JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The 1st District Court of Appeals on Friday ordered an indefinite stay on the retrial of Randall Deviney, whose conviction and death sentence in the 2008 murder of Deloris Futrell (pictured, below) was thrown out by the Florida Supreme Court.
The high court ruled that the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office coerced Futrell's confession after he had invoked his right to remain silent. The justices found JSO "wore down" his free will and that his confession was the "product of compulsion and improper influences," according to the Supreme Court ruling ordering a new trial.
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The ruling also threw out his confession, which can't be used in the retrial.
Deviney's defense attorney had been asking for a delay his retrial, but Judge Mallory Cooper denied that request on Monday and ordered the trial to begin on schedule next week. Friday's ruling by the appeals court puts that trial scheduled on hold.
The Public Defender's Office asked to withdraw, citing a conflict with a witness in the case the office also represents.