Miami, Apr 11 (EFE).- The 56-year-old Louis Bernard Gaskin, sentenced to death, is waiting to find out if the appeal he sent to the US Supreme Court will prevent him from being executed tomorrow, Wednesday. in a Florida correctional facility for a double homicide he committed in 1989.
Until this Tuesday, Gaskin, who is known as the “ninja killer”, had still not received a response from the country’s highest court on the appeal submitted last Thursday, the same day as the Supreme Court. of Florida rejected the request to suspend his execution by lethal injection, scheduled for six in the afternoon, local time (22:00 GMT).
According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, in the brief forwarded to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Gaskin’s attorney, Eric Pinkard, stated that the jury was never presented with “profound and compelling mitigating evidence” and that the State courts have prevented a proper review of the case.
The lawyer’s request comes after the state Supreme Court announced that, among other things, it supported the decision of District Judge Terence Perkins.
That magistrate had refused to hold a new hearing in which the testimony of a mental health expert was sought, given that the matter had already been addressed during the judicial process and Gaskin’s own lawyers avoided calling Gaskin at the time. a professional in that field.
As reported by the newspaper, Florida’s highest court also dismissed the defense’s claim for a “partially unconstitutional” death sentence, given the lack of unanimity in the jury’s recommendation (8 in favor of execution and 4 against). ) and that a magistrate attended.
Since 2017, in Florida, a unanimous jury is required for a judge to rule on the death penalty, which is in line with what the US Supreme Court establishes, which considers conviction by simple majority unconstitutional, as occurred with Gaskin.
The Florida Supreme Court indicated that a retroactive criterion of the ruling known as Hurst was not applicable in this case, which was the one that led to the mandatory unanimity of the jury for capital punishment in this state, where there are currently more than 300 sentenced on “death row”.
Gaskin was sentenced to death for the December 20 murder of Robert Sturmfels, 56, and Georgette Sturmfels, 55, whom he shot with a rifle at the victims’ home, located in Flagler County, in the northeast of the state.
He was also sentenced for the attempted murder of a couple and for armed robbery, crimes that occurred on the same day as the events.
The local press nicknamed him “ninja killer” (“the assassin ninja”) because he was wearing black ninja clothing at the time of committing the crimes.
The Police found at the home of Gaskin, who confessed to being the author of the murders, money, jewelry and objects that had been stolen from the victims’ home and that he intended to give as Christmas gifts to his girlfriend at the time.
If the appeal in the US Supreme Court is not successful, Gaskin’s execution will be the second of the year, after the lethal injection that was applied on February 23 to Donald Dillbeck, 59, in the State Prison of Florida.
The execution order, signed last month by the state governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, has prompted a request from the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FCCB) to stay the “unnecessary” execution of Louis Gaskin and commute his sentence to life in prison without parole.
“Taking the life of Mr. Gaskin will not restore the lives of the victims. Rather, premeditated and state-sanctioned murder disrespects the sanctity of all human life and perpetuates the cycle of violence and revenge,” said Michael Sheedy, executive director of the FCCB, in a letter sent to Governor DeSantis on September 31. March.
Different Catholic dioceses in Florida have organized different vigils and days of prayer for tomorrow, Wednesday, both for Gaskin and for his victims and relatives, as well as to ask for an end to the imposition of the death penalty.
