Jones was sentenced to death for murdering his employers, 66-year-old Matilda Nestor and 67-year-old Jacob Nestor, later admitting he did it because they owed him money. Jacob shot Jones before he died. The police found Jones wounded at the scene.
This took place thirty-five years ago. Justice Breyer (joined by Ginsburg, also citing earlier dissents by Stevens), whom I repeatedly cite, argued:
These lengthy delays create two special constitutional difficulties. First, a lengthy delay in and of itself is especially cruel because it subjects death row inmates to decades of especially severe, dehumanizing conditions of confinement. Second, lengthy delay undermines the death penalty’s penological rationale. [cleaned up]
His lawyers unsuccessfully raised various claims, including alleged intellectual disability. Mitigation evidence was cited in the final appeal (see below).
They also attempted to use the abuse Jones suffered as a child at a notorious state reform school. At least 34 people who went to the school later were sentenced to death. Jones received a fiscal settlement earlier this year. The recent settlement arguably was new evidence (often these claims are procedurally barred as coming too late), but only one judge accepted that.
My bottom line is that a long prison sentence was more appropriate. And, even if not, they waited too long. Yes, I am an "abolitionist," but even before that, only a tiny subset of "worst of the worst" situations should warrant an execution. The numbers from that study, however, are also rather glaring.
The Supreme Court, mid-afternoon (a bit late), rejected a final appeal without comment. One claim was a technical procedural matter. The other somewhat emotionally asked:
Has the Florida Supreme Court repeatedly failed to take into account the diverse frailties of human kind in capital sentencing by consistently denigrating the force of proffered mitigating evidence.
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Thanks for your .02!