Entries tagged with “Mark Anthony Poole”
Research
Apr 01, 2020
Capital Case Roundup — Court Rulings the Week of March 30, 2020
Nebraska (4/3/20) — In a state post-conviction appeal, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the state’s capital sentencing process filed by death-row prisoner Jeffrey Hessler. Hessler argued that Nebraska’s three-judge sentencing proceedings violated his Sixth Amendment right to have a jury determine all facts necessary for a death sentence to be imposed. The court ruled that Hessler’s argument was untimely and therefore procedurally barred, and added that under the recent U.S.
Issues
Jan 24, 2020
Florida Supreme Court Retracts Jury Unanimity Requirement, Reinstates Non-Unanimous Death Sentence
In a dramatic reversal made possible by changes in court personnel, the Florida Supreme Court has repudiated its prior decisions requiring that capital sentencing juries unanimously agree to the death penalty before a trial judge may sentence a defendant to death. “Our court … got it wrong,” the justices said, when it ruled in 2016 that death sentences imposed after non-unanimous jury recommendations for death violated the state and federal constitutions. The court’s January 23, 2020 decision…