Statistics

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS STATS

Stats & Annual Reports for the Florida Dept of Corrections

FLORIDA DEATH PENALTY STATS

Just Representation is Required Because...

Thirteen percent of the nation’s death row inmates are on Death Row in Florida
There are currently 405 inmates on Death Row in Florida (number 2 in the country)
There have been 75 executions in Florida since 1976
There have been 24 people exhonerated from Florida's Death Row
There are 493 active capital cases statewide (2009)
State funding on experts, investigators, and support declines yearly
Florida is the only state that allows a jury to decide the aggravating factors and to recommend death by a simple majority vote (7 of 12)

FLORIDA DEATH PENALTY FUNDING STATS

The High Cost of the Dealth Penalty in Florida...

The State of Florida spends $51 million annually to enforce and carry-out the death penalty.1
Based on Florida's current execution rate, the state spends approcimately $24 million per execution.2
"[T]he actual cost of prosecuting, convicting and executing an individual...in Florida has been estimated at about $3.2 million."3

1 S.V. Date, The High Price of Killing Killers, Palm Beach Post, January 4, 2000, A Section at 1A, available at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/2289.

2. Id

3. Id

Florida's legislation under-funds the criminal justice system and sets unrealistically low caps on compensation for both public defenders and private attorneys who register for court appointments.

Flat rates of $15,000 per capital case were established except in extraordinary circumstances.
In March 2009, as the Florida legislature proposed a 15% cut in funding through July 2009 to the already budget-strained public defender and state attorney offices, public defenders and prosecutors faced the prospect of furloughs and office-closings in order to salvage their jobs and keep the criminal courts running.4
A recent survey of Florida lawyers found that "91 percent of respondents list their hourly rate at $150 or higher (up from 83 percent in 2005), 69 percent report they charge $200 or more (up from 60 percent), and 18 percent bill $300 or more an hour, the same as two years ago."5 This amounts to 100 hours or less of attorney time in a capital case – an amount that barely covers the in court time of an attorney during both phases of a capital case.

4 Todd Ruger, Furloughs May Clog Courts, Herald Tribune, March 30, 2009, at A1, available athttp://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090330/ARTICLE/903301055.