Florida Supreme Court issues order declaring death penalty procedure unconstitutional

[JURIST]

The Florida Supreme Court [official website] issued a one-paragraph order Wednesday informing judges and prosecutors that the state's death penalty procedure is unconstitutional, marking the second such order in three months. Attorney General Pam Bondi [official website] argued that, although the court ruled the statute unconstitutional in October [JURIST report], prosecutors should be able to apply the death penalty to pending trails so long as the jury voted unanimously. Wednesday's 5-2 ruling concluded that, counter to Bondi's argument, the unconstitutionality of the death penalty will universally prevent it from being applicable to all pending prosecution. At 1 PM ET on Wednesday afternoon, the court removed the order from its website due to a "clerical error," according to a court spokesman. The spokesman did not indicate if or when the order would be reissued. [MORE]