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The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down as unconstitutional the procedure used by Florida judges to sentence defendants to death.

The action is expected to make it more difficult to issue death sentences in Florida by requiring the direct involvement of a jury in the decision to end a convicted defendant鈥檚 life.

Death penalty opponents hailed the decision as progress toward abolition of capital punishment in the US. It comes at a time of heightened concern nationwide about the fairness of the death penalty and at a time of increased scrutiny of capital punishment cases.

鈥淏y striking down Florida鈥檚 capital punishment scheme, the Supreme Court restored the central role of the jury in imposing the death penalty,鈥� Cassandra Stubbs, director of the American Civil Liberties Union鈥檚 Capital Punishment Project, said in a statement.

鈥淛uries across the country have become increasingly reluctant to vote in favor of death,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he court鈥檚 ruling thus represents another step on the inevitable road toward ending the death penalty.鈥�

The high court ruled 8 to 1 that Florida鈥檚 capital sentencing scheme did not comply with constitutional safeguards because it authorized Florida judges rather than juries to issue death sentences.

鈥淲e hold this sentencing scheme unconstitutional,鈥� Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the majority opinion. 鈥淭he Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death.鈥�

Under Florida鈥檚 approach, a jury is required at trial to determine whether the defendant is guilty of a capital crime. After a conviction, the jury moves to the sentencing phase of the trial.

In the sentencing phase, the jury is required to weigh any aggravating and any mitigating circumstances that might support or undercut a death sentence. The jury is then required to issue an advisory sentence.

Once that advisory sentence has been issued, Florida law requires the trial judge to give 鈥済reat weight鈥� to the jury鈥檚 recommendation. But ultimately the judge鈥檚 sentencing order must reflect the judge鈥檚 independent judgment about the aggravating and mitigating factors, according to Florida law.

Without such judge-made findings, the maximum punishment someone convicted of a capital crime can receive in Florida is life in prison without parole.

The Supreme Court said the flaw in Florida鈥檚 capital sentencing system was that it relied on the judge rather than the jury to make the final determination that the defendant would be sentenced to death.

The Supreme Court had twice upheld the Florida capital sentencing scheme in 1984 and in 1989. But Justice Sotomayor said those earlier decisions had been undercut by a 2002 Supreme Court decision in an Arizona death penalty case.聽

鈥淭ime and subsequent cases have washed away the logic of鈥澛爐he earlier decisions, she wrote.

The capital sentencing scheme in Florida is a hybrid among states that enforce capital punishment. In addition to Florida, Alabama and Delaware authorize advisory sentences from juries in death cases with a judge making the final determination of life or death.

The high court decision came in the case of Timothy Lee Hurst, who was convicted of the 1998 murder of an assistant manager at a Popeye鈥檚 Fried Chicken restaurant in Escambia County. Mr. Hurst was a Popeye鈥檚 employee. He and the assistant manager were the only two employees scheduled to work at the time the assistant manager was killed in gruesome fashion.

Hurst told two friends that he killed the manager and robbed the store, according to court files. He asked one of the friends to hide a container of money that he said was from the Popeye鈥檚 safe. He also asked his friend to wash his bloody clothes, according to court files.

When questioned by police, Hurst said he had not gone to work at Popeye鈥檚 that morning and had nothing to do with the killing.

Hurst was convicted in 2000 and the jury voted 11 to 1 to recommend a death sentence. The trial judge imposed a death sentence. (Although the jury must vote unanimously to return a conviction, a Florida jury can recommend a death sentence by majority vote.)

On appeal, Hurst argued that he had a mental disability and was thus not eligible for a death sentence. He was granted a new sentencing hearing in 2012.

After that hearing, the jury voted 7 to 5 to recommend a death sentence. After concluding that Hurst was not mentally disabled and that aggravating circumstances outweighed any mitigating factors, the trial judge imposed a sentence of death. The sentence was upheld by the Florida Supreme Court.

In reversing and remanding that decision, Sotomayor said the jury鈥檚 role in capital sentencing is crucial.

鈥淭he Sixth Amendment protects a defendant鈥檚 right to an impartial jury,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淭his right required Florida to base Timothy Hurst鈥檚 death sentence on a jury鈥檚 verdict, not a judge鈥檚 factfinding. Florida鈥檚 sentencing scheme, which required the judge alone to find the existence of an aggravating circumstance, is therefore unconstitutional.鈥�

In a dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said the Florida jury in the Hurst case played a significant role in determining factors necessary to justify a death sentence. In contrast, he said, the Arizona jury in the 2002 case cited by the majority justices played no role in the capital sentencing process.

鈥淯nder the Florida system, the jury plays a critically important role,鈥� he said.

Justice Alito added that even if there was a constitutional violation in the procedure used to sentence Hurst to death, that error did not influence the outcome of the case.

The evidence against Hurst is 鈥渙verwhelming,鈥� Alito said. 鈥淚n light of this evidence, it defies belief to suggest that the jury would not have found the existence of either aggravating factor if its finding was binding.鈥�

Sotomayor said in the majority opinion that the high court would leave it to the state courts in Florida to decide whether the error was harmless.

Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, praised the high court鈥檚 decision. He said the Florida legislature had been urged repeatedly to shore up Florida鈥檚 capital punishment sentencing scheme to enhance the jury鈥檚 role.

鈥淔lorida leads the nation in the number of people exonerated or released from death row for any reason,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淔lorida is also the only state that allows a jury to recommend a death sentence by a majority vote,鈥� he added. 鈥淭here is a relationship between these two aspects of the death penalty system in Florida.鈥� 聽

The case was Hurst v. Florida (14-7505).