Eight jury votes will soon be enough to execute those convicted of sexual battery against young children in Florida.
HB 1297, a bill from Rep. Jessica Baker allowing for the execution of rapists of children under the age of 12 without jury unanimity, was passed by the Senate Tuesday in a 34-5 vote with strong majorities of both Republicans and Democrats. It passed in the House last week.
The bill, substituted for the Senate version (SB 1342) sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Martin, contravenes cases Buford v. State of Florida and Kennedy v. Louisiana.
In those two cases — Buford at the state level and Kennedy at the federal level — judges ruled against execution for sexual assault of children.
Martin, a Republican from Sarasota, noted in introduction that until 45 years ago, “punishing this crime by death” was legal in Florida.
He added that the court opinions leave it to “legislative purview” for the state to create constitutionally compliant punishment, and suggested the bill created that path.
In the case of the execution of child rapists, aggravating factors would have to be in play, including a history of rape or sexual predation, the use of a firearm, financial gain, a “heinous, atrocious, or cruel” act, victim vulnerability, or the assailant holding a custodial position. Two of these factors would suffice to impose the ultimate penalty, but all jurors would have to agree on the aggravating factors.
Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, a co-sponsor of the bill who was abused by her nanny for six years, was emotional in her testimony.
“A part of me died when I was a little girl, and I was given a life sentence,” the Plantation Democrat said.
Book described “child predators” as “systematically grooming” their young victims, seeking “vulnerabilities to exploit” and looking for a “void to fill” until “the ultimate violation has been achieved.”
“The reality is these predators cannot be satiated,” Book said, describing “these individuals (as) hardwired to offend.”
This will likely be the second law passed in 2023 opening up the door to eight jurors being able to vote to execute someone guilty of a monstrous crime. SB 450, which previously passed the Senate, would allow eight out of 12 jurors to impose capital punishment in murder cases, making Florida the fourth state not to require unanimity.
Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed interest in opening up executions to non-unanimous jury decisions earlier this year, lamenting the life sentence given to the mass murderer responsible for the 2018 Parkland massacre.
“Fine, have a super-majority. But you can’t just say one person. So maybe eight out of 12 have to agree? Or something. But we can’t be in a situation where one person can just derail this,” DeSantis told the Florida Sheriff’s Association (FSA) in January.
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