Orange County: Bessman Okafor resentenced to death
On Monday, the trial court resentenced Okafor to death, entering a 25-page sentencing order.
Bessman 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. After Hurst, he was granted a new penalty phase.
As TFDP previously covered, a jury recommended in February that Okafor be resentenced to death. Before the penalty phase, Okafor had challenged the trial court’s application of Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing statute to his case. As TFDP previously covered, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed Okafor’s petition.
On Monday, the trial court resentenced Okafor to death, entering a 25-page sentencing order. The Court agreed with the jury that the State proved four aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt and assigned them the noted weight:
Defendant as previously convicted of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to another person (great weight);
The murder was committed while Defendant was engaged or an accomplice in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing or attempt to commit, any burglary (great weight);
The murder was committed to disrupt or hinder the lawful exercise of any governmental function or the enforcement of laws (very great weight); and
The murder was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner, without any pretense of moral or legal justification (very great weight).
As to mitigation, the court found the following mitigating circumstances and assigned them the noted weight:
The capital felony was committed while the Defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance (little weight);
Defendant will never get out of prison (little weight);
Defendant suffers from PTSD (some weight);
Defendant was beaten and physically abused by his mother with belts, pans, and electrical cords (moderate weight);
Defendant was never shown mercy by his mother (some weight);
Defendant was a Praise Stepper in his church (little weight);
Defendant was sexually abused by a member of his church (moderate weight);
Defendant witnessed his mother being beaten (some weight);
Defendant witnessed his sisters being beaten (some weight);
Defendant was neglected (moderate weight);
Defendant was subjected to food deprivation (some weight);
Defendant’s home often lacked water (some weight);
Defendant’s home often had the electricity turned off (some weight);
Defendant suffered complex trauma (moderate weight);
Defendant suffered from being parentified, in taking care of his younger siblings (some weight);
Defendant was never appropriately treated for trauma (moderate weight);
Defendant was not supported in school for trauma (some weight);
Defendant was abandoned by his father before the age of one (some weight);
Defendant’s mother was abandoned by his father when he was a child (some weight);
Defendant was abandoned by his mother when he was three or four years old (some weight);
Defendant was taken from the supportive home of his father after he was abandoned by his mother and moved to Florida when he was six or seven years old (some weight);
Defendant was moved from a home where he was supported and comfortable, to a home which was crowded and financially unstable (some weight);
Defendant suffered an undiagnosed learning disability, which was later identified as an emotional handicap (some weight);
Defendant did not have a stable male parent for most of his childhood (some weight);
Defendant did not have a consistent male role model (some weight);
Defendant’s mother was devastated hen his father left her and blamed Defendant by beating him and emotionally abusing him (some weight);
Defendant was beaten by his mother more than his siblings (some weight);
Defendant’s mother would come home at night, wake up the children, and beat them if the home was not clean enough (some weight);
Defendant’s mother was diagnosed with a personality disorder and as never treated (some weight);
Defendant’s mother was mentally ill (some weight);
Defendant’s mother lost family income when she was arrested for beating Defendant and blamed him (some weight);
Defendant’s mother went to jail for beating him (some weight);
Defendant was exposed to substance abuse, specifically alcohol (some weight);
Defendant was exposed to violence (some weight);
Defendant was neglected emotionally (some weight);
Defendant was bullied in school (some weight);
Defendant lost family members through divorce and death (some weight);
Defendant lived in an unstable household from the time of birth on, living in six locations with different caretakes before the age of seven (some weight);
Defendant was not potty trained as a child (little weight);
Defendant suffered a medical issue which led him to defecate in his pants subjecting him to ridicule (some weight);
Defendant was abandoned on a stranger’s doorstep (some weight);
Defendant had instability in school (some weight);
Defendant was not taken for necessary counseling (moderate weight);
Defendant’s mother did not receive necessary counseling (some weight);
Defendant was treated differently than his siblings (some weight);
Defendant suffered all ten ACE factors (moderate weight);
Defendant suffered the loss of his son and daughter (some weight);
Defendant is loved by his family (little weight);
Defendant loves his children (little weight);
Defendant is loved by his children (little weight);
Defendant tries to parent his children from prison (little weight);
Defendant has exhibited excellent courtroom demeanor (little weight); and
Catchall for additional mitigation (some weight).
The court determined that the following mitigating circumstance was not established: Defendant was brain damaged consistent with child neglect and/or traumatic brain injury.
After weighing the aggravation and mitigation, the court determined that the aggravation “far outweigh[s] the mitigating circumstances and support[s] the recommendation of the jury for a sentence of death.” The trial court wrote that Okafor “forfeited [his] right to live . . . .”
The full sentencing order can be found here.
News Articles
TFDP Prior Coverage of Okafor’s Case
Okafor filed petition at Florida Supreme Court
Florida Supreme Court dismissed petition
Okafor’s resentencing ends in mistrial
Jury recommended death