Duval County: Jury recommends life for Johnathan Quiles
Last week, Johnathan Quiles was convicted in Duval County of two counts of first-degree murder. Yesterday, the jury recommended a sentence of life in prison without parole on both counts.
Johnathan Quiles was tried in Duval County beginning September 14. He was indicted in July 2019 for two counts of first-degree murder for crimes that occurred in 2018. Shortly after the indictment, the State filed its Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty listing seven aggravating factors:
On April 20, 2023—the same day Gov. DeSantis signed Florida’s new capital sentencing statute—the State filed an Amended Indictment. The charges were the same from the original Indictment.
In August and September, Quiles, through his attorneys, filed motions challenging Florida’s new statute and its application to his case.
On September 5, the trial court entered an Order denying Qulies’ motions, relying in part on the Fifth DCA’s decision in Hunter and Victorino. Thus, the Court ruled that the new statute applies to Quiles’ case.
Jury selection began on September 11.
Guilt Phase
Trial began on September 14. The State rested on September 20. The defense rested on September 21. After the Court denied the defense’s renewed motion for judgment of acquittal, the jury was sent out to deliberate.
After deliberating for about an hour, the jury found Quiles guilty on all counts.
Penalty Phase
The penalty phase occurred on September 25. After an hour of deliberations, the jury recommended that Quiles be sentenced to life in prison without parole (LWOP) on both counts.
The jury’s vote on both counts is unclear, as the verdict form is not publicly available on the docket. Here’s a video of the jury’s penalty phase verdict being read:
Based on the jury’s recommendation, the judge has no choice but to sentence Quiles to LWOP on both counts.
A status conference is scheduled for Thursday.
Duval County in 2023
Quiles is not the first person to be tried in Duval County under the new capital sentencing statute. Michael Jackson and Tiffany Cole (who were codefendants) both had new penalty phases this year under the new statute. Jackson was resentenced to death following the jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 8-4. (More on Jackson’s case here.) Cole was resentenced to life in prison without parole (LWOP) following the jury’s recommendation for LWOP by a vote of 2-10 for death. (More on Cole’s case here.)
Also in Duval County this year, John Mosley was resentenced to death following his resentencing proceeding that occurred in late 2019 under Florida’s unanimity statute. (More on Mosley’s case here.)