Inmate convicted of 1989 double homicide executed in Florida

Miami, Apr 12 (EFE).- The state of Florida (USA) executed this Wednesday Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, for a double homicide he committed in 1989 and for which he was sentenced to death without the jury reaching unanimity.

Gaskin was declared dead at 6:15 p.m. local time (22:15 GMT) following receiving a lethal injection at the Florida State Prison, located in the town of Raiford (north), as reported by the state Department of Prisons.

This is the second execution to be carried out in Florida so far this year and following exhausting all the appeals filed by the defense to have it suspended, including one filed on April 6 before the US Supreme Court of Justice. ., which was rejected.

This execution comes six weeks following inmate Donald Dillbeck, 59, was executed for two first-degree murders, the first committed with a firearm in 1979, as a minor, and another by stabbing in 1990.

If the execution of Darryl B. Barwick, whose death sentence was signed on April 4 by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, is carried out within three weeks, it would be the shortest period in which they have been carried out. three executions in the state since 2014, under fellow Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

It is also the third execution that has been carried out in Florida since 2019 (between 2020 and 2022 there were none) and the number 101 since capital punishment was restored in this state, in 1976.

Gaskin, nicknamed the “ninja killer” because he wore black ninja gear when committing the crimes, was sentenced to death for the December 20, 1989 murder of Robert Sturmfels, 56, and Georgette Sturmfels. , 55, who he shot with a rifle at the victims’ home, located in Flagler County, in the northeast of the state.

The Police found at the home of Gaskin, who confessed to being the author of the murders, money, jewelry and objects that had been stolen from the victims’ home and that he intended to give as Christmas gifts to his girlfriend at the time.

Florida’s highest court also dismissed Gaskin’s defense claim for a “partially unconstitutional” death sentence, given the lack of unanimity in the jury’s recommendation (8 in favor of execution and 4 once morest).

Since 2017, in Florida, a unanimous jury is required for a judge to rule on the death penalty, which is in line with what the US Supreme Court establishes, which considers conviction by simple majority unconstitutional, as occurred with Gaskin.

The Florida Supreme Court indicated that a retroactive criterion of the ruling known as Hurst was not applicable in this case, which was the one that led to the mandatory unanimity of the jury for capital punishment in this state, where there are currently more than 300 sentenced on “death row”, three of them women.

In 2020, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that unanimous jury recommendations were not needed to sentence defendants in murder cases to death.

Since 1973, more than 190 people have been released from death row in the US on evidence of their innocence, with Florida, with 30 exonerated from capital punishment, being the state with the highest number, followed by Illinois (22) and Texas (16).

The executed man had his last meal at 9:45 local time today and was served a menu consisting of barbecue pork ribs, pork and turkey, chicken wings, shrimp fried rice and French fries, according to local media.

Before execution, an inmate may request one last meal. To avoid “extravagance,” this Florida state agency points out on its website, “food to prepare should not cost more than $40 and must be purchased locally.”

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