An FCCB-supported proposal that provides that the partial retroactivity of a new unanimous jury requirement will result in a miscarriage of justice was approved by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee (3-2) on Tuesday, February 6. The issue stems from a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found Florida's death penalty sentencing scheme unconstitutional, since it allowed judges, not juries, to make the final decision on sending a prisoner to death row. That ruling compelled the Florida legislature to rewrite its sentencing laws, with the current law now requiring a unanimous jury verdict for the state to impose a death sentence. However, the Florida Supreme Court has held the ruling to be only partially retroactive. Only cases that were finalized after June 24, 2002 and had non-unanimous juries are eligible for resentencing. Defendants whose death sentences were finalized before this date - but under the same unconstitutional system - have been denied relief. SB 870 (Bracy) states that applying retroactivity to the earlier cases will provide a more just and final resolution. For many years, the FCCB supported unanimous jury legislation as an incremental improvement in the law as long as the State of Florida maintains its use of the death penalty. Moreover, the bishops urge an end to the use of the death penalty, since the alternative sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole can keep society safe without taking an additional life. |
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