Florida is no stranger to executing men and women with severe mental illness, including military veterans with service-connected trauma. While Florida is prepping to execute veteran Kyle Bates on August 19th—its fourth veteran and tenth execution this year—a coalition of military veterans from every service branch gathered this morning at the state capital in Tallahassee to deliver a letter imploring governor Desantis to stop executing veterans. See UPI article here; letter here.
"To execute a veteran who was broken by war and left without adequate care is not justice," the letter reads in part. The letter also quoted the Supreme Court’s decision in Porter v. McCollum, 558 U.S. 30 (2009), overturning a military veteran’s Florida death sentence: “Our Nation has a long tradition of according leniency to veterans in recognition of their service.” The Court further explained that the relevance of military service, including “extensive combat experience is not only that he served honorably under extreme hardship and gruesome conditions, but also that the jury might find mitigating the intense stress and mental and emotional toll that combat [takes].”
Today’s letter presentation is organized by the Center for Veteran Criminal Advocacy and will highlight advocates and Tom Dunn, a retired U.S. Army Officer and attorney for Kyle Bates. "Executing our nation's warriors should call for deep soul searching," said Center Director and Retired Navy Captain Art Cody. "We owe veterans better than what they are now receiving in Florida."