Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 3-4-16 Edition

Features
Senator Named ‘Legislator Of The Year’
TALLAHASSEE – State Senator Arthe- nia Joyner (D-Tampa) was recently named “Legislator of the Year” by the National Black Caucus of State Legisla- tors (NBCSL). This pres- tigious award is given to a deserving legislator who has led passage of legislation or action that has positive impacts on the African American community.
The “Legislator of the Year” award was presented to Senator Joyner during the orga- nization’s 39th Annual Legislative Conference, in Los Angeles.
“It’s a highlight of my legislative career to re- ceive this honor. Not only does this represent recognition by my col- leagues in state legisla- tures throughout the country, but recognition that the issues I champi- oned have made an im- pact in the lives of the people I’ve been privi- leged to serve,” Senator Joyner said.
NBCSL’s President, State Senator Cather- ine E. Pugh (D-MD)
SENATOR ARTHENIA JOYNER
lauded Senator Joyner’s many contri- butions and accomplish- ments during her legislative service.
“Senator Joyner
has been an asset not only to the state of Florida and her con- stituents but also to the members of the NBCSL where she has served as a Member At Large and Co-Chair of the Commit- tee on Law, Justice, and Ethics,” she said.
First elected to the Florida House of Repre- sentatives in 2000, Sen- ator Joyner has served in the Florida Senate since her election there in 2006.
Now in her final year due to term limits, Sen- ator Joyner, currently the Leader of the Florida
Senate Democratic Cau- cus – the first Black woman ever selected for the helm – has estab- lished a national reputa- tion as a champion of civil rights and women’s equality.
She was a leading ad- vocate for the reform of the criminal justice sys- tem, especially the need for changes in manda- tory minimum sen- tences, and the restoration of civil rights to ex-felons. She also successfully passed legis- lation forcing prison offi- cials to unshackle pregnant inmates during labor and immediately following birth.
Last year, she sued the state House of Repre- sentatives after its lead- ership arbitrarily adjourned the 2015 leg- islative session and abruptly left town. In an emergency hearing, the justices of the state Supreme Court agreed with Leader Joyner and ruled that the hasty departure was unconsti- tutional, setting a histor- ical precedent for future legislative behavior.
Legislators Move Closer To New Death Penalty Law
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last month, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Florida’s death penalty is unconstitutional because it violates the guaranteed right of trial by jury. The decision has prosecutors throughout Florida in limbo, waiting on the state lawmakers to pass legislation on the law.
In an 8-1 decision, the U. S. Supreme Court re- leased a ruling on the death penalty on January 12, 2016. In the case of Hurst v. Florida, the U. S. Supreme Court found Florida's capital sentenc- ing scheme in violation of the 6th Amendment, which guarantees the right to trial by jury.
Writing the opinion for the Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayer said, “The Sixth Amendment re- quires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death...
“...As with Timothy Ring, the maximum pun- ishment Timothy Hurst could have received with- out any judge-made find- ings was life in prison
ED NARAIN State Representative
without parole. As with Ring, a judge increased Hurst’s authorized pun- ishment based on her own fact finding. In light of Ring, we hold that Hurst’s sentence violates the Sixth Amendment,” she stated in her opinion.
Last month, the Florida House of Repre- sentatives passed bill HB 7101 that would require the jury in a capital case to find at least one aggravat- ing circumstance unani- mously for the case to be eligible for the death penalty. The bill also re- quires that at least 10 of the 12 jurors vote to sen- tence the defendant to death.
The bill passed by a 93- 20 vote.
State Representative Ed Narain said, “For too long Florida has had the
lowest standard when it came to giving someone the death penalty. By a simple majority vote, in- stead of a unanimous jury decision, a person could be sentenced to death.
“This new change in the law is better, but still wrong because history has proven that many innocent people have been wrong- fully executed in the name of achieving justice.
“Florida's continued use of the death penalty is not a deterrent and it is not justice. It is simply old- fashioned retribution that needs to be abolished.”
Last week, the State Senate moved toward agreeing on a compromis- ing bill to replace the cur- rent death penalty bill. Members of the Senate voted to require at least 10 members of the 12-panel jury must recommend the death penalty before it can be handed down.
The bill, SB 7068, is a compromise to coincide with HB 7101, passed by the House. Bill SB 7068 must now be approved by the full Senate. If ap- proved, it will then go to Governor Rick Scott to become law.
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