Florida: Michael Duane Zack III executed – no mercy for changed character

On Tuesday night, 54-year-old Michael Duane Zack III was executed by lethal injection in the U.S. state of Florida. He was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of two women in a crime spree.

In a written last statement, he expressed remorse and stated that he was addicted to alcohol and drugs at the time of the crime. As the association “Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty” describes, his time on death row was for Michael Zack the most stable and kindest of his life – as absurd as that may seem. Of his background, the organization reports:

“Michael and his three sisters experienced an unimaginable childhood of horror. Michael grew up in his alcoholic mother’s womb and was born premature after her car accident. His biological father left the family shortly thereafter, and his mother’s next husband sadistically abused Michael and his sisters. At the age of three, he was hospitalized after his stepfather fed him alcohol and drugs.

He was kicked, punched, and thrown against walls. He was humiliated and tortured for wetting the bed and forced to wear a urine-soaked sheet around his neck and stand still while his father burned his genitals with a heated spoon. When he was eleven, his mother was murdered with an axe, after which Michael fell into the care of a foster system that failed him even more.”

His final words show that Michael Zack has taken responsibility for his actions, but also that his story is one of remorse and an attempt to make amends. A second chance in the form of a life sentence instead of a death sentence would also have been desired by his three sisters, who also addressed the public with a statement.

Sources and further information:
https://eu.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2023/10/03/florida-execution-today-michael-zack-florida-state-prison-death-penalty/71044769007/
https://www.fadp.org/statements-on-the-execution-of-michael-zack/