title: Revisiting the Decision of Death in Hurst v. Florida.
abstract: The United States Supreme Court has considered the question of whether a judge or a jury must make the findings necessary to support imposition of the death penalty in several notable cases, including Spaziano v. Florida (1984), Hildwin v. Florida (1989), and Ring v. Arizona (2002). In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court revisited the subject in Hurst v. Florida Florida Statute § 921.141 allows the judge, after weighing aggravating and mitigating circumstances, to enter a sentence of life imprisonment or death. Before Hurst, Florida's bifurcated sentencing proceedings included an advisory sentence from jurors and a separate judicial hearing without juror involvement. In Hurst, the Court revisited the question of whether Florida's capital sentencing scheme violates the Sixth Amendment, which requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death in light of Ring In an eight-to-one decision, the Court reversed the judgment of the Florida Supreme Court, holding that the Sixth Amendment requires a jury to find the aggravating factors necessary for imposing the death penalty. The role of Florida juries in capital sentencing proceedings was thereby elevated from advisory to determinative. We examine the Court's decision and offer commentary regarding this shift from judge to jury in the final imposition of the death penalty and the overall effect of this landmark case.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Cooke is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL. Dr. Ginory is Program Director, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Hospital Corporation of America Graduate Medical Education Consortium Psychiatry Residency, Gainesville, FL. Ms. Zedalis is Assistant Director of the Criminal Justice Center, University of Florida Levin College of Law, and Affiliate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL. cooke@ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Brian K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Cooke
authors.affiliation: Dr. Cooke is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL. Dr. Ginory is Program Director, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Hospital Corporation of America Graduate Medical Education Consortium Psychiatry Residency, Gainesville, FL. Ms. Zedalis is Assistant Director of the Criminal Justice Center, University of Florida Levin College of Law, and Affiliate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL.
authors.forename: Almari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ginory
authors.affiliation: Dr. Cooke is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL. Dr. Ginory is Program Director, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Hospital Corporation of America Graduate Medical Education Consortium Psychiatry Residency, Gainesville, FL. Ms. Zedalis is Assistant Director of the Criminal Justice Center, University of Florida Levin College of Law, and Affiliate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zedalis
mesh_terms: D002203:Capital Punishment / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003657:Decision Making; D005431:Florida; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D011678:Punishment; D035521:Supreme Court Decisions; D014481:United States