Starke, FL – Martin Grossman was declared dead at 6:17 p.m. at the Florida state prison in Starke, 15 minutes after the start of his execution by lethal injection.
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In a final statement, Grossman expressed remorse to the family of Peggy Park, the Florida wildlife officer he beat and shot to death more than 25 years ago.
“I would like to extend my heartfelt remorse to the victim’s family,” Grossman said. “I fully regret everything that happened that night, everything that was done, whether I remember everything or not. I accept responsibility.”
“I would like to say a prayer,” the 45-year-old man added, then, lying on a gurney, hands strapped to arm boards and with needles in both arms, he began reciting a Jewish prayer called the Schma.
It is the most sacred prayer in Judaism and the first prayer that Jewish children learn. Among its verses: “The Lord is our God, God is one.”
Park’s brother, sister and mother were among the 20 witnesses to the execution. They were seated directly in front of Grossman, who was visible through a window.
The Vatican, Jewish leaders as far away as Israel, and thousands of petitioners called for a stop to the execution on several grounds, including questions about whether the slaying was premeditated, Grossman’s diminished IQ and his remorse for the crime.
Grossman’s religious adviser, Rabbi Menachem Katz, was with him in his cell throughout the day.
Grossman took a shower and dressed at 4 p.m. He ordered no special last meal, just food from the prison cantina – a fried chicken sandwich, fruit punch, and banana cookies, said Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.
“He is calm, compliant and resolved to the fact his execution is going to happen,” Plessinger said before he was walked to the death chamber.
Grossman’s final visit was 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. today with his aunt, Rosal Melton, and two female friends, Sharon Lion and Francine Whitehouse. The first two hours, a visitors window separated them and the last hour was a contact visit.
Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused today to block Grossman’s execution.
He was sentenced to death for murdering Park on Dec. 13, 1984, as she patrolled a wooded area of Pinellas County now known as the Brooker Creek Preserve.
She came across Grossman, then a 19-year-old high school dropout, and a 17-year-old accomplice. They had a stolen gun. Grossman had already been to prison for grand theft and breaking-and-entering. He didn’t want to go back. They beat Park with a flashlight and shot her with her service revolver.
Last-minute efforts to spare Grossman’s life extended to the Vatican, which sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist saying “the prisoner has repented and is now a changed person.” The letter was sent in response to a request from Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen, chief Rabbi of Haifa, Israel.
Grossman is the 69th person executed in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1979, and the 25th by lethal injection. He was the fifth inmate executed under Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who has been in office for three years.
Crist signed Grossman’s death warrant Jan. 12. Since that time, his office has received about 49,000 letters, telephone calls or e-mails, according to a spokesman.
Below is a statement from Agudath Israel on the execution of Martin Grossman
An Orthodox Jewish organization that had been among several urging Florida Governor Charlie Crist to spare the life of Martin Grossman, and pursuing possible legal avenues to stay implementation of the death penalty, expressed “deep anguish” over his execution this evening.
Mr. Grossman was convicted of killing Ms. Margaret Parks, a Florida Wildlife Officer, in 1984, when he was 19 years old. In advocating for his life to be spared, the Jewish groups acknowledged the horror of his crime and expressed their deepest sympathy for the family of his victim. At the same time, they called attention to the fact that the murder was an act of panic, not premeditation; that Mr. Grossman’s low IQ and impaired mental state were not given proper recognition in his death sentence; and that Mr. Grossman has not only conducted himself as a model prisoner since his incarceration some 25 years ago but showed profound remorse and regret for his actions.
“The tragic news out of Florida,” said Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudath Israel of America’s executive vice president, “leaves us feeling deep anguish and sorrow.
“Mr. Grossman’s execution has hit our community very hard. He was a fellow Jew and so we saw him as a brother. Countless members of our community had telephoned, e-mailed and faxed the Governor’s office pleading that Mr. Grossman’s sentence be commuted to life in prison. Unfortunately, our hopes were dashed.
“There are many lessons one might draw from this terrible tragedy, but in the end we acknowledge ‘Boruch Dayan Ha’emes’ – ‘Blessed be the true Judge’.”
Baruch Dayan Emes.
bde
May he rest in piece, and remember that we tried but failed.
Poor soul.. NOW he’s in for a ride
BDE
From the Vatican today: Vatican is calling for mercy for a man scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening for killing a young Florida wildlife officer 25 years ago.
But even the pope doesn’t argue that Martin Edward Grossman is innocent.
Grossman, 45, who shot and killed Margaret “Peggy” Park, 26, on Dec. 13, 1984, “has repented and is now a changed person, having become a man of faith,” wrote Archbishop Fernando Filoni on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. He asked for “whatever steps may be possible to save the life of Mr. Grossman.”
Filoni wrote the letter at the behest of the chief rabbi of Israel, Shear-Yashuv Cohen.
Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.
Now I will donate money to everyone’s campaign who is running against the Governor of Flordia and I urge everyone else to do the same.
If you kill one of our own, you will lose our votes, and you will lose our money – in fact we will give money to your opponent.
Hashem Yinkom Dumoi.
May Hashem have rachmanus on him.
bde. May the governor and anyone else who caused this to happen recieve a slow and painful death.
nebach, my heart is crying
baruch dayan haemes
I daven that the Ribono Shel Olam should never be put another Yid in such a situation
🙁 bdh
burich dayen hu’emes! that’s all i could say now sitting and waiting for a nes mishumayim. lets not forget that the riboinoi shell oilem luvs us. and he only meant goods. may we only share good news.
oy. baruch dayan emes. 🙁
what a shame………
Good Riddance!
Terrible. BD”H
Sooo sad!
BD”H we did all we can Klal yisroel came together so strong atleast it was a big kidush hashem !
Nebech
BD”H
Sham on you Gov. Crist
BD’H very sad
Justice has been served. He Murdered someone in cold blood. He got what he deserves.
This country is full of anti semites, what happened to oj, nothing. U wanna know y bec this country is not about freedom its money and honor
BDE what a sad day for Klal Yisroel. Nebech on his goirel.
He inspired thousands of kapitelach of Tehillim. May his death be mechaper for what he did and may his neshama merit gan eden
Baruch Dayan Ha’emes – what a tragedy (yes, any yid who passes away is a tragedy). Let’s hope that those who were hoping for this result have the decency not to say so on this thread.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is not going to make it in the next election!
BDE. This is a tragedy. Caused by DRUGS…
Obama and the menuval Democrats want to legalize drugs in NY and all States. Our children must be protected. We must say no to legal drugs. Legal marijuana will lead to heroin use and more tragic murders. STAND UP NOW. YELL AT OUR POLITICIANS. NO LEGAL DRUGS !!! NO MURDER OF OUR CHILDREN. Schumer is for needle exchange and cheap legal drugs in NYC. We must say NO !!! Protect our yeshivos from this growing tragedy. We must stop drugs NOW.
Boruch Dayan Haemes
We tried, hashem decided.
May he go to Bais Din Shel Maaleh and pray for a speedy redemption for
Klall Yisroel, he died, a true Baal Teshuva and may he be a Kapara for
all of us. This is a tzar for Klall Yisroel, and may he pray in behalf of all
Yidden who took their time and effort to try to reverse the gzeira.
I feel truly sorry for all the vicious people who are now rejoicing at the downfall
of a fellow jew. It is sad to see that while we are a sheep amongst 70 wolves,
we have some wolves amongst us, they are truly the Eirav Rav, may Hashem
eradicate their evil heart. I don’t think they are capable of doing Teshuva, their
Bechira has been removed from them a long time ago ,as they are such
vicious sinners.
Hashem li Beozro, Vani ehreh besoine, please keep us far away from
such evil people.
Who knows if these evil posts in your blog were not what sealed Martin
Grossman’s fate?
reply to #7 I say the sam thing and I will donat money to the other runner
Baruch dayan emes. Very sad.
And if hashem sent his death through the governor of florida, than he can’t be a very good person. Bec hashem sends bad through bad pple.
Shame on you governor.
he most probably davened mincha and said al cheth before he was killed. oy, it hurts, let his neshama have an aliyah.
Bde hashem yinkom dumoi
What bothers me most is the governer’s stubberness on the issue.
If you dont mind a little contrariness here:
I don’t get all the furor. By any account what this person did was despicable and he would have been put to death by a Jewish Bes Din for the very same act (assuming eidim, etc…). There is no place that I know of where a bes din takes into account “nebach” factors to save a murderer from the death penalty.
While I realize that the American law and Halacha are very different, at the very least, where do we find in halacha that a rotzeach needs this level of rachmanus? I understand if people felt that they should prevent his death due to the mitigating factors, but that is a practical consideration, not an emotional one. But this level of outrage, fury, and raising this person to the level of a saint is very, very disturbing.
Our Torah is the mekor for the cultural acceptance of the death penalty for murder in Western society and we are willing to be supportive when the murderer is not one of ours, but somehow we scream and shout and get into a lather when there is punishment for a vicious killer who is one of ours.
Sorry folks. I dont care how many of you disagree with me, I am finding this really disturbing.
Burich Dayan Emes. I feel sorry to hear this heartbreaking news.Now, For all those that are now proud of this and supported the death penelty let me tell you: you have now absolutely NOTHING out of his execution and that he is no longer alive. for those that DID put in some effort to keep him alive (By eMailing, calling, praying, tzeduda) do have a MITZVA and it will be a ‘zechus’ forever. Someone with a name for Mishnayes?
Baruch dayan emet.
There is only one true dayan, and it is not Charlie Crist or the justices of the Florida or US Supreme Court.
I wonder how sympathetic the comments would be if the religions of murderer and victim were reversed.
I wonder how sympathetic the comments would be if the religions of murderer and victim were reversed.
Let’s hope that all the florida jews will be heared at the next election
Burich Dayan Emes. I feel sorry to hear this heartbreaking news.Now, For all those that are now proud of this and supported the death penelty let me tell you: you have now absolutely NOTHING out of his execution and that he is no longer alive. for those that DID put in some effort to keep him alive (By eMailing, calling, praying, tzeduda) do have a MITZVA and it will be a ‘zechus’ forever. Someone with a name for Mishnayes?
i hope that he will suffer for this death and lose the electiom=n he seeks
Crist announced May 12, 2009 that he will not run for re-election as governor and will instead run for the US Senate in 2010. Some opponents in the senate race include fellow Republican Marco Rubio[118][119] and Democrat Kendrick Meek.[120] During the 2008 election, Crist was also mentioned as a potential 2012 presidential candidate.[121
Tfilas yisrol einen chozres raikom, I”h we will all benefit from klal yisrol’s achdos, should his nashuma have a aliay, & wake up to tchias hamasim with every 1 bakurev, umin
To die as a baal teshuvah who has a ready place in the world to come.
We nonetheless should share the grief of the victims family and hope that they have closure now that the decree of Hashem has been carried out.
Why Christie was the shliach?? Who knows.
Does anyone know his father’s name so we all could learn Mishnayes for his Neshomah.
Boruch Dayan Emmes!
Sad, but the Borei Olam has given him a big zchus that people from all over the world said tehillim and davened on his behalf.
May it bring him in good stead in front of the Kisei Hakavod. Amen!!!
While I wrote the Gov and others on the list, and tried my best to have his life spared, I now realize that this was wrong. I didn’t want to write this post until after the execution, but the drugs defense was obviously ridiculous, and we would never agree with that defense for any other murderer. Although he really did have a difficult childhood, and experienced the sickness and loss of his father and an inadequate mother, nevertheless, as others pointed out, many on death row have experienced very difficult situations. If the governor had granted clemency, this would have been used as a precedent in case law and prevented any use of the death penalty anywhere. Every lawyer would say, but you pardoned Grossman, why not my client. It was a heinous crime. We have no right to judge our own differently than we would judge others. Not a single one of us would have asked for clemency in similar circumstances for a non-Jew.
The lesson must be that murder is never acceptable no matter what your circumstances are (unless it is self-defense) period. It is a terrible tragedy, and the Parks family deserved this closure. Justice has been served fairly by Bnei Noach.May we know no more tzaar