Criminal defense attorney and former Florida Bar president Michelle Suskauer recently spoke with the Miami Herald about Florida’s unprecedented surge in executions, which saw the state carry out 19 death warrants in 2025, nearly doubling the national average and accounting for 40% of executions nationwide.
According to a report by the Death Penalty Information Center, Florida’s increase has made it an extreme outlier at a time when public support for capital punishment is declining. Legal experts cited changes in state law, including the reduction of jury unanimity requirements and the expansion of death-eligible offenses, as key factors behind the acceleration.
Suskauer noted that while executions remain part of Florida law, the rapid pace and reduced safeguards raise serious concerns about fairness, proportionality, and access to legal representation.
“The numbers are overwhelming, but the individual stories are significant,” Suskauer said.
She explained that many of those executed suffered from mental illness, intellectual disabilities, childhood trauma, or had limited access to legal counsel during post-conviction proceedings. Several inmates, she noted, may not have received death sentences if tried under today’s standards.
“This is the ultimate punishment,” Suskauer said. “If the state is seeking the ultimate penalty, you want to make sure everything was done right and that the defendant had full access to attorneys at every step of the proceeding, including post conviction.”
Suskauer emphasized that the justice system must balance the rights of defendants with the needs of victims’ families, particularly in cases involving irreversible punishment.
“It’s a very hard balance, and it’s emotional on both sides,” she said.
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Florida executed 19 death row inmates in 2025. That caused unusual national uptick. (Miami Herald)
