NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – The attorneys for a man who pleaded guilty to killing a Nassau County deputy in 2021 told the judge Thursday that a motion would be filed arguing that Florida’s newest death penalty law was unconstitutional.
Patrick McDowell, who admitted to shooting Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers, was not in court but is set for trial in the penalty phase in September.
The defense will also file an additional motion to require the sentencing guidelines to require a unanimous jury recommendation. As it stands, Florida’s newly updated death penalty law requires only an 8-4 jury vote. When McDowell was initially charged, a jury had to be unanimous in sentencing a person to death.
McDowell shot Moyers twice during an early morning traffic stop on U.S. 301 on Sept. 23, 2021. Moyers, 29, died from his injuries on Sept. 26, 2021.
Prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty if McDowell is convicted.
A hearing for these motions is scheduled for July.
The State Attorney’s Office said a challenge to the new law has already been filed with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and denied by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge James Daniel acknowledged, “It’s not optimal, as far as having some certainty” as to what the outcome will be. The last thing anyone wants, he said, is to go through a penalty phase and then have to do it twice.
McDowell also pleaded guilty to injuring a police dog and eight counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.