MESSAGE BOARDS: Death penalty

August 2, 1999
Web posted at: 10:49 p.m. EDT (0249 GMT)

MIAMI (CNN) -- A Florida judge ruled Monday that the use of the state's electric chair, dubbed "Old Sparky," does not constitute "cruel or unusual punishment" and can continue to be used -- despite the bloody execution of a 344-pound inmate last month.

The ruling by Judge Clarence Johnson means that the September 14 execution of death row inmate Thomas Provensano may be carried out at the Florida State Prison in Starke.

"Execution by electrocution in Florida's electric chair as it exists in its present condition does not constitute cruel or unusual punishment, and therefore is not unconstitutional," Johnson said Monday in a 33-page ruling.

The chair's continued use was challenged by Provensano's defense attorneys during three days of hearings last week. The hearing was ordered by the Florida Supreme Court.

On August 24, the high court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of the electric chair.

Provensano's lawyers claimed the chair should be outlawed after what happened to Allen Lee Davis on July 8. Blood oozed from under his hooded face during his execution.

Authorities said Davis suffered a nosebleed.

During last week's hearings, Provensano's defense attorneys introduced photographs of Davis taken immediately after his execution. They showed his bloody face covered in part by a leather mouthstrap, pushed up against his nose.

A doctor testifying for Provensano said Davis' facial expression indicated pain.

Johnson decided otherwise, ruling, "Davis did not suffer any conscious pain while being electrocuted ... Rather he suffered instantaneous and painless death once the current was applied to him."

"The nosebleed ... began before the electrical current was applied to him," Johnson added.

American Civil Liberties Union board member Benjamin Waxman told CNN that the ACLU will continue its fight against any form of execution.

"It was barbaric; it was inhumane and tortuous," Waxman said, referring to Davis' death, "and that's not allowed by our constitution under any circumstances."

Provensano's attorneys will automatically appeal his death sentence to Florida's Supreme Court.

Old Sparky's controversial history

Davis' execution last month was not the first time the mechanics of the chair raised ethical questions.

Florida's oak electric chair was replaced earlier this year

In 1997, flames shot from the head of death row inmate Pedro Medina during his execution.

In 1990, smoke poured from the hood of inmate Jessie Tafero as he was put to death.

Both malfunctions were blamed on faulty head gear attached to Old Sparky.

Florida's oak chair, built by inmates in 1923, was replaced earlier this year.

The electrical equipment installed in 1960 was the same used in 1998 to carry out four executions in a nine-day period.

Davis, 54, was put to death for the murder of a pregnant woman, Nancy Weiler, 37, and her two daughters in 1982 in Jacksonville.

Provensano was convicted of fatally shooting two court bailiffs and paralyzing another in a 1984 melee in an Orlando courtroom.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.