Democrat David Jolly has said \u201cwith absolute clarity\u201d<\/a> that he would never sign a death warrant not recommended by a unanimous jury, and would impose a moratorium on executions<\/a> pending a full review of the system.<\/p>\n Speaking to hundreds of supporters in Delray Beach in July<\/a>, Jolly, a man of deep faith, answered \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d when asked if he would sign a death warrant as governor.<\/p>\n His answer was imprecise. It also resonated with candor. The crowd broke into applause.<\/p>\n To be clear: Jolly\u2019s response wasn\u2019t about a belief in death as an appropriate means of punishment. It was about doubt in Florida\u2019s broken process. Just one recent example comes to mind: In July, the state executed James Duckett despite the fact that there was evidence that could have been tested for DNA using modern methods, which might have proved the former Mascotte police officer was innocent of the killing of Teresa Mae McAbee in 1987.<\/p>\n Not every case deserves that kind of last-minute intervention, but in Duckett\u2019s case nearly every shred of evidence presented at his original trial has been disproven or debunked.<\/p>\n \u201cI have grave reservations about the fidelity of the criminal justice system to produce results that provide sufficient confidence to sign a death warrant,\u201d Jolly said that night. Cases like Duckett\u2019s demonstrate why that uncertainty is justified.<\/p>\n Florida ranks No. 2<\/p>\n In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he might spare the lives of all 563 death-sentenced prisoners before he leaves office in January. He declared a moratorium long ago and dismantled the state\u2019s death chamber. California has not held an execution in 20 years.<\/p>\n That would never happen in Florida if Donalds wins, he has said. \u201cFlorida is not California,\u201d he told Florida Trib<\/a>.<\/p>\n Florida has the nation\u2019s second-largest death row population, with 233. Gov. Ron DeSantis, persisting in a recent pace of two executions a month, has scheduled two more in November.<\/p>\n It is too easy for headline-hunting prosecutors to secure death sentences. By allowing as few as eight of 12 jurors to recommend it in Florida, the Legislature created the nation\u2019s easiest path to execution.<\/p>\n No governor has commuted a death sentence since Gov. Bob Graham in 1983. A pending appeal claims that DeSantis\u2019 refusal to grant clemency in any murder case means that the entire clemency process, as mandated by both the Florida Constitution and by law, \u201cis just a facade.\u201d<\/p>\n One hundred prisoners have been on death row for 30 years or more, including 24 for more than 40 years and three for more than 50.<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6920_40a21b.jpeg\")
David Jolly on stage in July near Delray Beach (Steve Bousquet\/Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n