Pinellas County: Jury recommends death for Shelby Nealy
Shelby Nealy pled guilty to three counts of first-degree murder. On Friday, the jury recommended that Nealy be sentenced to death by a vote of 11-1 on each count.
Shelby Nealy pled guilty to manslaughter for killing his wife in January 2018 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was later pled guilty to three counts of first-degree murder for killing his mother-in-law, father-in-law, and brother-in-law in late 2018. The State sought the death penalty on each count. His case proceeded to a penalty phase that began earlier this month.
On Friday, the jury returned its sentencing recommendation. The jury unanimously found that the State proved all of the aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt on each count. On each count, the jury recommended that Nealy be sentenced to death by a vote of 11-1.
A video of the jury’s sentencing recommendation being published and the trial judge polling the jury is below:
Under Florida’s current capital sentencing statute, the trial court has the discretion to impose a sentence of LWOP rather than death despite the jury’s recommendation. The sentencing will occur at a later date.
the fact that one of the jury objected to the sentence of death three times for this multiple murderer, does not in itself prove any misbehavior.
However it should be reason to investigate the juror for evidence that he may have lied when he declared at jury selection when he claimed he had no objection to capital punishment. It would be not that difficult: a history of letters to the editor, political discussions at work around the water cooler, membership of associations that express left wing statements, etc