GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As Florida modifies its laws to simplify the process for juries to deliver the death sentence, two individuals who previously faced capital punishment are expressing concern about the undue influence this may give to elected prosecutors. This viewpoint is in contrast with the feelings of some murder victims' relatives.
“State attorneys are complaining, making this a reality because getting a death sentence has become very challenging," commented David Snelgrove, 50, during a conversation from Milton's state prison in the Panhandle area of Florida.
nelgrove was initially handed a death sentence for brutally killing two of his past neighbors in a robbery incident in June 2000. After his appeal, another jury replaced his sentence with life imprisonment.
"This state seems to only believe in either killing them or locking them up forever," Snelgrove conveyed in a note from the penal system, a place he will never leave.
Pamela Norko, a resident of Long Beach, California, and the daughter of the murdered couple, expressed in an interview that she wishes Florida to re-sentence Snelgrove to death under the newly revised capital punishment law. She learned about the alteration in the law – which she welcomed – only when a journalist approached her.
“I will strive till my last breath to see him back on death row,” Norko insisted. “Ordinary people like us bear the costs of his meals, lodging, and his opportunity to mingle with other inmates for recreation. I sense there is no regret in him. I believe he should have been executed.”
Last month, the New River Correctional Institution, located in Raiford, Fla., saw Governor Ron DeSantis sanction a bill that allows capital punishment even when only eight out of 12 jurors are in agreement. This legislation, effective immediately, replaces the previously required unanimous jury decision, in place since 2017.
labama is the only other state that does not insist on a unanimous jury, allowing for capital punishment with a 10-2 jury vote.
DeSantis, a stalwart of law and order, openly backed the change after a jury voted 9-3 to grant Nikolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland in 2018 that killed 17, a life sentence without parole. This decision caused frustration among some victims' relatives and legislators who felt Cruz deserved the death penalty.
DeSantis criticized the jury's decision as "a miscarriage of justice," insisting, "We need to reform to better serve crime victims and their families, rather than going overboard in providing everything for the criminals."
Ryan Petty, a parent from Parkland whose 14-year-old daughter Alaina was killed in the shooting, commended the amendment: “The justice system tragically failed us again a few months ago,” he reflected on the day DeSantis authorized the bill. “This alteration in Florida's law might save other families from experiencing the injustices we've endured.”
Snelgrove attributed the facilitation of death sentences to "hard-core Republicans." The legislative pieces in question were put forth by two GOP lawmakers, Rep. Berny Jacques, R-Clearwater, and Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, in the House and Senate, respectively.
The bill passed in the House with an 80-30 vote and the Senate with a 29-10 vote, mainly along partisan lines.
In 2002, Snelgrove was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in Flagler County, south of Jacksonville. The trial jury voted 7-5 to advocate for the death penalty. However, the Florida Supreme Court nullified the death sentence, mandating a retrial, as the jury had delivered one sentence for both murders. In 2008, the second trial jury voted 8-4 in favor of the death penalty.
Following this, Snelgrove expressed certainty about his impending execution because at that time, a simple majority of jury votes in Florida could decide on the capital punishment. The majority rule was altered following rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court after 2016.
In 2017, a unanimous verdict requirement was implemented by the Legislature. In Snelgrove’s most recent trial in 2020, the jury was divided, resulting in the Flagler County Circuit Court judge ruling two consecutive life sentences for him without the possibility of parole.
“Even though I am guilty of these horrific murders, the person who committed these acts was not mentally me,” Snelgrove reflected, attributing his crimes to a cocaine addiction. “I've been incarcerated for almost 23 years now and have never been the subject of a disciplinary report. I am a good individual who committed an abhorrent act.”
Snelgrove argued that if 12 people are required to pronounce a defendant guilty and eligible for capital punishment, then the same number should be required to pass a death sentence.
During Snelgrove's trials and appeals, Norko, the daughter of the victims, found herself angered by his casual conversation and smiles with his attorneys during court recesses.
“I sincerely doubt he feels any remorse for the harm he caused to my family and the community at large."
Paul Durousseau, 52, another ex-inmate from Florida's death row, stated that eight jurors were insufficient to enforce the death penalty, and that this hands "all power to the state." He is currently incarcerated in the Walton Correctional Institution in DeFuniak Springs, also part of Florida's Panhandle.
“If they lower the number of jurors, it would be unjust to the defendant on trial, fighting for their life,” he argued in an interview. “Eight jurors isn't sufficient. The count should remain at 12.”
This former Jacksonville cab driver stands accused of murdering seven women between 1997 and 2003. In 2007, he was convicted in one case in Duval County and sentenced to death by a 10-2 jury vote. The ruling was later overturned, and a new jury again voted 10-2 to condemn him after Florida revised its death penalty law in 2017 to require a unanimous verdict, effectively saving his life.
Last month saw the execution of "ninja killer" Louis Gaskin, 56, at the Florida State Prison under the state's new law. He had been sentenced to death in 1990 by an 8-4 jury vote, a ruling accepted by the judge. There was no retrial after the Florida law changed in 2017, and the death sentence was executed. Gaskin had confessed to his crimes, and his final words were, “Justice is not about the crime. It’s not about the criminal. It’s about the law. Look at my case.”
Republican legislators backing the bill argue that it will correct a currently flawed justice system.
“Victims of the most heinous crimes and their families should see criminals penalized to the maximum extent of the law,” Ingoglia, one of the bill's proponents, stated on the day the legislation was enacted. “One dissenting juror should not be the ultimate decider of justice."