Nearly 400 death row inmates in Florida are waiting to learn if their fate will change as lawyers argue death sentences imposed under a now-unconstitutional process should be converted to life without parole.
Lawyers for convicted murderer Timothy Hurst on Thursday argued that because the U.S. Supreme Court in January ruled Florida's sentencing scheme unconstitutional, state law requires that death row inmates should have their sentences reduced to life imprisonment.
"There's no ambiguity," Hurst's lawyer, Dave Davis, told the Florida justices. "This court -- I hate to say it's an easy job -- but it's a straightforward one."
Hurst, 37, was condemned to die by a judge for the 1998 slaying of Cynthia Harrison, a co-worker at a Popeye's restaurant, even though five members of his 12-person jury declined to recommend death. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the sentencing method gives judges too much power and violates defendants' right to a fair trial under the Constitution's Sixth Amendment.
Since that U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Florida has halted several scheduled executions as lawmakers struggle to fix the state's broken capital punishment system.
Vivian Singleton, an assistant Florida attorney general, disagreed that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling was so sweeping that it should apply retroactively to defendants already sentenced to death.
"In the Hurst decision, the Supreme Court did not say Florida's death penalty was unconstitutional; only that the sentencing scheme was unconstitutional," Singleton argued.
Florida has passed at least one fix to its law, requiring that at least 10 members of a 12-person jury vote in favor of imposing death and that jurors unanimously find at least one aggravating factor that makes the crime among "the worst of the worst."
State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente seemed dubious of the fix and wondered if just one aggravating factor -- which can include the age of the victim, the commission of other crimes, and the defendant's membership in a criminal street gang -- was enough to merit a death sentence without violating the Constitution.
"If we want a death penalty in Florida, we need it to be constitutional," Pariente said.
This week, a group of prominent lawyers and judges, including several former state Supreme Court justices, filed a brief supporting re-sentencing Florida's nearly 400 death row inmates to life imprisonment.
The state Supreme Court will continue to hear arguments in the case. It's unclear when it will rule.
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