During the death penalty phase of a man convicted of killing his ex's 11-year-old daughter, Gov. Ron DeSantis had signed a bill that no longer requires unanimous jury recommendations for judges to impose death penalty sentences.
The 12-member jury voted Monday against a death sentence recommendation for Miguel Ruiz Lobo, a Little Havana man convicted of killing Martha Guzman in 2014.
The jury took about eight hours to convict Ruiz Lobo of first-degree murder and burglary. During the sentencing proceeding deliberations, the same jurors took about four hours to come up with a life-in-prison recommendation.
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All jurors agreed the defendant was eligible for the death penalty despite voting against whether the crime was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. However, they did not unanimously agree on the death penalty. The number of people who voted against or for is unclear since the jurors were not polled by attorneys.
During Ruiz Lobo's trial, DeSantis signed a law that eliminated the unanimous vote in order to recommend death. Now, the minimum number of jurors required is eight. However, during the trial, the court addressed the legislative changes and made it clear the trial followed the old law.
"This trial may be marked the end of a period of history," said Richard Dieter, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. "This is maybe the last one where the jury had to be unanimous in Florida unless this gets overturned by the Supreme Court."
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As of today, 297 people are on death row in Florida, according to the Department of Corrections. Dieter said that number could increase with a new law. Compared to the military, federal government, and all other states, Florida now holds one of the lowest thresholds for a death sentence to be granted.
Since the vote was private, only the 12 jurors know if the new law would have changed the outcome of the sentencing.
Ruiz Lobo received two life sentences.
