EXTREME MAKEOVER, DEATH CHAMBER EDITION

The State of Florida is apparantly now ready to resume executions following a nearly five month moratorium on the practice, and the death chamber at Florida State Prison in Raiford has been renovated in preperation.

Nothing as fancy as the folks on that ABC television programme do, but the St. Petersburg Times reports:

"...the death chamber at Florida State Prison is being doubled in size to give execution teams more space, [Team Leader...uh...Corrections Secretary Jim] McDonough said.

"A team of nearly 20 has also gone through extensive training in Terre Haute, Ind., where federal executions are held. A clock in the execution chamber has been positioned to be visible to all officials and witnesses.

"Also, videocameras have been installed. The bed an inmate is put on will be locked in place to minimize movement while the injection is taking place."

No executions have been done at Starke since December 13, when the lethal injection for Angel Diaz was botched, taking double the normal amount of time for death to be official.