22 June 2018 :

The Florida Supreme Court overturned the death sentence imposed in 2009 by a judge on Eric Kurt Patrick following a non-unanimous (7-5) jury recommendation for death. The court also ordered that the trial court conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Patrick should be granted a new trial on his claim that his trial lawyer had been ineffective during jury selection for failing to challenge a juror who admitted his homophobia might affect his deliberations in the case. Patrick was convicted of the 2005 murder of Steven Schumacher, a gay man who had brought Patrick home after meeting him in a park, and was sentenced to death after a bare 7-5 majority of jurors voted to recommend the death penalty. On the night of the murder, the men were in bed together after Patrick had given Schumacher a massage, when Schumacher attempted to initiate anal sex and Patrick “cut loose on” the victim, beating him to death.