Florida’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that all death sentences must be issued by a unanimous jury. This is not the first time the state has had issues with its death penalty law. The most recent law that was declared unconstitutional required 10 of 12 jurors votes in order to deliver a death sentence. Prior to that, only a majority vote of 7 to 12 jurors was required to deliver a death sentence after being found guilty.
A major turning point for Florida’s death penalty law was the case of Hurst v. Florida. Timothy Lee Hurst was convicted of the murder of his co-worker, Cynthia Lee Harrison, in 1998. In 2000, Hurst was sentenced to death by an 11-to-1 vote but it was later appealed. In 2012, a second jury recommended a death sentence by a 7-to-5 vote, which a judge agreed to.
“The Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death. A jury’s mere recommendation is not enough,” Justice Sonya Sotomayor wrote in January when the state’s law was declared unconstitutional.
Florida has made some adjustments since the high court’s ruling. In March, a new measure was enacted stating that jurors must unanimously agree that a case involves at least one aggravating circumstance to warrant a death sentence. The same measure required that 10 jurors support a death sentence. While these changes may be headed in the right direction, it still fell short in the eyes of the high court.
“It is my solemn duty to uphold the laws of Florida, and my foremost concern is always for the victims and their loved ones,” Gov. Rick Scott said back in March. “I hope this legislation will allow families of these horrific crimes to get the closure they deserve.”
The Legislature is scheduled to meet again in regular session in March 2017. There are currently 385 prisoners in Florida who have been sentenced to death, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. The last execution in Florida was in January, prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling. In the most recent ruling on Friday, the justices also ordered that Hurst have a new sentencing hearing. Until Florida is able to successfully rewrite its sentencing procedure, executions will remain on hold.
