Florida court rejects inmate’s request for execution delay

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – The Florida Supreme Court has denied a condemned inmate’s request to have his execution delayed after the nation’s highest court ruled that Florida’s death penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional.

The court on Friday denied Michael Lambrix’s request for a stay of execution. He is currently scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Feb. 11.

However, the court said it will hear arguments from the state and Lambrix’s attorneys on Feb. 2 about how the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling applies to capital cases already decided in the state.

In Hurst v. Florida, the nation’s highest court ruled that Florida’s procedure is flawed because it allows judges, not juries, to decide death sentences.

Florida’s attorney general is arguing that the Hurst ruling does not apply retroactively to cases already decided.