Death row inmates in Florida have a choice for method of execution. Here’s how it works:

Florida administers executions by lethal injection or electric chair. In 2000, then-Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed legislation making lethal injection the state’s default method of execution amid controversy over the electric chair.

The last inmate Florida executed by electrocution was Allen Davis in July 1999. Witnesses described blood streaming from Davis’ nose and onto his shirt, which drew widespread attention two years after an inmate’s mask burst into flames during a different Florida electrocution.

Since then, 57 people have been executed by lethal injection and none by electric chair. Prior to 2000, there were 44 electrocution executions.

How do inmates choose their method of execution in Florida?

According to state law, a person convicted and sentenced to death for a capital crime has one opportunity to elect execution by electrocution. The election for death by electrocution is waived unless it is personally made by the person in writing and delivered to the warden of the correctional facility.

Florida is one of eight states that still have the electric chair on the books and one of a handful of states that allow inmates to select how they will be executed, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Have any death row inmates in Florida selected the electric chair as their method of execution?

In 2015, Florida death-row inmate Wayne Doty asked the state to execute him by electrocution rather than lethal injection. It’s believed to be the first such request since inmates were given a choice. Doty, who was sentenced to death for killing another inmate, submitted his hand-written request to the warden. His execution date has not been set, but if he is ultimately executed by electrocution, he would become the first Florida inmate executed by that method since the 2000 law giving inmates a choice was enacted.

How is the executioner in Florida selected?

The execution team warden selects two executioners who are fully capable of performing the designated functions to carry out the execution. One is designated as the primary executioner. The other is secondary and will be present and available during the execution to assume responsibilities if the primary executioner becomes unavailable for any reason.

The Florida Department of Corrections website says the executioner is an adult who has undergone a criminal background check and is sufficiently trained, competent, and “of sufficient character” to administer the flow of lethal chemicals.

Who monitors an execution in Florida?

The only staff authorized to be in the execution chamber are members of the execution team and others approved by the team warden, including two members from Florida Department of Law Enforcement. In the presence of one or more team members and an independent observer from FDLE, a designated execution team member prepares the lethal chemicals, ensuring each syringe is appropriately labeled.

Throughout the execution process one or more designated execution team members will observe the heart monitors. If the heart monitors reflect a flat line reading during or following the complete administration of the lethal chemicals, a doctor will examine the inmate to determine if the inmate’s heart has stopped beathing and the person is no longer breathing.

Who administers the lethal injection in Florida executions?

Since lethal injections are the default method of execution in Florida, all death row inmates executed since 2000 have undergone this process. The executioner is a private citizen who is paid $150 per execution, according to Florida Department of Corrections. State law allows for his or her identity to remain anonymous. The executioner’s sole function is to inject the chemicals into the IV access port by physically pushing the chemicals from the syringe.

What drugs does Florida use in lethal injection?

Florida’s lethal injection cocktail consists of three chemicals. The first is an injection of etomidate, an anesthetic. The second injection is rocuronium bromide, a paralytic muscle relaxer, and the third is potassium acetate, which causes the heart to stop, followed by an injection of a saline solution. The executioner also injects a saline solution to ensure the drugs enter the inmate’s veins.

The lethal chemicals are prepared by an execution team member who then transports them personally to the executioner’s room. The drugs are administered intravenously. The inmate is also offered intramuscular injections of hydroxyzine to ease anxiety, if he or she chooses.

What happens if there is a problem administering the lethal chemicals?

If at any time during the administration of the lethal chemicals the primary venous access becomes compromised, the team warden shall order the execution process stopped and assess the primary access site, as well as determine if a secondary access site is necessary.

Once the team warden is assured that the execution team has secured a viable access site, the execution process will resume.

Source: pnj.com, M. Barrows, April 26, 2023

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