Florida death penalty fix clears hurdle

TALLAHASSEE — A proposal that would require unanimous jury recommendations for death sentences to be imposed sailed through its first House vetting Wednesday, receiving unanimous approval from the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee.

The legislation (HB 527), and a similar Senate measure (SB 280), is the latest attempt to get the state’s death penalty — on hold for more than a year — back on track in the wake of a series of court rulings.

The issues began with a U. S. Supreme Court decision in January 2016 finding that the state’s capital sentencing system was unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries.

Lawmakers quickly passed a measure to address the court ruling, which did not address the issue of jury unanimity. The new law included a component that did away with simple majority recommendations for death to be imposed, and instead required at least 10 jurors to agree on death sentences.

But the Florida Supreme Court in October struck down the new law as an unconstitutional violation of the right to trial by jury and said unanimous recommendations are required.

Buddy Jacobs, a lobbyist who represents the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, urged the Criminal Jus t i c e Subcommittee on Wednesday to quickly pass the new bill to fix the death penalty.

Public defenders contend that the current law is not narrow enough to capture the “worst of the worst ,” something that courts look for when evaluating death penalty laws.