JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man who was convicted of killing 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle in 2013 is now pushing for a new trial in a lengthy appeal that tries to find loopholes wherever possible.
A criminal defense attorney said Donald Smith has likely been planning to do something like this since before he was ever sentenced to death in 2018.
Investigators found that Smith abducted Perrywinkle by luring her into his van at a Northside Walmart. Smith was later arrested on Interstate 95 shortly before her body was found in a creek.
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It took five years for the case to go to trial, which ended with a unanimous death sentence and the 78-page appeal which cites multiple things in his trial that he argues invalidates his original conviction.
Here are just a few:
- Claims his lawyer “was ineffective for failing to identify, interrogate and strike a biased juror.”
- Also claims that his lawyer didn’t do a good enough job over things like “failure to object to the 911 call” and “failure to object to digitally altered photographs”
- Critical of mental health expert who testified that Smith was “the most dangerous pedophile she had ever met”
Jacksonville attorney Belkis Plata, a defense lawyer not affiliated with the case, said it is no surprise that Smith is filing an appeal.
“It’s very common to attack the lawyer’s strategy,” Plata said. “But what’s interesting in this case is the judge actually asked him if he was okay throughout the process and he agreed.”
Plata said death penalty appeals like the one filed by Smith can work.
“But in this particular case, he had two of the best lawyers to defend him and they did an excellent job,” Plata said.
Plata said Smith likely has been planning to file this type of motion before he was ever convicted and if he’s able to string the appeal process out long enough he could feasibly die in prison before he’s ever put to death.
News4JAX spoke to Rayne Perrywinkle, Cherish’s mother, on Monday. She said she was not aware of the latest appeal and said she also was not surprised it was filed. She said she is reviewing it and will determine whether she wants to speak publicly about it in the coming days.