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Thread: William Alan Thomason Sentenced to LWOP in 2013 FL Murder of 8-Week-Old Braelyn Thomason

  1. #1
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    William Alan Thomason Sentenced to LWOP in 2013 FL Murder of 8-Week-Old Braelyn Thomason


    8-week-old Braelyn Thomason


    William Alan Thomason


    October 25, 2013

    State to seek death penalty for Thomason

    The state attorney’s office announced Friday that it will seek the death penalty against William Alan Thomason, who is accused of killing his infant daughter, Braelyn.

    “She was in the care of her father where she was supposed to be safe and instead she suffered these injuries,” said Assistant State Attorney Angela Mason, who will prosecute the case with Assistant State Attorney
    Jonathan Schlechter. “She was only 8 weeks old and her injuries were so egregious we felt the death penalty was appropriate.”

    Upon returning home from running errands Sept. 13, Braelyn’s mother, Jessica Bias, found her daughter moaning and unresponsive.

    Thomason, 23, of Fort Walton Beach, had been left alone with Braelyn that afternoon.

    Thomason said the baby was just sleeping hard, according to a news release from the state attorney’s office.

    Braelyn’s injuries included two broken femurs, a broken clavicle, broken ribs, bilateral retinal hemorrhages and massive bleeding of the brain, the news release said.

    She died three days later. She never showed signs of brain function after she was flown to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, according to Thomason’s arrest warrant.

    He was indicted Oct. 3 for first-degree murder, a charge that carries a penalty of either life in prison without parole or death.

    If Thomason is convicted, the case will move to a penalty phase. The jury will recommend one of the penalties to the presiding judge, who will make the final decision.

    Thomason must hire or have appointed for him a lawyer qualified to handle death penalty cases, Mason said.

    The case is in the discovery phase now. It could take some time for a trial to be scheduled because cases involving infant deaths require a lot of medical testimony, Mason said.

    http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/st...mason-1.224861
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #2
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    February 19, 2014

    Experts in Thomason case to question shaken baby syndrome

    FORT WALTON BEACH — With his client William Thomason’s life on the line, defense attorney Nick Petersen intends to argue against the validity of a shaken baby syndrome diagnosis.

    Okaloosa County Circuit Judge John Brown granted him permission Wednesday to present his case on the taxpayer’s dime.

    “Credible experts” have found that a medical examiner’s determination of shaken baby syndrome is not as reliable as it once was considered, Petersen said. He plans to call eight experts to testify on behalf of his client.

    Because Thomason cannot afford the steep price of his defense, Brown ruled in favor of Petersen’s motion to bill the state’s Justice Administrative Commission for the cost.

    Thomason is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his infant daughter, Braelyn.

    The 8-week-old child, found unresponsive by her mother last Sept. 13, was determined to have suffered several broken bones, retinal hemorrhaging and massive bleeding on the brain.

    The child died two days later and Thomason, the only one at home when the baby suffered her injuries, was charged with her death. The state attorney’s office is seeking the death penalty.

    Petersen said the three cornerstones of a shaken baby syndrome diagnosis — retinal bleeding, subdural hematoma and swelling of the brain — can occur in a manner that doesn’t imply evil intent.

    “Shaken baby syndrome is not the only credible way of explaining the way a child can receive those injuries,” he said.

    Among those Petersen said he would call are a forensic pathologist, a biomechanist, a neuropsychologist, a certified addiction specialist, an abusive head trauma expert and a psychologist.

    Thomason’s trial is scheduled to begin April 28. Assistant State Attorney Angela Mason is prosecuting the case.

    http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/ex...drome-1.280178
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    So even if we grant the defense all of those points, which I wouldn't be comfortable doing, how do they benignly explain the rest of the injuries? And would just shaking her have broken her femurs? It sounds like he beat as well as shook her.

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    I read an article a few weeks ago that said that in order to break a baby's bones, it would need to involve considerable force because the bones have not yet calcified and are more pliable than an adults and that babies bones do not break as easily as an adults.

    I agree he would have had to have beaten that baby with a great deal of force.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #5
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Edited:

    March 5, 2016

    13 local death penalty cases could be affected by bill


    By Kevin Robinson
    The Pensacola News Journal

    On Thursday, the Florida Senate passed a bill intended to address constitutional issues with Florida’s death penalty process.

    That means in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties, there are a total of 13 previously stalled capital cases that are likely to proceed.

    The legislative fix will require that prior to seeking the death penalty, state prosecutors will have to specify at least one aggravating factor they intend to prove. The death penalty will only be an option if all jurors agree on the aggravating circumstances.

    “The jury will have to decide by unanimous verdict which facts and factors are present,” State Attorney Bill Eddins said.

    Aggravating factors can include cases where a murder was committed on a child younger than 12; if the crime is especially heinous, atrocious or cruel;, if the crime is committed by a criminal gang member; if the crime endangers multiple people; or if the accused was previously convicted of a felony.

    Prosecutors intend to make the case that the following 13 cases all include one or more of those factors:

    Thomason has been charged with murder in the death of his infant daughter.

    The child was admitted to the hospital with “suspicious” injuries, suffering several broken bones in Sept. 2013, according to media reports. The child was in Thomason’s care at the time, and he was charged with aggravated assault.

    The charges were upgraded to murder a few days later after the baby died at the hospital.

    Thomason’s attorney is Nickolas Petersen, according to court records. A trial date has been set for May 23.

    http://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/...-row/81315184/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #6
    Justice4all
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    This trial starts tomorrow.

  7. #7
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Source??
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #8
    Justice4all
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    Okaloosa County Clerk of Court. https://clerkapps.okaloosaclerk.com/...me.aspx/Search

    I'm local and planning to attend. There's been very little recent newspaper coverage, which is a good thing because it can taint the jury pool.
    Last edited by Justice4all; 05-21-2017 at 04:42 PM. Reason: Remove non working link.

  9. #9
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
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    May 11, 2017

    Trial set for death penalty case

    William Thomason is charged with killing his baby daughter by shaking her.

    FORT WALTON BEACH — Almost four years after he was charged with killing his 8-week-old child by shaking her, William Thomason is expected to go to trial this month with his own life on the line.

    The State Attorney’s Office announced long ago its intention to seek the death penalty for Thomason for causing the Sept. 16, 2013, death of Braelyn Breeze Thomason.

    Although the case has been continued 29 times since Thomason’s arrest, a trial date of May 22 appears firm, according to Angela Mason, the assistant state attorney who will serve as lead prosecutor.

    “We are still set for trial,” Mason said following a Wednesday hearing. “It’s happening.”

    Jessica Bias returned to the home on Seminole Street in Fort Walton Beach she shared with Thomason on Sept. 13, 2013 to find Braelyn with her eyes unfocused and unable to hold her head up, reports said.

    Deputies called to the home noted bruising on the child’s left leg, chest and neck as well as a fractured right clavicle. Medical personnel also saw signs of hemorrhaging and retinal bleeding, which are common with shaken baby syndrome, reports said.

    Thomason, who had been left alone with Braelyn, presented several scenarios as to how the infant might have been injured, according to his arrest report. He blamed the pet dog and also said the baby might have hit her head on the faucet when he was bathing her.

    Greg Marcille, the chief assistant state attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, said that while a decision to seek the death penalty in a shaken baby case is “fairly unusual,” it is “certainly not unheard of.”

    “The circumstances of the case are most egregious,” Marcille said.

    The Okaloosa County Clerk of Courts website lists the charge against Thomason as “murder while engaged in certain felony offense.” He had been charged with aggravated child abuse as Braelyn clung to life for three days after she was injured. An indictment for first-degree murder was obtained following her death.

    http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/201...h-penalty-case

  10. #10
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Man found guilty in death of 8-week-old daughter

    By Heather Osborne
    The Northwest Florida News

    FORT WALTON BEACH — William Thomason was found guilty as charged of first-degree murder in the death of his 8-week-old daughter, Braelyn.

    The jury reached its decision about 1 a.m. Thursday to bring to a close the trial phase of the case against the 26-year-old Fort Walton Beach man that started May 22.

    The penalty phase will begin at 9 a.m. Friday and is expected to last about two days, according to Chief Assistant State Attorney Bill Bishop.

    The jury will decide between the death penalty or life in prison with no opportunity for parole.

    Thomason was arrested Sept. 14, 2013, on a charge of aggravated battery one day after his daughter was found lethargic and unresponsive at an apartment on Seminole Street in Fort Walton Beach he shared with his girlfriend Jessica Bias, Braelyn’s mother.

    Braelyn suffered fatal injuries after being left alone with Thomason on Sept. 13. Bias told investigators the baby was fine when she left home that day to obtain a driver’s license.

    Braelyn died Sept. 16 at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola after suffering two broken femurs, a broken clavicle, broken ribs, bilateral retinal hemorrhages and massive bleeding of the brain.

    The State Attorney’s Office indicted Thomason in October for first-degree murder. Prosecutors announced soon after that they would seek the death penalty.

    The determination was based in part on an investigative discovery that Thomason had used his phone to research what Assistant State Attorney Angela Mason told jurors amounted to “knowing exactly what shaking a baby would do and knowing or figuring out how to get away with it.”

    http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/201...k-old-daughter
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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