Hertz v. Jones

The Supreme Court granted Petitioner’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, vacated his death sentence, and remanded for a new penalty phase, holding that Petitioner’s death sentence violated Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (2016) because the jury verdict at the penalty phase was not unanimous. Petitioner was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. The jury recommended a sentence of death by a vote of ten to two. After determining that Petitioner fell within the category of defendants to whom Hurst is applicable, the Supreme Court held that the error that occurred during the penalty phase was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. View "Hertz v. Jones" on Justia Law