On May 8, the Florida Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in the...

On May 8, the Florida Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in the case of Keith Brennan that the execution of a defendant who was 16 years old at the time of his crime would be unconstitutional. "There is no doubt that the murder in this case is a deplorable crime and one for which the defendant should spend the rest of his life in prison," the majority opinion reads. "However, we cannot impose the death penalty on this defendant who was 16 at the time of the crime, consistent with our case law and our Constitution." Since 1972, only three 16-year-old killers in Florida have been sentenced to death besides Brennan. All three sentences were overturned. Hence, Florida joins Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and New Hampshire as states setting 17 years of age as the minimum to receive the death penalty. Other legislative measures to change the system of representation for death penalty appeals and to expand the list of aggravating circumstances failed to pass.