House Bill 4819

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4819

        By the Committee on Corrections and Representative
    Trovillion





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to execution of the death

  3         sentence; amending s. 922.11, F.S.; prohibiting

  4         videotape recorders and other electronic or

  5         mechanical devices and artistic paraphernalia

  6         in the execution observation room; providing an

  7         effective date.

  8

  9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

10

11         Section 1.  Section 922.11, Florida Statutes, is

12  amended to read:

13         922.11  Regulation of execution.--

14         (1)  The superintendent of the state prison or a deputy

15  designated by him or her shall be present at the execution.

16  The superintendent shall set the day for execution within the

17  week designated by the Governor in the warrant.

18         (2)  Twelve citizens selected by the superintendent

19  shall witness the execution.  A qualified physician shall be

20  present and announce when death has been inflicted. Counsel

21  for the convicted person and ministers of religion requested

22  by the convicted person may be present.  Representatives of

23  news media may be present under rules approved by the

24  Secretary of Corrections. All other persons, except prison

25  officers and correctional officers, shall be excluded during

26  the execution.

27         (3)  The body of the executed person shall be delivered

28  to the medical examiner for an autopsy.  After completion of

29  the autopsy, the body shall be prepared for burial and, if

30  requested, released to relatives of the deceased.  If a coffin

31  has not been provided by relatives, the body shall be

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 4819

    180-409-98






  1  delivered in a plain coffin.  If the body is not claimed by

  2  relatives, it shall be given to physicians who have requested

  3  it for dissection or to be disposed of in the same manner as

  4  are bodies of prisoners dying in the state prison.

  5         (4)  No electronic or mechanical devices, including,

  6  but not limited to, still or moving picture recorders,

  7  videotape recorders, or similar devices, or artistic

  8  paraphernalia shall be permitted in the execution observation

  9  room.

10         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

11  law.

12

13            *****************************************

14                          HOUSE SUMMARY

15
      Prohibits videotape recorders, other electronic or
16    mechanical devices, and artistic paraphernalia in the
      execution observation room.
17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  2