Associated Press
The Supreme Court has left in place a lower court ruling that said imposing a death sentence in Florida requires a unanimous jury.
The justices on Monday turned away an appeal from Florida officials seeking to overturn the ruling last year from the state’s highest court.
The Florida Supreme Court had struck down a newly enacted law allowing a defendant to be sentenced to death as long as 10 out of 12 jurors recommend it. That ruling concluded that Timothy Lee Hurst — convicted of a 1998 murder at a Pensacola Popeye’s restaurant— deserves a new sentencing hearing.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court declared Florida’s death penalty sentencing law unconstitutional. State legislators responded by overhauling the law.
Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
2 comments
Dan
May 22, 2017 at 2:04 pm
I am curious, where in the Florida or US Constitution does it give judges the authority to change or write Laws? Isn’t that under the authority & responsibility of the Legislators?
David
May 22, 2017 at 9:02 pm
Supreme Courts don’t change or rewrite laws; they review the constitutionality of the law and its application. If the law is deemed unconstitutional, state legislatures respond accordingly. If the ruling comes from the US Supreme Court, states have to follow the recommendations of the highest court of the land.
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