US EditionFlorida Supreme Court upholds death sentences by nonunanimous juries
The ruling upholds Florida’s 2023 law allowing death sentences with an 8-4 jury vote, the lowest threshold in the U.S., amid a rise in executions this year, court records show.
- The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 2023 law allowing nonunanimous juries to sentence people to death, rejecting Michael Harrison Hunt's appeal.
- After the Parkland verdict, lawmakers passed the nonunanimous jury measure in response, and Florida's death-sentencing rules have shifted repeatedly amid legal challenges and changes on the state high court.
- Compared nationally, Florida now allows a death recommendation with at least eight of twelve jurors, and Hunt's jury voted 10-2 for death.
- The court also affirmed Michael James Jackson's death sentences for the Sumner murders, dismissed his equal protection claims, and cemented convictions tied to the Panama City April 2019 attack.
- Florida has expanded death-eligible offenses to include child rape despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and its 30 exonerations since 1973 highlight unique risks amid rising executions.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Florida Supreme Court upholds death sentence in challenge to 8-juror law
Florida's Supreme Court. Sept. 8, 2023. (Photo by Florida Phoenix)The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence of a twice-condemned man, dismissing his constitutional concerns over a state law that allows just eight jurors to recommend death — the lowest threshold in the nation. The state’s highest court in a 65-page opinion affirmed Michael James Jackson’s death sentence, which he’d received twice in 16 years for burying aliv…
Florida Supreme Court Seals Fate Of Killer Who Used Pizza Delivery Ruse To Execute Teen
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence of Michael Harrison Hunt, the man convicted of orchestrating a violent home invasion under the guise of a pizza delivery that left a young woman dead and three others wounded. In a decision released December 18, the high court rejected Hunt’s appeal, which argued that […] Florida Supreme Court Seals Fate Of Killer Who Used Pizza Delivery Ruse To Execute Teen
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