Miami-Dade County: Life verdict for Robert Holton
Robert Holton was retried this month for crimes that occurred in 2013. Yesterday, the jury unanimously recommended that Holton be sentenced to life in prison without parole (LWOP).
Robert Holton was retried this month for crimes that occurred in 2013. Yesterday, the jury unanimously recommended that Holton be sentenced to life in prison without parole (LWOP).
Trial
This was Holton’s third trial, as his two prior trials ended in mistrial. (More here.) As TFDP previously covered, the trial court ruled that Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing statute would apply to Holton’s penalty phase.
On April 8, the guilt phase of the trial ended in the jury finding Holton guilty of first-degree murder and arson in the first-degree.
The trial then proceeded to the penalty phase. According to a report from the Miami Herald, Holton’s son was among the witnesses who took the stand for Holton in the penalty phase.
According to news reports, the penalty phase ended yesterday in the jury’s unanimous recommendation that Holton be sentenced to LWOP. The jury verdict form is not yet on the docket. This page will be updated when it is available. Under the 2023 statute, because the jury recommended a sentence of LWOP, the judge must sentence Holton to LWOP and cannot override the jury’s recommendation.
The docket shows the case as closed as of yesterday.
A news report from NBC 6 quotes the victim’s mother as being satisfied with the outcome of the trial:
“Justice was served,” said Tangela Johnson, Gloster’s mother. “Today was a win. I really didn’t have a preference of what it was either life or death. I’m satisfied the big victory was guilty.”