NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – Patrick McDowell and his attorneys will be back in Nassau County court Monday for what’s known as a Spencer hearing before he is sentenced.
In April, a jury voted 11 to 1 to recommend a death sentence for McDowell.
He pleaded guilty to shooting and killing Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers during a traffic stop in 2021.
McDowell is not expected to be sentenced Monday, but in a typical Spencer hearing, attorneys for the defendant present additional evidence not already heard in hopes of swaying the judge to set aside the jury’s death penalty recommendation and impose a life sentence.
News4JAX spoke to a local defense attorney who explained that in McDowell’s case, this Spencer hearing is likely more about making sure his right to due process is followed.
This September will mark three years since Moyers was shot and killed during a traffic stop on duty.
On Monday, defense attorneys will make their final pitch to spare his killer’s life.
Gene Nichols is a defense attorney not affiliated with the case.
“After the jury has made their recommendation in a death penalty case, a defendant gets one more chance to try and argue to the court that the sentence should not be death,” Nichols said.
Additional evidence is not expected to be presented in this hearing, but rather oral arguments. Throughout the course of his sentencing trial, McDowell’s defense attorneys focused on:
- Military service
- Documented post-traumatic stress disorder from combat
- Drug addiction
They repeated those arguments in documents filed last month. One outright asks for an all-new penalty phase.
READ | Defense team files motions in attempt to keep Nassau County deputy killer off death row
Nichols said one thing that might come up in the hearing Monday, are the comments McDowell made on the stand, which in part said:
“I can’t take away the pain I’ve caused, but I can pay for it. So make me pay for it.”
Watch McDowell’s full statement in the video below:
Nichols said this could be a challenge for McDowell’s lawyers.
“Because of the statements that he already made in the sentencing hearing, which in essence was, ‘put me to death,’” Nichols said. “It puts his defense team in a very awkward position. And then it really only gives them the route of, there must be a mental health reason why he has taken the position that he has. Whether there is or not, we’ll potentially hear that during the hearing.”
Nichols said it is “incredibly rare” to see a case where a judge sets aside a jury recommendation.
“Judges will typically want to side with a jury, especially in a case like this. It has happened in the past, but for a number that strong, and based upon the evidence that came out in this case, plus, we’ve had a sentencing hearing and everything has gone thus far. I’d be very surprised for the court to overturn this death sentence,” Nichols said.
The Spencer hearing will start at 9 a.m. in Nassau County.
