Yesterday, in an article entitled “Florida Death Penalty Experts Concerned About Court Ruling,” written by Tamara Lush and published by the Associated Press and shared in the New York Times, Terence Lenamon explained his take on the curveball ruling in Poole. Terry points to his own docket as an example, where he has represented several clients who were granted re-sentencing hearings post-Hurst. (We’ve discussed a few of these cases here on the blog.)…

Yesterday, the Florida Supreme Court reversed its opinion in Hurst v. State ruling that Florida does not require a jury to be unanimous when someone is being sentenced to death.  You can read the per curiam opinion in the case of State of Florida v. Poole by clicking on the image shown below:   Reasons for Hurst Reversal: Florida Supreme Court Opinion Why is the state supreme court reversing itself on requiring the jury to…

This week, Terry continues to be in trial as defense counsel for Captain John Nettleton.  News coverage of the trial (expected to conclude this week) includes the following: “Trial for retired Navy Captain John Nettleton is scheduled to begin with Jury Selection,” published by News4Jax on January 6, 2020 (includes video) “Jury selection begins in trial of Jacksonville Navy captain accused of obstructing death investigation,” published by FirstCoastNews (WLTV) on January…

The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) has released its annual summary of how the death penalty fared in this country during the preceding year.  The full report is available online here. Hallmarks from 2019 include the following: New Hampshire became the 21st state to abolish capital punishment. California put all executions on hold. Indiana reached its ten-year mark since its last execution. As of 2019, 32 U.S. states have now either abolished the death…

Today, Terry Lenamon is setting in a courtroom in the Jacksonville federal courthouse as one of the defense attorneys representing John Nettleton, who was once the Gitmo Naval Base commander and now sets accused of 10 felony counts involving lying to investigators and obstruction of justice.  Captain Nettleton is retired from active military service. Jury selection began today, is predicted to finish up today or tomorrow, with opening statements by both the AUSA and Nettleton’s…

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Of particular importance to death penalty defense attorneys are the capital punishment issues pending before the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).  As we enter the new year, the capital defense bar watches and waits for SCOTUS to decide on four different matters, arising out of Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, and Virginia. Questions Presented to SCOTUS The core issues presented by these four cases are (hat tip to SCOTUSBlog for these summaries of the Questions…