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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to capital sex trafficking; creating 2
s. 787.062, F.S.; providing legislative findings; 3
providing definitions; providing for penalties for 4
persons convicted of the human trafficking of certain 5
persons for sex; creating s. 921.1427, F.S.; providing 6
legislative intent; providing for separate death 7
penalty proceedings in certain cases; providing for 8
findings and recommended sentences by a jury; 9
providing for imposition of sentence of life 10
imprisonment or death; providing requirements for a 11
court order in support of a life imprisonment or death 12
sentence; providing for automatic review of sentences 13
of death within a certain time period; specifying 14
aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances; 15
providing for victim impact evidence; providing for 16
resentencing if provisions are found to be 17
unconstitutional; providing applicability; amending s. 18
924.07, F.S.; authorizing the state to appeal from a 19
sentence on the ground that it resulted from the 20
failure of the circuit court to comply with specified 21
sentencing procedure requirements; amending ss. 22
921.137 and 921.141, F.S.; conforming provisions to 23
changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 24
25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26
27
Section 1. Section 787.062, Florida Statutes, is created 28
to read: 29
787.062 Capital sex trafficking. — 30
(1) The Legislature finds that human trafficking is a form 31
of modern-day slavery, and victims of such schemes include young 32
children, young teenagers, and persons with diminished mental 33
capacity. The Legislature finds that victims of human 34
trafficking are subjected to force for the purpose of sexual 35
exploitation. Such crimes destroy the innocence of young 36
children and violate all standards of decency held by civilized 37
society. 38
(2) As used in this section, the term: 39
(a) "Human trafficking" has the same meaning as provided 40
in s. 787.06(2). 41
(b) "Physical force" means the touching, striking, caus ing 42
of bodily harm, confining, or restraining of another. 43
(c) "Sexual violence" means an act of any of the 44
following: 45
1. Sexual battery, as defined in s. 794.011(1). 46
2. Lewd or lascivious battery, as defined in s. 800.04(4). 47
3. Lewd or lascivious m olestation, as defined in s. 48
800.04(5). 49
4. Lewd or lascivious conduct, as defined in s. 800.04(6). 50
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5. Sadomasochistic abuse or sexual bestiality as those 51
terms are defined in s. 827.071(1). 52
(3)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a person who 53
knowingly engages in human trafficking by use of physical force 54
for sexual violence upon a child less than 12 years of age, or 55
upon a person who is mentally defective or mentally 56
incapacitated as those terms are defined in s. 794.011(1), 57
commits a capital felony, punishable as provided in ss. 775.082 58
and 921.1427. 59
(b) A person less than 18 years of age who commits an 60
offense under this subsection commits a life felony, punishable 61
as provided in s. 775.082(3)(a)6., s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 62
(4) In all capital cases under this section, the procedure 63
in s. 921.1427 shall be followed to determine a sentence of 64
death or life imprisonment. If the prosecutor intends to seek 65
the death penalty, the prosecutor must give notice to the 66
defendant and file the notice with the court within 45 days 67
after arraignment. The notice must contain a list of the 68
aggravating factors the state intends to prove and has reason to 69
believe it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. The court may 70
allow the prosecutor to amend the notice upon a showing of good 71
cause. 72
Section 2. Section 921.1427, Florida Statutes, is created 73
to read: 74
921.1427 Sentence of death or life imprisonment for 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
capital sex trafficking; further proceedings to determine 76
sentence.— 77
(1) INTENT.— 78
(a) The Legislature finds that a person who commits the 79
act of human trafficking for sex of a person less than 12 years 80
of age carries a great risk of death and danger to vulnerable 81
members of this state. Such crimes destroy the innocence of 82
young children and violate al l standards of decency held by 83
civilized society, and that persons who traffic in such 84
vulnerable children may be determined by the trier of fact to 85
have a culpable mental state of reckless indifference or 86
disregard for human life. 87
(b) It is the intent o f the Legislature that the procedure 88
in this section shall be followed, and a prosecutor must file 89
notice, as provided in s. 787.062(4), if he or she intends to 90
seek the death penalty. 91
(2) SEPARATE PROCEEDINGS ON ISSUE OF PENALTY. —Upon 92
conviction or adjudication of guilt of a defendant of a capital 93
felony under s. 787.062(3)(a), the court shall conduct a 94
separate sentencing proceeding to determine whether the 95
defendant should be sentenced to death or life imprisonment as 96
authorized by s. 775.082. The proc eeding shall be conducted by 97
the trial judge before the trial jury as soon as practicable. 98
If, through impossibility or inability, the trial jury is unable 99
to reconvene for a hearing on the issue of penalty, having 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
determined the guilt of the accused, the trial judge may summon 101
a special juror or jurors as provided in chapter 913 to 102
determine the issue of the imposition of the penalty. If the 103
trial jury has been waived, or if the defendant pleaded guilty, 104
the sentencing proceeding shall be conducted before a jury 105
impaneled for that purpose, unless waived by the defendant. In 106
the proceeding, evidence may be presented as to any matter that 107
the court deems relevant to the nature of the crime and the 108
character of the defendant and shall include matters relating to 109
any of the aggravating factors enumerated in subsection (7) and 110
for which notice has been provided pursuant to s. 787.062(4) or 111
mitigating circumstances enumerated in subsection (8). Any such 112
evidence that the court deems to have probative value may be 113
received, regardless of its admissibility under the exclusionary 114
rules of evidence, provided the defendant is accorded a fair 115
opportunity to rebut any hearsay statements. However, this 116
subsection shall not be construed to authorize the introduction 117
of any evidence secured in violation of the United States 118
Constitution or the State Constitution. The state and the 119
defendant or the defendant's counsel shall be permitted to 120
present argument for or against a sentence of death. 121
(3) FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDED SENT ENCE BY THE JURY.—This 122
subsection applies only if the defendant has not waived his or 123
her right to a sentencing proceeding by a jury. 124
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(a) After hearing all of the evidence presented regarding 125
aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances, the jury sha ll 126
deliberate and determine if the state has proven, beyond a 127
reasonable doubt, the existence of at least two aggravating 128
factors set forth in subsection (7). 129
(b) The jury shall return findings identifying each 130
aggravating factor found to exist. A findin g that at least two 131
aggravating factors exist must be unanimous. If the jury: 132
1. Does not unanimously find at least two aggravating 133
factors, the defendant is ineligible for a sentence of death. 134
2. Unanimously finds at least two aggravating factors, the 135
defendant is eligible for a sentence of death and the jury shall 136
make a recommendation to the court as to whether the defendant 137
shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility 138
of parole or to death. The recommendation shall be based on a 139
weighing of all of the following: 140
a. Whether sufficient aggravating factors exist. 141
b. Whether aggravating factors exist which outweigh the 142
mitigating circumstances found to exist. 143
c. Based on the considerations in sub -subparagraphs a. and 144
b., whether the defendant should be sentenced to life 145
imprisonment without the possibility of parole or to death. 146
(c) If at least eight jurors determine that the defendant 147
should be sentenced to death, the jury's recommendation to the 148
court shall be a sentence of de ath. If fewer than eight jurors 149
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determine that the defendant should be sentenced to death, the 150
jury's recommendation to the court shall be a sentence of life 151
imprisonment without the possibility of parole. 152
(4) IMPOSITION OF SENTENCE OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT OR DEATH.— 153
(a) If the jury has recommended a sentence of: 154
1. Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, 155
the court shall impose the recommended sentence of life 156
imprisonment without the possibility of parole. 157
2. Death, the court, after consi dering each aggravating 158
factor found by the jury and all mitigating circumstances, may 159
impose a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility 160
of parole or a sentence of death. The court may consider only an 161
aggravating factor that was unanimously f ound to exist by the 162
jury. The court may impose a sentence of death only if the jury 163
unanimously found at least two aggravating factors beyond a 164
reasonable doubt. 165
(b) If the defendant waived his or her right to a 166
sentencing proceeding by a jury, the cour t, after considering 167
all aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances, may impose 168
a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of 169
parole or a sentence of death. The court may impose a sentence 170
of death only if the court finds that at least t wo aggravating 171
factors have been proven to exist beyond a reasonable doubt. 172
(5) ORDER OF THE COURT IN SUPPORT OF SENTENCE OF LIFE 173
IMPRISONMENT OR DEATH. —In each case in which the court imposes a 174
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of pa role 175
or death, the court shall, considering the records of the trial 176
and the sentencing proceedings, enter a written order addressing 177
the aggravating factors set forth in subsection (7) found to 178
exist, the mitigating circumstances in subsection (8) reasona bly 179
established by the evidence, whether there are sufficient 180
aggravating factors to warrant the death penalty, and whether 181
the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating circumstances 182
reasonably established by the evidence. The court shall include 183
in its written order the reasons for not accepting the jury's 184
recommended sentence, if applicable. If the court does not issue 185
its order requiring the death sentence within 30 days after the 186
rendition of the judgment and sentence, the court shall impose a 187
sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole 188
in accordance with s. 775.082. 189
(6) REVIEW OF JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE. —The judgment of 190
conviction and sentence of death shall be subject to automatic 191
review by the Supreme Court and disposition rende red within 2 192
years after the filing of a notice of appeal. Such review by the 193
Supreme Court shall have priority over all other cases and shall 194
be heard in accordance with rules adopted by the Supreme Court. 195
(7) AGGRAVATING FACTORS. —Aggravating factors shall be 196
limited to the following: 197
(a) The capital felony was committed by a person 198
previously convicted of a felony violation under s. 787.06 or s. 199
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
787.062, and under sentence of imprisonment or placed on 200
community control or on felony probation. 201
(b) The defendant was previously convicted of another 202
capital felony or of a felony involving the use or threat of 203
violence to the person. 204
(c) The capital felony was committed by a person 205
designated as a sexual predator pursuant to s. 775.21 or a 206
person previously designated as a sexual predator who had the 207
sexual predator designation removed. 208
(d) The capital felony was committed by a sexual offender 209
who is required to register pursuant to s. 943.0435 or a person 210
previously required to register as a sex ual offender who had 211
such requirement removed. 212
(e) The defendant knowingly created a great risk of death 213
to one or more persons such that participation in the offense 214
constituted reckless indifference or disregard for human life. 215
(f) The defendant used a firearm or knowingly directed, 216
advised, authorized, or assisted another to use a firearm to 217
threaten, intimidate, assault, or injure a person in committing 218
the offense or in furtherance of the offense. 219
(g) The capital felony was especially heinous, at rocious, 220
or cruel. 221
(h) The victim of the capital felony was particularly 222
vulnerable due to age or disability, or because the defendant 223
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stood in a position of familial or custodial authority over the 224
victim. 225
(i) The capital felony was committed by a per son subject 226
to an injunction issued pursuant to s. 741.30 or s. 784.046, or 227
a foreign protection order accorded full faith and credit 228
pursuant to s. 741.315, and was committed against the petitioner 229
who obtained the injunction or protection order or any sp ouse, 230
child, sibling, or parent of the petitioner. 231
(j) The victim of the capital felony sustained serious 232
bodily injury. 233
(8) MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES. —Mitigating circumstances 234
shall include the following: 235
(a) The defendant has no significant history of prior 236
criminal activity. 237
(b) The capital felony was committed while the defendant 238
was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional 239
disturbance. 240
(c) The defendant was an accomplice in the capital felony 241
committed by another person, and the defe ndant's participation 242
was relatively minor. 243
(d) The defendant was under extreme duress or under the 244
substantial domination of another person. 245
(e) The capacity of the defendant to appreciate the 246
criminality of her or his conduct or to conform her or his 247
conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired. 248
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(f) The age of the defendant at the time of the offense. 249
(g) The defendant could not have reasonably foreseen that 250
her or his conduct in the course of the commission of the 251
offense would cause or would create a grave risk of death to one 252
or more persons. 253
(h) The existence of any other factors in the defendant's 254
background that would mitigate against imposition of the death 255
penalty. 256
(9) VICTIM IMPACT EVIDENCE. —Once the prosecution has 257
provided evidence of the existence of two or more aggravating 258
factors as described in subsection (7), the prosecution may 259
introduce, and subsequently argue, victim impact evidence to the 260
jury. Such evidence shall be designed to demonstrate the 261
victim's uniqueness as an individual human being and the 262
physical and psychological harm to the victim. Characterizations 263
and opinions about the crime, the defendant, and the appropriate 264
sentence shall not be permitted as a part of victim impact 265
evidence. 266
(10) CONSTITUTIONALITY.—Notwithstanding s. 775.082(2) or 267
s. 775.15, or any other provision of law, a sentence of death 268
shall be imposed under this section notwithstanding existing 269
case law which holds that such a sentence is unconstitutional 270
under the State Constituti on and the United States Constitution. 271
In any case for which the Florida Supreme Court or the United 272
States Supreme Court reviews a sentence of death imposed 273
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pursuant to this section, and in making such a review 274
reconsiders the prior holdings in Buford v. State of Florida, 275
403 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 1981), and Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 276
407 (2008), and determines that a sentence of death remains 277
unconstitutional, the court having jurisdiction over the person 278
previously sentenced to death shall cause such pers on to be 279
brought before the court, and the court shall sentence such 280
person to life imprisonment as provided in s. 775.082(1). 281
(11) APPLICABILITY. —This section applies to any capital 282
felony under s. 787.062 that is committed on or after October 1, 283
2025. 284
Section 3. Paragraph (o) is added to subsection (1) of 285
section 924.07, Florida Statutes, to read: 286
924.07 Appeal by state. — 287
(1) The state may appeal from: 288
(o) The sentence in a case of capital human trafficking on 289
the ground that it resulted from the circuit court's failure to 290
comply with sentencing procedures under s. 921.1427, including 291
by striking a notice of intent to seek the death penalty, 292
refusing to impanel a capital jury, or otherwise granting relief 293
that prevents the state from seeking a sentence of death. 294
Section 4. Subsection (4) of section 921.137, Florida 295
Statutes, is amended to read: 296
921.137 Imposition of the death sentence upon an 297
intellectually disabled defendant prohibited. — 298
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(4) After a defendant who has given notice of his or her 299
intention to raise intellectual disability as a bar to the death 300
sentence is convicted of a capital felony and an advisory jury 301
has returned a recommended sentence of death, the defendant may 302
file a motion to determine whether the defendant is 303
intellectually disabled. Upon receipt of the motion, the court 304
shall appoint two experts in the field of intellectual 305
disabilities who shall evaluate the defendant and report their 306
findings to the court and all interested parties prior to the 307
final sentencing hearing. Notwithstanding s. 921.141, s. 308
921.142, or s. 921.1425, or s. 921.1427, the final sentencing 309
hearing shall be held without a jury. At the final sentencing 310
hearing, the court shall consider the findings of the court -311
appointed experts and consider t he findings of any other expert 312
which is offered by the state or the defense on the issue of 313
whether the defendant has an intellectual disability. If the 314
court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the 315
defendant has an intellectual disability as de fined in 316
subsection (1), the court may not impose a sentence of death and 317
shall enter a written order that sets forth with specificity the 318
findings in support of the determination. 319
Section 5. Subsection (9) of section 921.141, Florida 320
Statutes, is amended to read: 321
921.141 Sentence of death or life imprisonment for capital 322
felonies; further proceedings to determine sentence. — 323
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(9) APPLICABILITY.—This section does not apply to a person 324
convicted or adjudicated guilty of a capital sexual battery 325
under s. 794.011, a capital sex trafficking felony under 326
787.062, or a capital drug trafficking felony under s. 893.135. 327
Section 6. This act shall take effect October 1, 2025. 328