Marion County: Renaldo McGirth resentenced to life in prison
Yesterday, Renaldo McGirth was resentenced to life in prison without parole following the jury's recommendation.
Renaldo McGirth was sentenced to death following a jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 11-1 for crimes that occurred in 2006. In 2010, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the sentence of death on direct appeal. His sentence became final in April 2011.
After Hurst, in 2017, the Florida Supreme Court vacated McGirth’s sentence of death and ordered a new penalty phase. The new penalty phase was originally set to start in September 2023, but McGirth filed a petition at the Florida Supreme Court related to the application of Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing scheme that delayed the resentencing. (TFDP covered the petition here.) In December, as TFDP covered, the Florida Supreme Court denied McGirth’s petition.
McGirth’s resentencing began earlier this month with jury selection. Yesterday, the docket reflects that McGirth was resentenced to life in prison without parole.
The jury verdict is not on the docket yet, but an article from the Ocala Star Banner indicates that the jury recommended life in prison without parole after 2.5 hours of deliberations.