Jury seated in Bessman Okafor resentencing trial in 2015 murder conviction
Jury seated in Bessman Okafor resentencing
A jury has been seated in the resentencing trial for Bessman Okafor. Okafor was sentenced to death in 2015 for a 2012 murder of which he was convicted. He was previously sentenced to death with a vote of 11-1, but it was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court because the vote wasn’t unanimous. Governor Ron DeSantis subsequently approved a new law that eliminated the need for a unanimous vote. In this case, the resentencing trial was to be carried with the new rule, which requires an 8-4 vote.
ORLANDO, Fla. - A jury has been seated in the resentencing trial for Bessman Okafor. Okafor was sentenced to death in 2015 for a 2012 murder of which he was convicted.
He was previously sentenced to death following the recommendation of a jury by a vote of 11-1, but it was later overturned by the Florida Supreme Court because the vote was not unanimous.
Gov. Ron DeSantis subsequently approved a new law that eliminated the need for a unanimous vote. In this case, the resentencing trial was to be carried with the new rule, which requires an 8-4 vote.
A jury had been seated last year, but the judge presiding over the resentencing declared a mistrial after a juror reportedly had a conversation with a friend about the case. Kayla De Pena, 26, admitted to lying to the court during a hearing on Jan. 24. She was handcuffed and taken to jail, charged with contempt of court.
Okafor was convicted of killing 19-year-old Alex Zaldivar, who was scheduled to serve as a witness in Okafor’s home invasion trial in 2012.