Quicker executions are better deterrents as well, DeSantis said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has picked up the pace of executions after a more gradual approach to the death penalty early in his tenure, and he doesn’t sound inclined to slow down anytime soon.
After all, families of victims of heinous crimes need closure. And the Governor says only a final punishment can deliver it.
“There’s a saying: Justice delayed is justice denied,” DeSantis said while speaking in Jacksonville, noting that “some of these crimes were committed in the ’80s.”
The Governor said his administration has gotten its “sea legs” recently regarding capital punishment. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 15 Floridians have been executed this year, with another two scheduled for later this month. Those killed so far have been imprisoned from 22 to 42 years. The previous high under DeSantis was six executions in 2023.
“We’ve heard from a lot of the family members of the victims over the years,” DeSantis said. “I felt that I owed it to them to make sure that this ran very smoothly and promptly.”
“We’re doing it to be able to bring justice to the victims’ families and I think it’s important,” DeSantis added. “I’ve had people, you know, sometimes they’ll come to the office after and you can just see after decades the weight that’s kind of been lifted. … They never fully had closure on and these are really horrific crimes that are happening, so that’s really why we’re doing it.”
DeSantis also argued that speedier executions would send a message to aspirant murderers.
“I think that should happen because I do think the death penalty could be a strong deterrent if you had this stuff happen quicker. And there are some instances where, you know, somebody goes and shoots 10 people. They should get the death penalty very quickly.”