Supreme Court Denies Appeal Of Escambia County Death Row Inmate, Nine Others

January 23, 2018

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals by 10 Death Row inmates, including a man scheduled to be executed Feb. 22 in the 1993 slaying of a University of West Florida student.

Just last week, Gov. Rick Scott signed the death warrant for Eric Scott Branch. He is scheduled to die Thursday, February 22 at 6 p.m for the brutal 1993 slaying of Susan Morris.

The Supreme Court’s release of 10 nearly identical rulings at the same time was a somewhat-unusual move. But each of the cases involved inmates challenging their death sentences because juries did not unanimously recommend execution.

The appeals were rooted in a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in an Escamiba County case known as Hurst v. Florida and a subsequent Florida Supreme Court decision. The 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling found Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional because it gave too much authority to judges, instead of juries. The subsequent Florida Supreme Court ruling said juries must unanimously agree on critical findings before judges can impose death sentences and must unanimously recommend the death penalty.

But the Florida Supreme Court made the new sentencing requirements apply to cases since 2002. That is when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling known as Ring v. Arizona that was a premise for striking down Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system in 2016.

In each of the cases Monday, the Death Row inmates had been sentenced to death before the Ring decision and argued that the jury-unanimity requirements should also apply to their cases.

by The News Service of Florida with contribution by NorthEscambia.com

Comments

4 Responses to “Supreme Court Denies Appeal Of Escambia County Death Row Inmate, Nine Others”

  1. Ponderosa hill on January 24th, 2018 6:33 pm

    @ Robinhood……..one appeal seems reasonable…..but also a time limit for that
    appeal…..how’s 5 years sound ?
    Also having to feed them is surely a concern but we’re also
    feeding maybe a hundred million others ?
    @ Davis Huie Green…..the word quick is hard to define,kinda like Bubba’s question
    of what IS…IS ?
    FYI……….some have lost a relative to violent death….my Grandfathers brother
    ( I never met him ) was in his mid ninety’s…..hired an in house caretaker
    The caretaker killed him with a frying pan for just a handful of dollars and
    took off with his car. This was many decades ago & He’s still on death
    row. It’s hard to make much sense of any of it but had I caught the
    caretaker ( then or now ) his feeding needs would have ended.

  2. Robinhood on January 24th, 2018 8:36 am

    I say give them one appeal like the victim they killed got ( victim pleading for their life) and then put them to death after that one appeal just like they did to their victim. Victim’s appeal was denied by them so no different for them to be denied as well. it will also be cheaper on tax payers not to having to feed them.

  3. David Huie Green on January 23rd, 2018 9:02 pm

    REGARDING:
    “Do it quick or not at all.”

    And since the Constitution guarantees the right to appeal
    and since appeals guarantee executions will not be done quickly:

    Do it not at all?

    David for clarity

  4. Nod on January 23rd, 2018 1:50 pm

    I am very much in favor of capital punishment , but only if it is done within a timely manner. If not it is wrong. Do it quick or not at all.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News