When John Spinkelink was executed on May 25, 1979, death-penalty advocates were satisfied that Florida’s statutory death-penalty scheme was constitutionally bulletproof. After all, the proponents of the new scheme had read the tea leaves provided in the Furman v. Georgia decision, and the protections against arbitrary application of the death penalty contained in the scheme addressed all of the conflicting concerns that the majority Justices expressed in their individual opinions. The new scheme was lauded by the Florida Legislature and the bench. With obvious self-satisfaction, the Florida Supreme Court approved the scheme and stated, “Thus the inflamed emotions of jurors can no longer sentence a man to die; the sentence is viewed in the light of judicial experience.”