Tallahassee, Fla., May 21, 2019 / 16:38 pm
The Catholic bishops of Florida are calling on the state's governor to spare the life of Bobby Joe Long, a convicted serial killer who is scheduled to be executed on Thursday.
"Although [Long] caused much harm, society has been safe from his aggressive acts in the decades of his incarceration. Without taking his life, society can be protected while he endures the alternative sentence of life without the possibility of parole," said Michael Sheedy, executive director of the Florida Catholic Conference, in a May 20 letter to Governor Ron DeSantis.
Long has been on death row since 1985 and is scheduled to die by lethal injection on May 23.
He pleaded guilty to killing eight women in and near Tampa Bay during an eight-month span in 1984. He also claimed to have raped dozens of women.