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Joe Henderson: Only unanimous jury vote justifies extreme act of execution

 
A jury recommended execution for Dontae Morris of Tampa by a 10-2 vote in one of his murder trials. The recommendation was unanimous when he was tried in the shooting deaths of two Tampa police officers.
A jury recommended execution for Dontae Morris of Tampa by a 10-2 vote in one of his murder trials. The recommendation was unanimous when he was tried in the shooting deaths of two Tampa police officers.
Published May 24, 2017

A ruling last week by the U.S. Supreme Court on Florida's death penalty law didn't generate a lot of chatter, but don't let that fool you.

While the public's attention likely was diverted by the terror strike in Manchester and ongoing presidential drama, the verdict from the nation's highest court was literally a life or death moment for many Florida inmates awaiting execution.

The court turned down an appeal by the state that would have allowed capital punishment cases in some cases to be applied without a unanimous jury verdict. Many of those sent to Florida's Death Row on a simple majority vote already are having their sentences reviewed.

Many more are likely to follow.

In March, Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation requiring a unanimous vote by juries before the death penalty could be applied. That was after a series of court setbacks to previous state laws that said a simple majority vote was good enough. When that was struck down as unconstitutional, Florida rushed through a revision that said capital punishment could be applied if 10 of 12 jurors vote for death.

Nope. The court said that didn't work either.

It is estimated that as many as 200 death-penalty sentences handed out under old rules could be sent back to prosecutors. They will have to choose whether to try again to put the guilty person to death, or whether life imprisonment is sufficient.

Tough call.

Take the case of Adam "Rattlesnake" Davis.

He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999 for murdering Tampa real estate agent Vicki Robinson. It was a sensational trial. His girlfriend at the time was Robinson's 15-year-old daughter Valessa.

She got off with a lengthy prison term for her part in the crime and has since been released, but a jury voted 7-5 that Davis should be executed. A judge agreed. Davis is still waiting on death row.

That crime was an act of evil that stunned the city and the sentencing judge noted the murder wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing. It was well planned. Even with that, the jury obviously was conflicted about what just punishment should look like.

The ruling also could affect one of the three death sentences for Dontae Morris. There was unanimous agreement by the jury that he should die for murdering two Tampa police officers, but a third conviction for killing Derek Anderson brought only a 10-2 recommendation for the death penalty.

I guess if Morris is executed for one of those crimes, it will be for all of them.

Capital punishment is still favored by 49 percent of Americans while 42 percent disapprove, according to a survey last September by the Pew Research Center. That's the lowest level of support in more than 40 years and a dramatic drop from the 80 percent approval rating in 1994.

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According to the web site deathpenaltyinfo.org, juries across the country handed out 295 death sentences in 1998. In 2016, that number fell to 30. A big reason could be that people understand it is not the effective deterrent supporters advertise it to be.

The web site also said that enforcing the death penalty costs Florida $51 million per year over what it would cost to send the convicted to prison for life without parole.

I admit I'm conflicted.

There are some crimes so vile — the ones Morris committed come to mind — where it's reasonable to argue the killer has forfeited the right to live. However, who's to say one murder is worse than another?

I guess that's where we came in. That's why we have juries. After hearing the evidence, if 12 people agree the murderer should die, so be it. As the courts have rightly ruled, though, this is no place for a split decision.