EXECUTION SET: FLORIDA SUPREME COURT SHUTS DOWN HAMMER KILLER CURTIS BEASLEY’S FINAL PLEA

The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an appeal and refused to halt the scheduled execution of 77-year-old Curtis W. Beasley, keeping him on track to be put to death next week.

Governor Ron DeSantis signed Beasley’s death warrant on August 26, setting his execution for September 29. In an unsigned per curiam opinion issued Tuesday, the state high court upheld a Polk County circuit judge’s summary denial of Beasley’s successive motion for postconviction relief, as well as his request for an emergency stay.

Beasley was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, and grand theft auto in the August 1995 beating death of Carolyn Monfort. At the time, Beasley was staying at Monfort’s home and performing maintenance work at an apartment complex she managed.

Evidence presented at trial revealed that Monfort suffered severe blunt-force trauma, including 15 to 17 blows to her head and face that were consistent with being struck by a hammer. Following the murder, Beasley took several $100 bills and Monfort’s car, drove to Haines City to repay a debt, left the vehicle in Orlando, and fled through Miami to Alabama, where he worked under an alias until his arrest. A jury later convicted Beasley and recommended a death sentence by a 10-2 vote.

In his latest appeal, Beasley’s attorneys argued that carrying out the death penalty against a 77-year-old experiencing cognitive decline, memory issues, and depression violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The justices rejected that argument, stating that the U.S. Supreme Court has only established an age-based execution bar for crimes committed by juveniles under 18. The court pointed to Florida’s constitutional conformity clause, noting it cannot expand Eighth Amendment protections beyond federal standards.

Beasley also challenged the length of his warrant period, claiming the tight schedule between the signing of the warrant and the execution date hindered his defense team and deprived him of due process. The justices dismissed the claim, noting that the trial court properly found no evidence that defense access was restricted.

“There is no claim that Mr. Beasley has had insufficient access to counsel or opportunity to be heard in Court,” the ruling noted from the lower court’s findings. “Indeed, his counsel asserts they have been ‘working around the clock.’ Moreover, since the day his death warrant was signed, this court has given priority to the Defendant’s case, affording it the ‘drop-everything’ attention the urgency of the cause demands.”

Additionally, the court turned aside arguments challenging the governor’s sole discretion in signing death warrants, reaffirming that “the Governor’s broad discretion in selecting which death warrants to sign and when does not violate the United States Constitution or the Florida Constitution.”

The justices also dismissed Beasley’s challenge to his nonunanimous 10-2 jury recommendation, ruling the claim procedurally barred and noting that current law does not mandate unanimous jury recommendations retroactively for his case.

Chief Justice John D. Couriel and Justices Carlos G. Muñiz, Jamie Grosshans, Renatha Francis, Meredith Sasso, and Adam Tanenbaum concurred in the opinion, while Justice Jorge Labarga concurred in the result. The court ordered that no motions for rehearing will be considered, allowing the state to proceed with the September 29 execution.

READ: Tennessee Set To Execute First Woman In 200 Years As Christa Pike Makes Desperate Final Clemency Bid

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