Okafor resentencing ends in mistrial
Last night, an Orange County judge declared a mistrial in Bessman Okafor's resentencing proceeding due to juror misconduct.
Bessman Okafor’s resentencing, which was granted after Hurst,1 began earlier this month. The trial court ruled that Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing statute applied to the resentencing proceeding.
Okafor was originally sentenced to death in 2015 for crimes that occurred in 2012 following a jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 11-1. As TFDP previously covered, Okafor filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court seeking relief from the trial court’s application of Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing statute. He also asked for a stay of his resentencing pending resolution of his claims at the Court. The Court denied the stay and dismissed Okafor’s petition.
The jury for the resentencing was sworn on October 13.
Yesterday, the jury began deliberating about the case. However, the case ended in a mistrial last night due to juror misconduct.
According to reporting by WFTV, one of the jurors told the Judge that she spoke with a friend who knew the victim about the case. The juror “disclosed the information after the judge sequestered the [jury] for the night and was giving them instructions.”
The court minutes reflected on the docket indicate that the juror will be charged with Indirect Contempt of Court:
As TFDP has covered, Okafor’s is not the first Hurst resentencing proceeding to end in a mistrial this year. The Hunter/Victorino resentencing in Volusia County ended in a mistrial due to the delay caused by the State filing an emergency petition at the Fifth DCA after the jury was sworn. The latest on those cases can be found here.