As Florida prepares for its record-breaking 13th execution of 2025, the scheduled killing of Victor Jones on Tuesday, September 30 shines a glaring light on the state’s hypocrisy, systemic cruelty, and disregard for justice. Jones, an intellectually disabled Black man, is not just a death row inmate—he is also a formally recognized survivor of state-sponsored abuse at one of the darkest institutions in Florida’s history: the Okeechobee School for Boys.
What’s unfolding is more than an execution. It’s a moral crisis.
At Sustainable Action Now, we are compelled to speak out—because justice cannot exist where trauma is ignored, truth is buried, and victims are killed by the very government that abused them.
📌 Learn more about how the death penalty intersects with systemic injustice here:
➡️ sustainableactionnow.org/death-penalty
A Traumatized Child, Now Facing State Execution
Victor Jones was a victim long before he was ever accused of a crime. As a child, he was sent to the Okeechobee School for Boys, one of Florida’s most infamous juvenile detention centers. There, he endured unimaginable abuse:
- Beaten with leather straps
- Racially abused and dehumanized
- Locked in solitary confinement
- Forced to witness sexual assaults
This isn’t speculation. In January 2025, the Florida Attorney General formally recognized Victor as a victim of crimes committed by state officials, making him eligible for compensation through the Dozier & Okeechobee School Victim Compensation Fund.
This recognition required official documentation and proof that Victor was indeed confined during the time when the abuse occurred—and that he suffered physical, emotional, or sexual trauma. That is now a matter of record.
So why is Florida trying to execute him?
Judicial Gaslighting: A Broken Legal Process
Despite this new and material evidence, Florida’s courts denied Victor the opportunity to present it to a jury. During the warrant process, the Attorney General’s office falsely claimed that Victor had not proven his abuse, even though they alone held the evidence confirming it.
This is not a legal technicality—it’s a blatant abuse of prosecutorial power. A man who was beaten, silenced, and dismissed by the state as a child is now being silenced again as an adult. The same government that acknowledged his abuse is now racing to execute him, while suppressing the very records that prove his innocence and trauma.
Adding to this injustice, Victor’s intellectual disability—another critical factor that should disqualify him from execution under constitutional law—was also dismissed by the courts without fair review.
“A Unique and Shameful Chapter” – Or Just Another One?
In 2024, Florida lawmakers passed the Dozier and Okeechobee School Victim Compensation Program, publicly acknowledging a “unique and shameful chapter” in the state’s history. They expressed regret. They passed legislation. They created a fund for survivors like Victor.
And now?
They’re planning to execute one of those very survivors.
You cannot apologize for abusing children, offer compensation for the trauma, and still claim the right to kill them. That is not justice. It’s cruelty dressed up as policy.
Victor’s Life Still Matters — But Time is Running Out
On Wednesday, September 24, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Victor’s final state appeal, effectively greenlighting his execution—despite the evidence of his intellectual disability and the formal acknowledgment of his abuse at the hands of state officials.
This isn’t just a tragedy—it’s a precedent. If allowed to go forward, Victor Jones’ execution will serve as a dark and dangerous message: that even acknowledged victims of state violence can be disposed of, that racial injustice can be swept under the rug, and that political expediency can override the values of human rights, redemption, and truth.
What You Can Do Right Now
There is still time to speak up, take action, and demand justice for Victor Jones. Here’s how:
✍️ Sign the Petition
Add your name to the growing list of people urging Governor DeSantis to halt this execution. Petitions will be delivered directly to his office next week.
📢 Contact Governor Ron DeSantis
Send a direct message to the Governor demanding that he stop this execution. Remind him that Florida cannot execute a man it has officially recognized as a victim of its own abuse.
🕯️ Attend a Vigil or Protest
Whether in person across from Florida State Prison, virtually, or at a local event—stand in solidarity with those protesting this state-sanctioned injustice.
📞 Call Your Florida Representatives
Especially if you live in Florida: call your House Representative and State Senator. Let them know that executing a survivor of state abuse flies in the face of the reparative action they supported just last year. Tell them to speak out before it’s too late.
The Bottom Line: Florida Must Choose—Justice or Hypocrisy?
Victor Jones’ case is a test—not only of the death penalty system, but of Florida’s integrity as a state that claims to be reckoning with its past. It’s a test of whether an apology is genuine, or simply a public relations maneuver. It’s a test of whether we, as a society, value human life—even when that life is poor, Black, disabled, and traumatized by the state.
Florida can’t have it both ways.
It cannot acknowledge the torture of children in its custody…
…and then execute one of those very children now grown.
It cannot pay reparations…
…and then pursue retribution.
It cannot offer recognition…
…and then erase that life in silence.
Stand for Justice. Stand with Victor.
This is not just about one man. It’s about a system built on punishment, denial, and erasure. Let’s not allow the death penalty to deepen that legacy.
🔗 For more stories and action items around the death penalty, state violence, and human rights, visit our Death Penalty page here.
✊ Together, we can push back against a system that would rather kill than reckon with its crimes. Time is short—but action still matters.
#JusticeForVictorJones | #StopExecutions | #AbolishTheDeathPenalty | #EndStateViolence | #SustainableActionNow
