HR 1627

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution declaring the House of Representatives' view
3	of what the public policy of this state regarding
4	unanimity of jury recommendations in death penalty cases
5	should be.
6
7	WHEREAS, the Florida Supreme Court in its opinion in the
8	case of State of Florida v. Alfredie Steele, SC04-802, issued
9	October 12, 2005, suggested that "in light of developments in
10	other states and at the federal level, the Legislature should
11	revisit the statute to require some unanimity in the jury's
12	recommendations" in death penalty cases, and
13	WHEREAS, the Florida Supreme Court quoted the view of the
14	Supreme Court of Connecticut, which stated in part "[t]he
15	requirement of a unanimous verdict can only assist the capital
16	sentencing jury in reaching such a reasoned decision," and
17	WHEREAS, the House of Representatives notes that the State
18	of Connecticut has executed only one person since 1976 and that
19	person was a volunteer, and
20	WHEREAS, the House of Representatives finds that no
21	majority opinion of the United States Supreme Court has
22	suggested that unanimous agreement of a twelve-member jury was
23	required, recommended, or advisable for the determination of
24	whether a death sentence is an appropriate punishment for the
25	commission of a capital crime, and
26	WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has upheld
27	Florida's existing death penalty statute as constitutional in
28	Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242 (1976), and the statute has
29	been repeatedly upheld by state and federal appellate courts
30	against constitutional attacks for the past 29 years, and
31	WHEREAS, the Florida Supreme Court acknowledges that the
32	question of whether Florida's death penalty should require
33	unanimous agreement of the jury before it can be imposed is a
34	matter of public policy for the Legislature to determine, and
35	WHEREAS, the House of Representatives finds that a
36	requirement of unanimity among twelve jurors is not the proper
37	mechanism to determine whether a death sentence is an
38	appropriate sentence in individual cases because a requirement
39	of unanimity vests with a single juror the ability to override
40	the reasoned judgment of all other jurors weighing and
41	considering the same facts and circumstances, and
42	WHEREAS, the House of Representatives finds that some of
43	Florida's most notorious and heinous murderers, including
44	Theodore Bundy and Aileen Wuornos, were sentenced to death and
45	executed when the jury recommendation of death was less than
46	unanimous and that these death sentences were just and
47	appropriate despite the lack of unanimity, NOW, THEREFORE,
48
49	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
50	Florida:
51
52	That House of Representatives believes that the public
53	policy of this state should be that unanimous jury
54	recommendations not be required in death penalty cases.

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