“This case leaves open the question about who is permitted to ultimately sentence someone to death once the jury has decided that they can be subject to this penalty”, said Mr Dunham.
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It also may take years to see how the Hurst ruling could impact the imposition of the death penalty in Alabama, where “judicial overrides” allow judges to impose capital sentences even where juries have concluded that the appropriate sentence is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Under Florida law, a death sentence requires the finding of at least one aggravating circumstance; for instance, that the killing occurred during the course of another felony, or was particularly heinous. In Florida, a jury issues an advisory verdict that does not have to be unanimous.
Opponents have long believed that gives excessive power to the judge. But if it did, Justice Alito wrote that Florida’s error was harmless because Mr. Hurst had committed crimes that clearly justified death. “A jury’s mere recommendation is not enough”, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the court’s opinion, according to NBC News.
Sotomayor added that the way Florida’s sentencing system requires the judge to “find the existence of an aggravating circumstance” is unconstitutional.
Dissenting alone, Justice Samuel A. Alito said the justices had upheld Florida’s system in the past.
“In light of today’s United States Supreme Court decision holding Florida’s capital sentencing procedure unconstitutional, the state will need to make changes to its death-sentencing statutes….”
“A Florida jury convicted Timothy Lee Hurst of murdering his co-worker, Cynthia Harrison”. Harrison had been bound, gagged and stabbed several times.
Florida has nearly 400 death row prisoners, behind California, which has the most but rarely carries out the sentences. Alabama, Montana and DE have similar sentencing schemes that also could be affected.
Although the ongoing controversy over the chemicals used in lethal injections has been a more evocative challenge to the appropriateness of capital punishment in the US, Tuesday’s ruling could have greater implications, Berman believes.
Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson said this new ruling claims all 12 jurors have to unanimously agree to the death sentence. It comes at a time of heightened concern nationwide about the fairness of the death penalty and at a time of increased scrutiny of capital punishment cases.
The Supreme Court’s opinion in Hurst v. Florida is available here. But the Florida Supreme Court’s previous rulings on retroactive application are much broader than its national counterpart. He may be sentenced to death, but only if an additional sentencing proceeding “results in findings by the court that such person shall be punished by death.” Fla. “We’re going to fix a problem that many of us felt was a serious problem and not really properly and fairly administering the ultimate penalty: death”.
So she and Curt Hills, the paper’s managing editor for special projects, and production editor Amy Johstono headed up to Tallahassee to dig through the records.* In some cases, they were able to find the information on jury verdicts from online records of the Florida Supreme Court, but for many they had to dig through the Florida Archives.
Still, the jury recommended death by a bare majority of 7-5.
Lawyers and law professors say Florida’s sentencing is a part of state law.
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“Under the Florida system, the jury plays a critically important role”, he said. However, the judge issued the death penalty sentences in both cases.
