Who says the electric chair should stand in the way of your dream
job? Not Michael Lambrix. Sure, the 48-year-old waits on death row for
fatally bludgeoning and strangling two people outside Fort Myers in
1983. But that hasn't stopped the articulate, overachieving inmate from
applying to be Florida's newest supreme court justice.
This past January 16, Lambrix penned a letter to the Judicial
Nominating Commission asking them to consider him for the open
position. "In all fairness," he writes, "I ask that you not so quickly
discount my genuine desire."
Lambrix -- a fit, balding history buff -- goes on to explain
himself: "Let's be honest... These appointments are about perpetuating the
corruption of politics. Me, I'm already a convicted felon, so at least
the public will know what they are actually getting, rather than a wolf
in sheep's clothing."
After citing employment qualifications, he argues that choosing him
isn't as risky as it looks. If he doesn't perform well, he writes, his
co-workers can just sign his death warrant. ("Can you legally kill any
other justice?")
Although he makes light of his situation, Lambrix has long argued
his innocence. He keeps a blog, deathrowjournals.blogspot.com, in which
he contends he was a victim of a politically ambitious prosecutor.
The night of the murder, he says, he beat a drug dealer with a jack
handle in self-defense after trying to save a woman the dealer was
strangling. "My biggest qualification," he writes, "Is that I'm the
only applicant that has been totally screwed by the justice system."
Not surprisingly, though, the commission isn't taking him seriously.
For one, you have to be a member of the Florida Bar to be considered.
Says Fort Lauderdale-based Chair Robert Hackleman: "I got a good laugh
at it."
But our man in the orange jumpsuit does have one thing going for him.
This past October, Gov. Charlie Crist sent the commission back to
the drawing board because their recommendations were not "diverse"
enough. So... problem solved?