Title: Florida | Death Penalty Information Center
Headings: Florida
State And Federal Info
Florida
History of the Death Penalty
Timeline
Famous Cases
Notable Exonerations
Notable Commutations/Clemencies
Milestones in Abolition/Reinstatement
Other Interesting Facts
Resources
Florida Execution Totals Since 1976
News & Developments
Arbitrariness
Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of April 19, 2021
Mental Illness
Florida Bars From Medical Practice Psychiatrist Who Repeatedly Testified that Severely Mentally Ill Death-Row Prisoners Were ‘Malingering’
Intellectual Disability
Sonny Boy Oats Found Ineligible for the Death Penalty After 40 Years on Florida’s Death Row
Innocence
Former Florida Death-Row Prisoner with Innocence Claim Released Pending Outcome of Federal Appeal
Arbitrariness
In a Wide-Ranging Series of Editorials, the South Florida Sun Sentinel Argues for Abolition of Capital Punishment in Florida
Representation
Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of March 29, 2021
Representation
Former Florida Public Defender Who Dismantled Duval County Capital Defense Capabilities Pleads Guilty to Ethics Violations
Intellectual Disability
Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of November 30, 2020
Arbitrariness
Florida Supreme Court Limits Retroactive Scope of Its Ruling Permitting Death Sentences After Non-Unanimous Jury Votes
Public Opinion
Local Prosecutor Elections Foreshadow Continued Movement Away From Death Penalty

Content: 1990s – Florida botches the electric chair executions of Jesse Tafero, Pedro Medina, and Allen Lee Davis and subsequently begins using lethal injection as its execution method. 2002 – Aileen Wuornos, called the first female serial killer by the media, is executed. 2016 – Florida statutorily abolishes judicial override, the process by which trial judges were permitted to impose death sentences despite an advisory jury’s recommendation for life. 2017 – Florida statutorily abolishes non-unanimous jury recommendations for death and requires that the sentencing jury unanimously recommend a death sentence before the trial judge may impose a death sentence. Famous Cases
Aileen Wuornos was executed on October 9, 2002 for the murder of Richard Mallory, but she had also received death sentences for 5 other murders, and confessed to a seventh murder, though she wasn’t tried for it. Her case garnered extensive media attention, and she was labeled America’s first female serial killer. Wuornos suffered from severe mental illness, but the state of Florida found her competent to waive her remaining appeals and be executed. Wuornos’ case was the inspiration for the Oscar-winning film “Monster.” Notable Exonerations
Florida has had 30 exonerations from death row, more than any other state. You can read about all of Florida’s exonerations on DPIC’s Innocence page.