27 December 2018 :

The Florida Supreme Court issued rulings in seven death penalty cases, upholding convictions and death sentences in five, overturning one death sentence, and allowing limited DNA testing in a seventh case. The most notable of the decisions came in the cases of Gerald Murray and Steven Taylor, who had been tried separately for the same murder. Both were unconstitutionally sentenced to death after non-unanimous jury sentencing recommendations. Murray's death sentence—imposed after an 11-1 jury recommendation for death—was overturned because, following two reversals and three sentencing hearings in his case, his appeal became final after the June 2002 date the Florida court chose as its cutoff for enforcing the constitutional prohibition against non-unanimous sentences. Taylor's death sentence—imposed after a 10-2 jury recommendation for death—was upheld because, following a single penalty-phase proceeding, his appeal became final before the cutoff date.