Opinion: Gambling with lives on death row

Bill Jennings is gambling with the very lives he's now being paid by the taxpayers to defend. His mass firings at the state agency for death-row appeals smack of political opportunism. Gov. Jeb Bush gave Jennings the job, and should he keep it, his record will reflect on the governor's own standards of competence and fairness.

Jennings was given the top job representing death-row inmates in Florida's middle region, which extends across St. Petersburg, Tampa and Orlando, after losing last year's Republican primary for Hillsborough state attorney. The voters made the right choice in rejecting his candidacy. Jennings, a former prosecutor, has little experience as a defense attorney and has shown little regard for their role in the system. He told the Times last July: "I will not be indebted to the criminal defense bar, which will allow me to put the safety of citizens of Hillsborough County first."

Apparently, Jennings swallowed his qualms about defense work for a job that pays $112,500 a year. His office handles appeals for indigent inmates on death row. Three weeks into the job, Jennings' first major act was to fire half the staff. This from a man who promised, as a candidate for state attorney, to "do away with whim firings." Problem employees, he said, "would be counseled," sent for training and, when necessary, have "their personnel files documented appropriately."

Half the replacement workers Jennings hired contributed to his political campaign. Several gave the $500 maximum allowed. Jennings admits the new staff has less experience with capital cases than their predecessors, meaning it will be difficult -- given the way he lopped heads -- to effect an orderly transition.

Jennings showed a disregard for his clients, who face losing their life, and for his employees. He sacked workers without meeting them face-to-face, choosing instead to mail pink slips last weekend. He didn't debrief the departing attorneys to help prepare the new lawyers who will take over their cases. He also hadn't, as of Friday, informed all his clients who lost their attorneys. Jennings said the gossip mill on death row probably spread the word for him.

If these are the attributes Jennings brings to the job, what confidence can his clients, their families, the public and the courts have in an office whose competence and integrity may make the difference between life and death? Continuity and stability are vital to an office that faces uphill legal battles that often drag for years. Jennings insists he is putting together a first-rate team, but the reasons he gives for firing so much of the staff raise questions about his motivation and judgment.

Jennings was the governor's pick. Bush supported a law accelerating death appeals -- which the Florida Supreme Court later ruled was unconstitutional -- and has been content appointing death-row lawyers from among the mediocre applicants sent his way. Protecting the rights of death-row inmates is not a politically popular job, but it is a fundamental responsibility of government. When an office handling death-row appeals is run incompetently, or when the person in charge seems hostile to the office's constitutional responsibilities, the result reflects on the governor's commitment to the fair resolution of complex capital cases.

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