Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush Expresses Regrets Regarding His Experience with Capital Punishment: ​“I Was Very Uncomfortable With It”

In a July podcast episode from Deeper Dive with Dara Kam, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (pictured) spoke about his beliefs on capital punishment and his regrets about not having enough time to reform Florida’s death penalty process. Gov. Bush, who oversaw 21 executions during his eight years in office, said that “it’s one of those things that would probably be unpopular to do, but figuring out a way to reform the system given the existing laws that we have now, I think would be appropriate.” He added that in his “last year, [he] certainly considered it,” but ran out of time. Gov. Bush said that he personally believes the death penalty can be a deterrent, but “the whole system has been so tangled up by court rulings that it’s not a deterrent as it should be.”

Citing his religious faith, Gov. Bush said that “there’s a moral implication, for sure, as a Catholic…it was very hard for me to be a part of the death penalty process, I was very uncomfortable with it.” Acknowledging that he had a duty to follow the law, he said he did just that. When asked if he thinks life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is a better punishment, he said that it “is less expensive and it does create certainty for families that have suffered…if you have a life in prison sentence, you know it’s done.” Gov. Bush also said he understands the arguments from people who oppose the death penalty and that a focus should be placed on finality for victims’ families.

In discussing recent changes to Florida’s death penalty law, Gov. Bush supports requiring unanimous jury recommendations for death sentences, rather than a majority. In 2023, Florida lawmakers, at the urging of current Governor Ron DeSantis, passed legislation that allows for capital juries to impose death sentences by a nonunanimous recommendation (8-4). His push for a change to the law came after a non-unanimous jury in Nikolas Cruz’s case resulted in a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Mr. Cruz was tried for the 2018 shooting deaths of 17 students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL.

Since taking office in 2019, Gov. DeSantis has signed nine executions warrants, six of which took place in 2023. He recently scheduled Loran Cole to be executed on August 29, 2024.