Why? Even if they were not a belligerent warmongering nation- they have a vile sports culture where cheating is not only accepted but promoted. Russia is a scourge on the world in every way and should be shunned.

Oh I don’t think the prosecution should be let off the hook either. But the victim called him a rapist based upon pretty much nothing.

So Sebold could not pick him out of a line up yet testified in court he was the man who raped her? Because when she saw him walking down the street subsequent to her attack he smiled at her? She should be sued into oblivion for defamation.

This woman is a stupid fascist and I hope the judge locks her up for the maximum.

One life vote has no need to bully others. One life vote is a life verdict. It makes absolutely no sense for it to be the life vote bullying the death votes.

Yep you got the correct one! And then you couple that with the forcible felony definition found in 776.08 and you have your legal defense.

I am a lawyer. I practice criminal defense in Florida. The jury rendered a finding recommending life. The judge accepted the recommendation. Jeopardy has attached and there is no going back. Even if all three (it is being reported as three) life votes came out and said they were bullied into it (which I highly doubt was the case)- it would still be over when it comes to the death penalty.

But knowing what I know based upon experience- I can nearly guarantee that the person being bullied was a life vote. There were 9 death votes. And they knew they had to be unanimous in order to get death.

Mistrials are a tricky thing when it comes to double jeopardy (at least in Florida- I can only speak for where I am barred). The only real ways for the court to grant a mistrial without jeopardy attaching are 1) at the request of the defense, 2) a hung jury, or 3) extraordinary circumstances which would prevent the administration of justice.

In the case of Mr. Cruz, 1) the defense is not requesting it, 2) the jury did not hang- 1 life vote equals a life verdict in a penalty phase, and 3) even if they found one life juror bullied a death vote into life- it still would not result in manifest injustice as all you need is one life vote for a life verdict.

This is a nuanced issue and I hope I am explaining it in a way which can be understood. I am purposefully avoiding jargon and making it overly complicated.

Nope. It is over. Jeopardy has attached. There is zero possibility of Mr. Cruz getting the death penalty regardless of what this juror has to say.

It is outrageous but I understand why the law is written the way it is in a vacuum; when thrown from a moving vehicle- anything rigid could potentially cause serious injury or death. You get smoked by a full water bottle in the head from a car doing 60 mph? You most likely are going to be severely injured. It when applied to this case it does seem absurd- but that is how the law around “throwing a deadly missile” is written.

Thank you so much for your kind words. But remember this is the state where a jury acquitted a man for shooting a guy who tossed popcorn at him in a movie theater.

I practice criminal defense in a medium sized central Florida county. This is sadly not out of the ordinary nor shocking to me.

Here is the wild thing- driver one doesn’t need to be in fear for his life in this situation; it is justifiable in Florida to use deadly force against someone who is committing a forcible felony against you. By the letter of the law- throwing an object from a moving vehicle could- and most likely would be considered a forcible felony.

If you are convicted of shooting someone in Florida- the mandatory minimum is 25 years. And Florida doesn’t have parole.

BUT- because of the way Florida’s self defense statutes are written- there is a very good chance one or even both of them will be acquitted.