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Where 'life' means life

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 11, 2009

The story of convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad nearing execution on Tuesday in Virginia for crimes he committed in October 2002 piqued my interest ("Beltway Sniper's execution looms," Nation and World, Nov. 10). The interest is in the vast and stark differences between Florida's and Virginia's death-row process.

There are currently 387 inmates on Florida's death row. A grand total of 68 executions have taken place since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. According to a 2000 report from the Death Penalty Information Center, the annual cost for Florida to house death-row inmates is $51 million.

Most notably, according to the Florida Department of Corrections, an inmate by the name of Gary Alvord has the longest stay on death row with a commitment date of April 1, 1974. Others have languished for decades. James Rose was received in 1977, Milford Byrd in 1982, Robert Long in 1986, Kenneth Stewart in 1986, Paul Brown and Carlos Bello in 1987, Richard Anderson in 1988, Perry Taylor in 1989. The list continues. And those are only Hillsborough County convictions.

Compared to Virginia's seven-year residency on death row, we as Floridians really need to ask our powers that be to either timely execute or do not execute. We should address whether death row is indeed a deterrent and still needed in a state where life imprisonment truly means life.

LYNN CANNELLA

Tampa

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