Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanDecember 26, 2016

There are some things that only lawyers can explain. This is one of them. But I defy them to make sense of it. Just in time for Christmas, the Florida Supreme Court in two cases last week gave new leases on life to 213 convicted killers but turned down about 173 more. The only difference […]

Jim RosicaDecember 23, 2016

The state’s leading death penalty opposition group is calling for more than 200 Florida death row inmates to have their sentences reduced to life imprisonment. Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) says a Florida Supreme Court decision on convicted killer Mark Asay out Thursday means that many are “entitled to be resentenced.” The court […]

Jim RosicaDecember 22, 2016

Mark Asay will remain on the state’s death row, the Florida Supreme Court decided Thursday, likely to become the “first white person executed for the murder of a black person in this state.” Its 80-page opinion also determined that this year’s U.S. Supreme Court opinion, Hurst v. Florida, requiring Florida juries—not judges—”to (determine) the facts necessary to sentence a defendant […]

Bob SparksJanuary 14, 2016

On Tuesday night, the U.S. House and Senate gathered in a joint session to hear President Barack Obama deliver his final State of the Union address. Tuesday morning, the Florida House of Representatives and Senate also convened in joint session for Gov. Rick Scott’s State of the State remarks. These speeches normally provide a roadmap […]

Martin DyckmanJanuary 14, 2016

Nothing else that government does costs as much as the death penalty in order to accomplish so little. That ought to concern even the most conservative legislators as they cope with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 8-1 decision Tuesday, in Hurst v. Florida, that the state’s capital sentencing process is unconstitutional. The choice now is to […]

Martin DyckmanJanuary 13, 2016

Nothing else that government does costs as much as the death penalty in order to accomplish so little. This ought to concern even the most conservative legislators as they cope with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 8-1 decision Tuesday, in Hurst v. Florida, that the state’s capital sentencing process is unconstitutional. The choice now is to […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 12, 2016

(UPDATED) The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down Florida’s controversial system that allows judges, and not juries, to decide whether or not convicted criminals deserve the death penalty. The high court ruled 8-1 against the current system, with only Justice Samuel Alito dissenting. The court sided with Timothy Lee Hurst, who was convicted of the […]

Martin DyckmanOctober 16, 2015

It can be perilous to predict the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case by the questions justices ask during the oral argument, but this once I’ll hazard a guess: Florida’s death-sentencing law is in deep trouble. The better question, in fact, is not whether Pensacola killer Timothy Hurst will win his appeal but how […]

Martin DyckmanOctober 15, 2015

It can be perilous to predict the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case by the questions justices ask during the oral argument, but this once I’ll hazard a guess: Florida’s death-sentencing law is in deep trouble. The better question, in fact, is not whether Pensacola killer Timothy Hurst will win his appeal but how […]

Melissa RossOctober 8, 2015

As happens every October, the U.S. Supreme Court has begun a new term, with a Florida death penalty case one of the major cases it’s weighing. At least six capital-punishment cases are on the high court’s docket, after a recent flurry of executions across the country have led to dramatic, last-minute appeals. On Tuesday, the […]

Tag: Ring v. Arizona

Retiring Justice gives final voice of reason on Florida’s death penalty

After Asay decision, anti-death penalty advocates call for commutations

In Mark Asay case, court says death penalty ruling isn’t retroactive

Bob Sparks: U.S. Supreme Court adds to Legislature’s “to do” list

Martin Dyckman: U.S. Supreme Court ruling should prompt Legislature to abolish death penalty

Martin Dyckman: Supreme Court ruling should prompt Legislature to abolish death penalty

U.S. Supreme Court rules Florida death penalty system is unconstitutional

Martin Dyckman: Why Florida’s death-sentencing law is likely in trouble

Martin Dyckman: Why Florida’s death-sentencing law is likely in trouble

U.S. Supreme Court to hear Florida death penalty case