Jury reconvenes next week in Volusia County Xbox murder trial after change in death penalty law
The fate of two convicted murderers in Volusia County is up in the air.
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Both sides returned to the courtroom after an appeals court ruled the state’s newest death penalty law should be applied in this case.
The law regarding the death penalty has flip-flopped in the years since the murders.
At the time, Florida allowed a judge to sentence someone to death even if not all jurors recommended it. But in 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out that rule.
The following year, lawmakers voted that someone could only end up on death row if jurors reached that recommendation unanimously.
But this year, they backtracked, allowing the death penalty if at least eight jurors agree.
Read: How Florida’s changing death penalty law impacted the Xbox murders case
In the resentencing trial for Troy Victorino and Jeron Hunter, attorneys argued they couldn’t move forward without more information.
This comes more than two weeks after the attorney general’s office filed an emergency motion behind the scenes to stop the trial from proceeding.
The judge said the jury had to be unanimous for the pair to be put to death. That order was lifted by the Fifth District Court of Appeals Thursday.
Read: Men convicted in 2004 Xbox murders case return to court Tuesday for death penalty resentencing
A day later, defense attorneys argued they had an order but had not yet seen an opinion.
“We are completely in the dark about what this order says,” Ann Finnell said.
They said because of that, they can’t say whether there will be further appeals.
Attorneys asked the judge to bring the jury back to determine if they were still available to serve before making additional motions.
Read: State will seek death penalty against triple-murder suspect Keith Moses, state attorney says
He ultimately agreed but said the defense needs to have an explanation ready for them by Tuesday.
“You’re going to have to have something to tell them when they come back,” the judge said.
The jury will be called back Tuesday at 10 am.
The judge warned attorneys that if too many more motions are filed, it could lead to a mistrial in the resentencing hearing.
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