Republicans in the Florida legislature have proposed ending the requirement for unanimous jury recommendations in capital murder cases before a person can be sentenced to death by the state.
People opposed to the death penalty pick up signs as they gather to demonstrate against the execution of John Ruthell Henry near the Florida State Prison on June 18, 2014, in Raiford, Florida.until 2016, when the federal Supreme Court ruled that majority-based recommendations to judges on the death penalty gave too much power to judges.
Justice Jorge Labarga, who dissented in that case, called it “a giant step backward,” and a removal of “a significant safeguard for the just application of the death penalty in Florida.” This week, state Rep. Berny Jacques and state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia introduced similar bills in their respective houses of the state legislature
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