The Donald Smith guilty verdict came in just 12 minutes. Fast – but just the beginning.
The trial’s penalty phase begins Tuesday. That’s when jurors will decide if Smith gets life in prison or death for raping and killing 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle.
The process has raised questions about what to expect, given the defense team’s decision not to mount any defense, cross examine key witnesses or even often a closing argument.
Attorney Janet Johnson says the approach makes sense under Florida’s new death penalty law. A jury is required to administer the death penalty, even if a defendant pleads guilty, so there is no avoiding the long jury selection process.
“The Supreme Court has said a judge can’t do it exclusively -- it has to be a jury question,” she says.
Given the horrific allegations, and the overwhelming evidence against Smith, Johnson says there may be some strategy to allowing a jury to find him guilty.
“If there’s a vigilante feeling [among jurors], [a guilty verdict allows them to think] they’ve gotten their pound of flesh. And now [the attorneys can] to argue there’s no need to sentence him to death.”
Johnson describes it almost as a juror evolution.
“We call it a ‘slow plea’ -- when you have a case that is almost indefensible, but there’s no offer [from the state]. So you can’t walk in and say, ‘Judge I’m pleading guilty, give me a deal -- because there wasn’t ever going to be a deal.”
Florida’s new death penalty law requires that all jurors vote for the death penalty. A single 'no' vote will mean a sentence of life in prison.
Even though the defense conceded a lot of territory during the trial’s guilt phase, Johnson says she expects the full effort of his defense team next week will go towards trying to spare his life. “All of your marbles are in the basket of trying to get him life in prison instead of death.”
Court begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday. First Coast News will livestream the proceedings online.