Robert Holton's first-degree murder trial ends in mistrial
After the jury was unable to reach a verdict, the judge declared a mistrial. Holton's 2015 trial also ended in a mistrial.
As TFDP previously covered, Robert Holton was on trial for first-degree murder in Miami-Dade County for crimes that occurred in 2013. If convicted, the court would have applied Florida’s new capital sentencing statute, requiring a jury vote of only 8-4 for a sentence of death. It would’ve been the first time a Miami-Dade court applied the new statute.
According to news reports, jury deliberations in Holton’s trial ended last night. After receiving an Allen charge,1 the jury remained unable to reach a verdict. The judge declared a mistrial.
According to news reports, this is the second mistrial in Holton’s case. Holton’s 2015 trial also ended in a mistrial.
The docket shows that a status conference is set for August 18 at 9:00 a.m.
NOTE: In just a few weeks, this is the second mistrial in a Florida capital case in which the court intended to apply the new capital sentencing statute. YNW Melly’s capital trial also ended in a mistrial. TFDP covered that here.
As a retired public defender trial attorney who has handled over a dozen capital cases in New Orleans, I am fascinated by this latest "progressive" outbreak against the old-fashioned unanimous verdict requirement of yore. Even I did not have to deal with the added stress of a 10-2 first, now an 8-4 sentencing verdict in my day. What must it be like to be in the trial trenches now in FL?
Wow. God help us all. At least the harbingers of trying these two same-defendant cases seem to be telling prosecutors, "Hey, not so fast, folks; putting just any old murder case up there for trial doesn't mean people are going to fall for it".
And yet, are prosecutors going to rub their mood rings and whisper, "Third time's the charm"?
Stay tuned. I sure hope not. This travesty of a law is close to Alice-in-Wonderland criminal justice. I hope Robert Holton's defense team has God's grace working on their side...