Case Name: Judy A. BUENOANO, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1990-06-20
Citations: 565 So. 2d 309
Docket Number: No. 76150
Parties: Judy A. BUENOANO, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: EHRLICH, C.J., and OVERTON, McDONALD and GRIMES, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 565
Pages: 309–315

Head Matter:
Judy A. BUENOANO, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 76150.
Supreme Court of Florida.
June 20, 1990.
Larry Helm Spalding, Capital Collateral Representative, and Billy H. Ñolas, Chief Asst. C.C.R., Office of the Capital Collateral Representative, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Margene A. Roper, Asst. Atty. Gen., Day-tona Beach, for appellee.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Judy A. Buenoano, a prisoner under sentence of death and the Governor's death warrant, appeals from a summary denial of relief in the circuit court on a motion filed pursuant to rule 3.850, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla.Const.
The facts of the crime of which Buenoa-no was convicted are recited in her initial appeal to this Court. Buenoano v. State, 527 So.2d 194, 195-96 (Fla.1988). We affirmed the denial of her motion for postcon-viction relief and denied her petition for habeas corpus in Buenoano v. Dugger, 559 So.2d 1116 (Fla.1990).
The crux of Buenoano's present claim relates to the circumstances surrounding the recent execution of Jesse Tafero on Friday, May 4, 1990. When Tafero's electrocution began, smoke and flames instantaneously spurted from his head for a distance of as much as twelve inches. The flames and smoke emanated from the area around a metallic skull cap, inside of which was a saline-soaked synthetic sponge meant to increase the flow of electricity to the head. The cap is the source of electricity administered to condemned prisoners by the electric chair.
Because of the smoke and flames, officials of the Department of Corrections stopped the first surge of electricity. A second jolt again resulted in smoke and flames spurting from Tafero's head. Finally, a third jolt of electricity was administered. A medical examiner found that Tafero was dead some six or seven minutes after the execution commenced.
Thereafter, the Governor ordered the Department of Corrections to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of Tafe-ro's execution. The Department reported that the equipment was in proper working order. However, it was determined that for the first time a synthetic, rather than a natural, sponge had been used in the headpiece. The Department concluded that the burning of the sponge caused the flames and smoke which were seen during Tafe-ro's execution. Dr. Kilgo, the attending physician, submitted an affidavit stating that with the initial surge of electricity Tafero had no further conscious mental awareness or sensate appreciation. Dr. Hamilton, the medical examiner, stated that "the first jolt obliterated consciousness." The Department concluded that Tafero did not suffer from any unusual or prolonging effects due to the circumstances attendant to his execution. The Department also noted that most executions last longer than seven minutes.
In this appeal, Buenoano contends that her execution would be cruel and unusual punishment because of the malfunctions in the electric chair. Armed with the affidavit of an electric chair designer, she argues that the fault in Tafero's execution lay with a "homemade" electrode in the chair that inadequately conducts electricity, thus increasing the possibility of burning and slow death. Alleging that the defect in the electrode has not been remedied, she says that she could face cruel and unusual punishment because Tafero's execution demonstrated that the Department of Corrections is "incompetent to carry out executions."
Initially, the state argues that Bue-noano is barred from arguing this issue for failure to raise it in her prior rule 3.850 proceeding. The state suggests that Bue-noano should have previously raised the issue of a probable malfunction in the electric chair. We disagree. Buenoano's claim rests primarily upon facts which occurred only recently during Tafero's execution. We find the claim is not procedurally barred.
Turning to the merits, we note that the execution of condemned prisoners is clearly a matter within the province of the. executive branch of government. § 922.09, Fla.Stat. (1989). It must be presumed that members of the executive branch will properly perform their duties. The Department of Corrections conducted an investigation and concluded that the irregularities in Tafero's execution were caused by the use of a synthetic sponge. We do not find that the record as proffered justifies judicial interference with the executive function to require an evidentiary hearing to determine the competence of the Department of Corrections to carry out Buenoano's execution. Death by electrocution is not cruel and unusual punishment, and one malfunction is not sufficient to justify a judicial inquiry into the Department of Corrections' competence. See Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber, 329 U.S. 459, 463, 67 S.Ct. 374, 376, 91 L.Ed. 422 (1947) (plurality opinion).
We affirm the denial of Buenoano's motion for postconviction relief. No petition for rehearing shall be permitted.
It is so ordered.
EHRLICH, C.J., and OVERTON, McDONALD and GRIMES, JJ., concur.
SHAW, J., dissents with an opinion, in which BARKETT and KOGAN, JJ., concur.
BARKETT, J., dissents with an opinion, in which KOGAN, J., concurs.
KOGAN, J., dissents with an opinion.