Florida justices lift stay
The Florida Supreme Court on Friday lifted a stay of execution for a death-row inmate who argued that the state’s lethal-injection method would violate his constitutional rights.
Justices issued a 30-page unanimous ruling that rejected arguments raised by attorneys for Jerry Correll, who was convicted in the 1985 stabbing deaths in Orlando of his ex-wife, their 5-year-old daughter, his ex-mother-inlaw and her sister.
Gov. Rick Scott in January ordered Correll’s execution, but it was put on hold pending a U.S. Supreme Court decision in an Oklahoma case that centered on the use of the drug midazolam in the lethal-injection process.
States such as Oklahoma and Florida use midazolam as the first part of a threedrug combination, and death-row inmates argued it violated constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
The U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld the use of midazolam, but the Florida Supreme Court refused to lift a stay of Correll’s execution.
Correll, 59, argued that midazolam posed a higher risk to him because of his alleged brain damage and history of drug use, and the Florida Supreme Court said a circuit judge should consider that issue.
Orange County Circuit Judge Jenifer Davis held a hearing in August and ruled against Correll. The Supreme Court decision Friday upheld Davis’ ruling.
Jones, were also fatally stabbed in the Tampico Drive home they all shared.