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| Florida Gov.: Resume Executions |
| By Orlando Sentinel |
| Published: 07/03/2002 |
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Florida Gov. Jeb Bush kept his word late Monday to resume capital punishment in the state by resetting the executions of two inmates on death row, including an Eatonville killer. Linroy Bottoson, 62, who murdered Eatonville postmaster Catherine Alexander in 1979, is scheduled for execution at 6 p.m. July 8. Amos King, 47, who murdered Natalie Brady of Tarpon Springs in 1977, is scheduled for execution at 6 p.m. July 10. Defense attorneys are expected to file with the Florida Supreme Court to stop both executions. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court halted their death sentences while the justices decided on an Arizona case. In that case, the court ruled a week ago that only juries, not judges, can decide whether a crime warrants the death penalty. On Friday, the court declined to hear appeals that had already been filed for Bottoson and King and lifted their stays of execution -- paving the way for the governor to reschedule their dates with death. Defense attorneys and prosecutors think it is highly unlikely the men will be executed before the Florida Supreme Court hears arguments in their cases. There is still much confusion over how that U.S. Supreme Court ruling affects Florida, a state where juries make recommendations to judges about sentencing in capital cases. Officials with the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, which represents both Bottoson and King, would not comment late Friday because they said they didn't know the governor had reset the executions. Bush made it clear before the weekend that he saw the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to lift the stays of execution as a sign that capital punishment should move forward in the state. 'Justice is long overdue for the families of Natalie Brady and Catherine Alexander, each of whom was murdered over 20 years ago,' Bush said in a statement released by his office. 'The men who committed these murders, Amos King and Linroy Bottoson, were long ago sentenced to death for their crimes. By removing any legal impediment to the execution of these men, today's action by the U.S. Supreme Court means that justice will finally be served.' |
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