WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As the state of Florida executed Wednesday, Louis Gaskin, 56, a convicted double murderer, state lawmakers are looking at a couple of ways to put more convicts on death row.
First, there is a bill to end the requirement of a unanimous jury vote for death, something that prevented a death sentence for the Parkland gunman last November.
"Obviously, we cannot roll back the clock and get justice for the Parkland parents, but this would address a situation like that in the future," House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, said.
A second bill would expand the death penalty to those convicted of child molestation when the victims are under 12.
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"Here in Florida, we want to send a very clear message that we will do anything to protect our kids," bill sponsor State Rep. Jessica Baker, R-Jacksonville, said. "There is no place in a civilized society for those who would prey on our children."
However, the bills are getting pushback from many sides.
"We are concerned we are lowering the bar in the state of Florida for the death penalty," Aaron Wayt of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said.
Wayt said there are constitutional issues in question, and he points out Florida leads the nation in the number of exonerated death row inmates.
"We have to understand that feeling we have is vengeance," Wayt said. "It's not justice under the Constitution."
