The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2019 It should also be noted that, in the reporting period, there were various discussions relating to sentencing procedures that could, theoretically, make it more difficult to impose the death penalty. For example, in one man’s appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court on 23 January 2019, it was argued that if a jury does not vote unanimously, and the trial judge determines whether the capital defendant lives or dies, this would violate his or her constitutional rights to due process, a trial by jury and to a unanimous jury verdict.90 On 30 August 2018, the Nebraska Supreme Court heard the argument that their three-judge sentencing procedure constitutes a violation of the Sixth and Fourth Amendment, based on the precedent set in Hurst v. Florida, where the Supreme Court ruled that according to the Sixth Amendment, a jury, but not a judge alone, can sentence someone to death.91 Finally, in July 2018, as a result of a new law in Florida which requires the unanimous agreement of the jury before a defendant can be sentenced to death, four capital defendants received life sentences.92 Causes for concern During the reporting period a number of situations came to light that give cause for concern. Systemic issues, such as the conditions of detention on death row in the United States criminal system, would go beyond the scope of this report.93 Instead this report focuses on methods of execution, the risk of the discriminatory application of capital punishment and the possibility of wrongful convictions. It should be noted that the United States voted against UN General Assembly resolution 73/175 on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.94 90  “Missouri Supreme Court Hears Case on ​‘Hung Jury’ Death Sentences”, Death Penalty Information Center, 29 January 2019, <https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/missouri-supreme-court-hears-case-on-hung-jury-deathsentences>. 91  “Nebraska Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Three-Judge Death Sentencing”, Death Penalty Information Center, 4 September 2018, <https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/nebraska-supreme-court-hears-challenge-tothree-judge-death-sentencing>. 92  “Florida Juries Reject Death Sentences for Four Men, Highlighting Impact of Unanimity Requirement”, Death Penalty Information Center, 25 July 2018, <https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/florida-juries-reject-death-sentences-for-four-men-highlighting-impact-of-unanimity-requirement>. 93  See for example: “Condemned to Death - And Solitary Confinement”, The Marshall Project, July 23, 2017, <www.themarshallproject.org/2017/07/23/condemned-to-death-and-solitary-confinement>; American Civil Liberties Union, A Death Before Dying: Solitary Confinement on Death Row, <www.aclu.org/issues/prisoners-rights/solitary-confinement/death-dying>; “Pennsylvania keeps all death-row inmates in solitary confinement”, The Intercept, 25 January 2018, <https://theintercept.com/2018/1/25/pennsylvania-death-row-solitary-confinement-aclu/>. 94  Amnesty International, “Amnesty International Global Report: Death Sentences and Executions 2018”, op. cit., note 74, p. 53. 25