As Florida nears a grim milestone — the Aug. 19 execution of the fourth veteran and 10th person in the state this year — a group of veterans is calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to stop executing fellow veterans.
On Wednesday, the delegation of veterans will gather in Tallahassee at 11 a.m. Eastern time to present a letter to DeSantis signed by more than 130 veterans representing nearly every branch of the U.S. military and at least 1,400 collective years of service.
"We write to you to highlight a disturbing trend, and one that only you have the power to correct," the letter reads. "We ask you to stop signing the death warrants and setting executions for veterans. During your term, five veterans have been executed — Bobby Joe Long, Duane Owen, Edward James, Jeffrey Hutchinson, and Edward Zakrzewski. And you have authorized another one — Kayle Bates is set to be executed on August 19. There are close to 30 veterans remaining on death row, and countless others facing death penalty trials throughout the state.
"The military [instills] in all of us an unbreakable code of honor: leave no one behind," the veterans continued. "That obligation does not end at the end of one's duty. To a great degree that is where it begins for our mentally injured soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen. To execute a veteran who was broken by war and left without adequate care is not justice. It is a failure of duty. It is the final abandonment."
Given his status as an Iraq combat veteran, the group says it believes that DeSantis knows "what it means to serve," especially "the discipline, the sacrifice, and the silent wounds that follow you home."
In the letter, the veterans argue that their request for clemency from the governor has precedent that was established by the highest court in the land.
"As the United States Supreme Court has instructed us in Porter v. McCollum: 'Our Nation has a long tradition of according leniency to veterans in recognition of their service,'" they write. "The Court further explained that the relevance of military service, including 'extensive combat experience is not only that he served honorably under extreme hardship and gruesome conditions, but also that the jury might find mitigating the intense stress and mental and emotional toll that combat [takes].'"
Their letter, the veterans continue, serves as a reminder that Florida "can never be a veteran friendly state when our leader is signing off on their deaths at the hands of the State."
Air Force veteran and Florida death row exoneree Ron Wright, who signed the letter, called the execution of the "brave men and women who have served" in the armed forces a "betrayal."
"We urge Governor DeSantis to recognize the humanity of these men and women and take action to prevent their needless deaths," he said.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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