JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The St. Johns County Sheriff has expressed his objection to the latest motion filed by Aiden Fucci's team. The teen accused of murdering his middle school classmate claims he is enduring “ongoing torture” at the Duval County Jail and asks to be moved to a different facility or a less restrictive setting.
The sheriff and the Department of Corrections are charged with controlling where inmates are placed, according to Sheriff Robert Hardwick's Wednesday filing.
Fucci's attorney filed a motion on November 18 which states he has been held in solitary confinement for much of his time at the jail due to threats of violence, previous disciplinary action and suicidal ideations. The threats made against him were not explained in the document. The motion calls solitary "a form of cruel and unusual punishment," which "will result in psychological harm."
Fucci's attorney also claims he has been kept in solitary confinement "for over 400 days of pretrial detention; with three exceptions where he was in general population for a total of 129 days that ended on May 16, 2022."
The motion ultimately asks that the judge move him to a different facility or ask jail officials to house him in a less restrictive setting.
Sheriff Hardwick filed an objection to the motion for a pre-trial transfer. The objection argues "when inmates enter a jail, they leave some of their rights at the door".
The objection concludes that "the Defendant does not have a right to be classified and housed in a facility of his choice". Hardwick's response argues that "those rights were lost when he was indicted by a Grand Jury in St. Johns County for First Degree Murder.
Fucci was 14 when he was arrested in May 2021 after Bailey's body was discovered hours after she was reported missing by her family. She was stabbed 114 times. He is being tried as an adult.
Fucci's mother, Crystal Smith, is also charged in connection with the crime. Prosecutors claim she tampered with evidence when she allegedly tried to wash blood off his jeans.