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Lawmakers look at speeding up death penalty in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are tired of delays in carrying out death sentences and have decided to speed up the process.

Bills now in the House and Senate would create quicker timeframes for appeals. They would also make it harder for inmates to dismiss their lawyers and would increase the requirements for making certain legal arguments.

It takes an average of 13 years in Florida to get from sentencing to execution. Florida has 403 inmates on death row. That's more than any other state except California, which has 724.

But legislators will have to walk a fine line between speed and fairness. Twenty-four men sentenced to die in Florida have been exonerated since 1973.