DueProcess Punishment HabeasCorpus Securities JusticiabilityDoctri
Whether Mr. Gaskin's execution violates the US Constitution due to a malfunctioned process
QUESTIONS PRESENTED -CAPITAL CASE-DEATH WARRANT Mr. Gaskin was sentenced to death thirty-three years ago. After that, he petitioned every court that would hear his claims, and some that would not. Mr. Gaskin’s execution raises the fundamental issue of whether his execution, if it takes place, violates the US Constitution because the process malfunctioned so completely that his execution would be an intolerable injustice. Accordingly, Mr. Gaskin raises the following issues: 1. Whether evolving standards of decency have rendered Mr. Gaskin’s death violative of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and is excessive when the mitigation that was developed post-trial is considered in deciding whether Mr. Gaskin’s case falls into the category of cases which are the most aggravated and least mitigated? 2. Whether Mr. Gaskin was further denied his rights not only under the Eighth Amendment, but was also denied the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a jury trial and unanimity, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to equal protection, when the state courts failed to remedy the constitutional inadequacy of Mr. Gaskin’s trial and treated Mr. Gaskin differently from other similarly situated individuals? 3. Whether Mr. Gaskin was denied his rights under Espinosa v. Florida and again when the Florida Supreme Court denied habeas relief? 4. Whether the Florida courts’ application of their procedural rules and legal decisions unique to this case can allow the execution to take place that would be a profound and manifest injustice? i