YULEE, Fla. — The man who pleaded guilty to murdering Nassau County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Moyers was back in a courtroom Friday afternoon.
Patrick McDowell faces the death penalty for the 2021 shooting of Moyers during a traffic stop in Nassau County.
The biggest issue argued in court Friday was whether a unanimous jury will be needed to sentence McDowell to death. McDowell already pleaded guilty to murdering Moyers, however when he committed the crime and made his guilty plea the law stated that a unanimous 12-0 jury was required to sentence someone to death in Florida.
That law has since been changed and now an 8-4 majority by the jury is sufficient to hand down a death penalty in the state of Florida. McDowell’s attorney argued that the jury for his client should be required to be unanimous for a death sentence because of when the guilty plea was entered.
However the state argued that the jury should not be required to be unanimous for a death sentence because the penalty and sentence phase of the trial will occur after the new law was passed. The judge said he is conflicted about this decision and did not make a ruling on that matter Friday afternoon.
The defense also filed another motion to limit the amount of uniformed officers allowed to sit in the courtroom during trial to not potentially sway the jury. The judge said that the court will impose limits on the amount of officers allowed in the courtroom due to space.
Jury selection for the death penalty phase is scheduled for April 3, the judge expects to summon 300 prospective jurors.