USA - Florida. Florida Supreme Court overturns death sentence for Bessman Okafor

Florida Supreme Court overturns death sentence for Bessman Okafor. Okafor was sentenced to death by a jury and judge on November 17, 2015 (see) for the killing of Alex Zaldivar, 19, and wounding 2 others during an home invasion in 2012. The 3 were set to testify against Okafor in a separate home invasion case before the killing. However, the Florida Supreme Court overturned the death sentence because the jury did not come to an unanimous verdict. The jury's recommendation had been 11–1. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that Florida's death penalty was unconstitutional because it gave too much power to the judges and not enough power to the jurors. The state Legislature has since passed a law that requires jurors to reach a unanimous decision in death penalty cases. This decision by the Florida Supreme Court means Okafor's attorneys can ask for new sentencing proceedings, and a new jury will have to decide if he'll be sentenced to life in prison or death. However Orange-Osceola County State Attorney Aramis Ayala has said she doesn't plan to seek the death penalty in any cases while she's in office. That decision forced Gov. Rick Scott to assign 23 death penalty cases to State Attorney Brad King. Following the Florida Supreme Court ruling, Scott issued an executive order assigning the Okafor case to King.