Florida

Florida bill proposes change on death penalty jury requirements after life sentence for Parkland shooter

Published

1 year ago

February 15, 2023

Florida bill proposes change on death penalty jury requirements after life sentence for Parkland shooter

PARKLAND, Fla. – For the primary time, we’re listening to what a Parkland homicide trial juror has to say about proposed modifications to Florida’s loss of life penalty legal guidelines.

These modifications have been drafted within the wake of the controversial divided jury advice of life as the suitable punishment for the convicted Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooter.

In November, the life sentences have been imposed by the Parkland trial choose on convicted shooter Nikolas Cruz for the murders of 17 MSD employees and college students on Valentine’s Day in 2018 have been advisable by a dived jury.

Three members of the jury select life in jail over the loss of life penalty.

“The power was so heated that we wished to get out of that room,” stated Melody Vanoy, a juror who voted for all times in jail.

9 jurors advisable loss of life and a few are nonetheless haunted by the result.

One of many 9 who advisable loss of life as the suitable punishment requested Native 10 Information to not share her identify, however she wished the group to know one thing.

“These of us who have been in that room and tried, we actually did attempt, and that’s actually what I wish to get on the market,” she stated.

The decision advice was devastating to among the members of the family of the murdered.

“It isn’t proper what occurred to us, and if there was ever a case the place a person deserved the loss of life penalty, the Parkland assassin is the one,” stated Max Schachter, whose son Alex was one of many 17 victims of the taking pictures.

Within the wake, a proposed change to jury verdicts in loss of life penalty circumstances that, if handed, would toggle state regulation again to non-unanimous jury suggestions.

The invoice reads:

“If no less than eight jurors decide that the defendant ought to be sentenced to loss of life, the jury’s advice to the court docket shall be a sentence of loss of life.”

Of the 27 states that impose the loss of life penalty, the one state that doesn’t require a unanimous jury is Alabama, which requires a 10-to-2 majority.

Missouri and Indiana let a choose determine when there’s a divided jury.

“Florida could be an excessive outlier in that state of affairs going again,” stated College of Regulation Professor Craig Trocino.

As director of Miami regulation’s Innocence Clinic, Trocino’s work is concentrated on exonerating the wrongfully convicted in Florida.

“Florida leads the nation of loss of life row exonerations,” Trocino stated. “There have been 30 folks exonerated from loss of life row, and the overwhelming majority of these exonerations got here from, you guessed it, non-unanimous jury verdicts.”

Parkland was the deadliest mass taking pictures in the US to go earlier than a jury.

“It’s so horrific,” Trocino stated. “That’s why powerful, horrible circumstances like this are actually dangerous bellwethers of coverage as a result of there’s a lot emotion wrapped up into it.”

Trocino urges warning pegging a coverage change to 1 exceptionally egregious case.

“We actually wished this man to get the loss of life penalty. He didn’t. So what will we do? Do we alter the whole loss of life penalty statute to make it simpler for somebody who will not be as culpable as him to get the loss of life penalty?” requested Trocino. “In case you are asking me as an individual, I get it, in case you are asking me as a lawyer, if a petty theft goes to require a unanimous jury verdict, so ought to someone who’s going to be put to loss of life require a unanimous jury verdict.

The subsequent Florida legislative session resumes in march.

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Florida

Early look at Florida State football’s season opener opponent Georgia Tech

Published

5 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

Early look at Florida State football’s season opener opponent Georgia Tech

Before you renew your passport and book your flight to Dublin, Ireland, lets take a dive in Florida State’s football ACC opponent Georgia Tech.

The 2024 football season is only about a month away.

Florida State football will soon start fall camp to prepare for its season opener against Georgia Tech in the annual Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, at Aviva Stadium.

The game is set for Aug. 24 at noon EST on ESPN.

It is the second time two ACC teams face off in Dublin. For FSU, it will be the first time in program history that Seminoles participate in an international game.

Georgia Tech will be the second time it has played at Aviva Stadium. The last time the Yellow Jackets played in Ireland was in 2016, when they lost to Boston College, 17-16.

The ACC opener can set the bar for either side.

FSU is coming off a 13-1 season, missing the College Football Playoff. Its only loss was to Georgia in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

This season will be a clean slate for Mike Norvell, who is entering his fifth season as head coach of the Seminoles.

So, what does Georgia Tech look like? We take an early look.

Who is Georgia Tech’s head coach

Brent Key will be entering his second season with Georgia Tech. In his first year, the Yellow Jackets went 7-6 (5-3 in the ACC).

FSU-GT all-time record

15-11-1, FSU

Last meeting between FSU and Georgia Tech

FSU defeated Georgia Tech 41-16 in the last meeting on Oct. 29, 2022.

Georgia Tech’s top players

Offense:

QB Haynes King (2,842 passing yards, 27 TDs, 737 rushing yards, 10 TDs), RB Jamal Haynes (174 carries, 1,059 yards, 7 TDs), OG Joe Fusile

Defense:

DL Zeek Biggers (40 tackles, 4 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 INT), LB Kyle Efford (81 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT)

Georgia Tech’s key losses, additions

Key losses:

S Jaylon King, DL Eddie Kelly,

Key additions:

TE Ryland Goede, TE Jackson Hawes, OL Keylan Rutledge, DL Thomas Gore, DL Jordan van den Berg, DE Romello Height, DB Warren Burrell, DB Syeed Gibbs,

Remember former FSU QB and Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke?

Of course, FSU fans certainly remember Weinke.

Weinke is in his third year as Georgia Tech’s quarterbacks coach, his second year as the Yellow Jackets’ co-offensive coordinator and his first year as Tech’s assistant head coach.

As a player, Weinke won the 2000 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at FSU and led the Seminoles to a national championship in 1999. He went on to be selected in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft and enjoyed a seven-year career with the Carolina Panthers (2001-06) and San Francisco 49ers (2007)

Outlook on Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech was young last season but with great potential.

The Yellow Jackets played in tight ballgames and can open the season with an ACC upset. For the Seminoles, it will be an opportunity to pick up where they left off and make a statement as playoff contenders.

Florida State Seminoles 2024 Football Schedule

Aug. 24 vs. Georgia Tech *Dublin, Ireland at 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Sept. 2 vs. Boston College at 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Sept. 14 vs. Memphis
Sept. 21 vs. California
Sept. 28 at SMU
Oct. 5 vs. Clemson
Oct. 18 at Duke
Oct. 26 at (U) Miami
Nov. 2 vs. North Carolina
Nov. 9 at Notre Dame
Nov. 23 vs. Charleston Southern
Nov. 30: Florida
Dec. 7: ACC Championship

BOLD = ACC

* = Neutral Site

Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.

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You’re a Grand Old Flag – Bonita Springs Florida Weekly

Published

12 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

You’re a Grand Old Flag – Bonita Springs Florida Weekly

July 4th is here and it’s time to be patriotic, if only for a day. It’s time to celebrate being an American, proud of our country with all of its faults.

Independence Day marks the beginning – the day in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress. It marks the beginning of freedom with all of its benefits and responsibilities, the beginning of a grand journey.

And it’s a day with important symbols, things like the Pledge of Allegiance, the American flag and the National Anthem.

Last week, I attended a meeting that started, as always, with the Pledge of Allegiance: “… to the flag … and to the republic for which it stands…” We tend to just mouth the words; it’s almost a reflex. Something at the beginning of meetings to get out of the way.

The symbol of the flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, is more substantive. It’s celebrated with statues (the flag planting on Iwo Jima) and paintings (Betsy Ross sewing the flag). Although the history is uncertain, we know that a flag design similar to the one used today was approved by the Continental Congress in 1777.

TRECKER

Today the flag is ubiquitous. It flies on homes, in yards, and on public and private buildings. And it’s apolitical. Both parties embrace it. Jasper Johns made a living painting different versions of it. Today the flag finds its way onto coins, stamps, tee shirts, even tattoos.

Then there’s the National Anthem. It, too, is everywhere. It’s sung before convention openings and sporting events, and it’s played whenever athletes win gold medals. I always expect to see a flyover right after “ … and the land of the free, and the home of the brave.” Unlike the flag, the anthem leaves room for interpretation. My wife always cringes when a vocalist jazzes it up.

The pledge, the flag, the anthem. They’re symbols and they’re important. But there’s more to patriotism than that.

Do woke masses on the left care less about their country than traditionalists on the right? I doubt it. Is the soccer team that disses the National Anthem less patriotic than we old-timers who revere the music? Not really. They just have a different vision of the country. Are the political lefties who want bigger government and more spending less patriotic than those on the right who want smaller government and less debt? Not at all. They just see patriotism in a different way. They pay their taxes and supply soldiers to fight just like the rest of us.

As the economists say, patriotism is fungible.

If you want the old-fashioned version, you should hearken back to the early 1900s when music made Americans proud of their heritage. George M. Cohan, the first “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” was an early practitioner. Few remember the names of his wonderful Broadway shows, but many over a certain age remember his music: “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Over There,” “Harrigan,” “Forty-five Minutes from Broadway” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

Memories fade. I don’t remember what I had for breakfast today, but I’ll never forget the first time I heard the Cohan lyrics.

“You’re a grand old flag,
“You’re a high-flying flag
“And forever in peace may you wave.

“You’re the emblem of
“The land I love,
“The home of the free and the brave.

“Ev’ry heart beats true
“’neath the red, white and blue,
“Where there’s never a boast or brag.

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
“Keep your eye on the Grand Old Flag.”

Happy Fourth of July!

Dave Trecker is a chemist and retired Pfizer executive living in Florida.

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