20 September 2024 :
August 22, 2024 - Florida. Duval County Jury recommends death sentence Pinkney ‘Chip’ Carter
Carter admitted to shooting and killing Liz Reed, his former fiancee, her 16-year-old daughter Courtney Smith and Reed’s new boyfriend, Glenn Pafford in 2002 in Reed’s home. That happened on July 24, 2002.
Carter, who was previously sentenced to death in 2002, was granted a resentencing trial after a 2017 ruling by the Florida Supreme Court prompted the Florida Legislature to change how the death penalty could be applied, requiring a death sentence be a unanimous decision by a jury and not just a majority, as it had been at the time of Carter’s conviction.
The Legislature changed the law again in 2023, requiring an 8-4 majority, but Carter’s case fell under the previous ruling, so his resentencing trial moved forward.
The jury’s decision Thursday was not unanimous. On 1 of the murder counts, 10 jurors recommended death with 2 recommended life in prison. On another count, 9 jurors recommended death and 3 recommended life in prison.
