I accidentally deleted my original post so I am reposting it.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/florida-s-oldest-executed-inmate-s-last-words-revealed/ar-AA26yKl3?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=EDBBAN&cvid=6a3e6e2a27aa4507b21395079cd03e5e&ei=38Florida just executed the oldest inmate to receive the death penalty. He was 74. Same age as me. The joke is he committed his murder in 1992. 25-30 years has become the norm for death penalty cases to exhaust appeals which is absurd. Another 74 year old man is scheduled to be executed later this year. When somebody receives the death penalty, they are more likely to die of hardening of the arteries before their sentence is carried out.
In the infamous In Cold Blood murder of the Clutter family in 1959 Dick Hickock and Perry Smith were hanged 5 1/2 years after their heinous act. It was never brought out in either the book or the movie but they were also the prime suspects in the slaughter of another family of four in Florida while they were on the lam from the Clutter murders. They were known to be in the area when the murders took place. It seems to me 5 1/2 years is a reasonable length of time to hear all appeals. Once that time period runs out, the only grounds for appeal that should be allowed is if compelling evidence is presented that the condemned person was innocent of the crime. If that can't be done, it's time to say, "Sorry about your bad luck. Adios".
I also think doing away with lethal injections would be a good step. I don't know why we ever did away with hanging. It worked quite well.