JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man sentenced to death in a high-profile kidnapping and murder case will not have his conviction overturned.
The Florida Supreme Court denied Donald Smith’s appeal of his 2018 conviction for the 2013 kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle.
Smith was convicted after just 19 minutes of jury deliberation in the guilt phase of the trial, and 12 jurors unanimously recommended death in the penalty phase.
In its order, the court discounted five reasons raised in Smith’s appeal, including a failure to move the case to a different jurisdiction due to pretrial publicity, the tearful testimony of the state Medical Examiner Valerie Rao, and the content of State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s opening argument, which Smith’s attorneys claimed were inappropriate. They also argued the cumulative mistakes deprived Smith of a fair trial.
The court also found that any individual errors were obviated by the overwhelming evidence in the case. “Smith’s DNA was found in and on Cherish’s body, he was caught on several different surveillance cameras leading Cherish to his car, multiple witnesses spotted his van by the water in which Cherish’s body was found, and his pants were soaking wet as he was arrested. It is the evidence in this case, not error, that is cumulative.”
In regards to Smith’s claim that the trial should have been moved due to pretrial publicity, the court found Smith’s attorneys did not properly preserve their objections over their request for a change of venue and added, “there is no evidence that the media exposure actually tainted Smith’s trial.”
The court decided Rao’s tearful request to take a break during her testimony of the child’s autopsy photographs “did not affect the fairness of Smith’s trial. The jury saw no outburst of emotion.”
As for Nelson’s comments during her opening statement that “[e]very mother’s darkest nightmare became Rayne Perrywinkle’s reality,” the court said that “Nelson’s opening comment was dramatic, but not untrue; nor was it a mischaracterization of the evidence that would soon be presented to the jury.”
Because death sentences are automatically appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, Thursday's order is just the first step in what will likely be a lengthy appeal process. Smith’s appellate team will next file appeals with the First District Court of Appeals. Legal experts say the process of exhausting appeals can easily take a decade.
Read the full order below: