"The Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death. A jury's mere recommendation is not enough," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the majority. The case before the court was that of Timothy Hurst, a man who was sentenced to death for murdering the manager of the restaurant where he worked in 1998.
The jury had recommended the death penalty in his case by a 7-5 vote, but it was the judge who ultimately ordered that Hurst be executed. Florida is one of a few US states that do not require a jury to reach a unanimous verdict when sentencing someone to death. Under Florida's system, the jury makes a recommendation to a judge on whether to impose the death sentence. The judge, however, is not obliged to follow the jury's advice in deciding whether the necessary aggravating circumstances are present in the murder to justify the death penalty.