Manuel Valle

The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted the stay of execution imposed on death row inmate Manuel Valle, a convicted cop killer, despite pleas by six Catholic bishops in the Sunshine State.

Valle, who has spent more than 30 years on death row for murdering a police officer in Broward County in 1978, appealed for the stay, claiming a switch in one drug in the three-drug cocktail used by Florida for lethal injections would subject him to pain, constituting a violation of the Eighth Amendment's protection against "cruel and unusual" punishment.

The Department of Corrections, in its lethal injection protocol set out June 8, switched sodium thiopental, the usual first drug in the injection sequence, with pentobarbital sodium. Valle was originally scheduled to be executed Aug. 2, but the stay was imposed July 25.

The matter was considered by a circuit court, which heard evidence from doctors for Valle and the state, as well as witnesses of executions in Alabama and Georgia that went awry. The circuit court found no reason to halt the execution, and Tuesday Florida Supreme Court justices upheld the lower court's ruling.

"After receiving this evidence, the circuit court denied relief, concluding that the substitution of pentobarbital as an anesthetic did not violate the Eighth Amendment because the evidence failed to establish that the intravenous administration of pentobarbital creates a substantial risk of serious harm. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the circuit court's denial," stated part of the 44-page decision.

When the stay was originally imposed, Valle's new execution date was set for no sooner than Sept. 2.

Six of Florida’s Catholic bishops -- Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, Bishop Gerald Barbarito of Palm Beach, Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Bishop John Noonan of Orlando and Bishop Felipe Estévez of St. Augustine -- wrote Gov. Rick Scott appealing to him to stay the execution of Valle. The Florida Catholic Conference released the letter, which was written earlier in the month, on Tuesday.

“We renew our appeal to you to end the use of the death penalty in our state. We urge you to stay the execution of Manuel Valle scheduled for September 1, 2011,” wrote the bishops. “We concede the right of the state to impose the death penalty when absolutely necessary, that is when it is otherwise impossible to defend society. However, given the ability of Florida to protect its residents by incarcerating inmates for life without possibility of parole, we pray you will exercise that option.

“Willful murder is a heinous crime; it cries to God for justice,” continued the bishops. “Yet, God did not require Cain’s life for having spilt Abel’s blood. While God certainly punished history’s first murderer, he nevertheless put a mark on him to protect Cain from those wishing to kill him to avenge Abel’s murder (cf. Genesis 4:15). Like Cain, the condemned prisoner on death row – for all the evil of his crimes – remains a person. Human dignity – that of the convicted as well as our own – is best served by not resorting to this extreme and unnecessary punishment. Modern society has the means to protect itself without the death penalty.