Eight jurors will soon be enough to impose capital punishment in the state.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed SB 450, which would allow a two-thirds supermajority of jurors to impose capital punishment and make Florida the fourth state to not require unanimity for state-sponsored execution.
The bill seeks to change precedent that compels unanimous verdicts for executions.
A 2020 Florida Supreme Court decision (State v. Poole) removed the requirement that a jury be unanimous when agreeing on a death sentence, pending a law describing under what circumstances the death penalty will be imposed.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2016’s Hurst v. Florida that a simple majority would be insufficient to execute, but it’s clear the supermajority may be considered a compromise by the Governor that could fly with a more conservative court.
Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed interest in opening up executions to jury decisions that fell short of unanimity.
“Fine, have a supermajority. 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.
DeSantis said he wants a “supermajority” to constitute a sufficient vote count for execution. The pitch came in the wake of the Parkland killer not getting the death penalty because of what DeSantis called one person’s “idiosyncratic” approach to the proceedings, though there ultimately were three votes not to execute the murderer.
The former student killed 17 people with an AR-15 on Valentine’s Day 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in one of the most infamous school shootings in American history.
“I do think there are people who get on these juries who never intend to administer capital punishment,” DeSantis contended in January.
Another bill challenging the concept of jury unanimity for execution is likely to be signed this year also. HB 1297, a bill from Rep. Jessica Baker, would allow for execution of rapists of children under the age of 12 without jury unanimity, has passed the House already.
The post Gov. DeSantis signs supermajority jury execution bill appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..