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TOM McLAUGHLIN @TomMnwfdn

State Attorney Bill Eddins office has announced it will likely have a second go at seeing Shawn Rogers sentenced to die for the 2012 murder of Ricky Martin.

The First Judicial Circuit had been pursuing a death sentence in its case against Rogers since 2015, when he pleaded guilty to the headline-grabbing murder. Eddins office abandoned the effort in January, though, after court rulings nullified the death penalty in Florida.

Eddins said at the time that Rogers case was rather unique in that the inmate was already serving a life sentence in prison without possibility of parole for a 2002 Volusia County armed robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The state had the luxury in Rogers case of waiting for death penalty sentencing procedures to be straightened out through legislation rather than seeking a new indictment against him.

There is no downside to dismissing the case and waiting to file it again, Eddins said at the time the original indictment was nullified. We did this in this death penalty case because the sentencing procedure is muddled, and we want it to be crystal clear.

The Florida Legislature this year voted to change a law that had required at least a 10-2 jury majority in order to impose the death penalty. Juries must now be unanimous in favor of death for the sentence to be handed down.

The new standard meets requirements established by rulings at the U.S. Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court levels.

New indictments charging Rogers with murder and kidnapping in the Martin case were handed down in May, according to State Attorney's Office spokesman Greg Marcille. He was booked on the charges June 12.

Hes been reindicted and now well go through the process of reviewing the case to see if the death penalty is appropriate, Marcille said. We do expect we will seek the death penalty.

Rogers pleaded guilty in September 2015 to murdering Martin, who was his cell mate at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution.

Martin was found March 20, 2012, inside his cell, tied down with bedding material and stripped of his clothing. He had been bludgeoned with a sock full of batteries and died three weeks later at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.

Martins killing occurred after word had filtered into the prison about the death of Trayvon Martin at the hands of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Rogers was reported to have made comments along the lines of this is for TrayvonMartin as he beat Martin, a white man, unconscious.

The Miami Herald wrote an in-depth article about Martins death as part of a series that called into question a Florida correctional system that allowed the much smallerMartin, a non-violent offender, to be placed in a cell with Rogers, who had a history of committing acts of violence on other inmates.

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State attorney expects to seek death penalty in jail cell killing - The Northwest Florida Daily News

Benton, La. - Jury selection is underway for the murder case in Bossier involving the death of a Barksdale airman.

Nearly one-hundred people interviewed at the courthouse in Benton Tuesday for jury selection that will be narrowed down to twelve members.

Inside Judge Michael Craig's courtroom, groups of about 13 at a time would be asked questions by the prosecution and defense, who then would lay out details of the case.

Benjamin William Shaw is charged with second degree murder for the death of Zecharia Casagranda. The two got into a fight outside of Rockin' Rodeo nightclub in January 2016. Shaw stabbed Casagranda who later died from his injuries.

Shaw faces life in prison if found guilty. The defense will argue Shaw was acting in self-defense.

The defense is being lead by the well-known attorney, Jose Baez, who was the lead defense attorney in the Casey Anthony trail. He also represented Aaron Hernandez and was a part of the George Zimmerman trial.

More than a dozen witnesses could take the stand during this trail. The judge asked the potential jury members their availability for the next month, but said this case should be over within the next few weeks.

However an incident occurred inside the courtroom where a potential jury member started shouting at Baez about his reputation and work on previous cases so members were then separated and interviewed one-by-one. So the process did not conclude Tuesday and more potential jury members will be interviewed Wednesday.

See the rest here:
Jury selection underway for murder of a Barksdale airman - KTAL

After being critically acclaimed for his show ?American Crime,' writer John Ridley has finally shared the incident that inspired his anthology series.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar-winning screenwriter noted how the killing of Trayvon Martin inspired his racially charged ABC anthology series ?American Crime?.

While speaking at the Banff World Media Festival, Ridley said, ?One of the most painful conversations that I've had in recent years was with my son, who at that time was 14 and said, 'Dad, can you explain Trayvon Martin to me?' You can't really do it. And there's a lot of people who want that explanation that can't be done.?

Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in 2012. The incident made national headlines when Zimmerman claimed he shot the unarmed teenager in self-defense and was acquitted on murder charges, sparking protests around the nation.

The ?12 Years a Slave? Oscar winner also shared that he wanted to make the show by focussing on the personal lives of players in a trial as events turned their worlds upside down and not by legalese.

He shared, ?We as people end up rooting sometimes not for justice, but for an outcome that reflects the things that we want from the community, not that this person is indicted or exonerated, but I want my justice. And if it comes through the courtroom, so be it. It really does become about bringing individuals in who can represent communities in ways that people haven't seen before.?

Ridley also praised Regina King for her portrayal of a ?strong Muslim-American woman,? which earned her two Emmys in subsequent years for her separate roles as Aliyah Shaded and Terri Lacroix.

Meanwhile, King said she liked that some 'American Crime' viewers saw her Muslim-American character as a radical and others as just devout.

"That's the most interesting thing about playing characters, about being an actor, is the layering, the dimensions,? she said.

ABC studios head Patrick Moran also recalled a creative fog hanging over the pilot development process that only cleared away with the first script reading involving the actors.

?As soon as we saw actors read the script and connect with the material, I think that was a moment for us where we realised there was something really special going on, that there was an intensity to the characters and a rawness to those scenes,? Ridley shared.

It should be noted that the anthology crime drama got cancelled in May after three seasons, with ABC opting not to order a fourth instalment.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

Excerpt from:
John Ridley shares what inspired his 'American Crime' series - Daily News & Analysis

As court proceedings began last week in the case of Philando Castile, the names and faces of people whose lives were taken by peace officers were also discussed. A total of 986 people died at the hands of a peace officer in 2016, the year Castile was killed. This has alarmed many. The consensus has been that peace officers pose a threat to communities, especially people of color.

As concerned citizens, the implications of this supposed threat have weighed on society since the shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012, in Sanford, Fla., by George Zimmerman. Since then, more cases have been highlighted, and advocates for justice have hit the streets in protest. Death is a high-stakes matter; homicide is even higher. The effects can reverberate long after an event. Consolation and relief are sorely needed. Here is an analysis of the facts and explanation of how the impact has come to exemplify a threat to certain community members.

An investigation into the probability of any individual being killed by an officer while being arrested is prudent. We can do this by pulling up the data from the FBI, or crime statistics within specific regions. There is also a running count of peace officer homicides conducted by the Washington Post. There isnt a full report as of today of all crime statistics from 2016 from the FBI, so we can use 2015 to compare. The statistics from previous years do not vary dramatically, so it will not significantly affect the outcome to use a previous year.

Continued here:
The risk of being killed by a police officer is lower than you probably imagine - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has signed into law a strengthened version of the famous "stand your ground" law that was cited in the jury instructions in the 2012 trial for the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin that eventually acquitted neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

The previous version of Florida's law, signed in 2005, required defendants to prove that they had used force in self defense. The version signed into law Friday shifts that burden to prosecutors, who now must prove that a "stand your ground" defense is not applicable, according to Reuters.

The bill passed largely among party lines. Democrats and critics of the bill worry it will embolden gun owners to shoot first. The 2005 law and subsequent efforts in other states have been supported by the National Rifle Association, which call the laws important for protecting the right for citizens to protect themselves.

The most recent state to install a "stand your ground" law is Iowa, whose former governor Terry Branstad (R)signed into law in April a sweeping expansion of gun rights in the state, which included a "stand your ground" provision.

In 2012, Rep. Frederica WilsonFrederica WilsonFlorida governor signs strengthened 'stand your ground' bill into law Dem: Trump needs psychological help A guide to the committees: House MORE (D-Fla.), who represents Trayvon Martin's district, offered a bill calling for the repeal of "stand your ground" laws nationwide. The bill quickly died in the GOP-controlled House.

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Florida governor signs strengthened 'stand your ground' bill into law - The Hill