Ron 'DeathSantis' Slammed For Florida's New Death Penalty Bill

Florida could soon become the most extreme death penalty state if Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signs a bill that would allow death sentences on jury votes of 8-4 rather than unanimously.

DeSantis has been pushing for harsher legislation after the Parkland school shooter received a life sentence for the murders in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Despite outrage over the life sentence and DeSantis aiming to look tough on crime as he weighs a potential presidential bid, many people on Twitter bashed the governor over his support for repealing the unanimous vote requirement.

Legal analyst Glenn Kirschner criticized the governor, saying DeSantis "really is working hard to earn the name, "DeathSantis." The Florida governor is expected to sign the bill, hoping to fend off criticism of his death penalty record. Prior to 2023, the conservative lawmaker signed three death warrants since he took office. His predecessor signed 28 in eight years.

Meanwhile, the next few months are imperative for DeSantis' political ambitions, with polls showing the governor is the most credible threat to Donald Trump's hope of securing the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. DeSantis has not officially declared his candidacy.

Following a jury's decision to not condemn the Parkland school shooter to death, DeSantis called for a "supermajority" to be a sufficient vote count for execution.

"Fine, have a supermajority ... But we can't be in a situation where one person can just derail this," DeSantis said earlier this year at a Florida Sheriff's Association conference. Newsweek reached out to DeSantis via email for comment.

DeSantis said he believed that 24-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, deserved the death penalty. At the time, Florida required a unanimous jury for death sentences, so when three jurors voted against the death penalty, Cruz was sentenced to life. If DeSantis signs the proposed bill into law, Florida will join Alabama as the only two states that allow a divided jury to send criminals to death row.

Opponents of the bill say the legislation would not make the state any tougher on crime and just force victims to relive traumatic memories.

"We cannot and should not be implementing legislation based on one case, even if it was a horrific tragedy," said Maria DeLiberato, Director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP). "This bill makes Florida the most extreme death penalty state in the country without question."

The Florida bill will face legal challenges due to similar bills being ruled unconstitutional, DeLiberato told Newsweek. However, she said the bill poses big short-term issues, including more people being sent to death row and a spike in wrongful convictions.

"We know that non-unanimity leads to wrongful convictions with more than 93 percent of our wrongful convictions were non-unanimous verdicts," DeLiberato said. "It also silences black and brown voices on the jury."

So far, DeSantis has signed three death warrants this year. Two sentences have been carried out, and another execution is scheduled for May. Nearly 300 inmates are on death row currently, and even with the unanimity requirement, Florida still led the nation in death penalty sentences.