Florida Death-Penalty Appeals Decided in Light of Hurst

To view executions of prisoners who have been denied relief under Hurst, click here.

The Florida Supreme Court has declared that it will apply its decisions in Hurst v. State and Asay v. State—which held that non-unanimous jury recommendations of death violate the Florida state constitution and the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution—to new death penalty cases and to older cases in which the direct appeal process was final on or after the U.S. Supreme Court decided Ring v. Arizona in June 2002.

Total number of prisoners whose cases have been reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court (or who have been granted relief by a Circuit Court) in light of Hurst: 313

Number of prisoners who have obtained relief under Hurst: 147 (47%)

Number of prisoners who have been denied relief under Hurst: 169 (54%)°
 

°Because some defendants obtained Hurst relief on one sentence while being denied relief on another, the total of the two categories exceeds 100%.

* The Florida Supreme Court granted relief under Hurst on Bevel’s non-unanimous death sentence, but granted relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel on Bevel’s unanimous death sentence.

** The Florida Supreme Court held that the circuit court properly allowed Davis to waive review of the Hurst issue.

*** Poole was initially granted Hurst relief by a circuit court, but the Florida Supreme Court reversed based on a revised understanding of the jury sentencing requirement.

**** Silvia was initially granted Hurst relief by a circuit court, but the Florida Supreme Court reversed based on Silvia’s 2012 waiver of further post-conviction proceedings.

***** The Florida Supreme Court noted that Wood’s sentence would not have been harmless under Hurst because it struck two of the three aggravating circumstances found by the trial court; however, the court vacated the death sentence and imposed a life sentence under its statutory review for proportionality.

For more background on the Florida legislative and court actions related to the jury unanimity issue, see Hurst v. Florida Background.

To check on the status of cases involving Florida death-row prisoners with non-unanimous jury recommendations for death whose sentences became final after the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2002 decision in Ring v. Arizona, see this chart.

DPIC has been working with Hannah Gorman of the Florida Center for Capital Representation at Florida International University College of Law to monitor the outcomes of challenges to Florida death sentences that were imposed under sentencing procedures that violate Hurst v. Florida. Ms. Gorman created the pie graph below based on her analysis of Florida death sentences that have been or will be overturned based on Hurst, as well as sentences that have been or will be affirmed because they either (A) became final before Ring (i.e., based on the date of their appeal) or (B) were presumed harmless based on a unanimous jury verdict or the defendant’s waiver of a jury sentence. The graph includes decisions of the Florida circuit courts, as well as state and federal appeal decisions. The graph has been updated periodically—most recently on June 27, 2019—to reflect ongoing litigation developments in the Hurst cases. According to this information, a total of 382 Florida prisoners were sentenced to death under the unconstitutional sentencing scheme, but only 41% (157) of Florida death-row prisoners who were sentenced under that scheme will be granted relief.