Senate Bill 1236

    Florida Senate - 1998                                 SJR 1236

    By Senators Burt and Dudley





    16-1140-98

  1                 Senate Joint Resolution No.     

  2         A joint resolution proposing an amendment to

  3         Section 17 of Article I of the State

  4         Constitution relating to excessive punishments.

  5

  6  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  7

  8         That the following amendment to Section 17 of Article I

  9  of the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted

10  to the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the

11  next general election or at an earlier special election

12  specifically authorized for that purpose:

13                            ARTICLE I

14                      DECLARATION OF RIGHTS

15         SECTION 17.  Excessive punishments.--Excessive fines,

16  cruel and or unusual punishment, attainder, forfeiture of

17  estate, indefinite imprisonment, and unreasonable detention of

18  witnesses are forbidden. The courts shall construe whether a

19  punishment is cruel and unusual in conformity with the 8th

20  Amendment to the United States Constitution, as interpreted by

21  the United States Supreme Court in its decisions, regardless

22  of the date those decisions were rendered. Unless otherwise

23  determined by the United States Supreme Court, a method of

24  executing the death penalty is not a penalty or punishment.

25

26  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be placed

27  on the ballot:

28                     CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

29                      ARTICLE I, SECTION 17

30         CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT.--Proposing an amendment

31  to the State Constitution to require that for a punishment to

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1998                                 SJR 1236
    16-1140-98




  1  be prohibited it must be both cruel and unusual rather than

  2  either cruel or unusual and to provide that such prohibition

  3  is to be construed in conformity with the same prohibition

  4  found in the U.S. Constitution and that a method of executing

  5  the death penalty is not a penalty or punishment.

  6

  7

  8

  9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  2