TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - The Florida Supreme Court Friday ruled the use of the state's electric chair in executions was constitutional and is not cruel or usual punishment.

But the court also agreed that the state legislature should give death row inmates a choice between electrocution and lethal injection.

In a 4-3 vote, Florida's highest court ended months of uncertainly following a bloody spectacle at Florida's last execution in July.

When blood flowed from the nose of Allen "Tiny" Davis during his execution, attorneys for Thomas Provenzano, the next inmate scheduled to die in the electric chair, began a legal challenge, arguing the use of the chair was unconstitutionally cruel.

The court, for the second time in two years, disagreed.

"The record in this case reveals abundant evidence that execution by electrocution renders an inmate instantaneously unconscious, thereby making it impossible to feel pain," the court's majority wrote. "The record also contains evidence that the chair is and has been functioning properly and that the electrical circuitry is being maintained."

The use of the electric chair has been under legal scrutiny in Florida for years. Most of the 38 U.S. states where capital punishment is legal have switched to lethal injection, a process some say is a less objectionable method of executing inmates.

In October 1997, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the chair's use by a 4-3 majority. Its constitutionality was challenged after flames leaped from the mask covering the head of Pedro Medina during his execution in March of that year.

The Medina execution was the second in a decade in which fire erupted when the executioner threw the switch. In 1990, a synthetic sponge placed on the head of inmate Jesse Tafero burst into flames.

Despite their support for electrocution, the Supreme Court Friday urged lawmakers to offer inmates a choice other than the electric chair, which has been the state's sole means of execution since 1924.

"I urge the Legislature to revisit this issue and pass legislation giving inmates the choice between lethal injection and electrocution as the method of carrying out the death penalty," Chief Justice Major Harding wrote.

Three dissenting justices agreed.

"I am convinced that the time has now come to address this issue head on," wrote Justice Leander Shaw. "It is my conclusion that electrocution as it is administered in Florida is unconstitutional."

The high court's action was denounced by human rights groups and death penalty opponents, who said the decision not only kept intact a cruel form of punishment but reinforced the death penalty despite growing international opposition.

Sam Jordan, director of Amnesty International's efforts to abolish the death penalty, said the court's decision is a giant leap back.

"This throws our civilization backward to a dependence on a cycle of violence and vengeance," he said. "This is about getting even."

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hailed the court's ruling.

"The court's decision is a resounding victory for all Floridians, especially those who have been victimized by the cruel and malicious acts of those inmates on death row," Bush said.

Related Stories
Florida High Court Again OKs Electric Chair (Sep 25 12:56 am ET)

Archive: Sat Sep 25  Fri 24  Thu 23  Wed 22  Tue 21  Mon 20  Sun 19