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USA - Florida. Michael Zack was executed on October 3
October 3, 2023: October 3, 2023 - Michael Zack, 54, White, was executed on October 3.
Zack was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke.
Zack had been convicted of 2 murders: in June 13, 1996 he raped and stabbed Ravonne Smith to death.
A jury in September 1997 convicted Zack of first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm and sexual battery, records show. He also was sentenced to life in prison for killing Laura Rosillo in Okaloosa County shortly before the Smith murder.
"27 years ago, I was an alcoholic and a drug addict," Zack said in the statement. "I did things that have hurt a lot of people—not only the victims and their families and friends, but my own family and friends as well. I have woken up every single day since then filled with remorse and a wish to make my time here on earth mean something more than the worst thing I ever did."
"I make no excuses," he added. "I lay no blame. But how I wish that I could have a 2nd chance, to live out my days in prison and continue to do all I can to make a difference in this world. To all my brothers on death row, please continue to help each other."
Zack concluded the message by addressing “Gov. DeSantis and the clemency board,” writing to them: “I love you. I forgive you. I pray for you.”
He declined a last meal, Florida prison officials said.
Zack's execution came after a last-minute appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied on Monday, with justices giving no reason for the denial. An appeal to the Florida Supreme Court was also rejected in a unanimous decision last week.
Lawyers for Zack had argued that he should not be executed due to his diminished impulse control, mental and emotional issues caused by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), citing a 2002 Supreme Court decision that made intellectual disabilities a disqualifying factor for the death penalty.
The execution was carried out despite repeated pleas from anti-death-penalty activists, including the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, which had urged Gov. Ron DeSantis to commute Zack’s sentence.
Zack becomes the 6th inmate to be executed this year in Florida, the 105th overall since the state resumed executions in 1979, the 19th this year in the United States, and the 1,577th overall since the country resumed executions on January 17, 1977.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255572/florida-executes-convicted-double-murderer-despite-pleas-from-catholic-bishops#:~:text=The%20state%20of%20Florida%20executed,said%20in%20a%20news%20release. (Source: Catholic News Agency, 03/10/2023)
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