Duval County: Jury recommends life for Randall Brown
Last night, a Duval County jury recommended a life sentence for Randall Brown by a vote of 8-4.
On December 12, a Duval County jury found Randall Brown guilty of first-degree murder and other charges for crimes that occurred in 2021. Last night, the jury recommended that Brown be sentenced to life rather than death.
Pre-Trial Litigation
The docket reflects that Brown represented himself pro se with standby defense counsel throughout the litigation of his case. In late October, Brown filed a demand for speedy trial, which the Court granted.
On November 1, Brown filed pro se motions challenging Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing statute—both its application to his case and the constitutionality of the statute itself. Brown also filed pro se motions to modify the standard jury instructions. (The motions themselves are not available on the docket.) The court held a hearing on Brown’s various motions on November 17, after which the court took the motions in advisement.
Also on November 17, the State filed an Amended Notice of Intent to Seek Death Penalty, outlining four intended aggravating factors:
Trial
Jury selection began December 1, and the jury was selected on December 5.
On December 6, the trial court issued an “Omnibus Order on Defendant’s Capital Motions,” in which the court denied each of Brown’s motions challenging the 2023 capital sentencing statute. In doing so, the trial court relied in part on the Fifth DCA’s decision in Victorino.1
Guilt Phase
On December 12, the jury found Randall Brown guilty of first-degree murder and other charges for crimes that occurred in 2021. On December 13, the State Attorney’s Office issued a press release about the jury’s verdict in the guilt phase.
The full press release can be found here.
Penalty Phase
The penalty phase began on December 13. The penalty phase continued and concluded yesterday afternoon, at which point the jury began deliberating.
After about two hours of deliberation, the jury returned with a recommendation that Brown be sentenced to life in prison without parole (LWOP) by a vote of 8-4.
The jury unanimously found that the State proved two of the three aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt.
Under the statute, the judge must sentence Brown to LWOP following the jury’s recommendation.