State will not seek death penalty for Keishanna Thomas, mother charged with killing 11-year-old daughter in Bradenton

MANATEE -- Prosecutors announced Thursday morning they will not seek the death penalty for Keishanna Thomas, the woman accused of killing her 11-year-old daughter, Janiya, and stuffing her body in a freezer.

Janiya Thomas' body was found Oct. 18 inside a padlocked freezer her mother had delivered to a relative's home days earlier under the guise she was being evicted.

Janiya was first reported missing Oct. 16 after Thomas refused to tell a judge anything about her whereabouts or well-being and was held in contempt of court. The news didn't go public until the next day.

Thomas, 32, is charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a dead body and aggravated child abuse.

"Due to the facts and circumstances of the case, we decided not to seek the death penalty," said Art Brown, assistant state attorney who handles homicides in Manatee County. He said he wouldn't discuss any specifics of the decision.

If Thomas is found guilty of first-degree murder, she will be sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Thomas had a case management hearing scheduled Thursday morning but did not appear in court personally. After public defender Franklin Roberts, Brown and Judge Susan B. Maulucci conversed privately for a few minutes, Maulucci announced the hearing would be continued March 3.

Florida's death penalty process has been in limbo since January when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the process unconstitutional. A slew of people facing the death penalty have used the ruling to challenge their sentences

since the Legislature has not yet passed a new, Constitutional process.

The previous process allowed judges, rather than juries, to determine if the state had met its burden in proving a defendant should be sentenced to death. It also allowed juries to recommend the death penalty by a majority rather than a unanimous decision. Florida is one of only three states that do not require a unanimous decision in recommending the death penalty.

The Florida Legislature is working on a new process. A compromise struck Wednesday would allow 10 out of 12 jurors to recommend the death penalty rather than just a majority.

Kate Irby, Herald online/political reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7055. You can follow her on Twitter @KateIrby

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 10:48 PM with the headline "State will not seek death penalty for Keishanna Thomas, mother charged with killing 11-year-old daughter in Bradenton ."