State appealing decision to vacate Carlie Brucia’s killer’s death sentence

Court proceedings have been halted in the re-sentencing of Joseph Smith for the 2004 kidnapping, rape and murder of Carlie Brucia as the state appeals the District Court of Appeal’s decision to vacate his death sentence in the wake of changes to Florida’s death penalty laws.

On Feb. 1, 2004, 11-year-old Carlie was walking home from a friend’s house when Smith abducted her as she passed the back of Evie’s Car Wash, 4715 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota. Her abduction was captured by the car wash’s video surveillance system and used as key evidence at Smith’s trial.

Her body was found at Central Church of Christ, 6221 Proctor Road after Smith’s arrest and the confession that followed.

When a judge vacated Smith’s death sentence in July, he was not granted an automatic life sentence as his defense sought. Instead, Smith was granted a new penalty phase of his trial which would still allow the state the opportunity to re-seek the death penalty under Florida’s new law.

Smith’s scheduled court appearance for 1:30 p.m. Thursday for a case management hearing was canceled after State Attorney’s Office filed an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court last week.

Circuit Judge Charles Roberts then issued a stay in all local proceedings in the case until there’s a decision from the Florida Supreme Court.

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

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.

Working to fix the issue raised by Hurst, the state legislation passed a new law 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 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.

This story was originally published August 30, 2017 at 7:04 PM with the headline "State appealing decision to vacate Carlie Brucia’s killer’s death sentence."