections personnel in 1998 and was installed at
Florida State Prison (FSP) in Starke in 1999. The
previous chair was made by inmates from oak in 1923
after the Florida Legislature designated electrocution
as the official mode of execution. (Prior to that,
executions were carried out by counties, usually by
hanging.) The apparatus that administers the electric
current to the condemned inmate was not changed. It is
regularly tested to ensure proper functioning. For a
photograph of the electric chair and for information
on lethal injection, see
our press release page.
First executed inmate:
Frank Johnson was the first inmate
executed in Florida's electric chair on October 7,
1924. In 1929 and from May 1964 to May 1979 there were
no executions in Florida.
The executioner:
Is a private citizen who is paid
$150 per execution. State law allows for his or her
identity to remain anonymous.
The
Daily Routine of Death Row Inmates
Death Row & Death Watch
cells:
A Death Row cell is
6 x 9 x 9.5 feet high. Florida
State Prison also has Death Watch cells to incarcerate
inmates awaiting execution after the Governor signs a
death warrant for them. A Death Watch cell is
12 x 7 x 8.5 feet high.
Meals:
Death Row inmates are served meals
three times a day: at 5:00 am, from 10:30 am to 11:00
am and from 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm. Food is prepared by
FSP personnel and is transported in insulated carts to
the cells. Inmates are allowed plates and spoons to
eat their meals. Prior to execution, an inmate may
request a last meal. To avoid extravagance, the food
to prepare the last meal must cost no more than $20
and must be purchased locally.
Visitors:
Visitors are allowed every weekend
from 9 am to 3 pm. All visitors must be approved by
prison officials before being placed on the inmate
visitor list. Visitors travelling over 200 miles may
visit both Saturday and Sunday. Members of the news
media may request Death Row inmate interviews through
the Department of Corrections public affairs office at
(850) 488-0420. Inmates must agree to being
interviewed. Because of safety and security concerns,
the news media may not interview any prison personnel
who are involved in executions except for official
Department of Corrections spokesmen.
Showers:
The inmates may shower every other
day.
Security:
Death Row inmates are counted at
least once an hour. They are escorted in handcuffs and
wear them everywhere except in their cells, the
exercise yard and the shower. They are in their cells
at all times except for medical reasons, exercise,
social or legal visits or media interviews. When a
death warrant is signed the inmate is put under Death
Watch status and is allowed a legal and social phone
call.
Mail, Magazines & Entertainment:
Inmates may receive mail every day
except holidays and weekends. They may have
cigarettes, snacks, radios and black and white
televisions in their cells. They do not have cable
television or air-conditioning and they are not
allowed to be with each other in a common room. They
can watch church services on closed circuit
television. While on Death Watch, inmates may have
radios and black and white televisions positioned
outside their cell bars.
Clothing:
Death Row inmates can be
distinguished from other inmates by their orange
t-shirts. Their pants are the same blue colored pants
worn by regular inmates.
Cost:
It costs approximately $55.14 per
day to incarcerate a Death Row inmate.
Statistics
The following statistics have been
compiled from data collected since the death penalty
was reinstated in 1976. For more information on the
inmates on Florida's Death Row, go to our Death
Row Roster or our Execution
List. These provide specific statistics on each
inmate.
Men on Death Row are housed at
Florida State Prison in Starke and Union Correctional
Institution in Raiford. The women on Death Row are
housed at Broward Correctional Institution in Pembroke
Pines. On March 30, 1998, Judias "Judy"
Buenoano became the first woman to die in Florida's
electric chair. For the latest count of inmates on
Death Row, please refer to the Death
Row Roster.
Death
Row Notables
Juveniles: There are no
juveniles on Death Row. Death Row inmates younger than
16 at the time of their offense were adjudicated as
adults in court proceedings.
Two oldest death row inmates:
Lawrence Singleton - DOB 7/28/27, sentenced
from Hillsborough County in 1998.
William Cruse, Jr. - DOB 11/21/27, sentenced
from Brevard County in 1989.
Two youngest male Death Row
inmates:
Rodrick Ferrell - DOB 3/20/80, sentenced
from Lake County in 1998.
Ronald Bell - DOB 4/1/81, sentenced from
Okaloosa County in 2000.
Youngest female Death Row inmate:
Ana Marie Cardona - DOB 11/26/61, sentenced
from Dade County in 1992.
Oldest inmate executed:
Charlie Grifford - 72, executed on 2/21/51.
Youngest inmates executed (both
16 years old):
Willie Clay - sentenced from Duval County,
executed 12/29/41.
James Davis - sentenced from Alachua County,
executed 10/9/44.
John Spenkelink was
the first inmate to be executed in Florida after
reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. He was
executed on 5/25/79.
Inmate who has been on Death Row
the longest:
Gary E. Alvord - received on Death Row 4/11/74;
date of offense 6/17/73. Alvord was sentenced from
Hillsborough County.
These statistics furnished by The
Department of Corrections - Public Affairs Office.
For more information, call the Public Affairs
Office at (850) 488-0420, SC 278-0420 or send e-mail
to Public Affairs Assistant Debra Buchanan at buchanan.debra@mail.dc.state.fl.us
Related Links:
Death
Row Studies
Death
Penalty Links
America’s
death-penalty lottery
1999
Is Busy Year for Executioners
Fla. Urged To
Retire Electric Chair
Florida Sex Offender Registry
