Miami Herald

Another Florida Execution Stayed by Supreme Court

The execution of Linroy Bottoson, scheduled for Feb. 5th, was stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court.  Florida employs judge sentencing in death cases, an issue under consideration by the High Court 

FEBRUARY 5, 2002:

FLORIDA: Supreme Court, governor halt Fla. executions---Death penalty's legality is at issue

Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution of a Florida inmate while it considers a challenge of the death penalty in 9 states, Gov. Jeb Bush halted the execution of a 2nd man on the same grounds, saying the inmate has no lawyer to argue on his behalf.

Bush's unprecedented action came hours after the nation's high court, for the 2nd time in 2 weeks, blocked a Florida execution as it reviews an Arizona case that could have implications for all 372 people on Florida's death row.

The governor's move, in effect, places a moratorium on executions in Florida until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether the state's death penalty is constitutional.

The court granted a reprieve Tuesday afternoon to Linroy Bottoson just 3 hours before he was scheduled to die.

Hours after that, Bush said he would sign an order today delaying the execution of Robert Trease.

"Given the matters pending before the Supreme Court and the fact that death row inmate Robert Trease is not represented by counsel, tomorrow I will issue an executive order staying the execution of Trease until further action is taken by the Court with respect to the issues before it," the governor said in a statement released late Tuesday.

Bush, a strong supporter of capital punishment, delayed Thursday's execution without being prompted by a defense lawyer -- a move that some death penalty critics interpreted as a moratorium.

The Supreme Court is deciding what role juries should play in sentencing criminals to death. Arizona and Florida have similar systems -- juries recommend life or death, but judges make the final decision.

9 states, with a total 795 death row inmates, could be affected by the Supreme Court's ruling. The other states are Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Alabama, Indiana, Delaware, Colorado and Nebraska. "It's obviously very significant," said Todd Scher, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who represents death row inmates, referring to Bush's action. 'It's obvious that he and whoever advises him says we shouldn't be executing someone when there's doubt as to the constitutionality of Florida's death penalty law."

Anti-death penalty activists were pleased with Bush's ruling.

`RIGHT THING'

"The governor has done the right thing," said Abe Bonowitz, director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

"The U.S. Supreme Court is looking at the validity of every death sentence in Florida, so it is right thing to recognize that these death sentences are potentially . . . illegal."

Officials in the state attorney general's office, which prosecutes death cases, and aides to the governor insisted late Tuesday that Bush's order is not tantamount to the kind of moratorium that was issued in Illinois.

The governor of Illinois called a halt to all executions to consider evidence that innocent people may have been on death row.

"I hope we're not talking about that," said Carolyn Snurkowski, assistant deputy attorney general for criminal appeals. "I'm going to continue to litigate the issues in all of these other cases that are not under [death] warrant."

Bush's order marks the third stay of execution in Florida in 2 weeks and comes amid a growing call for an end to executions in the state.

It is the latest chapter in the increasingly complicated saga of Florida's death penalty system.

DNA EVIDENCE

Opponents have been galvanized in recent months by the release of a wrongly convicted man and the exoneration of another due to DNA evidence. Two years ago, Florida switched to lethal injection as its primary method of execution after several messy electrocutions prompted death penalty opponents to call the chair cruel and unusual punishment.

Death penalty supporters and opponents alike said Tuesday that Bush made the right decision. But supporters said they are confident the system will withstand another constitutional challenge.

"If there's a question, the safe thing to do is stay the execution," said state Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, one of the legislature's most vocal death penalty proponents.

Bottoson, 62, was convicted of the 1979 murder of the 74-year-old postmaster of Eatonville, a suburb of Orlando. Catherine Alexander was stabbed 14 times in the back, once in the stomach and was then run over by Bottoson's rental car.

Trease was convicted of the 1995 home invasion robbery-murder of Paul Edenson, of Sarasota.

`RELIEVED'

Peter Cannon, Bottoson's attorney, said his client was "excited and relieved" by the U.S. Supreme Court stay.

'He said `Thank you. Thank you,'" Cannon said.

Cannon said Bush made the right call.

"I think politically it is the best thing to do, to wait and not to rush into this," said Cannon, who works for Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, the state agency that represents death row inmates.

Trease, the inmate whose execution was halted by Bush, deliberately speeded up his trip to the death chamber after a judge ruled that he is competent to represent himself and doesn't need attorneys.

It was the 2nd time in 2 weeks the Supreme Court justices have blocked a Florida execution. In January they halted the execution of Amos King, who has been on Death Row for about 25 years.

Florida Death Penalty Under Scrutiny

February 6, 2002

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida's death penalty could be stalled indefinitely after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked an execution in the state for the second time in two weeks.

The court issued a reprieve Tuesday to Linroy Bottoson, 62, three hours before his scheduled execution for the 1979 murder of an Orlando-area postmaster. The court's decision prompted Gov. Jeb Bush to postpone another man's execution scheduled for later this week.

The court did not comment on its decision, but it is considering an Arizona case that deals with a fundamental aspect of Florida's capital punishment law: the power of the judge, rather than the jury, to impose the death sentence.

Two weeks ago, the court blocked the execution of Amos King -- convicted of the murder and rape of Natalie Brady, a 68-year-old Tarpon Springs widow -- while it considers the case.

Florida and Arizona are among nine states that let judges decide whether a murderer should die, even if a jury has recommended a life sentence.

If the Supreme Court overturns Arizona's law, that could result in Florida's law being declared unconstitutional.

Bush cited both stays in deciding to postpone Thursday's scheduled execution of 48-year-old Robert Trease, who was convicted of killing a man during a 1995 robbery in Sarasota.

The governor said he would issue an executive order Wednesday halting Trease's execution ``until further action is taken by the court.''

None of the other 370 people on Florida's death row has been scheduled for execution. A Bush spokeswoman said he hasn't decided whether to refrain from signing any new death warrants.

The Florida Supreme Court refused last week to delay Bottoson's execution based on the King stay. It also rejected the argument that Bottoson can't be put to death because he is mentally retarded. 

Bottoson was sentenced to die for the murder of Catherine Alexander, the 74-year-old head of the Eatonville post office. Prosecutors said he kidnapped the woman while robbing the post office of $144 and 37 money orders worth $400 each. He stabbed her 14 times and ran over her with his car.

Victims' advocate Wendy Hallowell said Alexander's children were devastated by the reprieve.

``The family felt sure that justice was finally going to be served today only to have their hopes let down mere hours before the execution,'' she said.

Peter Cannon, an attorney for Bottoson, said he spoke to his client by telephone after getting word of the reprieve. `He was very relieved,'' Cannon said. ``It really does call into question the death penalty procedure in Florida.''

Carolyn Snurkowski, who oversees criminal appeals for the state, said the two stays mean nothing for other cases in Florida.