WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Florida\u2019s unique system for sentencing people to death is unconstitutional because it gives too much power to judges \u2014 and not enough to juries \u2014 to decide capital sentences, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The 8-1 ruling said that the state\u2019s sentencing procedure is flawed because juries play only an advisory role in recommending death while the judge can reach a different decision.<\/p>\n
The decision could trigger new sentencing appeals from some of the 390 inmates on the Florida\u2019s death row, a number second only to California. But legal experts said it may apply only to those whose initial appeals are not yet exhausted.<\/p>\n
The court sided with Timothy Lee Hurst, who was convicted of the 1998 murder of his manager at a Popeye\u2019s restaurant in Pensacola. A jury divided 7-5 in favor of death, but a judge imposed the sentence.<\/p>\n
Florida\u2019s solicitor general argued that the system was acceptable because a jury first decides if the defendant is eligible for the death penalty.<\/p>\n
Writing for the court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said a jury\u2019s \u201cmere recommendation is not enough.\u201d She said the court was overruling previous decisions upholding the state\u2019s sentencing process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death,\u201d Sotomayor said.<\/p>\n
The justices sent the case back to the Florida Supreme Court to determine whether the error in sentencing Hurst was harmless, or whether he should get a new sentencing hearing.<\/p>\n
Justice Samuel Alito dissented, saying that the trial judge in Florida simply performs a reviewing function that duplicates what the jury has done.<\/p>\n
Under Florida law, the state requires juries in capital sentencing hearings to weigh factors for and against imposing a death sentence. But the judge is not bound by those findings and can reach a different conclusion. The judge can also weigh other factors independently. So a jury could base its decision on one particular aggravating factor, but a judge could then rely on a different factor the jury never considered.<\/p>\n
In Hurst\u2019s case, prosecutors asked the jury to consider two aggravating factors: the murder was committed during a robbery and it was \u201cespecially heinous, atrocious or cruel.\u201d But Florida law did not require the jury to say how it voted on each factor. Hurst\u2019s attorney argued that it was possible only four jurors agreed with one, while three agreed with the other.<\/p>\n
Sotomayor said Florida\u2019s system is flawed because it allows a sentencing judge to find aggravating factors \u201cindependent of a jury\u2019s fact-finding.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that a defendant has the right to have a jury decide whether the circumstances of a crime warrant a sentence of death.<\/p>\n
Florida is one of only three states that do not require a unanimous jury verdict when sentencing someone to death. The others are Alabama and Delaware.<\/p>\n
Stephen Harper, a law professor who runs the Death Penalty Clinic at Florida International University, said it\u2019s unlikely the Supreme Court ruling will open the door for most Florida death-row inmates to new sentencing hearings. He said the Florida decision is based on a previous Arizona ruling that was already found not to be retroactive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn general, it will not be retroactively applied,\u201d Harper said.<\/p>\n
But he added that Florida inmates whose initial appeals have not been exhausted may be able to argue that the latest decision applies to them. And, he said, any capital cases that are awaiting trial would likely be delayed while state legislators and the Florida Supreme Court sort out the next steps.<\/p>\n
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said her office is reviewing the ruling.<\/p>\n
News of the high court\u2019s decision stunned Florida legislators. Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, who learned of the ruling while he was giving a speech to open the state\u2019s annual legislative session, said the Supreme Court had \u201cimpeccable timing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crisafulli said House legal experts would begin to review the ruling. Rep. Matt Gaetz, an attorney who has dealt with capital punishment during his legislative career, predicted that Florida legislators would act swiftly to get the death penalty \u201cright back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cassandra Stubbs, director of the American Civil Liberties Union\u2019s Capital Punishment Project, said the ruling \u201crestored the central role of the jury in imposing the death penalty.\u201d She called it another step toward ending capital punishment since juries across the country have been increasingly reluctant to impose death sentences.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in Miami, Gary Fineout in Tallahassee, Florida, and Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, Florida, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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