On hold: Re-sentencing for Ocala man facing the death penalty delayed pending appeal
The case of an Ocala man who could face the death penalty for the shooting death of a woman more than a decade ago has taken another legal twist.
Renaldo Devon McGirth was scheduled to be court this week for his re-sentencing hearing in front of Circuit Judge Gary Sanders.
But the judge agreed to delay the proceedings while the Florida Supreme Court decides which legal standard applies. Specifically, does a jury recommendation for the death penalty need to be unanimous? Or can the vote be as divided as 8-4, in keeping with the new state law that went into effect this year?
How did we get here?
McGirth was convicted in 2008 for his role in the shooting death of a woman in The Villages. At trial, the jury recommendation for the death penalty was 11-1. A judge sent him to death row.
McGirth became eligible for a new sentencing hearing after 2016, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled that all death penalty recommendations must be unanimous. Cases resolved after June 24, 2002 were cleared for resentencing.
However, McGirth's resentencing hearing never started. Years passed. And in the meantime, Florida changed its death penalty statute to require only an 8-4 jury recommendation for the death penalty.
The defense argued that the new standard should not apply. The state argued that McGirth's due process rights would not be violated by applying the 8-4 standard. The judge agreed, thus prompting the defense to file an appeal and the judge to stay the proceedings. Other, similar cases already are before the state's high court.
Prosecutors noted that Daniel Hernandez was appointed to represent McGirth in early 2018. For one reason or another, the case has been continued many times since then. The courts closed in March 2020 because of the pandemic. But while the courts were closed for trials, other hearings, such as first appearances and essential matters, continued on.
The courts re-opened in March 2021, and prosecutors said there was no delay in scheduling a date for McGirth's re-sentencing.
Prosecutors said from mid-May 2021 to August 2023, they had 14 trials — 13 of them homicides, 12 of which were first-degree murder cases and seven of which were death penalty cases — in Marion, Clay, Orange, Lake and Citrus counties.
"The undersigned notes these statistics simply to point out that if Defendant wished to actually have this case proceed to trial in an expeditious manner over the past five years, ample opportunity existed for him to do so, regardless of COVID-19," prosecutors wrote.
The crime
Diana Miller, 63, a retired bookkeeper, died in the 2006 shooting. Her husband, James, was critically injured.
Officials said the couple's daughter allowed McGirth and two others, Jarrod Roberts and Theodore Houston Jr., into the house. Deputies believe the motive was robbery.
McGirth was 18 at the time. Authorities said it was the first and only homicide that has occurred in the Marion County portion of The Villages.
Roberts is serving life in prison. Houston was sentenced to 20 years in prison after testifying against both his co-defendants. Houston was released in July.
Death row
McGirth is one of seven Marion County inmates presently sentenced to death.
Now 35, McGirth has been on death row for 15 years. He was sentenced to death in 2008.
Court: Marion death row inmate was going to represent himself. The state had no objection.
According to state records, the average age at the time of execution is 44.9 years. The average age at offense for executed inmates is 27.4 years.
Of the seven Marion County death row inmates, 63-year-old Ian Lightborun has been on the list the longest at 42 years.
Earlier this year, Michael Wayne Jones was sentenced to death for killing his wife and four children, two of whom were his.
To date, 292 men and women are on the list to be executed.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Judge delays re-sentencing trial for Ocala man on death row
