TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A fed-up Florida lawmaker has suggested
the state crucify a death-row inmate whose delusions of being
Jesus Christ have helped delay his execution. Republican state
Rep. Howard Futch made the comment about Thomas Provenzano, who
killed a court bailiff in Orlando 15 years ago, during a House
Criminal Justice and Corrections Council meeting.
"Doesn't he think he's Jesus Christ or something? Why don't we
just crucify him," the Orlando Sentinel quoted Futch as saying.
Provenzano, 50, was scheduled to die in Florida's electric
chair July 7, but the Florida Supreme Court granted a stay on
the eve of his execution based on an insanity claim.
His lawyers say their client suffers delusions of being Jesus
Christ and thinks the state is going to crucify him.
"I'd make him a cross and we could take it out there to Starke
[where death row is located] and nail him up," Futch told the
St. Petersburg Times when asked about the comment.
He told the Times he was only half joking.
"I probably never should have said it," he said. "But I'm tired
of these murderers sitting there year after year. He's been
there too long. He killed people. It's time we did something."
The Supreme Court has ordered a mental competency hearing for
Provenzano, who claimed to be Jesus even before he walked into
the Orange County Courthouse in 1984 carrying a shotgun, an
assault rifle and a revolver. He killed a bailiff and paralyzed
two others.
On several occasions, the latest just last month, the Florida
Supreme Court has upheld the use of the electric chair, saying
it does not violate the constitution by being a cruel and
unusual punishment.
At the same time, some justices have urged the state to
consider offering inmates a choice of electric chair or lethal
injection.
