Third case goes to the Sixth DCA
On October 13, the State filed a petition in the Sixth DCA challenging the trial court’s ruling that it violates Ex Post Facto to apply Florida's new capital sentencing scheme to Petit-Frere's case.
Beloni Petit-Frere is facing first-degree murder charges for crimes that occurred in October 2020. The State seeks to apply Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing scheme to his case.
In an Order dated September 18, 2023, Judge Abdoney of the Tenth Judicial Circuit in and for Polk County ruled that applying Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing scheme to Beloni Petit-Frere’s case would violate the Ex Post Facto Clauses of the U.S. and Florida Constitutions.
The full Order can be downloaded here.
This Order is consistent with two others Orders Judge Abdoney previously entered in two other cases—Angel Lobato’s case and Bryan Riley’s case, as TFDP covered here. The State has filed petitions in the Sixth District Court of Appeal seeking review of the ruling in both Riley and Lobato. (The State’s petition in Riley is covered here.) The Court has not yet ruled in either case.
Likewise, on October 13, 2023, the State filed a petition in the Sixth DCA seeking review of the trial court’s ruling in Petit-Frere. (The petition can be downloaded here.) Petit-Frere’s response to the Petition is due today according to an Order entered by the Court on October 23.
Several cases regarding the applicability of Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing scheme also remain pending at the Florida Supreme Court. The latest on the cases pending at the Florida Supreme Court is here.