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Scott PowersMarch 16, 2017

Former State Attorney Jeff Ashton – former boss and then election opponent to current State Attorney Aramis Ayala – said Thursday he believes she might not have legal ground to take the unprecedented “no death penalty” position she announced earlier Thursday. Ashton also said he believes Ayala may have adopted the position to please her political benefactor, […]

Staff ReportsMarch 13, 2017

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Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation Monday requiring a unanimous jury recommendation before the death penalty can be imposed. Lawmakers passed the bill out of the House and Senate last week, rushing the measure through the process in hopes of fixing the state’s death penalty law. The House voted 112-3 to approve the measure Friday, one […]

Brendan FarringtonMarch 10, 2017

Florida will require a unanimous jury recommendation before the death penalty can be imposed under a bill lawmakers sent to Gov. Rick Scott on Friday. Lawmakers rushed to get the bill passed on the fourth day of their legislative session in hopes of fixing a death penalty law that’s been found unconstitutional twice since January […]

Michael MolineMarch 9, 2017

The Senate voted Thursday to require unanimous jury verdicts to sentence someone to death, and to advance a measure that would require prosecutors to prove “stand your ground” immunity shouldn’t apply in criminal cases. The death penalty bill, SB 280, which the Senate passed unanimously, was a response to a Florida Supreme Court ruling requiring […]

Associated PressMarch 9, 2017

Florida lawmakers are trying for the second year in a row to fix the state’s death penalty law. The Senate on Thursday voted unanimously to require a unanimous jury decision to impose the death penalty. The House is also prepared for a vote on the issue. It could be the first major bill sent to […]

Gary FineoutMarch 7, 2017

Once the Florida Legislature kicks off its 60-day Session March 7, legislators are expected to pass, or kill, dozens of measures dealing with everything from abortion to gambling and the environment. So far, more than 2,000 bills have been filed, but in the end, legislators usually pass fewer than 300 pieces of legislation each year. […]

Michael MolineFebruary 21, 2017

Bills that would require unanimous jury votes to impose the death penalty, and ask voters whether to impose term limits on appellate judges, were headed to the House floor following their approval Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee. The death penalty bill attracted a single “no” vote, and that was from Democrat Joe Geller, who said […]

Associated PressFebruary 20, 2017

Florida prosecutors can seek the death penalty in ongoing cases despite a state Supreme Court ruling that found a new death penalty law unconstitutional. The court ruled Monday that the death penalty can be applied as long as there is a unanimous jury recommendation. It ruled last October that a new state law requiring at […]

Michael MolineJanuary 10, 2017

A House committee considering the future of Florida’s death penalty statute heard Tuesday from a man once sentenced to Death Row. Henry Brown, who described himself as a capital mitigation consultant in Tallahassee, said he was sentenced to death in 1973 but released after he pleaded to second-degree murder in 1993, although he denied killing […]

Jim RosicaDecember 30, 2016

From algebra to Zika, 2016 brought a plethora of material to the Capitol Press Corps. Trying to pick the top state government stories is a subjective pursuit, to say the least, but here are the FloridaPolitics.com picks for the passing year. In (kind of) chronological order: — Kevin McCarty ousted as state Insurance Commissioner, replaced by […]

Tag: death penalty
Crowds gather to see Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (Gabrielle Russon)

Jeff Ashton: Aramis Ayala may not have legal grounds to ban death penalty

Rick Scott signs death penalty fix into law

Florida’s death penalty fix heads to Rick Scott

Senate votes to raise bar for death penalty, ‘stand your ground’ prosecutions

Florida tries again to fix death-penalty law

Guns, gambling and taxes: Legislators return to work

Judicial term limits, death penalty bills clear final House committee votes

Florida prosecutors can seek death penalty despite questions

Former death row prisoner appears before House panel

Jim Rosica’s review of top state government stories in 2016