TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — With executions halted and the prosecution of some murder cases in limbo, the Florida Legislature overhauled the state’s death penalty law Thursday in response to a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that the current sentencing law
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — With executions halted and the prosecution of some murder cases in limbo, the Florida Legislature overhauled the state’s death penalty law Thursday in response to a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that the current sentencing law is unconstitutional.
Legislators sent to Gov. Rick Scott a bill that would require that at least 10 out of 12 jurors recommend execution in order for it to be carried out. Florida previously only required that a majority of jurors recommend a death sentence.
The measure includes other changes that lawmakers hope will resolve the lingering legal questions and open the door to the state resuming executions. Scott, who has overseen the most executions under a single governor since the death penalty was reinstated in Florida in 1979, plans to sign the bill into law, said his spokeswoman, Jackie Schutz.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in January that the current law is unconstitutional because it allows judges to reach a different decision than juries, which have only an advisory role in recommending death.
The state Supreme Court halted two pending executions following the ruling, and court cases across Florida were put on hold.
