The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday in a high-profile case that forced an overhaul of the state’s death-penalty sentencing system. The case involves Timothy Lee Hurst, who was sentenced to death for the 1998 killing of a fast-food worker in Pensacola.
Hurst was the plaintiff in a legal challenge that led to the U.S. Supreme Court finding in January that Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries. State lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott quickly approved changes to the system to try to resolve the constitutional issues.
The arguments Thursday are expected to focus on Hurst’s contention that the Florida Supreme Court should order that he receive a life sentence, instead of facing execution. In briefs, Hurst’s attorneys have raised a series of arguments related to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, including that Hurst received the death sentence under what was an unconstitutional process.
“The constitutional defect in Hurst’s death sentence is that the judge, rather than a jury, determined ‘each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death,'” said part of a brief filed last month, quoting the U.S. Supreme Court.
But Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office has argued in court papers that the Florida Supreme Court should reject Hurst’s request for a life sentence, in part contending that any error in his death sentence was “harmless.”