House Subcommittee Backs Lower Threshold in Death Penalty Cases
Lawmakers have a "unique opportunity to address a miscarriage of justice," said Rep. John Snyder, referring to Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz, who was sentenced to life in prison after a jury was not unanimous in recommending death.
March 16, 2023 at 11:13 AM
3 minute read
LegislationAs the state carries out the death penalty again after a more than three-year pause, a Florida House panel supported lowering a threshold for sentencing defendants to death.
The House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee voted 8-6 to approve a bill (HB 555) that would eliminate a requirement for unanimous jury recommendations before death sentences can be imposed. Under the bill, judges would sentence people to death based on recommendations of eight of 12 jurors.
The bill and a similar Senate measure (SB 450) would undo a 2017 law that required unanimous jury recommendations. The issue has reemerged after Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life in prison last year after a jury was not unanimous in recommending death.
Bill supporters pointed to the Cruz case Wednesday, with Rep. John Snyder, R-Stuart, saying lawmakers have a "unique opportunity to address a miscarriage of justice." Cruz killed 17 students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018.
"This is the case that brought this flawed policy to the forefront that shocked the conscience of Floridians, of Americans nationwide, and certainly it requires our attention to get it right," bill sponsor Berny Jacques, a Seminole Republican and attorney, said.
But Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis, D-Ocoee, pointed to numerous death row inmates who have been exonerated and said continuing the unanimous jury-recommendation requirement is needed.
"Death is final," Bracy Davis said. "There are no do-overs. Why would we not want to be as sure as we possibly can, as right as we possibly can be?"
Rep. Mike Beltran, a Lithia Republican who joined Democrats in opposing the bill, said he is "uncomfortable legislating on a generally applicable law based on something very bad that happened in this particular [Cruz] case."
"I'm just philosophically opposed to reducing the procedural protections surrounding the death penalty," Beltran, an attorney, said. "It should be and is limited to the most-atrocious crimes. But because it's both permanent and it's somewhat unusual in its application, it should be accompanied by the additional procedural safeguards. We require unanimous juries to convict for anything, and we should require the unanimous juries to execute."
The proposal would affect only the sentencing process and not what is known as the "guilt phase" of murder cases. Juries would still have to be unanimous in finding defendants guilty before sentencing could begin.
Wednesday's debate came two days after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, who was convicted of murdering a Flagler County couple in 1989. DeSantis scheduled an April 12 execution for Gaskin.
The state on Feb. 23 put to death Donald David Dillbeck, who murdered a woman in 1990 during a carjacking in a Tallahassee mall parking lot. Dillbeck, 59, was the 100th inmate executed in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, but the first since Gary Ray Bowles was put to death by lethal injection in August 2019.
Florida long allowed judges to impose death sentences based on majority, or 7-5, jury recommendations. But that changed after major decisions in 2016 by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court.
Ultimately, those decisions caused the Legislature in 2017 to put the unanimous-jury requirement in law. But after appointments by DeSantis, the Florida Supreme Court, with a newly conservative majority, reversed course in 2020, effectively allowing lawmakers to consider eliminating the unanimity requirement.
Jim Saunders reports for the News Service of Florida.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllHow Florida Supreme Court Changes Affect Firms: AI Concerns at Forefront
11th Circuit Rejects Private School's Religious Rights Claim When Stopped From Broadcasting Public Prayer
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Dechert partners Andrew J. Levander, Angela M. Liu and Neil A. Steiner have stepped in to defend Arbor Realty Trust and certain executives in a pending securities class action. The complaint, filed July 31 in New York Eastern District Court by Levi & Korsinsky, contends that the defendants concealed a 'toxic' mobile home portfolio, vastly overstated collateral in regards to the company's loans and failed to disclose an investigation of the company by the FBI. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, is 1:24-cv-05347, Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Arthur G. Jakoby, Ryan Feeney and Maxim M.L. Nowak from Herrick Feinstein have stepped in to defend Charles Dilluvio and Seacor Capital in a pending securities lawsuit. The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in New York Southern District Court by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses the defendants of using consulting agreements, attorney opinion letters and other mechanisms to skirt regulations limiting stock sales by affiliate companies and allowing the defendants to unlawfully profit from sales of Enzolytics stock. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., is 1:24-cv-07362, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zhabilov et al.
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250