Jury finds Century inmate not guilty of first-degree murder, convicts him of manslaughter
A Century Correctional Institute inmate was sentenced to 30 years in state prison the same night a jury found him guilty of unjustifiably killing a fellow inmate.
Markell Brent Sawyer was charged with the first-degree premeditated murder of fellow inmate Nelson Sanderson, but the jury convicted him of manslaughter with a weapon — a lesser included offense.
During the trial, Sawyer testified that he killed Sanderson in the prison bathroom on Aug. 17, 2020, with a padlock locked to the end of a makeshift rope. He claims he was in fear of being sexually battered by the 79-year-old.
"I was utilizing the toilet and my pants were down to my ankles and also my boxers, and so was Nelson Sanderson's when he came over to my stall," Sawyer said on the stand Friday.
Sawyer's first day of trial:A 79-year-old Century inmate was beaten to death. The defendant says it was justified.
Sanderson's death announced:Florida DOC: 79-year-old killed in inmate-on-inmate assault at Century prison
Sawyer said he thought Sanderson was attempting to sexually batter him, and that concern — along with him previously hearing from other inmates that Sanderson was imprisoned for molesting an 8-year-old — led to both inmates wrestling in the bathroom.
According to testimony during the trial, Sanderson began screaming for help while both inmates were on the floor, prompting the sleeping inmates to enter the bathroom and asking Sawyer to stop.
After the two stopped wrestling, the other inmates left the bathroom, which is when Sawyer began beating Sanderson with the padlock, saying his fight or flight kicked in.
"No, I didn't (try to alert security) because I was afraid that (Sanderson's) friends with would help him," Sawyer said on the stand. "I thought they would get more help and get weapons."
During closing statements, Shea asked the jury to find Sawyer guilty verdict of first-degree premeditated murder, saying the 79-year-old man posed no threat to the 25-year-old Sawyer.
"(Witness) Albert Spalding said the reason he had the broom and was thinking about getting involved in that was because the old man needed to be defended," Shea said. "The old man was in danger in that altercation. It wasn't the defendant."
Gore said his client had the right to defend himself when Sanderson approaching him partially nude and showing an indication he might attempt to sexually batter Sawyer.
"An attempted sexual battery ... justifies the use of deadly force," Gore said. "I couldn't even argue it if there wasn't evidence of it. Right there, there is enough evidence for you to vote not guilty because of the justified use of force."
The jury had three options when deciding Sawyer's guilty verdict — first-degree-premeditated murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter with or without a weapon. The 12-person jury determined based on their recollection of the evidence that Sawyer did not premeditate the killing and did not evince a depraved mind regardless of human life.
Afterward, Escambia Circuit Judge John Simon levied the 30-year prison term and deemed it to run consecutive to his current prison sentence, which is scheduled to end Dec. 12, 2023.
At the time of the crime, Sawyer was serving a sentence for criminal mischief and theft related charges. Sawyer’s prior criminal history includes convictions for theft, armed burglary, several burglaries of dwellings and conveyances, and sexual battery.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Century inmate Markell Sawyer convicted of manslaughter
