In an issue that emerged after the Parkland school shooter was sentenced to life in prison, the Florida Senate on Thursday supported eliminating a requirement for unanimous jury recommendations before judges can impose death sentences.
“Nikolas Cruz acted as judge, jury and, unfortunately, executioner also,” Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, said. “If a monster like that, who commits heinous crimes like that, does not deserve and get the death penalty, then what do we have a death penalty for?”
Judges would have discretion to sentence defendants to life in prison after receiving jury recommendations of death sentences. But in such instances, the judges would have to explain in written orders their reasons for deviating from the death-sentence recommendations.
Thursday’s vote in the Republican-controlled Senate was mostly along party lines. Minority Leader Lauren Book, D-Plantation, Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood, and Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, crossed party lines to vote for the bill. Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami, and Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, joined most Democrats in voting against it.
Pizzo said he thought more senators would have supported the bill if it would have required recommendations of 10 of 12 jurors. While he voted for the bill, he also expressed concern about lawmakers making a change in reaction to a single case.
“But let’s just be intellectually honest about why we’re doing it, if that (Cruz) verdict didn’t happen, we wouldn’t be having this bill,” Pizzo, a former prosecutor, said.
A House version of the bill (HB 555) is slated to be heard Friday by the House Judiciary Committee.
Cruz was sentenced last year to life in prison after a Broward County jury did not unanimously recommend the death penalty. He murdered 17 students and faculty members at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
The Senate bill would affect only the sentencing process and not what is known as the “guilt phase” of murder cases. Juries would still have to be unanimous in finding defendants guilty before sentencing could begin.
Florida long allowed judges to impose death sentences based on majority jury recommendations. But that changed after decisions in 2016 by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court.
In January 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, ruled that the state’s death-penalty system was unconstitutional. To try to carry out the ruling, the Legislature quickly passed a measure that required 10-2 jury recommendations before death sentences could be imposed.
>> TOMORROW MARKS FIVE YEARS SINCE THE SHOOTING AT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL AND STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL AND IT COMES JUST MONTHS AFTER JURORS SFARD THE LIFE OF THE PARKLAND SHOOTER AND FAMILIES AND SURVIVES HAVE CALLED FOR CHANGE. >> TALLAHASSEE MAY BUCK NATIONAL TRENDS AND MAKE IT EASY FOR A TRENDS AND MAKE IT EASY FOR A JURY TO RECOMMEND THE DEATH PENALTY IN FLORIDA. >> I PLEAD GUILTY. >> Reporter: HE CONFESSED TO THE CRIME AFTER A GRUELING TRIAL. >> OUTWEIGH THE MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES ESTABLISHED, NO. >> Reporter: IN A 9-3 VOTE LED >> Reporter: IN A 9-3 VOTE LED BY ONE WOMAN ADAMANT AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY, WEu2019RE TOLD, THE JURY SFARD THE JURY SPARED THE LIFE OF THE PARKLAND SHOOTER. PARKLAND SHOOTER. FAMILIES WERE OUTRAGED. >> ITu2019S SO UPSETTING. >> Reporter: OUTRAGED STILL TO THIS DAY. >> GAVE HIM THE GIFT OF LIFE WHEN HE, YOU KNOW, HUNTED DOWN AND TORTURED OUR LOVED ONES. >> THE SHOOTER MURDER ALEX, WHO >> THE SHOOTER MURDER ALEX, WHO WAS 14 YEARS OLD. >> ITu2019S NOT RIGHT WHAT HAPPENED TO US AND IF THERE WAS EVER A CASE WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL CASE WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL DESERVED THE DEATH PENALTY, THE PARKLAND MURDERER IS THE ONE. >> Reporter: SCHAECTER SUPPORTS A PROPOSAL ABOUT TO MAKE ITS WAY THROUGH TALLAHASSEE. THE FORMER PROSECUTOR AND NOW REPRESENTATIVE FROM PINELLAS COUNTY FILED HOUSE BILL 555. THE BILL STILL REQUIRES A UNANIMOUS JURY TO FIND SOMEONE UNANIMOUS JURY TO FIND SOMEONE ELIGIBLE FOR THE DEATH PENALTY, BUT UNDER THE PROPOSAL ONLY 8 OF THE 12 WOULD NEED TO RECOMMEND DEATH. >> IT HAPPENS MORE OFTEN THAN YOU WOULD THINK. >> Reporter: HE POINTED ME TO A CASE IN HIS DISTRICT WITH A SIMILAR OUTCOME. A JURY SPARED THE LIFE OF A MAN CONVICTED OF KILLING A POLICE OFFICER. >> THAT HEINOUS MURDERER ESCAPED >> THAT HEINOUS MURDERER ESCAPED THE DEATH PENALTY BECAUSE HE HAD A SMALL AMOUNT OF HOLDOUTS WHO A SMALL AMOUNT OF HOLDOUTS WHO WOULD REFUSE TO GO THE DISTANCE AND DOLE OUT TRUE JUSTICE. >> Reporter: THE BILL IS LIKELY TO PASS. >> HEu2019S GUILTY, EVERYBODY KNEW HE WAS GUILTY. >> Reporter: GOVERNOR RON DeSANTIS SUPPORTS THE CHANGE AND IT WAS ONE OF THE FEW THINGS THE GOVERNOR AND HIS OPPONENT, DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN CHARLIE CRIST, AGREED ON DURING THE ELECTION. >> I BELIEVE THAT THAT YOUNG MAN SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING 17 INNOCENT STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOLS. STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOLS. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY ABHORRENT. >> Reporter: THIS PUTS FLOORED ON A TRACK COUNTER TO MOST OF THE COUNTRY. THE DEATH PENALTY IS ON THE BOOKS IN 27 STATES, BUT ONLY A HANDFUL CARRY OUT EXECUTIONS. BUT ACCORDING TO THE DEATH PENALTY INFORMATION CENTER, OUR STATE LEADS THE NATION IN THE STATE LEADS THE NATION IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXONERATED AFTER BEING SENTENCED TO DEATH. >> THE PARKLAND CASE IS BEING >> THE PARKLAND CASE IS BEING USED AS A POLITICAL EXCUSE TO GET ATTENTION. >> Reporter: HERMAN LINDSAY IS ONE OF THEM. HE SPENT THREE YEARS ON DEATH ROW UNTIL THE STATE SUPREME COURT REVERSED HIS DISTRICT. >> I SEE ALL THE COMMENTS, KILL HIM, KILL HIM. >> Reporter: HE ARGUES LIFE >> Reporter: HE ARGUES LIFE BEHIND BARS IS A HARSHER PENALTY AND PREVENTS A DRAWN-OUT APPEAL PROCESS WHICH COULD TAKE YEARS PROCESS WHICH COULD TAKE YEARS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, ACCORDING TO RECORDS OBTAINED IN THE PAST BY INVESTIGATORS. >> VICTIMSu2019 FAMILIES FEEL LIKE ITu2019S GOING TO BRING THEM CLOSURE BUT THIS LAW JUST CAUSES THEM TO REPEAT IT OVER AND OVER BECAUSE THEREu2019S GOING TO BE SO MANY APPEALS, THEY HAVE TO KEEP COMING BACK TO COURT. >> Reporter: I RAISED THOSE ISSUES WITH THE HOUSE SPONSOR OF ISSUES WITH THE HOUSE SPONSOR OF THE BILL, WHO TELLS ME HE IS OKAY WITH FLORIDA MOVING AGAINST THE NATIONAL TREND. THE NATIONAL TREND. >> WE DONu2019T WANT TO BE LIKE THE REST OF THE NATION ON A LOT OF THINGS. FLORIDA IS THE LEADER IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES AND TAKES PRIDE IN BEING A LAW AND ORDER STATE. >> Reporter: THE HOUSE BILL IS IDENTICAL TO THE SENATE VERSION, WITH GOVERNOR DeSANTISu2019 SUPPORT IT IS CONSIDERED TO PASS. IT IS CONSIDERED TO PASS. THE COURT FORCED THE STATE OF FLORIDA TO REQUIRE A UNANIMOUS JURY TO RECOMMEND THE DEATH PENALTY AND BEFORE THAT IT WAS PENALTY AND BEFORE THAT IT WAS THE MAJORITY OF THE JURY, BUT”,”video_id”:”2171971139828_950″,”video_length”:”249717″,”video_provider”:”mpx”,”short_video_excerpt”:””,”mpx_download_pid_mobile_low”:”_8JXP_LjU6Um”,”pid_streaming_web_mobile_low”:””,”mpx_download_pid_mobile_standard”:”B2_vW53gXsoX”,”pid_streaming_mobile_standard”:”rf0Sx8HVMxOT”,”media_pid”:”bbSaMS4pIAMM”,”alleypack_schedule_unpublish”:””,”feed_remote_id”:”mpx_2171971139828″,”feed_thumbnail_url”:””}” data-livestream=”false” data-title=”Parkland 5 Years Later: Impact on the Death Penalty” data-vidcid=”1:10:2972916″ data-vidurl=”https://www.nbcmiami.com/multimedia/parkland-5-years-later-impact-on-the-death-penalty/2972916/” data-islead=”false” data-catnames=”{“2186″:”Multimedia”,”248″:”Local”,”445300″:”News”,”333″:”Parkland School Tragedy”}” data-tagnames=”{“7819″:”death penalty”,”2131″:”Parkland”}” data-customdata=”{“ContentPartner”:”None”,”Source”:”WEBFM”,”SyndicationAllowed”:”true”,”mSNVideoCategories”:”MSN Video v4 Connector-most watched news”,”mSNVideoContentSupplierID”:”NBC_Local”,”mSNVideoCountry”:”us”,”subtitle”:”nosubtitle”,”uploadedByTeam”:”1″,”youtubeChannel”:”None”,”sentiment”:”Positive”}” data-autoplay=”false” data-cplay=”true”>
But in October 2016, in the similarly named case of Hurst v. State, the Florida Supreme Court interpreted and applied the U.S. Supreme Court ruling and said unanimous jury recommendations were required. The Legislature responded in 2017 by putting such a unanimous requirement in law.
After Gov. Ron DeSantis took office in January 2019, he made appointments that created a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. In 2020, the court reversed course and said unanimous jury recommendations were not needed — though the unanimous requirement has remained in law.
If the Legislature and DeSantis move away from a unanimous-jury requirement, the change likely will face a constitutional challenge. During a committee meeting this month, Aaron Wayt, who represented the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, pointed to recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and said he thinks the change would be found unconstitutional.
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