Could a South Carolina trial judge who had told Petitioner he would sentence him to death if he pled guilty still rule, consistent with Hurst v. Florida, that Petitioner had to waive jury sentencing and be sentenced by him alone if Petitioner's choice under the state statute was to plead guilty and accept responsibility for his crimes?

QUESTIONS PRESENTED CAPITAL CASE ; 1. Could a South Carolina trial judge who had told Petitioner he would sentence him to death if he pled guilty still rule, consistent with Hurst v. Florida, 577 U.S. 92 (2016), that Petitioner had to waive jury sentencing and be sentenced by him alone if Petitioner’s choice under the state statute was to plead guilty and accept responsibility for his crimes? 2. Whether the decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court in this case conflicts with this Court’s opinion in Green v. Georgia, 442 U.S. 95 (1979) which instructed that a defendant’s fundamental right to present critical mitigating evidence in his or her defense should not be excluded during the penalty stage of a capital trial due to the mechanical application of state hearsay evidence rules? i