State Court Upholds Death Penalty Law
From Times Wire Reports
The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the state’s death penalty sentencing law is constitutional even though it lets a judge overrule a jury’s decision.
The court unanimously turned down two death row inmates who had appealed on the basis of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year in an Arizona case. In June, the high court found Arizona’s capital sentencing law unconstitutional and ruled that juries, not judges, must decide whether a killer lives or dies.
But the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Florida statute.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
