NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A motion was filed on Tuesday by lawyers of the man who pleaded guilty to killing a Nassau County deputy in 2021 asking the judge to limit the amount of law enforcement officers who can be present in the courtroom during an upcoming sentencing hearing.
Patrick McDowell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting death of Deputy Joshua Moyers and he is set to be sentenced in April.
The motion calls for a cap on the number of officers or deputies allowed in the courtroom, their presence outside the courthouse, and whether they can be in uniform if they are inside the courtroom, among other things.
The motion said several law enforcement agencies were involved in the case and the search for McDowell, who was arrested following a five-day manhunt, and may show up for his sentencing.
The lawyers argued that a large presence of law enforcement officers during the sentencing hearing creates an “unacceptable risk of prejudice” and would be a violation of McDowell’s fundamental constitutional rights to a fair sentencing hearing, due process of law and equal protection of the law. It would also greatly increase the likelihood that the death penalty would be imposed, his lawyers said.
Another motion filed Tuesday asked the court to prohibit statements or comments that call the jury’s attention to the victim’s family in the courtroom, relating to evidence. In particular, it mentions how when upsetting evidence is about to be shown, the attorneys will announce to the court that this is about to happen, and as a result, the victim’s family or other spectators will get up and leave. The defense argued this should be prohibited because it may be prejudicial to McDowell.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
One question still up in the air is how the standard for jury recommendation for the death penalty would be applied. McDowell’s attorneys have filed a motion for a death sentence against him to require a unanimous jury recommendation, which was the law at the time McDowell fatally shot Moyers.
Under current Florida law, a death penalty recommendation only requires an 8-4 majority. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the new law.
