Tag Archives: jury

A Fatal Inconsistency: The Heavy Burden of Showing Purposeful Discrimination

by: Christina Robinson This blog post attempts to shed light on a fatal inconsistency in criminal law. Under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, Americans have the right to be free from purposeful discrimination based on race. Yet it is easier for defendants to succeed in making an Equal Protection claim in the context of […]

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over: What’s Left of Florida’s Capital Punishment and How Death Is Still (Sort of) on the Table

by: Alexandra Hoffman The Quandary of a Little Context… More than ten years ago, Justice Souter in Kansas v. Marsh reaffirmed that “the death penalty must be reserved for the ‘worst of the worst.’” [1] However, as the American Civil Liberties Union aptly states, “[t]he death penalty is like a lottery, in which fairness always […]

Life or Death? That is the (Jury’s) Question.

BY: MARIA ORDONEZ Timothy Lee Hurst was charged and convicted with the gruesome May 2, 1998, killing of Cynthia Harrison during a robbery at the Popeye’s restaurant in Escambia County, Florida, where they were both employed. After he was granted a new sentencing trial because of counsel’s ineffective assistance[1], Hurst was again sentenced to death […]