Outside the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee, members of a group called Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty are gathered, reading the names of people recently executed in the state of Florida. It is June 24 at 6 p.m., and within the hour Thomas Gudinas will be added to that list. He was sentenced to death for the brutal rape and murder of Michelle McGrath in 1994.
"In times like these, we come to God the eternal, whom we know in different ways and by different names," the group prayed.
Gudinas' execution was Florida's seventh this year. And Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed an eighth death warrant—matching the state's amount for one year since 1976, when capital punishment was reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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For Mary Anne Hoffman, who is part of the group praying, that's far too many.
She points to a recent editorial in the Orlando Sentinel that raised questions about how the state decides whose warrant to sign next.
"All the appeals for that person have been done by lawyers," she said. "And so, now the person is considered execution-ready and then gets the death warrant. But then what the article says is there's not much transparency in how this happens."
DeSantis has said he believes the death penalty serves an important purpose.
"I support capital punishment because I think there are some crimes that are just so horrific the only appropriate punishment is the death penalty. And I know there are some people that disagree with that, and that's fine, but that's my judgement," he said at a press event in Dade City on May 15.
"This stuff is just overwhelmingly sadistic. It shocks your conscience. And that's not the way that a civilized society can function, so. ... Part of it is an appropriate punishment. Part of it is it expresses the outrage of the community because if you do something less than that, then potentially you're sending a signal that, 'Yeah, it's bad but not as bad as it could have been.' No, these are the worst of the worst."
But records show DeSantis signed just one death warrant for a prisoner executed last year. So, what's behind the current ramp-up? Political analyst Susan MacManus says for one thing, violent crime is in the news.
"Looking over some of the polling and news coverage of late, there's just been a spike of interest in violent crimes," she said. "And that's showing up in polls, and more people are focusing on that. Some of it has to do with the deportation of criminals with violent records. I think it's on the minds of people more than it has been in the past."
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Another possibility is that DeSantis hopes to stir up more support from his conservative base as he looks ahead to his next political ambition once his term as governor ends. But MacManus says the death penalty isn't as much of a red-meat issue for Republicans as it used to be. A majority of Americans still support capital punishment, she says, but not as many.
"The younger generation is very much against it, so you get a generational split," MacManus said. "But also, you're seeing somewhat of a religious split. And the interesting argument there is people who say, 'Well, I can't be pro-life on the abortion issue and be pro-death in the death penalty situation.'"
A 2024 Gallup poll shows 53 percent of respondents were in favor of the death penalty in a murder case, while 43 percent were opposed.
The next execution is scheduled for July 15, when Michael Bell is scheduled for lethal injection for the 1993 slayings of two people in Jacksonville.
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