Supreme Court strikes down Florida's death penalty system

The L.A. Times reports:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down Florida's death penalty system on the grounds that judges, not juries, decide the key facts that determine whether a killer is condemned to die.

In an 8-1 ruling, the justices said this judge-driven system violates a defendant's right to a jury trial.

The ruling will likely give new sentencing hearings to inmates who were recently sentenced to death in Florida, but the justices in the past have said such new rulings do not apply automatically to old cases.

Almost unity.