The people are not marching in the street by the thousands, crying out for more. Because there is no downside. Death fires up a minority of voters who like tough talk, and it does not lose the votes of the indifferent rest. No politician will be defeated for supporting death. The result is sort of a tough-guy competition.
Politicians seek to outdo each other.
This is why nobody wanted to be the one to propose changing from lethal injection to the electric chair. The chair is so much more macho. This competition will be at work today, when the Legislature begins a special session on death. The original reason for today's session was to adopt lethal injection as an alternative to electrocution, just in case the U.S. Supreme Court rules that Florida's electric chair is unconstitutional. But give the Legislature an inch and it will steal your yardstick.