A judge has vacated the death sentence for Carlie Brucia’s killer

A judge has vacated Joseph Smith’s death sentence for the 2004 abduction, sexual battery and murder of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia in the wake of changes to the law regarding the imposition of the death penalty in Florida.

But Smith was not granted an automatic life sentence as his defense sought. Instead, the penalty phase of Smith’s trial will be reheard, allowing the state the opportunity to re-seek the death penalty under Florida’s new law.

Carlie was walking home from a friend’s house on Feb. 1, 2004, when Smith abducted her as she passed the back of Evie’s Car Wash, 4715 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota. The car wash’s video surveillance system captured the abduction and was key evidence against Smith.

It was not until after Smith’s arrest and the confession that followed, however, that law enforcement was able to locate her body at Central Church of Christ, 6221 Proctor Road.

Florida’s law surrounding the death penalty fell into limbo on Jan. 12, 2016, with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hurst v. Florida that ruled it was unconstitutional that in Florida a judge, not a jury, has the ultimate say in whether to sentence someone to death.

The state Legislature worked quickly to address the issue raised by Hurst, passing new legislation on March 7, 2016. The Hurst case was remanded back to the Florida Supreme Court, and among the decisions in Hurst v. State was that a unanimous vote by the jury is necessary to impose death.

On the same date, the Florida Supreme Court also ruled in Perry v. State that Hurst also required a unanimous vote by a jury to sentence someone to death, making the new legislation invalid.

Later in a Dec. 22 ruling in Asay v. State, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that only death row inmates whose cases were finalized after the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Ring v. Arizona qualified for a re-sentencing hearing.

On March 10, Owens heard arguments from both sides as Smith was seeking post-conviction relief to have his sentence vacated. When Owens retired later that month, however, the case was reassigned to Circuit Judge Charles E. Roberts.

On Thursday, Roberts issued an order vacating Smith’s death sentence, but denying that he be given a life sentence instead.

“The court finds, particularly since defendant Smith’s death sentence became final after Ring was decided and he even raised a pretrial claim that the Florida death penalty statute was unconstitutional under Ring, the constitutional principles determined in Hurst apply retroactively in this case,” Roberts wrote in the order.

The state had argued that a rational jury would have unanimously sentenced Smith to die, since they unanimously found him guilty of the murder as well as found there were sufficient aggravating factors because they also found him guilty of the kidnapping and rape.

“Moreover, since the Florida Supreme Court has consistently and repeatedly held ‘that in cases where the jury make a non-unanimous recommendation of death, the Hurst error is not harmless, this court finds that defendant Smith is entitled to a new penalty phase trial in this matter,” Roberts’ order continued.

On March 13, Gov. Rick Scott signed new legislation requiring a unanimous vote by a jury in order to impose the death penalty.

Roberts also ruled that the state still had the authority to re-seek the death penalty under the new law. No date has been set yet for the new penalty phase.

Smith’s next scheduled court appearance is at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 31 for case management hearing.

Smith was found guilty by a jury on Nov. 17, 2005, of first-degree murder, sexual battery and kidnapping. On Dec. 1 of that same year, the same jury voted 10-2 recommending Smith be sentenced to death. Circuit Judge Andrew D. Owens sentenced Smith to die on March 15, 2006, in addition to two life sentences for kidnapping and sexual battery.

This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 7:01 PM with the headline "A judge has vacated the death sentence for Carlie Brucia’s killer."