Media Roundup
Roundup of recent news covering pending capital punishment legislation; a look at what's ahead this week in the Senate; and, an apparent rise in death cases in Hillsborough County.
In the News
The proposed capital punishment legislation pending in the Florida Legislature right now has certainly caused a lot of discussion - and rightly so. Here’s a roundup of articles from the past week.
The only certainties about SB 450 are that it will cost the taxpayers more money because death cases cost vastly more to try and to exhaust the appeals. A greater risk of executing innocent people awaits Florida because juror votes against death often reveal lingering doubt as to guilt.
Editorial Board, An outrageous death penalty proposal, even for Florida, Sun Sentinel (Mar. 27, 2023) - Read it here.
What’s at stake is the importance of a jury’s role in deciding whether someone convicted of a capital offense should live or die. The smaller the jury’s scope, the greater the judge’s and the weaker the bedrock principle of trial by jury, according to decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court.
DeSantis uses Case of Parkland killer Cruz to play politics with the death penalty, Florida Bulldog (Mar. 24, 2023) - Read it here.
[I]t seems Florida’s government is set on seeking out and executing defendants who were sentenced to death by non-unanimous juries under the state’s prior unconstitutional statute in an apparent political effort to convince the court of public opinion that 8-4 is constitutionally sufficient to support a sentence of death.
Maria DeLiberato & Melanie Kalmanson, Florida poised to become the most-death penalty friendly state | Opinion, Miami Herald (Mar. 23, 2023) - Read it here.
The bill heard Monday would require eight or more jurors to vote in favor of the death penalty, instead of the current requirement for a unanimous jury. It would make Florida one of only two states with a non-unanimous jury requirement. Alabama currently has a 10-2 requirement.
Romy Ellenbogen, Death penalty for child rapists bill gets bipartisan support in Florida Legislature, Tampa Bay Times (Mar. 20, 2023) - Read it here.
Full Senate to Vote on SB 450
On Wednesday, March 29, the full Senate will vote on the Senate’s version of the capital sentencing legislation (SB 450), which seeks to make it easier to impose death sentences in the state.
The post from last week on the last committee hearing on the bill can be found here.
The post from the original committee hearing on this bill can be found here.
The original post on this legislation can be found here.
Articles Covering the Status of the Capital Sentencing Legislation
Here are two articles from last week covering the status of this bill from last week as it heads to the Senate:
News Service Florida, Bill to Remove Unanimous Jury Requirement for Death Penalty Moves to Florida Senate, NBC Miami (Mar. 27, 2023) - Read it here.
Kylie Jones, Florida bill aimed at loosening requirements for imposing the death penalty gets Senate committee approval, Fox 13 (Mar. 23, 2023) - Read it here.
A Suggested Rise in Death Cases in Hillsborough County
In an article posted Monday, Dan Sullivan with the Tampa Bay Times reported that Hillsborough County prosecutors have filed their notice of their intent to seek the death penalty against “Billy Adams III, the Tampa rapper accused of shooting a pregnant woman in January, three days after his acquittal in an unrelated double-murder case.”
The County seeking death against Adams seems to be consistent with a recent pattern according to Sullivan:
Hillsborough prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty in at least nine cases, which include a total of 12 defendants. When Lopez was appointed in August by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the office had five pending death penalty cases.