Florida Supreme Court stays execution as death penalty reviewed
By Letitia Stein
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an execution that was scheduled for next week, shortly after hearing arguments on the impact of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the state's capital punishment sentencing process.
Florida's high court did not specifically address the uncertainty now facing the state's 389 death row inmates but stayed the Feb. 11 execution of convicted killer Michael Lambrix.
The decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 last month that Florida unconstitutionally gives judges powers that juries should wield. The high court ruling threw into limbo the nation's second-largest death row, and invalidated a system that has allowed judges, rather than juries, to specify the aggravating factors that determine a defendant's eligibility for execution.
Florida lawmakers currently are debating legislation intended to address the high court's ruling while continuing the death penalty in the state, one of 31 with the death penalty.
The Florida Supreme Court heard arguments earlier on Tuesday about whether the U.S. Supreme Court's decision should apply retroactively in the case of Lambrix, 55, convicted in the 1983 murders of two people.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Republican, argued in a court filing that it did not.
"There is no question that retroactive application will be greatly disruptive to our justice system as there are nearly 400 death sentenced murderers in Florida," the state wrote. "Such disruption is completely unnecessary."
However, criminal defense attorneys contended the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling invalidated Lambrix's death sentence, along with potentially many others in the state.
(Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
