Hurst V. Florida Case Study

Hurst v. Florida
577 US _ (2016)

2. The petitioner, Timothy Hurst, was convicted of first degree murder and the jury recommended the death penalty to the judge in Florida, who then sentenced Hurst to death. Hurst appealed to the Florida Supreme Court and was granted resentencing. The Florida Supreme Court rejected Hurst’s argument and reaffirmed his sentence. The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari.

3. Hurst had bound, gagged, and then stabbed his coworker over 60 times during a robbery at his place of employment. Her body was found in the freezer and the safe opened and missing hundreds of dollars. Witnesses came forth and testified that Hurst had planned to rob the store, and the night that it happened only Hurst and his now deceased coworker were the only two scheduled to work. The judge had instructed the jury that they could convict Hurst of
It is difficult to state my personal opinion of the Court because I understand where Justice Alito is coming from. Although I believe in due process and that even though someone is accused of committing a horrible crime, that they are still afforded their constitutional rights. The justice system is by far perfect. A lot of mistakes get made and a lot of people share the same view that they would rather lock up the innocent than let a guilty man run free. A part of me thinks that the court handled this case as professionally as possible, and that after Ring v. Arizona, Florida should’ve changed their statute to reflect and avoid this battle all together. Another part of me sees Florida’s argument that if their sentencing scheme had been reaffirmed and upheld for a quarter of a century even on similar cases, that it wouldn’t be over turned. In the end, as much as I do not like it, I think the court made the right decision. I wouldn’t necessarily say that justice was served, and now unfortunately because of this decision, a lot of Florida’s death penalty cases can be appealed and over