Florida to weigh death penalty return

State senator files bill to mandate unanimous verdicts

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Hoping to reinstate the death penalty in Florida, a Democratic state senator from Orlando filed a bill Friday that would require juries to be unanimous in condemning a killer.

If approved, the measure by Sen. Randolph Bracy could end delayed trials and confusion over a Florida Supreme Court ruling in October that struck down the state’s capital punishment law.

Lawmakers last year tried to fix the death penalty law by requiring a 10-2 jury vote for death sentences, but the court’s ruling said a 12-0 vote was needed. The Senate preferred a unanimous jury, but the House and state prosecutors wanted more leeway.

“The Supreme Court has kind of set the direction that we need to go in, so I think there’ll be more buy-in from the House,” said Bracy, chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

No bill has been filed in the House yet, but House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Chris Sprowls, a Republican, said his panel will hold hearings on the issue next week. He wants to look at the entire death penalty statute for possible changes, not just the unanimous jury provision.

“There’s a pronged analysis that goes into every death penalty case,” said Sprowls, a former prosecutor who has tried capital murder cases. “We’re going to view each one of those independently and collaboratively and figure out the best scheme to serve Floridians.”

Lawmakers say the issue is among their top priorities and that delays of murder trials are plaguing the courts. GOP Senate President Joe Negron said about 200 cases are affected by the death penalty’s status in limbo.

“I think it’s paramount for the victims’ families for cases to be fairly adjudicated without delay,” Negron said. He added that he hopes for a Senate vote soon after the legislative session that begins March 7.

The issue stretches back to January 2016, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida’s death penalty law because it allowed a judge to issue a death sentence after taking into account a jury’s recommendation. Under the old law, a 7-5 majority recommendation was enough to recommend death.

Except for Alabama and Florida, all of the 32 states with capital punishment require a unanimous vote for death. Florida was one of five states that executed a prisoner in 2016.

The Legislature responded by passing the 10-2 jury vote law. That was then declared unconstitutional as well by the Florida Supreme Court’s October ruling.

Bracy said he believes the Legislature should declare the unanimous jury provision to apply retroactively, but he hasn’t included it in his bill.