Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by parents of the victims of the Parkland mass murder to sign Senate Bill (SB) 450, which reforms Florida’s death penalty statutes, including reducing the number of jurors needed to administer capital punishment from unanimous to a supermajority of eight out of twelve.
The law does away with a requirement for unanimous jury recommendations before judges can impose death sentences.
The unanimity requirement was put in place by the Legislature in 2017, in response to decisions by the state Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
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The bill emerged after Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life in prison last year in the 2018 shooting deaths of 17 students and faculty members at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. A jury did not unanimously recommend the death penalty, requiring Cruz to be sentenced to life.
“Once a defendant in a capital case is found guilty by a unanimous jury, one juror should not be able to veto a capital sentence,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “I’m proud to sign legislation that will prevent families from having to endure what the Parkland families have and ensure proper justice will be served in the state of Florida.”
“A few months ago, we endured another tragic failure of the justice system. Today’s change in Florida law will hopefully save other families from the injustices we have suffered,” said Ryan Petty, father of Alaina. “I’d like to thank Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature for this important legislation.”
“Thank you, Governor DeSantis, Senator Ingoglia, and Representative Jacques for enacting this legislation that changes the death penalty law,” said Hunter Pollack, brother of Meadow. “While we cannot go back and change the past, we can ensure that no community will ever have to endure the injustice and pain that we did when the Parkland shooter did not receive the death penalty.”
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“This bill is about victims’ rights, plain and simple. It allows the victims of heinous crimes a chance to get justice and have the perpetrators punished to the full extent of the law,” said Tony Montalto, father of Gina. “Thank you to everyone who worked so hard on this bill.”
“Thank you, Governor DeSantis, Senator Ingoglia, and Representative Jacques for their passionate hard work on victims’ rights,” said Tom and Gena Hoyer, mother and father of Luke. “This bill will bring full accountability to the perpetrators of wicked crimes and help victims receive justice.”
The Judge
Last Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday granted a Death Row inmate’s request to disqualify a Broward County circuit judge from his case because of actions after Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life in prison last year.
The Supreme Court unanimously agreed that Judge Elizabeth Scherer should be disqualified from the case of Death Row inmate Randy Tundidor.
The request came after Scherer, on Nov. 2, sentenced Cruz to life in prison in the 2018 murders of 17 students and faculty members at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Scherer could not sentence Cruz to death because a jury did not unanimously recommend the death penalty.
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Thursday’s Supreme Court opinion said that after issuing the life sentence to Cruz, Scherer left the bench in her judicial robe and hugged family members of victims and members of the prosecution team, including Assistant State Attorney Steven Klinger, who also was working on Tundidor’s case.
Two days later, during an off-the-record conversation at a status hearing in Tundidor’s case, Scherer asked Klinger how he was doing.
Tundidor alleged that Scherer and Klinger were “commiserating over their shared disappointment at the outcome” of the Cruz case, the Supreme Court opinion said.
Scherer turned down Tundidor’s motion for disqualification, leading the inmate’s lawyers to go to the Supreme Court.
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“We conclude that the combination of certain circumstances contained in the allegations in Tundidor’s motion regarding the actions of Judge Scherer in the Cruz case on November 2, 2022, and in Tundidor’s case on November 4, 2022, which he alleged showed a sympathy with the state that was linked to the outcome of another capital case, would create in a reasonably prudent person a well-founded fear of not receiving a fair and impartial proceeding,” the Supreme Court opinion said. “The crucial facts that together were sufficient to create such a well-founded fear are the hugging of ASA (Assistant State Attorney) Klinger by Judge Scherer — in the courtroom while still wearing a robe — at the conclusion of the Cruz murder case, and the personal exchange between Judge Scherer and ASA Klinger two days later, during Tundidor’s post-conviction proceedings, in which the judge commiserated with Klinger.”
Tundidor was sentenced to death in a 2010 Broward County murder, according to the Florida Department of Corrections website.
He filed a motion in 2019 to vacate the conviction and death sentence, and Scherer was assigned to handle the case, the Supreme Court opinion said.
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