DeSantis set an execution record. His successor shouldn’t try to top it | Opinion

In politics, bad decisions can usually be reversed — except, of course, when it comes to the death penalty.

Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed 19 death warrants, setting a record in a single year since Florida reinstated the death sentence in 1976.

That statistic is troubling, but even more so when you consider that Florida leads the nation with 30 death row exonerees since 1973 — more than any other state. The governor keeps signing death warrants, despite the state’s record of — at times — getting it wrong.

DeSantis doesn’t seem to be fazed. At a press conference last May, he said, “Any time we go forward, I’m convinced that not only was the verdict correct, but that this punishment is absolutely appropriate under the circumstances.”

The governor seems increasingly certain that more executions are the right course of action. How else to explain why he’s signing death warrants at a record pace? As a Catholic, I believe the only time the death penalty is warranted is when a person is a danger to society and can’t be kept away from the population. In America’s prison system, that isn’t the case.

Overall, I don’t support the death penalty. But many of the candidates running to take DeSantis’ place as governor do. If elected, will they keep up his tempo? I hope not.

Earlier this week, the Miami Herald asked Florida’s gubernatorial candidates about their thoughts on the death penalty. Republican Congressman Byron Donalds said in a statement to the Herald that as governor he would “ensure violent criminals swiftly face the full weight of justice.”

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, another Republican, vowed he would “uphold our constitutional obligation to sentence them to the death penalty swiftly. The families of victims deserve justice. Florida will remain a law and order state when I’m governor.”

Both mistake vengeance for justice. I understand that some people, especially those who may have lost a loved one to violence, see the death penalty as justice. I don’t agree. Justice isn’t served when the state takes a life, especially knowing there’s a risk of getting it wrong. Taking the life of another person — no matter what they may be convicted of — doesn’t undo the crime.

Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, also asked about his stance, went further, proposing to expedite cases by limiting death penalty appeals to three years: “As a former prosecutor, I know the death penalty deters crime — especially when it is swift and certain. Justice delayed weakens deterrence. Justice delivered upholds law and order.”

But there’s no evidence that the death penalty deters crime. He also frames the problem as too many delays — not the possibility that the person may be innocent. In a state with 30 exonerations, that framing is dangerous.

That possibility alone should be enough to give any governor pause. Every appeal deserves to be thoroughly examined, not pushed through under arbitrary timelines. When a life is on the line, delay is better than a mistake.

Opposing the death penalty doesn’t mean being soft on crime. It means applying the same level of skepticism to government power that conservatives apply everywhere else.

On Monday, the Florida Supreme Court refused to lift a stay of execution for James Duckett, a former police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl in 1987. A court-ordered analysis of DNA test results was inconclusive. The state pushed to lift the stay, but the court refused to allow more time to review the evidence.

That decision should make every gubernatorial candidate stop and think. Even decades later, the system is still grappling with the basic question: What if we got it wrong?

Florida’s next governor should have the moral clarity to slow down — or even opt out. The Sunshine State has more exonerations than anywhere else. Swiftness isn’t always justice. And if the state gets it wrong, there isn’t an off-ramp.

Mary Anna Mancuso is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. Her email: mmancuso@miamiherald.com

This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 4:33 PM.