Dec. 2
FLORIDA:
FLORIDA GOVERNOR SIGNS NEW DEATH WARRANT Florida’s Governor has signed a
death warrant in the case
of Shane Kormondy, whose execution has been scheduled for 15 January. This
would be the 21st
execution under Rick Scott’s governorship, equaling the record for any
Florida governor since 1976.
View the full Urgent Action, including case information, addresses and
sample messages, here.
On 24 November, Governor Rick Scott signed the death warrant for Johnny
Shane Kormondy for the
murder of Gary McAdams in July 1993. The death warrant states that “it has
been determined that
executive clemency is not appropriate”, and that Governor Scott designated
the week beginning 12
January 2015 for the execution. A letter to the Warden of Florida State
Prison accompanying the
death warrant notes that the Warden has set the date and time of the
execution for 15 January at
6pm.
There have been 20 executions in Rick Scott’s first term as Florida
Governor, which began in January
2011, more than during the first term of any Florida governor since the US
Supreme Court approved
new state capital laws in 1976, and only one fewer than occurred under
Governor Jeb Bush over two
terms (1999-2007). Rick Scott was elected to a second term in November
2014. His re-inauguration is
due to take place on or around 6 January, about a week before Shane
Kormondy is scheduled to become
the next inmate killed in Florida’s execution chamber.
The USA’s ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1992
placed an expectation on officials in the USA at all levels – local, state
and federal – to work
toward abolition of the death penalty. In April 2014, after its latest
scrutiny of US compliance
with the ICCPR, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed its concern at the
continuing use of the
death penalty and called on the federal authorities to “engage with
retentionist states with a view
to achieving a nationwide moratorium” on executions. On 28 November, the
UN Committee Against
Torture urged the USA to establish a moratorium on executions with a view
to abolition.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases,
unconditionally. Today, 140 countries
are abolitionist in law or practice. Eighteen US states have abolished the
death penalty, four of
them since 2009.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Gary McAdams was shot dead and Cecilia McAdams was
raped, but survived,
during a robbery of their Pensacola home on 11 July 1993. Three men were
charged, with the state
intending to seek the death penalty against all three. They were tried
separately in 1994. Curtis
Buffkin was brought to trial first, with the prosecutor describing him as
“the ringleader” who “got
to carry the gun” and “took total command of his cohorts”. However, during
jury deliberations when
it looked like a first-degree murder verdict might not emerge, the state
agreed to a plea bargain
under which Buffkin avoided the death penalty in return for testimony
against his two co-defendants.
James Hazen was sentenced to death. This was reduced to life by the state
Supreme Court on the
grounds that he was less culpable than Buffkin, who received a life
sentence.
View the full Urgent Action here.
Name: Johnny Shane Kormondy (m)
Issues: Death penalty, Imminent execution, Legal concern
Further information on UA: 162/14 (23 June 2014)
Issue Date: 2 December 2014
Country: USA
Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact!
EITHER send a short email to u...@aiusa.org with "UA 162/14" in the subject
line, and include in the
body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent.
OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action.
Thank you for taking action! Please check with your section office if
sending appeals after the
above date. If you receive a response from a government official, please
forward it to us at
u...@aiusa.org or to the Urgent Action Office address below. This is the
first update of UA 162/14.
Further information: www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/039/2014/en
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Please write immediately in English or your own language:
* Expressing deep regret that clemency has been denied to Johnny Shane
Kormondy, noting that the
other two defendants received life sentences;
* Noting developments against the death penalty in other US states, and
in the rest of the world;
* Calling on this and all executions in Florida to be halted, and for
the authorities to work for
abolition;
* To the US Attorney General: Noting the UN Human Rights Committee’s
recommendation and calling on
the US government to do all it can to engage with the Florida
authorities to stop this and all
other executions in the state
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 15 JANUARY 2015 TO:
Governor Rick Scott
Office of the Governor
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
USA
Email: rick.sc...@eog.myflorida.com
Salutation: Dear Governor
And copies to:
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Tom Malinowski
US Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20520
USA
The Honorable Eric H. Holder
Attorney General
US Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20530 0001
USA
Fax: 011 1 202 514 4507
Email: ask...@usdoj.gov
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
Please share widely with your networks: http://bit.ly/12okVmc
We encourage you to share Urgent Actions with your friends and colleagues!
When you share with your
networks, instead of forwarding the original email, please use the
"Forward this email to a friend"
link found at the very bottom of this email. Thank you for your activism!
UA Network Office AIUSA │600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003
T. 202.509.8193 │ F. 202.509.8193 │E. u...@aiusa.org
│amnestyusa.org/urgent_______________________________________________
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