Make TBO Your Home Page| Subscribe To The Paper| Advertise With Us| Contact Us| Login| Edit Profile| Register
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online
Email
Print
Lawyer Challenges Death Penalty For Carlie's Killer
Associated Press file photo (2005)
An attorney for condemned killer Joseph Smith is asking the Florida Supreme Court to overturn his death sentence.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: January 7, 2009
Updated: 01/07/2009 12:23 pm
TALLAHASSEE - An attorney for condemned killer Joseph Smith is asking the Florida Supreme Court to overturn his death sentence.
Smith was sentenced to death for killing 11-year-old Carlie Brucia in 2004. His abduction of the middle school student from a carwash near her Sarasota home was captured on security cameras and broadcast nationwide.
Public Defender Deborah Brueckheimer raised questions about the handling of DNA that linked Smith to the killing and sexual assault, suggesting it could have been mishandled by the FBI lab and that lawyers for Smith didn't have a chance to adequately question technicians on how the evidence was handled.
The defense questioned why graphic photos were shown to the jury and is also suggesting several jurors had made up their minds and should have been excluded from the jury pool. The jury voted 10-2 for death.
The Supreme Court seemed concerned that the trial judge cited six aggregating factors in imposing death and that at least two may have been improper, including a prior conviction in which Smith pleaded no contest. The court also asked pointed questions about Smith's alleged drug use and whether the crime was premeditated.
A lawyer for the state argued the DNA was properly handled and that the killing was well thought out in advance since Smith attacked Brucia from behind with a shoelace and strangled her while her hands were bound.
In disputing the allegation that Smith was under the influence of drugs and didn't remember anything, Assistant Attorney General Carol Dittmar recalled testimony from neighbors who saw Smith before and after the abduction who said he was acting normally.
The court took the case under advisement. Neither attorney would talk with reporters afterward.
The court could order a new trial, a new sentencing hearing or affirm the lower court decision.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online ©2009 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company. Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
