Exonerated death row prisoners call on Byron Donalds to halt state executions

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) - As Florida continues to lead the nation in death row executions, three exonerated death row members are calling for Governor-elect Byron Donalds to stop this trend.Thursday, those three men held a press conference in Tallahassee testifying to their stints on death row and what they said were failures in the legal system that led them there.The speakers included Joaquin Martinez, convicted for a double murder in 1997 and acquitted in 2001; Seth Penalver, convicted for a triple murder and armed robbery in 1999 and acquitted in 2012 and Herman Lindsey, convicted for robbery and murder in 2006 and acquitted in 2009.As an alternative, they suggested that the state instead place more funding into public defender resources, mental health programs and education.Martinez said that we must move past this practice. “The US is not barbaric and Florida is not barbaric. It just needs to evolve it just needs to grow. These past two years have jus