Status: 04/21/2023 09:26 am
A unanimous jury vote is no longer required to impose the death penalty in a criminal case in Florida. Eight out of twelve votes are enough. Governor DeSantis signed a law to that effect.
The US state of Florida has lowered a key hurdle for imposing the death penalty. A new law will no longer require a unanimous recommendation by the 12 jury for a death sentence in criminal cases. In fact, a two-thirds majority and thus eight out of twelve jury votes will suffice in the future. However, this only applies to the imposition of the penalty. In the previous step, a unanimous vote is still required to find the accused guilty in the respective proceedings.
Florida’s 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 almost all states, the jury must unanimously vote in favor of a death sentence. Ten yes votes are enough in Alabama, and in Indiana and Missouri the judge decides when the jury disagrees.
Trigger was Parkland shooter
According to US media, the background to 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 killer 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 reportedly signed the law in the presence of relatives of the victims.
Some Democrats have criticized the change in the law. Overall, however, the law received bipartisan support in Florida, as reported by the New York Times. In addition, according to the US newspaper, there are currently other draft laws in Florida relating to the death penalty. For example, the state plans to allow a death sentence for sexual abusers of children.
Growing criticism of the death penalty
DeSantis’ move comes at a time of growing criticism of the death penalty. Executions in the US have been falling since a peak in 1999 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 decision.
No state has reported as many death sentences against innocent people as Florida, the center reported. Since the 1970s, 191 death sentences have been overturned nationwide due to the proven innocence of those convicted, 30 of them in Florida. There are currently 300 people on death row in Florida.