Juries recommend death under new statute in two penalty phases.
Two penalty phases conducted under the new 8-4 statute have resulted in jury recommendations for death.
Two penalty phases have been conducted under the new 8-4 statute—one in a Hurst resentencing and one in a new trial. Both resulted in non-unanimous jury recommendations.
NOTE: The sentences have not yet been imposed. Under the new statute, the judge still has the discretion to impose a sentence of life in prison without parole. Sentencing has not occurred yet.
The post about Gov. DeSantis signing this new legislation can be found here. I covered the entire legislative history on this legislation, which can be found in the Tracking Florida’s Death Penalty Archive.
Duval County
Michael James Jackson’s resentencing proceeding concluded this week. His resentencing proceeding was ordered after Hurst. His codefendants Alan Wade and Tiffany Cole were also granted resentencing proceedings after Hurst. Alan Wade’s resentencing occurred in 2022 under Florida’s unanimity statute, and Wade was resentenced to life without parole. Tiffany Cole’s resentencing is still pending.
The jury voted 8-4 to recommend death—the new minimum vote required to sentence someone to death in the State of Florida.
News article:
Lee County
Joseph Zieler was sentenced under the new statute for a 1990 murder. A Lee County jury voted 10-2 for death. This was his first trial.
Zieler was charged in 2016—more than two decades after the crime—based on DNA evidence collected in another case. The trial finally proceeded this month after seven years.
News articles:
Of course, under Florida’s 2022 statute (i.e., before April 20, 2023), both of these cases would’ve resulted in sentences of life in prison without parole because the jury did not vote unanimously to recommend a sentence of death.
One of my clients sat on a jury in a capital case years ago. She got the impression that it wasn't going to be unanimous but definitely a 10-2 majority vote. The 2 jurors who opted for life imprisonment told her a couple of years later that since they knew it didn't have to be unanimous, they voted for life so they wouldn't have it on their conscience for the rest of their lives.