Death Penalty Off Table In Florida For Now: State Supreme Court

TALLAHASEE, FL — Florida prosecutors who want to seek the death penalty in murder cases cannot do so for the time being. An order issued by the Florida Supreme Court Wednesday once again declared the state’s law unconstitutional and instructed that it may not be applied to pending cases.

Five of the state supreme court’s seven justices signed Wednesday’s order. That order was issued following a request by State Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office for clarification of an October ruling that said juries must be unanimous in their decision to apply the death sentence.

The order also essentially negated the state law passed last year that allowed a supermajority of a jury (10-2) to recommend death. Since the 10-2 recommendation renders the state’s act unconstitutional, it “cannot be applied to pending prosecutions,’” justices in the majority wrote.

See also:

• Florida’s Death Penalty System Unconstitutional
• Death Penalty Juries Must Be Unanimous: Florida Supreme Court

Justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston dissented on Wednesday's ruling. The two reportedly do not believe the state’s death penalty law is unconstitutional and said the court should issue a clarification to end “confusion and paralysis” regarding capital trials, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Wednesday’s ruling puts the ball back into the court of the Florida Legislature. The state must now create and pass a new death penalty law that spells out the requirement for a unanimous jury.

Florida’s death penalty system has been in upheaval since last January when the U.S. Supreme Court declared the state’s original statute unconstitutional. Federal justices found fault with Florida’s decision to put too much power into the hands of individual justices.

While the state passed a new statute later in 2016, the Florida Supreme Court deemed the supermajority scheme unacceptable.

“To increase the penalty from a life sentence to a sentence of death, the jury must unanimously find the existence of any aggravating factor, that the aggravating factors are sufficient to warrant a sentence of death, that the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating circumstances, and must unanimously recommend a sentence of death,” the October ruling said.

How soon the state might hammer out a new statute remains unclear. The Legislature returns to session in March.

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