NASSAU COUNTY, FLORIDA, Fla. — A man that pleaded guilty to killing Nassau County deputy Joshua Moyers in 2021 has filed motions relating to the law enforcement presence and instructions to the audience members during his death penalty sentence.
The motions ask for instructions to family and friends
McDowell shot deputy Joshua Moyers to death during a traffic stop in the area of State Road 200 and Sandy Ford Road near Callahan on Sept. 23, 2021. After a four-day manhunt, he was captured.
The state is seeking the death penalty for the first-degree murder.
The new motion filed Tuesday asked the judge to not ask friends and family to leave prior to announcing disturbing evidence in the presence of the jury. The motion said the practice can lead to a "improper comment on evidence."
According to the motion, "their leaving expresses their feelings about the crime committed by the defendant, generating sympathy and increasing the risk that the jury will decide the case based on sympathy or will feel pressured by family and friends sitting in the audience."
The other motion cites the many law enforcement agencies that worked the case and their presence at the sentencing as a "risk" that could influence the jury. The motion asks for prohibiting officers from attending in uniform or having items that show they are law enforcement officers; limit the number of law enforcement officers in the courtroom; prohibit officers from gathering or parking near the courthouse; and prohibit officers from speaking with jurors while sentencing is in progress.
McDowell's legal team previously requested that any time "recommend," "recommendation," or "recommending," is used in the jury instructions, it be changed to a variation of "decide," citing that the original phrasing might make the jury feel like their decision is less important.
The filing says that though the judge's ability to override the decision is "not relevant to the jury's decision," and the jury does not need to be told.
McDowell's next hearing is Friday, according to Nassau County courts.