BREAKING: 11th Circuit denies Zack's appeal
Early this morning, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a 17-page decision denying Zack’s request for a stay of execution.
Michael Zack is scheduled to be executed on October 3 at 6:00 p.m.—one week from today.
Early this morning, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a 17-page decision denying Zack’s request for a stay of execution.
The Court says that none of the “purported deficienc[ies]” in Florida’s clemency process “rise to the level required to sustain a constitutional violation.” Regarding Zack’s ability to submit more information, the Court writes:
As for the additional submissions to the Board about FAS, there is no provision in the Clemency Rules that prevented Zack from providing supplemental materials if he believed they would bolster his clemency application. Indeed, the State represents that he still may do so. According to the State, the Clemency Board would consider any new materials, even if clemency had previously been denied, because clemency in Florida is an ongoing process.
. . . .
While Zack is correct that there is no Clemency Rule affirmatively authorizing supplemental submissions, there is also no Rule precluding them. And the State says that any materials that Zack submitted about the research on FAS would have been considered as part of his clemency application. So based on the record, we cannot conclude that there was no opportunity for Zack’s counsel to submit updated materials.
. . . .
. . . No matter what we say in this decision, Zack retains the opportunity to submit these materials to the Board for its consideration. And any opinion we offered about whether the updated evidence is compelling could not affect the ultimate decision about Zack’s clemency application. That decision lies exclusively with the Governor and the Clemency Board.
The full decision can be downloaded here.
Prior TFDP Coverage of the Zack Warrant
The full background of Zack’s case is available here.
The Florida Supreme Court’s Scheduling Order
Beginning of trial court litigation here
The trial court’s Scheduling Order
The litigation related to public records is covered here.
Continuance due to Hurricane Idalia
The State’s responses to Zack’s motions in the trial court
A closer look at Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Trial court denies Zack’s claims
Claims filed in federal court
State seeks to dismiss federal claims
Briefing begins at the Florida Supreme Court
Litigation update as of September 13
Litigation update as of September 17
Zack’s appeal from the federal court’s denial of a stay
Florida Supreme Court denies Zack’s appeal
Litigation update as of September 24
My thoughts are with everyone involved in the warrant and execution process.