Status: 04/21/2023 09:26 am
A unanimous jury vote is no longer required to impose the death penalty in a Florida criminal case. Eight out of twelve votes is enough. Governor DeSantis signed a bill to that effect.
The US state of Florida has reduced a major obstacle to the imposition of the death penalty. A new law will no longer require a unanimous recommendation by 12 jurors for a death sentence in criminal cases. Indeed, a two-thirds majority, and therefore eight out of twelve jury votes, will suffice in the future. However, this only applies to the imposition of the penalty. In the previous stage, unanimity of votes is still required for the accused to be found guilty in the respective proceedings.
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed the amendment into law on Thursday, according to US media reports. Florida has the lowest threshold for death sentences in the United States. 27 of the 50 US states are considering the death penalty for particularly serious crimes. In nearly all states, the jury must unanimously vote in favor of the death sentence. Ten yes votes are enough in Alabama, and in Indiana and Missouri the judge decides when the jury disagrees.
Trigger was the Parkland Shooter
According to the American media, the backdrop for the change is the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. A 19-year-old boy shot 17 people. A jury found the perpetrator guilty. However, only nine jurors favored the death penalty. The murderer was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Once a defendant is unanimously found guilty by a jury in a capital case — cases where the death penalty is possible — “a jury should not be able to veto a death penalty,” DeSantis said. He would have signed the law in the presence of relatives of the victims.
Some Democrats criticized the change in law. Overall, however, the law received bipartisan support in Florida, as reported by the New York Times. In addition, according to the North American newspaper, there are currently other bills in Florida related to the death penalty. For example, the state plans to allow a death sentence for child sex abusers.
Growing Criticism of the Death Penalty
DeSantis’ decision comes at a time of growing criticism of the death penalty. US executions have been falling since a 1999 peak of 98 executions. According to the Washington Death Penalty Information Center, 18 people were killed in the country in 2022 as a result of a court ruling.
No state has reported as many death sentences against innocent people as Florida, the center said. Since the 1970s, 191 death sentences have been overturned across the country due to the proven innocence of the convicts, 30 of them in Florida. There are currently 300 people on death row in Florida.