Exonerated Former Inmates Ask Governor-Elect Donalds to Pause Executions as Florida Nears a 50-Year High

Three men who were once sentenced to die in Florida, and later walked free, asked Governor-elect Byron Donalds on Thursday to halt the state's upcoming executions, as Florida closes in on its highest execution count in half a century.

Seth Penalver, Herman Lindsey and Joaquin Jose Martinez made their appeal at a press conference in Tallahassee organized by Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and Witness to Innocence, Newsweek reported, citing the Tallahassee Democrat. They asked Donalds to pause executions, hold a roundtable discussion and review each case individually.

Lindsey was sent to death row in 2006 over the robbery and murder of a Fort Lauderdale pawn shop owner and was exonerated in 2009, according to a biography cited by Newsweek. He now leads Witness to Innocence, and he urged Donalds to re-evaluate the death penalty before using it, Newsweek reported. Martinez was convicted of a 1997 double murder and sentenced to death, then acquitted in 2001; he now lives in Spain. The Washington Post reported that the men asked Donalds to avoid the possibility of executing other innocent people when he takes office.

Earlier in the week, the Rev. Jeff Hood, an Arkansas pastor, asked Donalds for a six-month moratorium on executions, the Miami Herald reported, according to Newsweek.

Florida leads the country with 19 executions this year, according to the state Department of Corrections, as reported by Newsweek. The Washington Post reported that the state is poised to break its execution record for the second year in a row.

Next on the calendar is Thomas Overton, whose death warrant was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Overton was convicted of killing a couple in the Florida Keys and their unborn child, and his execution is set for Nov. 19, according to Newsweek, citing CBS News. It would be Florida's 20th execution this year, the most in 50 years.

Donalds has left no doubt about his view. A spokesperson said Donalds "is a staunch supporter of the death penalty and will govern as such," Newsweek reported. Earlier this year, Donalds told the Miami Herald that he supports capital punishment and would act against violent criminals.

Craig Agranoff, a political science professor at Florida Atlantic University, told Newsweek that a pause is legally possible because a governor has wide authority over death warrants, but that a formal moratorium would be politically difficult. Donalds could instead slow the pace or review cases, he said.

The men who spoke Thursday deserve to be heard. Wrongful convictions are real, and every exoneration is both a victory for the freed man and a reminder that the system must be held to the highest standard when a life is on the line.

But the families of murder victims deserve to be heard too. In Overton's case, the victims include a couple and the child they were expecting. For Floridians who believe that the unborn are fully human, that detail matters. Justice delayed for decades is a heavy burden for survivors, and Florida voters have elected leaders, DeSantis and now Donalds, who have promised to carry out lawful sentences.

The best answer to both concerns is not to abandon the death penalty, but to insist that it be reserved for cases where guilt is certain, and that every claim of innocence gets a fair hearing before a warrant is signed. Donalds' openness to the voices of exonerees, even while keeping his commitment to the law, would reassure Floridians on both sides of the issue.

Overton's execution is scheduled for Nov. 19 under DeSantis. The question of what comes after will fall to Donalds once he takes office. His team's answer so far is clear: the death penalty stays.