There are three ways to fix Florida's death penalty law -- the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The good way is to pass a true unanimity law, requiring the jury to be unanimous one way or the other, i.e., the California/Arizona model. The bad way is to continue with nonunanimous penalty verdicts, okay for now but leaving an issue to attack the law in the future. The ugly way is to adopt a single-juror veto system, the kind that caused the grotesque miscarriage of justice in the Colorado theater shooting case.
The House Judiciary Committee's Criminal Justice Subcommittee chose the bad way on February 2, recommending PCB CRJS 16-07. At least they rejected the amendment for the ugly option.
In the Senate, on the other hand, the ugly option was adopted in SPB 7068.
My letter to the Senate committee chairman, recommending the good option, is here. No one seems to be listening.
The good way is to pass a true unanimity law, requiring the jury to be unanimous one way or the other, i.e., the California/Arizona model. The bad way is to continue with nonunanimous penalty verdicts, okay for now but leaving an issue to attack the law in the future. The ugly way is to adopt a single-juror veto system, the kind that caused the grotesque miscarriage of justice in the Colorado theater shooting case.
The House Judiciary Committee's Criminal Justice Subcommittee chose the bad way on February 2, recommending PCB CRJS 16-07. At least they rejected the amendment for the ugly option.
In the Senate, on the other hand, the ugly option was adopted in SPB 7068.
My letter to the Senate committee chairman, recommending the good option, is here. No one seems to be listening.
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