Florida legislature passes legislation that removes unanimous juror consent requirement for demise penalty

The Florida Home of Representatives handed a legislation Thursday that may enable the imposition of the demise penalty as long as a minimum of eight out of 12 jurors accredited the punishment.

The Florida Senate handed their equal of the invoice on March 30.

The push to finish unanimous jury consent for Florida demise penalty circumstances started when Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 fellow college students in a taking pictures at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Excessive Faculty in Parkland, Florida on Feb. 14, 2018, obtained a life sentence with out parole.

The jury had reached a 9-3 impasse on whether or not or to not have Cruz executed.

“All of us grieve for the households of Parkland and that neighborhood. However what that verdict did do was expose a flaw within the present system. If a monster like that, who commits heinous crimes like that, doesn’t deserve and get the demise penalty, then what do we now have a demise penalty for?” State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, eleventh District Republican, mentioned shortly earlier than the Florida Senate invoice handed.

State Rep. Berny Jacques, Seminole Republican and sponsor of the invoice, tweeted Friday that “You merely can’t enable a small handful of activist jurors to derail the total administration of justice when people are discovered responsible past an affordable doubt and meet the {qualifications} for the demise penalty. To take action could be merely a travesty.” 

If and when the invoice is signed into legislation by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida will be a part of Alabama, Indiana, and Missouri in not requiring unanimous jury consent for executions.

Indiana and Missouri enable for the decide’s discretion within the occasion of a divided jury, whereas Alabama maintains a 10-2 threshold.

Detractors of the invoice identified what number of demise row inmates find yourself being exonerated.

“Florida will get it flawed so much, we lead the nation in demise penalty exonerees. But we need to have a decrease threshold,” State Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby, St. Petersburg Democrat, mentioned.