The four men charged with murder in the death of Washington Redskins star safety Sean Taylor will not face the death penalty, although prosecutors will seek life sentences without parole, according to Richard Sharpstein, a Florida lawyer who is spokesperson for Taylor's family.
Sharpstein said the move by prosecutors, reported yesterday by the Fort Myers News Press and Naples Daily News, came as no surprise to the Taylors because of stipulations in Florida law that govern the ability to pursue capital punishment.
Sharpstein called the decision "a legal forgone conclusion," and said Taylor's father, Pedro, supports those prosecuting the case. Jason Scott Mitchell, 20, Eric Rivera Jr., 18, Venjah K. Hunte, 20, and Charles Kendrick Lee Wardlow, 19, are charged with first-degree murder in the killing. Florida law prohibits the death penalty in instances in which a juvenile was the shooter, even if the co-defendants are not minors, Sharpstein said, and Rivera, the alleged shooter, was 17 at the time of the shooting.
First-degree murder convictions in Florida come with a mandatory life sentence.
