Casey Anthony’s defense team filed a motion Monday asking the court to reconsider the death penalty, a direct response to a recent Florida court ruling in which a Miami federal court judge found the death penalty unconstitutional. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
Casey Anthony’s defense team filed a motion Monday asking the court to reconsider the death penalty, a direct response to a recent Florida court ruling in which a Miami federal court judge found the death penalty unconstitutional.
Monday’s motion argues that the death penalty would be “in violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and … the Florida Constitution.”
The motion cites the June 20 decision by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez to grant a new sentencing hearing to a convicted killer. In making his decision, Martinez found that the way the death penalty is handed down in Florida is unconstitutional because juries, unlike judges, are not required to explain what aggravating factor or factors led them to justify execution.
Martinez’s ruling does not strike down Florida’s capital punishment law, but it is proving to be a thorn in the side for lawmakers. Criminal justice experts have also voiced concerns that the decision will result in a flurry of appeals by the recently convicted, the Miami Herald reported.
In their motion, Anthony’s legal team is asking the court to “declare a mistrial in this case and begin jury selection anew with a non-death-qualified jury.”
Anthony, 25, is accused of multiple charges, including capital murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and misleading law enforcement in the death of her two-year-old daughter, Caylee. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty.
Judge Belvin Perry has yet to issue a ruling.
