Tag Archives: public defender

Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz has been formally charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder, which could mean a death sentence if he's convicted.

A newly elected prosecutor said she would not seek the death penalty in capital cases on Thursday, but Florida's other 20 state attorneys said they intend to pursue death sentences when appropriate.

In response to a series of court rulings set off by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hurst v. Florida in January 2016, Gov. Rick Scott signed a law Monday aimed at fixing flaws in the state's capital sentencing procedure.

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday ordered that death penalty cases can proceed, even with an unconstitutional law, which requires only 10 members of the 12-person jury to recommend the death penalty, still on the books.

Controversial proposals that would allow liquor to be sold in grocery stores and shift the burden of proof in "stand your ground" self-defense cases were set up Thursday to be among the first items the Senate could approve when the annual legislative session begins next month. The Rules Committee voted 7-4 for a proposal (SB 106) that would end a Depression-era law requiring liquor stores and bars to be separated from groceries and other retail goods, an issue commonly referred to as the "liquor wall."