R.I.P.: Martin Grossman Executed

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grossman6:20 p.m. [We apologize for our site crashing temporarily due to heavy traffic.] The State of Florida has executed 45-year-old Martin Edward Grossman, who was convicted of killing a state wildlife officer during the 1980s. Governor Charlie Crist’s office said Grossman died at 6:17 p.m. today at Florida State Prison.

He was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Margaret “Peggy” Park, a Florida wildlife officer who was shot with her own gun in 1984.

Grossman was the 69th person executed in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in the sunshine state in 1979. He was the 25th by lethal injection, the fifth executed under Governor Crist and the first in 2010.

Park’s family traveled from Ohio to witness the execution.

grossman1Grossman was calm and resigned to his fate before th execution. He met with his aunt and two friends in the morning and then with a rabbi for a final prayer session in the afternoon.

Although Grossman initially ordered peanut butter and banana cookies from the canteen with an ice tea, he added a chicken sandwich and substituted fruit punch. He finished the entire last meal.

The media gathered outside the gates of the Florida State Prison this afternoon. At 5 p.m., the media witnesses were escorted into the prison, bringing nothing but a photo I.D.  The prison supplied pencil and paper for notes.

After sitting and waiting for about a half hour to 45 minutes, witnesses were then escorted in to the death chamber. The curtains were opened and Grossman was about 15 feet away on the other side of a glass wall.

He made a final statement expressing his remorse.

Jew around the world wrote to Governor Crist, asking him for a 60-day stay of execution for Mr. Grossman, but the Governor ignored the requests to allow Grossman to repay his debt to society by serving the rest of his life in prison.

Separately, 200 organizations, Jewish and non-Jewish, sent Governor Crist a petition requesting the stay of the execution, in order to properly file an official request for clemency.

As reported exclusively here on Matzav.com, Rav Chaim Epstein, Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel, Rav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, Rav Dovid Schustal, Rav Yeruchem Olshin and Rav Yisroel Neuman all signed a kol koreh last week encouraging people to write to the Governor and lobby on behalf of Mr. Grossman. Yesterday, Matzav.com reported that Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel Rav Yonah Metzger penned a letter to the Governor.

May Mr. Grossman rest in peace. Funeral details will be posted when they become available.

{Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}


98 COMMENTS

  1. Boruch Dayan Emmes!
    Sad, but the Borei Olam has given a big zchus that people from all over the world said tehillim and his behalf.
    May it bring him in good sted in front of the Kisei Hakavod. Amen!!!

  2. This is a tragedy caused by illegal drugs. Rabosai, we must fight with all our might against Obama and the menuval Democrat Party which is working hard to legaize very strong marijuana in NY and all States. Schumer is in favor of legalizing drugs like in California. Drugs are flooding our streets and destroying lives of our Children, R”L. We must do everything to fight these Democrats. There are Mexican Drug Gangs that are selling heroin for $10 a baggie in our neighborhoods. They are trying to kill our children. Learn from this sad story. Fight against Drugs with all your strength. BDE.

  3. The gedolim said that we should daven for him. So I davened with all my heart. It obviosly didn’t work the way I wanted it to but I know that no teffila is ever wasted. My he rest in peace.

  4. #1, While we are all saddened by this tragedy, he is not a martyr, nor do we ask for revenge on the state and wardens for carrying out a just sentence. There is a chiyuv on Bnei Noach to institute a just court system, and the trial and verdict were just. It was a heinous crime according to any definition. While he had a terribly difficult childhood, we must trust the courts that they understood that, but know that many others on death row also had difficult circumstances. Murder is never acceptable unless it is in self-defense. The court system was fair and they dutifully fulfilled their obligation as one of the 7 mitzvos Bnei Noach. The Parks family deserved this closure.

    May we know no more tzaar.

  5. bde. isn’t it sad that someone who did not deserve to be killed was just executed and we had absolutely no power to stop it. and we supposedly live in a democratic country. We just have to keep in mind that Hashem is running the world and it’s really Him puling the strings.

  6. The Jewish community has a long memory. I doubt that Gov Crist is planning to run for office again. Ms Alex Sink is planning to run on the Democratic ticket.
    Its time for Jews to start voting for candidates that will be good to Jews and stop worrying about “Global Warming” and such other shtusim.

  7. May all the ahdut and concern for a fellow Jew brought into the world through him be a zehut for him and all Am Yisrael

  8. My rosh yeshivah, Rav Chaim Mendel Brodsky called up the judge personaaly and gave him a mussar shmuz, and the hong-up in middle, a chutzpah.

  9. I am saddened and crying bitterly over this matter a jew given very little defense and justice the Governor claims hes doing here how sick and low has this Governor gone perverting the word justice which such outrageous acts I guess its against a jew so its fine because jews even when they are unstable mentally impaired are still liable for their actions disgusting behavior I hope hashem pays him back accordingly and I am sure martin will go straight to gan eden and I am sure too that he will tell hashem you say theres no achdus well look what jews from all walks of life did for me bring mashiach already. the goyim have gone way over the top mistreating jews

  10. No doubt Martin Grossman had a big neshama and now has a big chaylek in Olam Haba. This is just another reminder we are still in Galus and if its not the entire nation who is hunted like in the times of Haman, then its an individual Yid today in Florida.
    It was really beautiful though how jews from all over the world took thought, prayer, action and wrote, signed petitions or called to try to save a fellow Jew’s life for True Justice. I hope Michoel yechiel faced his death like R’Akiva faced his.

  11. # 16 How dare you compare him to Rabbi Akiva!
    Grossman murdered someone. It’s good that he did teshuva before he died. He still needed his death to be an atonement.

  12. From: Chaim Dovid Zwiebel
    Agudath Israel of America | 42 Broadway 14th floor | New York | NY | 10004

    Boruch Dayan Ha’emes.

    I am writing to share with you the sad news that Martin Grossman, Michoel Yechiel ben Avrohom, olov hasholom, was executed this evening in Florida.

    It would be understandable for any of us to feel not only sorrow but frustration that all our efforts didn’t result in the result for which we were mispallel.

    But I personally choose, even amid the pain and sorrow, to focus on the tremendous ahavas Yisroel, shtadlonus and achdus that was demonstrated by our tzibbur over recent days. I want to personally thank all of you who telephoned Governor Crist’s office, or sent him e-mails and faxes, or participated in the ultimate act of ahavas Yisroel: tefilla on a brother’s behalf. Your reaction to the impending tragedy was remarkable. May it stand as a zechus for his neshoma, and for all of Klal Yisroel, and hasten bi’as go’el tzedek, b’mheira biyomeinu.

    Chaim Dovid Zwiebel

  13. Do the commenters realize that the governor didn’t sentence Mr. Grossman to life; rather, the court did? Mr. Grossman, who has since done tshuva, was convicted of a crime which carries the death penalty. Of course we all davened for him – he is one of ours! But if the victim had been a Yid, and the killer a goy, how many of the commenters would have wanted him pardoned? You cannot blame the governor for not stepping in and pardoning a cop-killer, however much we wish he had.

  14. I am sitting here in shock. I cannot believe that after all the pressure we put on the govener, he ignored us and went ahead and killed him!!!!!! Just like haman, may govener christ have a mapala and reach his downfall very soon. I’m sure martin is in gan eden now.

    Another thought-why don’t we run such a campaign to get rubashkin out of jail (lehavdil because he’s not on death row)? Maybe if we all called or emailed the gov’t there, it will make a difference-not that it made a difference in this case.

  15. I too am appalled by the ??”? title and the anti-Semitic suspicions.

    He was tried, found guilty, and executed for committing a horrific murder.

    Yes, we needed to listen to our gedolim and appeal for mercy on his behalf, as he was our fellow Jew, but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking a tzaddik/kadosh has just been killed by an anti-Semitic government.

  16. i dont understand all the anger at the governor and the judge, after all the were doing the right thing for them to do as a ruler an a judge, that is to execute a murderer. And the arguments of ‘mentally unstable’, and ‘on alchohol’, would not fly in a jewish court of law, so i’m surprised that we are using these liberal arguments ourselves.
    As for his doing teshuva, that is very commendable , but a rotzaiach even if he did teshuva and has a long white beard we still execute him if he is chayiv misa.

  17. If Martin went to heaven, I guess I’ll request to go elsewhere. Feel free to just delete everything I wrote and insert [deleted by moderator]

  18. Rabbi Nochum Krinsky is a Chabad Shaliach in Jacksonville.He was with grossman. he said that grossman said that he extends heartfelt remorse to the victim’s family, he fully regrets everything that happened. he acepted responsibility. He then said Shema. his last wrods were ‘ahavas yisroel.’

  19. From the St. Petersburg Times:

    Crist said Tuesday that his office was the target of “almost an outcry” of nearly 50,000 e-mails, phone calls and letters from people urging him to spare Grossman’s life. “We’ve been swamped,” Crist said.

    “I’m getting calls from people who are asking me to stay this execution,” Crist said, “and then once I inquired, ‘Do you know what the facts are?’ I find that they unfortunately do not . . . Sometimes the story can almost get ahead of the facts.”

    Crist said he was standing on a Miami International Airport runway tarmac Tuesday afternoon when a close friend of his wife called his cell phone and asked him to halt the execution. Crist said she changed her mind after he described how the killing occurred. The woman, whom Crist declined to identify, said, according to the governor: “I’m glad you shared what the real facts are. I’m sorry to have taken your time.”

    Crist said a group of rabbis and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz were among those urging the execution be stopped. “The sincerity of their message is without question,” Crist said. “I’ve reached the conclusion that justice must be done.”

    In a speech to small business owners that was mostly about the state of Florida’s economy, Crist, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, went into great detail on the circumstances of the case, including describing the killer as “blowing her brains out.”

    The governor said he spoke Monday with former Gov. Bob Martinez, who signed Grossman’s initial death warrant two decades ago. “I was just seeking his advice, because it’s always a good idea,” Crist said.

    A spokesman for the governor said that by Friday night the office had received more than 9,443 e-mails and more than 7,849 phone calls about the Grossman case.

  20. #26: Please take back your curse on Florida. Chas v’sholom! Do you realize how many Yidden live in Florida and own real estate there? Just because you agree with the governor does not give anyone right to wish bad on the entire state.
    May Florida have only good, but Hashem, Who is the true Judge will decide how to avenge the governor. We don’t have to play G-d. We did our part, and we can continue by making sure he doesn’t get reelected, but more than that, I’d leave to Hashem.

  21. This whole fiasco is saddening and bewildering. It seems that many in the ‘frum’ community are seriously lacking in seichel.

    Some people are making Martin out to be some kind of big tzaddik. That is ludicrous.

    And now, ‘acharei-mos, kedoshim’ too? He is like – lihavdil elef havdolos – Rabbi Akiva??!!! Rachmono litzlon. Who came up with such rubbish?

    The man was on death row for decades. Where were the people making all this noise then? Where was the Aleph institute?

    An argument can also be made that the aggressive campaign backfired. We are in golus, let us not forget that. The agressive campaigns for Pollard, Rubashkin, and lihavdil Grossman, have not succeeded. Time to wake up and rethink things instead of continuing to waste so much energy in loud agressive campaigns.

    We are a small group and must respect the law and government. We are taught by our sages to pray for the peace of the government, without which people would be in serious danger for their very continued existence. Some people forget that. Time to come back to earth.

  22. I think we all need to remember that we are in golus, and lose the attitude of “how could they not listen to us! Let’s throw our weight around some more!”

    We have gedolim who tell us when an outcry is appropriate.

  23. Reply to Rebbe #34
    Noone was denying that Martin A”H committed a terrible crime 25 years ago. Rather, we were saying that this was a different Martin. The man who was executed a few hours ago expressed remorse for his crime and took full responsibility. He then recited the Shema. This was not the same person.
    The Gov received nearly 50,000 requests for mercy and he chose to ignore them. This is something the Jewish community will not forgive or forget.

  24. #53
    ‘The Gov received nearly 50,000 requests for mercy and he chose to ignore them. This is something the Jewish community will not forgive or forget.’
    it actually shows true leadership by the governor for not buckling under pressure to have ‘mercy’ on a murderer.
    I wonder how all the ‘mercy’ criers would react if they would see Sanhedrin executing a murderer and not had ‘mercy’.

  25. I am sad for the family of the murder victim. Gov. Crist is no anti-semite. He acted in accordance with the law here, and he has my vote. Grossman’s execution means nothing in the broader context of protecting and promoting Jewish life. Would you be advocating for clemency if the murderer was a goy or if Grossman’s victim was a Jew?

  26. Maatzav – Comments 40, 42 and 49 should be deleted as way out of line and chillul Hashem. Other comments are out of place as well. Our Chazal teach us to respect the government. That is even if it is not perfect. Cholkin kovod limalchus.

  27. i think we all have to step back for a moment and thank Hashem that we live in a country that kills a jew because he murdered someone, not because he’s a jew. B”H we do not have auto-da-fe’s and round ups of jews R”L for being jewish.
    just something to think about

  28. Very few commenters have noted an extremely critical factor that has emerged from this case: almost all of Torah Judaism’s big guns — both in the U.S. and Israel — did not have the slightest political influence to prevent the execution of a single, poor, benighted Jew. Rabbis and laymen, Roshei Yeshiva and Harvard lawyers: what did their influence amount to? GORNISHT!

    While we cannot know the cheshbonos of the Ribbono Shel Olam, we are nevertheless bidden to contemplate the possibilities. What lessons are possible to learn from this?

    Understanding that I could be completely off the mark here, I nevertheless think that one glaring lesson cries out: too many Jews think that we are big shots in America, with our considerable numbers of Jewish politicians, political activists, leaders in the worlds of business, law and academia, etc. etc. ad nauseam. But folks, our most prominent Torah leaders were just shot down in the state of Florida (a state with a sizable Jewish population no less). Where will it be next? Can there be any stronger reminder that we are in GOLUS…that we really don’t belong here…and that Hashem has been demonstrating in increasingly serious ways over the past year that, when push comes to shove, we are roundly ignored by the powers that be. Has our own arrogance as “fully participating citizens” in our goldena medina’s political and social fabric of life (just as German Jews were so very proud citizens of the Deutschen Vaterland) come now to haunt us?

    I believe fervently that the Ribbono Shel Olam is telling us that our days in this too comfortable golus will become increasingly difficult as we approach the end, and that we must move the geula along — by committing to the mitzvah of yishuv ha’aretz — with increasing urgency.

    As for me, I count down the days to my Nefesh b’Nefesh flight, with trepidation for those who choose to remain behind in this modern-day Mitzrayim.

  29. I don’t think that executing someone for murder gives closure, it’s more like revenge. Here we have a man who sincerely regretted his youthful crime, terrible as it was; it was drug and fear induced. He wasn’t a hardened murdering criminal. I hope Hashem has mercy on his soul and all his suffering in prison will be a complete kapporo for him.

  30. Most of you miss the point. The criminal justice system in this country treats everyone equally, for the most part. He wasn;t executed because he was Jewish!

    In our past goluses we were singled out and lynched within minutes of an allegation. This guy got due prosses, the same as any gentile.

    We should be benching the USA and Florida for not treating us differently.

    Such chutzpah so many have to suggest that a Jew should be treated differently than someone else in the fairest system we have ever experienced in our long and painful Golus.

    So while so many of you are sitting in your leather chairs, in your luxury homes, that this country has afforded you, think how silly you are to request different treatment under the law!

    What about different treatment the other way?hmm?How about worse treatment for Jews?

    Besides,how much antisemitism would be caused if you guys got your way, and he beat the needle just for being a jew.

  31. Looking at the big picture, sad as his death is, it is tragic that he was in that situation.
    Let’s channel all this energy to support organizations, yeshivos, etc. that reach out to kids, tinokos shenishbu, at risk, etc. so this doesn’t have to happen again.

  32. Do you care to explain your source of embarressment? Was it the tremendous achdus displayed by thousands of your brothers and sisters to save the life of a fellow Jew? Was it the Rabbonim, who are bigger experts on Yidishkeit whether you’re a baal teshuva or FFB, who strongly said to take up this cause?
    Was it because the signed petition mostly pointed out Martin’s youth and low IQ as reasons for leniency, not because he’s Jewish?
    Was it because lehavdil, even the Pope saw this to be an inhumane act against a disturbed individual?
    Was it because the petitions and calls were not for PARDONs, but rather for LIFE imprisonment?
    Please, AS A BAAL TESHUVA, please explain what was so embarressing to you.

  33. How do people say hy’d?? No one murdered him. He was treated like any other criminal, no better , no worse, which is a great thing for us Jews in Galus

    How sad that people think he should get off because he’s Jewish. The government did its job.

    I really don’t see the issue here. Should amurderer not be executed? Should he get off just because he’s Jewish? Why?

    If he did teshuva, great! He will be rewarded. But the country has to enforce laws equally for everyone.

    I posted similar arguments earlier and they didn’t post it. I smell agenda, not a fair venue to air views.

  34. To # 60 a)Why would many Gedolei HaDor join in to petition of the punishment was correct?!? They understand all facets of a case and correct punishment better then a laymen would. b) what is all this talk about closure. Will they now feel relieved in any way. Their daughter is still not with them and there is no hope for her return. Is it not enough of a comfort to see the person who did the crime incarcerated for life and deprived of life as a free human being? What pleasure can one derive out of flying in to watch the execution? They will still always feel the resentment of Martin dying peacefully without pain. They will never make peace with that. As a Yirah Shmayim a Torah True Jew would not need to resort to that kind of behavior (but would truly understand that Hashem is the true judge and provider of Justice and punishment. If they would be G-d fearing people and not just out for revenge they would have understood that Hashem will take care of His Chesboines. The closure comment is rubbish!

  35. #61 While I agree with much of your post, you’ve missed the point. One thing is truly frightening about this story and that is:

    Look how all the Jews in Sushan did Teshuva and begged Hashem for help AND consequentially they WERE helped. So many thousands of us did the same and this one Goy who could have made a difference did not even “bend his ear”. That should show us all the extent of our helplessness here and in the entire world (remember in E.Y. we are still in Golus, still under the whims of an irreligious Gov’t and an entire world of nations who only wish us grievous harm)! TRUE Martin was not without guilt but that’s not the point. The point is is that we were not at all heard or influential with this one leader, what does this bode for us when a whole world wishes us ill? This took place in Adar and not without cause. I am no Navi but I would think real “real house cleaning” (i.e. Tshuva) and concrete changing of bad Middos and behaviours whould really be the outcome of this sorrowful event! Let’s really start being the Nation we were created to be!

  36. To #50-58, 1) would you sing the same song if it would CH”V be a member of your family? well I for one consider every jew family.
    2)”The man was on death row for decades. Where were the people making all this noise then? Where was the Aleph institute?” as long as it’s in the justice system there is no point in trying to get clemency / pardon

  37. Any averios a person commits under the age of 20, he pays for in olam hazeh;so although we don’t know the dinim of shomayim,at least
    we are comforted by the fact that martin-michiol- yichiel was attoned for it in this world and doesn’t have to suffer for it in olam habah.

  38. The legal secretary is not an impressionable young talmid.
    Me thinks that reb chaim mendels talmidim are just hyping this up out of amazement and anger that someone would behave in this manner to their beloved n’eimusdike rosh yeshiva.

  39. What is wrong with all of you . he did Teshuva but that is between and HKBH. As far as the court is concerned they did the right thing. He was on death row for over 20 years who did anything for him then ? If the victim was frum and the assassin a goy we would not have heard this outrage. Sorry you cannot have your acke and eat it . He did teshuva and leave the rest to the RibonShel Olam . DRUGS AND MURDER HAVE NO PLACE IN OUR MIDST>

  40. I think now its time we all wrote some letters to the Parks family explaining our position in a respectful and sensitive way. I’m sure right now the Parks and their friends and relatives don’t look very kindly upon us. They may feel that we overstepped our bounds and they may be right. Personally I think the agudah should be in touch with the Parks and maybe even send them a gift. We can’t imagine what they are going through.

  41. It seems that many people are making Martin Grossman out to be the victim and being critical of FL for carrying out its law. Mr. Grossman was not the victim, he was at one point in his life a cold-blooded killer who needed to pay for his crime according to Florida law. While I understand that he has been on death row for 25 years (way too long), that is further evidence that Mr. Grossman had plenty of opportunity to petition many courts regarding the fairness of his sentence. I am also a Jew, but this is not a Jewish issue, many non-Jews get executed, it is an issue about administering the laws of the State of FL.

  42. I don’t understand how someone can say “??”?” if he was the one who killed an innocent person. Do we say that when Beis Din kills someone too? Let’s hope that his death was a ???? for him.

  43. What is truly unfortunate here is the level of ignorance and naivete that seems to prevail in the Heimishe community. Only a small handful of posters here seem to show any understanding of the issue at hand. Worse, some seem to feel that Yidden should be immune to criminal prosecution no matter what type of crimes they willfully commit. It is NOT ok for a Yid to commit a crime. It is NOT ok for a Yid to conduct crooked business. It is NOT ok for a Yid to cheat, steal, lie, launder money, evade taxes, ignore building codes and zoning regulations to save money or commit any other sort of dishonest activity. It is most certainly NOT ok for a Yid to commit murder. If he does it anyway and gets caught he should not be a target of Rachmanus but should rather be ostracized for bringing shame and dishonor to the Jewish community.

    That said, there are times when it seems the punishment or treatment of a Jewish criminal is different than what a non-Jewish person who committed the same crime would have received. It is at these times and ONLY at these time when it is appropriate, and in fact our duty, to speak up for these people.

    In the case of Martin Grossman there is no way to consider him a Tzaddik or a Kaddosh that died Al Kidush Hashem. He committed murder and there is no way to justify that or lessen it. In Shamayim they could judge if his Tshuvah and Kaporah were complete or not but here on earth we must consider Retzichah a crime that cannot be forgiven in this world. To consider Martin a hero is grossly misunderstanding his case and is no favor to the Jewish community.

    Why then the big outcry? What has been stressed by all legitimate Askonim and Rabbonim is that by normal standards this should not have been a death penalty case. Most murderers, as terrible as their crime is, do not qualify for the death penalty. The death penalty is usually reserved for killers who pre-meditated a murder (meaning they planned ahead of time to kill someone) or, at the very least, planned to commit a crime where murder was a strong possibility that they considered before. Martin Grossman did not fit this description. While he was a criminal no doubt who was violating his parole and carrying a stolen, illegal weapon, he had no thoughts of committing murder that day in 1984. He was not even looking to commit a crime against another person. He was stopped by a Fish a Wildlife officer on a routine check and not because he was doing anything criminal per-se. In an act of panic he attacked and killed the officer and then tried to cover his crime.

    The crime was terrible. There is no excuse for it. It is a crime that cannot be forgiven in a lifetime. The family of the officer lost her forever and there is no way to undo the damage. The trouble is that most cases of this type do not end up at death row. There are many murderers to killed under similar circumstances who were released after serving 20 years! Without clear pre-meditation this case should have never been a death penalty case.

    Granted that under Florida law this case COULD be a penalty case, it did not, however, HAVE to be and under general principles and guidelines normally considered in these cases such as the fact that Mr. Grossman showed complete remorse and a completely reformed lifestyle, it should NOT have been. THAT is why there was a call for an outcry.

    It’s hard to say if the Governor allowed the execution to go ahead because Martin was Jewish or if he simply is trigger-happy but either way he has shown extremely poor judgment. For that he should face a reckoning come election time.

    As for Martin Grossman, may his death be a Kaporah for him so that he may be a Meiletz Yosher for all those who tried to help him and all of Klal Yisroel.

    For the rest of us, may this serve as a reminder that judgment day comes to all. If not in this world then in the next. May all the way-ward in our midst who do not see the evil of dishonesty and theft come to realize the error of their ways and return with complete T’shuva. May the Ribono Shel Olam see the challenges that face His nation and look down on us with mercy to accept the T’shuva of all. Most important, may we all merit to see the end of our troubles with the G’ula Sh’leima speedily in our time!

  44. Reply to #65.
    I am an FFB and I also found all the sanctimonious hypocracy to be embarassing.
    The most horrible example is those who wrote ??”? . I know families where IDF reservists were killed in action, leaving widows and orphans – after their names such a suffix is appropriate. When it is used here it just like hollering in Times Square: “Look Mom, I’m holy – I am filled with rachmooooones.” Disgusting. Will I get a DBM (deleted by moderator)?

  45. HE DID NOT DIE “AL KIDDUSH HASHEM”! I defy anyone to defend the position from any source in Torah Shebaal Peh or b’ksav that he died al kiddush Hashem. I can’t believe anyone with 1/2 a brain can’t see this for what it was. He killed someone a long time ago in cold blood. A jury found him guilty and now he was killed according to the laws of the State of Florida. Right or wrong that’s what happened. I can’t believe the idiots calling this guy a kadosh vtahor and comparing him to (lehavdil bain alfei alofos) the heilige Tanna Rebbi Akiva!!?!?!?! Has the world gone mad? Where were all the big supporters even one month ago?
    !

  46. Here is the point. He shot an officer in the back of the head. It seams he did teshuvah at least bein adam lamakom. We live in a wonderful country of laws. It is not a contradiction to both realize that according to Florida law he was supposed to get the death penalty, and at the same time as fellow Jews hope and pray for mercy. G-d runs the show, not the Governor. He was just doing his job. Do not vilify him for it. Right is right and wrong is wrong. We must not compromise our principles. At the same time out of love for a fellow Jew we can ask for mercy, but realize that that cry for mercy is because he is one of us, not for any other reasons. So, when others don’t listen to our cries it is not necessarily because they are anti-Semites. That is just plain silly and small minded. To the people who want to make him into a martyr. Please do not. He MURDERED a young officer; let’s not forget that, lest we make a chilul Hashem. Let his death be a kapporah for his crime.

  47. I just searched Google for mentions of the name “Martin Grossman” on the Matzav.com site; there were 1,110 mentions.

    In contrast, there were 13 mentions here of the Florida wildlife officer he murdered: Margaret “Peggy” Park.

    To focus almost 100 times more attention on a murderer than on the woman he murdered does not speak well of this site, nor of the Jewish community in general.

  48. What am I going to read next? That Martin died for our sins and will come back as moshiach? You people are crazy. He is a psycho murderer and got what he deserved.

  49. A question and an opinion.

    Firstly, just what is an “FFB”, please? It did not come up during my giyur.
    He was “lucky”, in a way, that the mode of his death was far more merciful than the way in which he killed Ms Parks by battering her half to death and then blowing her brains out.

  50. it must be a full moon as all the crazy’s are crawling out of their hiding places, just take a chill pill & life will go on.

  51. #83: Well put. Crimes against law enforcement are usually treated harshly. The State did nothing wrong. But he was one of our own, and Gedolim told us to take action, so we did. The state of Florida did nothing wrong in enforcing their laws, or in not changing the sentence in response to our please. Our tefillos were certainly not wasted, and, I am sure, will be a zechus for Mr. Grossman now.

  52. I fully respect everyone’s right to state their opinion, regardless of whether I agree with it. That said:
    #27:”al tiftach peh lasatan”, you just may get what you’re asking for,R”L.
    #81: your comments are a prime example of the consequences of speaking/writing devoid of forethought.
    Time after Time…

  53. To #89:
    I agree wholeheartedly, and would like to add that #81’s comments are absolutely bereft of insight; hopefully, #27 will not get what they’re wishing for.

  54. Not surprised. Apart from South Florida, this state is full of Jew-hating rednecks. People here still think we killed J-
    Killing Grossman was a way of “revenge” fpr that act

    May Governor Charlie Crist ROT

  55. The condemnation against the governor and courts is completely unwarranted and a huge chilul hashem. It does not matter an iota what the Jewish standards of evidence are, or any other technicalities. A terrible crime was done, and the pasuk says to bnai noach Shofech dam haadam baadam damo yishafech.

    Where is the sense of Yashrus which overrides any other technicalities? We have no right to expect better treatment for one of our own than for any other race or religion. Do they not teach any Yashrus these days? When Dovid Hamelech took Batsheva, he did everything 100% kosher (Get, Mored bmalchus, etc.). Not a single halacha was violated. But along comes the Navi and asked him, Dovid, what in the world did you do, and how did you think this was right? He gave him a mashal about a rich man who has many sheep, and a poor man next door who had only one which he loved. A traveler came to the door of the rich man and said he was hungry. Rather than shechting one of his own sheep, he directed him next door, where the poor man had to shecht his only sheep to feed the man. Then the pasuk says vayomer Dovid el Gad (the navi) tzar li meod…

    Where is the Yashrus and the ethical behavior which is the cornerstone of all yiddishkeit??? How can we have made such a huge chillul hashem by attacking the Governor?

  56. Marco Rubio – a strong conservative – will win the Republican nomination for the Senate against Crist and then go on to crush Kendrick Meek to win the Senate seat! Crist days were numbered already, so he did one final antisemitec act before leaving!

  57. Thank you #80 for projecting the voice of reason and seichel into this “discussion”.

    Please, fellow Yidden! I do not know if government officials or other non-Jews monitor or read our sites, but on the off-chance that they do – please keep in mind that your words have the power to create a Kiddush Hashem or chas v’shalom the opposite, and keep the rhetoric respectful even if you do feel anguish at the punishment meted out to Mr. Grossman.

    Also, to Avraham ben Avraham (#86) – FFB stands for “frum from birth”, it is a colloquial term used for those who were born into Jewish, observant families.

  58. why did it take so long to release the body
    who’s plane was it
    are we going to take a stand against the death penalty because of this
    we should donate money to this bums opponent to make sure he
    has time to contemplate his actions

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