The impending execution of Michael Lambrix has been delayed after the US Supreme Court found loopholes in the way Florida has been sentencing convicted criminals to death.
Per ABC, Florida’s justices did not furnish any reasoning for their decision on Tuesday. A set of arguments were heard earlier that day from the state and one of Lambrix’s lawyer – who argued that the US Supreme Court’s ruling should be implemented to all 390 inmates who are facing a death sentence.
"To execute people in Florida on the basis of a statute that has been declared unconstitutional is just wrong," Martin McClain said.
When the jury announced their decision for Lambrix’s case, the votes were not unanimous for the two charges of death sentence he’s facing.
On Jan. 12, the US Supreme Court found that Florida’s state sentencing process is flawed since it gives judges the opportunity to rule a different decision than juries, according to Yahoo. Therefore, members of the jury are merely advisors in recommending death in Florida.
In the past, judges have ruled in favor of the death penalty against the jury’s recommendation. The most recent happened in 1999.
Lambrix was scheduled to face the death penalty on Feb. 11 following his death sentence for killing Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant in 1983. Prosecutors claim that Lambrix beat and strangled his victims after meeting them at a bar and inviting them for dinner at his trailer.
The juries on Lambrix’s case, according to FOX News, recommended death by an 8-4 vote for the murder of Moore, and a vote of 10-2 for Bryant’s.
At present, Florida has started addressing how to fix the flaws in the death penalty statute. A committee workshop was formed by the Senate last week while the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee will meet on Tuesday.
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