The House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee voted 8-6 today to approve a bill (HB 555) that would eliminate a requirement for unanimous jury recommendations before death sentences can be imposed. Under the bill, judges would sentence people to death based on recommendations of eight of 12 jurors.
death row
On and Off Death Row for 17 Years, Palm Coast Double-Murderer David Snelgrove Loses One More Motion
David Snelgrove, who murdered two elderly people who’d cared for him in Palm Coast in 2000, argued through his lawyers that he was mentally disabled and so not eligible for the death penalty. A judge disagreed.
Attorney General Moody To Supreme Court on Death Row Inmates: Let ‘Em Die
Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office is urging the Florida Supreme Court to reverse course on decisions that allowed dozens of convicted murderers to have their death sentences reconsidered.
James Colley Jr. Sentenced to Death in Murders of Ex-Wife Amanda Colley and Lindy Dobbins
James Terry Colley Jr., 38, of St. Augustine, murdered his estranged wife Amanda Colley and her friend Lindy Dobbins in 2015 in St. Augustine after stalking and harassing Amanda for weeks.
In Latest Complication, Judge Craig Recuses Himself From David Snelgrove Death Row Case
The Supreme Court has ordered a re-sentencing in the case of David Snelgrove, sentenced to die 15 years ago in the double-murders in Palm Coast of an elderly couple.
Seizing on Orlando Murder Case, Justice Breyer Asks Court to “Reconsider Constitutionality of Death Penalty”
Justice Stephen Breyer characterized the death penalty as cruel and unusual in light of the case of Henry Sireci, 68, who’s been on Florida’s Death Row for 40 years and has yet again been cleared for execution.
Racism Allegations Against Jacksonville Judge Hulsey Enter Case of Black Man on Death Row
Other black defendants whose cases were overseen by Hulsey “are living with the fear that the proceedings were infected by racial prejudice,” but questions about Hulsey’s impartiality also affect “the public at large and all residents of Florida,” lawyer Martin McClain wrote.
Florida Supreme Court Orders Review of Lethal Injection Cocktail Ahead of Feb. 26 Execution
Before the scheduled execution of inmate Paul Augustus Howell on Feb. 26, Justices have ordered a circuit court to hold an evidentiary hearing on whether substitution of the drug midazolam violates the constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment by the government.
With 132 Death Row Inmates Readied for Execution, Lawyers Contest Fast-Track Law Before Florida Justices
More than 150 lawyers and Death Row inmates are challenging the so-called Timely Justice Act, signed by Gov. Rick Scott in June, intended to speed up executions. Lawyers argue it violates the constitutionally protected separation of powers as well as inmates’ rights to due process.
Askari Muhammad Is Executed After 38 Years on Death Row and Numerous Legal Bungles
Muhammad was sentenced to death in 1975 for the murder in July 1974 of Sydney and Lillian Gans near Miami, and, after that sentencing was thrown out, sentenced to death for the murder of prison guard James Burke in 1980. He is the 13th individual executed on Gov. Rick Scott’s watch since 2011.