Ocala jury spares man the death penalty in re-sentence
Nearly 20 years ago, Renaldo Devon McGirth was sentenced to death after being found guilty of murdering a woman in The Villages.
But on Wednesday, after a new sentencing trial that lasted more than a week, a new jury recommended a life sentence.
This recommendation was received by McGirth’s family members and his lawyer with tears, joy and much praise to God.
A majority of the jury, who deliberated for nearly two and a half hours, recommended a life sentence. Under Florida law, the judge had to follow that recommendation.
District Judge Gary Sanders, who heard the case, told the 36-year-old man that he would spend life in prison with no chance of parole. McGirth would be sent to the county jail and later to the state prison.
“In the criminal justice system, we rely on the jury system and accordingly we respect their decision in this case,” said Assistant District Attorney Walter Forgie.
Tampa defense attorney Daniel Hernandez told a Star Banner reporter, “I think the jury made the right decision.”
“Life imprisonment is the appropriate punishment,” Hernandez said as he stood outside the courtroom.
State records show McGirth was one of seven of the 279 men and women currently on Florida’s death row. The same documents show the average age at the time of execution is 44.9 years old and the average age at the crime is 27.4 years old.
The longest-serving Marion County inmate on death row is Ian Lightbourn. He has been on death row for 43 years. Lightbourn is 64.
‘Forever grateful’
McGirth’s mother, fiancée and friends were grateful for the outcome. Before making their comments, the women, who were joined by several others outside the courtroom, held hands. Gloria Taylor, a family friend, prayed.
After the prayer, McGirth’s fiancée Laquanitia Webb and his mother Michelle McGirth commented on the jury’s verdict.
McGirth’s mother said she was “infinitely grateful that the truth is finally coming out. This is just the beginning.”
Standing next to McGirth’s mother, Webb said, “The fight must continue to prove not only the injustice in our justice system, but also the lack of compassion for African-American men in the court system. We ask not only for understanding, but for evidence and truth in all criminal matters.”
Taylor said they “must come together as one and fight for our men of color. We are standing up again and fighting for our men who have been wrongfully convicted by the justice system.”
She points to her son, Tlarence Munnerlyn Jr., who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for a crime she says he did not commit. She also wants law enforcement to investigate the death of her nephew, Rizaki Thomas Johnson.
This is how the case unfolded
Jury selection began on July 8 and ended the next day. Originally, 14 people, seven men and seven women, were selected from 100 residents who showed up for jury duty.
Twelve people, seven men and five women, were eventually involved in the case.
During the trial, 127 pieces of evidence were presented by the prosecution and defense. Including the witness statements that were read and recorded, 45 people took the stand. McGirth did not testify.
Assistant District Attorneys Rich Buxman and Toby Hunt prosecuted the case.
About the case
In 2006, McGirth, 18, was one of three defendants charged in the shooting death of retired accountant Diana Miller. The 63-year-old woman was killed in her home in the Marion County neighborhood of The Villages. McGirth was found guilty at his trial two years later.
The jury recommended the death penalty by a vote of 11 to 1. A judge sent him to death row.
Miller’s husband, James, was seriously injured in the shooting and managed to escape. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says McGirth was the shooter in both victims’ deaths.
Authorities said the couple’s daughter gave McGirth, Jarrord Marqui Roberts and Theodore Clifford Houston Jr. access to the home. At the time of the shootings, Roberts was 20 and Houston was 17. Officials believe the motive was robbery.
The people connected to the fatal shooting fled and were eventually caught after a chase.
Roberts is serving a life sentence. Houston, who has since been released, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after testifying against both co-defendants.
death penalty
McGirth was entitled to a new sentencing hearing after the Florida Supreme Court ruled that starting in 2016, all jury recommendations for the death penalty must be unanimous.
In cases resolved after June 24, 2002, a new conviction could be made.
However, McGirth’s resentencing hearing never began. Years passed, and during that time the state’s death penalty law changed again. The state now only requires an 8-4 jury recommendation for the death penalty.
Contact Austin L. Miller at [email protected]
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