Florida’s system of deciding death sentences, a process similar to Nebraska’s, is unconstitutional
http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/supreme-court-says-florida-s-system-of-deciding-death-sentences/article_9014f712-5d31-5ab0-af3e-e3235803d6d4.html
POSTED: TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016 12:01 AM | UPDATED: 12:26 AM, TUE JAN 19, 2016.
By Paul Hammel and Joe Duggan / World-Herald Bureau
LINCOLN While theres disagreement among lawyers, at least two defense attorneys believe that Nebraskas system for issuing a death sentence is constitutionally on thin ice after a ruling last week by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ruling found that Floridas system of allowing a judge, rather than a jury, to ultimately decide whether a defendant gets the death penalty violated the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to a jury trial.
While Floridas system of handing down a death sentence is similar but not identical to Nebraskas, Lincoln defense attorneys Jerry Soucie and Spike Eickholt both said they think the high courts ruling applies to Nebraska.
Certainly, this puts our now-repealed statutory scheme in doubt, said Eickholt, whose clients include two groups opposed to the death penalty, Nebraskans for Public Safety and the ACLU of Nebraska.
FULL story at link.