![Utah senate votes to repeal death penalty](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/03/shutterstock_657639088.jpg)
The Utah Senate [official website] voted 20-9 on Tuesday in favor of a
Capital punishment [JURIST op-ed] remains a controversial issue in the US and worldwide. The Florida Supreme Court [official website] in February stayed [order, PDF] the execution of Cary Michael Lambrix amid growing concern [JURIST Report] about the constitutionality of Florida’s death penalty scheme.The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] 8-1 in January in Hurst v. Florida [docket] that Florida’s capital sentencing scheme violates [JURIST Report] the Sixth Amendment. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood[official website] stated in January that he plans to ask lawmakers to approve the firing squad, electrocution or nitrogen gas as alternate methods of execution [press release] if the state prohibits lethal injections.