Dec 3 2019
TaxProf Blog: Latest Developments In The Dan Markel Case: Garcia Appeals His First Degree Murder Conviction; 'What Do You Have To Do To Get A Death Sentence Around Here?'
"About a month after sentencing, Sigfredo Garcia is appealing his first degree murder conviction.
Garcia was sentenced to life for killing Dan Markel last month. Right now, Garcia doesn't have an attorney for the appeal process.
Tallahassee Democrat, It's Time to Re-examine Capital Punishment:
What do you have to do to get a death sentence around here?
That’s not asked derisively, or with sarcastic disrespect for the dignity of our court process or the solemnity of imposing the ultimate penalty. The extreme difficulty of getting a jury to unanimously agree on execution, to cite just one major flaw, should make legislators finally abolish the death penalty when they convene next January. ...
Tallahassee recently had two ghastly murder cases which underscore the odds against getting juries to agree on death.
Sigfredo Garcia and his accomplice drove eight hours from Miami — twice! — to kill Dan Markel, an FSU law professor they’d never met and who had caused them no harm.
Testimony in Garcia’s trial indicated it was a contract killing, one of the aggravating factors in a capital case.
Yet the jury that convicted Garcia didn’t recommend his execution. He got life without parole eligibility."
TaxProf Blog: Latest Developments In The Dan Markel Case: Garcia Appeals His First Degree Murder Conviction; 'What Do You Have To Do To Get A Death Sentence Around Here?'
"About a month after sentencing, Sigfredo Garcia is appealing his first degree murder conviction.
Garcia was sentenced to life for killing Dan Markel last month. Right now, Garcia doesn't have an attorney for the appeal process.
Tallahassee Democrat, It's Time to Re-examine Capital Punishment:
What do you have to do to get a death sentence around here?
That’s not asked derisively, or with sarcastic disrespect for the dignity of our court process or the solemnity of imposing the ultimate penalty. The extreme difficulty of getting a jury to unanimously agree on execution, to cite just one major flaw, should make legislators finally abolish the death penalty when they convene next January. ...
Tallahassee recently had two ghastly murder cases which underscore the odds against getting juries to agree on death.
Sigfredo Garcia and his accomplice drove eight hours from Miami — twice! — to kill Dan Markel, an FSU law professor they’d never met and who had caused them no harm.
Testimony in Garcia’s trial indicated it was a contract killing, one of the aggravating factors in a capital case.
Yet the jury that convicted Garcia didn’t recommend his execution. He got life without parole eligibility."