U.S. Supreme Court: Florida death penalty law unconstitutional

The 8-1 decision is the latest blow against the death penalty in the United States, where state courts, legislatures and governors have been scaling back, suspending or abolishing capital punishment in growing numbers over the past decade.

The Supreme Court has thrown out a verdict in Florida which sentenced Timothy Lee Hurst to death because the judge first decided he was eligible for the death penalty, rather than that decision being made by a jury.

“We hold this sentencing scheme unconstitutional”, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the majority opinion.

The case was brought by Timothy Lee Hurst, an inmate sent to death row after killing a co-worker at a fast-food restaurant.

The decisions are overruled to the extent they allow a sentencing judge to find an aggravating circumstance, independent of a jury’s fact-finding, that is necessary for imposition of the death penalty.’, the court said. Under the Sixth Amendment, criminal defendants are guaranteed the right to trial “by an impartial jury”.

Last year, Florida was one of the most enthusiastic states in the nation for handing out the death penalty – and it sentenced those prisoners to death with an unusual system. The court sentenced Hurst to death, but he was granted a new sentencing hearing on appeal. In 91 percent of those cases, the judge imposed a death sentence after the jury opted for life.

Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda said the U.S. Supreme Court is making jurors independently decide if the death penalty should be imposed. The court ruled that Florida gave too much authority to judges.

But Douglas Berman, a sentencing expert at the Ohio State University, observed that unless there’s a legislative fix to Florida’s capital sentencing structure, the Hurst ruling will likely lead to “multi-headed, snake-like litigation” to determine to what extent it applies to the 400 inmates now on death row in the state. “Florida’s sentencing scheme, which required the judge alone to find the existence of an aggravating circumstance, is therefore unconstitutional”.

Bakkedahl said while a brief delay may be warranted, he doesn’t want to postpone Tisdale’s punishment until Florida lawmakers pass legislation that could address the high court’s concerns.

The judge then sentenced Hurst to death and concluded that the factors that applied were that the man committed the murder while in a robbery and that the crime was heinous. The judge can also weigh factors the jury never considered.

The ruling’s direct impact is largely limited to Florida and does not touch upon the bigger and more divisive question of the constitutionality of the death penalty in general. “You’re not going to have someone’s life or death being determined exclusively on, perhaps, the emotions of a jury”. Florida is one of only four states – along with Alabama, Delaware and Montana – that left the final decision on a death sentence to a judge. Right now, it only takes a simple majority – 7 of 12 jurors.

The sole dissent in Hurst v. Florida was written by Justice Samuel Alito.

News of the high court’s decision stunned Florida legislators.