The Florida Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of Michael A. Tanzi, who was convicted of the 2000 murder of Janet Acosta. The ruling comes as Tanzi’s execution is scheduled for April 8, 2025.
Tanzi was convicted of kidnapping, sexually battering, and murdering Acosta. He confessed to the crimes and led police to her body. The jury unanimously recommended the death penalty, which the trial court imposed.
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In a series of appeals and post-conviction motions, Tanzi challenged his conviction and sentence. He argued that the compressed timeframe for his post-warrant procedures, the denial of public records requests, the constitutionality of Florida’s lethal injection protocol, and the Governor’s authority to set execution dates violated his constitutional rights.
The Florida Supreme Court rejected all of Tanzi’s claims. The court found that the warrant litigation schedule did not violate due process, that the denial of public records requests was proper, that his challenge to the lethal injection protocol was untimely and meritless, and that the Governor’s authority to set execution dates is constitutional.
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Tanzi also filed a habeas petition, arguing that his death sentence was unconstitutional in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling (Erlinger v. United States). The Florida Supreme Court denied this petition, finding that the Erlinger ruling did not apply to his case.
Additionally, Tanzi filed an emergency petition seeking a wheelchair, which the court dismissed, stating a failure to exhaust administrative remedies, and that there was not a clear legal right to the requested medical treatment.
The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decisions, denied Tanzi’s habeas petition, dismissed his emergency petition, and denied his motions for a stay of execution and oral argument.
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