The Florida House of Representatives passed a law Thursday that would allow the imposition of the death penalty so long as at least eight out of 12 jurors approved the punishment.
The Florida House of Representatives has passed a bill that would require only two-thirds of a jury to approve the death penalty instead of the current unanimous verdict.
The state Senate passed its version of the legislation on March 30, and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign it. The push to end unanimous jury consent for death penalty cases in the state began when Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 fellow students in a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Feb. 14, 2018, received a life sentence without parole.“We all grieve for the families of Parkland and that community. But what that verdict did do was expose a flaw in the current system.
State Rep. Berny Jacques, Seminole Republican and sponsor of the bill, tweeted Friday: “You simply cannot allow a small handful of activist jurors to derail the full administration of justice when individuals are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and meet the qualifications for the death penalty. To do so would be simply a travesty.”Assuming Mr. DeSantis signs the legislation, Florida would join Alabama, Indiana and Missouri in not requiring unanimous jury consent for executions.
Indiana and Missouri allow for the judge’s discretion in the event of a divided jury, while Alabama maintains a 10-2 threshold.“Florida gets it wrong a lot, we lead the nation in death penalty exonerees. Yet we want to have a lower threshold,” said State Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby, St. Petersburg Democrat.
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