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Thread: Patrick Albert Evans - Florida

  1. #11
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    PATRICK ALBERT EVANS v STATE OF FLORIDA

    In today's opinions, the Florida Supreme Court VACATED Evans' convictions and sentences of death, remanded for new trial because of errors that occured during the trial.
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  2. #12
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    New trial ordered for former Jabil exec in 2008 double slaying

    The Florida Supreme Court said Thursday it was tossing the murder convictions and death sentences of a former Pinellas County business executive accused of killing his estranged wife and her boyfriend in 2008.

    The court, in a 4-3 ruling, called for a new trial after concluding there were multiple errors in the trial of Patrick Evans, a vice president for Jabil, the global electronics company based in St. Petersburg,

    A Pinellas jury convicted Evans of first-degree murder Nov. 9, 2011. He was sentenced to death in July 2012.

    Authorities said his wife, Elizabeth Evans, and her boyfriend, Jerry Taylor, were found naked and shot in the neck in the bedroom of her Gulfport town home in December 2008.

    The fatal shots came from a .40-caliber Glock handgun gun owned by Patrick Evans, investigators said, basing their conclusion on shells recovered at the scene of the crime. The weapon was never found.

    A key piece of evidence was a 911 recording in which prosecutors said Patrick Evans can be heard speaking before firing two shots. Evans denied it was his voice, but the trial judge allowed a police detective to say it was.

    The state Supreme Court concluded it was wrong to allow the detective’s testimony.

    The court also said prosecutors, during cross-examination of the defendant, implied that he was “obsessed” with his estranged wife and was “stalking” her boyfriend, despite having no evidence to back it up.

    “The prejudicial effect of these errors was then amplified by patently improper comments” during prosecutors’ closing arguments, the ruling read.

    Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

    http://www.tbo.com/pinellas-county/n...ying-20151112/
    "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.”
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  3. #13
    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    Death penalty uncertainty surrounds Pinellas retrial of ex-Jabil executive in 2008 double murder

    LARGO — Twice in the past year, the Florida Supreme Court has altered the fate of Patrick Evans.

    Last November, it overturned the former Jabil executive's conviction and death sentence for the 2008 murders of his estranged wife and her friend.

    This month, the justices ruled that Florida must now have unanimous juries sentence defendants to death. They also ruled that the current law requiring a 10-2 jury vote for the death penalty cannot be applied to pending trials.

    The state and defense are now grappling with how to move forward in the Evans case, which is scheduled for retrial Oct. 31. Once again, the prosecution is seeking the death penalty.

    The Evans case highlights the uncertainty courts face in light of the Oct. 14 decision ruling that juries must decide unanimously to send a defendant to death row.

    That decision came just seven months after the Legislature revised the death penalty statute. Legislators were reacting to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in January that the way Florida condemned people to death was unconstitutional, because a judge made the final decision after giving "great weight" to a jury's recommendation.

    In a hearing last week, attorneys in the Evans case argued in front of Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone about what to do next. Assistant State Attorney Christopher LaBruzzo said they should instruct the jury that they need to vote unanimously to impose the death sentence.

    "These opinions very clearly tailor what should be told to the jury," he said.

    But Assistant Public Defender Allison Miller disagreed: "There is no legal way in which the court can sentence Mr. Evans to death right now."

    Bulone offered three options:

    • Modify the jury instructions to require unanimity.

    • The jury can come back next year for the penalty phase once the law is rewritten.

    • Pick two separate juries: one for the trial, the other for the penalty phase next year.

    A decision is expected at a hearing today. The two sides could come together — or the judge could decide for them.

    Without a special session by the Legislature to revise the death penalty statute, the way forward in pending capital cases remains unclear until next year. In Pinellas alone, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in about a dozen cases, with at least two scheduled for trial this year, records show.

    "Some will argue that no proceeding should go forward until the Florida statute is conformed to that opinion. Others will argue that such procedures could go forward with some caveats," said Mark Schlakman, a Florida State University law professor who was on the American Bar Association's Death Penalty Assessment Team. "Those perspectives or positions are likely to continue to be voiced until this statute is amended."

    The Florida Attorney General's Office asked the state Supreme Court to clarify whether capital cases can move forward as long as unanimous juries are required — even though a new law may be months away.

    "This Court's finding of a constitutional flaw will only generate confusion, absent some clarification," the motion said.

    Complicating matters in the Evans' case is his defense's demand for a speedy trial, which means the trial must proceed within 50 days. Prosecutors called it a "strategic decision" on the defense's part, a legal maneuver to hold the trial before the legislature acts, to try to limit Evans' sentence to life in prison.

    Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger declined to comment on the case. State Attorney Bernie McCabe said the judge's first option — instructing the jury that they must unanimously vote for the death penalty — is the most sensible.

    "It seems very cumbersome to do either of the latter two," McCabe said. "I mean, how do you keep your jury intact for months and months? That seems unrealistic. And then of course if you have to bring in a brand new jury, in a sense, you're going to be trying it twice."

    Before his arrest, Evans was a Jabil vice president earning a six-figure salary. He was married to Elizabeth Evans, a sales director. She later filed for divorce. On Dec. 20, 2008, she went on a date with a co-worker, Gerald Taylor. Later that day, authorities said Evans confronted them inside her Gulfport condo.

    Someone called 911, but hung up. A dispatcher called back. Someone picked up but didn't answer. The 911 operator recorded the ex-wife calling out the name "Rick" — a name that Evans went by. Moments later, gunshots could be heard on the recording. Elizabeth Evans, 44, and Taylor, 43, were later found dead.

    Evans was arrested and indicted on two counts of first-degree murder. In 2011, a jury convicted him and recommended the death penalty. The next year, a circuit judge sentenced him to death.

    But in November, the Florida Supreme Court overturned his death sentence, citing errors in a detective's testimony and criticizing a prosecutor's remarks.

    Karen Gottlieb, co-director of the Florida Center for Capital Representation at the Florida International University College of Law, said whatever option the attorneys agree to in the Evans case presents challenges.

    "When you're trying to select a jury, you have to know what the law is because part of jury selection is finding out if your jury can follow the law," she said. "We're at a point where we don't know what the law is.

    "I can't imagine how a capital case can go forward right now with death on the table no matter what kind of creative option is presented."

    http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/...-jabil/2299953

  4. #14
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    Pinellas judge rules death penalty case of ex-Jabil executive can move forward

    By Laura C. Morel
    The Tampa Bay Times

    Patrick Evans, the former Jabil executive accused of killing his wife and her friend in 2008, finally learned Tuesday how his fate will be decided when his retrial starts next week.

    The jurors will be told that - if they convict him of the 2 murders - all 12 of them must then vote unanimously to send Evans to death row. If not, he'll end up with a sentence of life in prison.

    Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone said Tuesday that modifying jury instructions was the "most viable option" in a case muddled by uncertainty after the Florida Supreme Court ruled Oct. 14 that only unanimous juries can sentence defendants to death.

    But the defense disagreed, then sprang another option on the court: They could refuse to participate in jury selection under the judge's rules.

    Assistant Public Defender John Swisher, who is also on Evans' defense team, said the court is relying on the assumption that the Florida Legislature will follow the state Supreme Court's opinion when it rewrites the law next year.

    That did not sit well with the judge.

    "I would really think very seriously about not doing your job," Bulone told him. "If you don't participate, quite frankly, I think that's pretty outrageous."

    The other options Bulone offered last week included having the same jury come back next year for the penalty phase, after the Legislature has rewritten the death penalty law; or picking 2 separate juries, 1 for the trial and the other to decide the penalty phase next year.

    Assistant State Attorney Tom Koskinas said rewriting the jury instructions to conform with the state Supreme Court's ruling was the best choice.

    'I just don't see the prejudice or detriment if we do it now," he said.

    Assistant Public Defender Allison Miller disagreed.

    "Our position is there is no lawful way in which the death penalty can be imposed on Mr. Evans currently," she said.

    In the end, the judge sided with the state and explained his rationale, which is in part based on the state Supreme Court's ruling that death row inmate Timothy Lee Hurst, who was sentenced to death for a 1998 murder in Pensacola, should receive a new penalty phase "consistent with this opinion."

    In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the old way Florida condemned defendants to die - by juries recommending a death sentence and judges imposing it - was unconstitutional. In response, legislators in March passed a new law requiring a 10-2 jury vote to impose death.

    But this month the Florida Supreme Court scuttled that law, ruling that "Florida need not face a similar crisis in the future." Bulone said he interpreted that to mean the statute may not have to be amended.

    The defendant was once married to Elizabeth Evans, a sales director. She later filed for divorce. On Dec. 20, 2008, she went on a date with a co-worker, Gerald Taylor. Later that day, authorities said, Evans confronted them inside her Gulfport condo, part of which was captured in a recorded call to 911.

    Evans is accused of fatally shooting Elizabeth Evans, 44, and Taylor, 43.

    He was arrested, then convicted of 2 counts of 1st-degree murder. In 2012, Evans was sentenced to death. But in November, the Florida Supreme Court overturned his death sentence, citing errors in a detective's testimony and criticizing a prosecutor's remarks. His retrial is scheduled to start Monday.

    http://www.tbo.com/news/crime/pinell...ward-20161026/
    "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. #15
    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    Death penalty retrial of ex-Jabil executive postponed after defense petitions state Supreme Court

    The retrial of Patrick Evans, a former Jabil executive accused — and previously convicted — of killing his estranged wife and her friend, will not start next week as scheduled after his defense attorneys filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court.

    The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty. But on Oct. 14, the state Supreme Court ruled that only unanimous juries can sentence defendants to death and that the current law requiring a 10-2 jury vote for the death penalty can't be applied to pending trials, such as Evans' case.

    In a recent hearing, Pinellas Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone ruled that the case could go to trial as long as jurors are told that — if they convict Evans of the two murders — all 12 of them must then vote unanimously to send Evans to death row.

    But Evans' defense attorneys, from the Public Defender's Office, disagreed. On Wednesday, they filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court to prohibit Bulone from allowing jury selection to take place next week.

    "It is not a court's job to write the law," the petition reads. "There cannot be a fair trial when there is not a constitutional law in place to follow."

    The state Supreme Court determined Friday that the petition "demonstrates a preliminary basis for relief" and stayed the case from going forward until the state and defense have had a chance to respond.

    The defendant was married to Elizabeth Evans, but then she filed for divorce. On Dec. 20, 2008, she went on a date with a co-worker, Gerald Taylor. Later that day, authorities said, Evans confronted them in her Gulfport condo, which was partly captured in a recorded call to 911. Evans is accused of fatally shooting Elizabeth Evans, 44, and Taylor, 43.

    He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. But the Florida Supreme Court overturned his sentence, citing errors in a detective's testimony and criticizing a prosecutor's remarks.

    http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/...efense/2300507

  6. #16
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    State Argues That Death Penalty Case Should Proceed

    Attorney General Pam Bondi's office is arguing that a Pinellas County judge should be allowed to move forward in a death penalty case, even though the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a state capital-sentencing law is unconstitutional because it does not require unanimous jury verdicts for the sentence to be imposed.

    Late last month, a majority of the Supreme Court granted a request by lawyers for convicted murderer Patrick Albert Evans to stop Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone from moving forward with a trial that had been slated to begin Oct. 31. Justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston dissented without comment.

    The Supreme Court's halting of the Evans case was the strongest indicator yet that Florida's death penalty remains in flux in the aftermath of a pair of opinions issued by the high court on Oct. 14. Those decisions found that a statute passed in March in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case known as Hurst v. Florida was unconstitutional "because it requires that only 10 jurors recommend death as opposed to the constitutionally required unanimous, 12-member jury."

    In Evans' case, Bulone issued an order saying he would begin to empanel a death-qualified jury and, if Evans is found guilty of first-degree murder, "proceed to a penalty phase consistent with" the Oct. 14 Supreme Court decisions. But, arguing that judges shouldn't be allowed to rewrite the statute, lawyers for Evans immediately asked the high court to intervene, warning of a "jurisprudential quagmire" if the court allowed the case to go forward "without appropriate guidance."

    In a 17-page response filed Monday, Assistant Attorney General Christina Pacheco said the circuit judge should be allowed to proceed, as long as he instructs the jury that a unanimous recommendation is required for a death sentence. "This procedural process falls within the trial judge's inherent ability to adopt appropriate mechanisms that are necessary to apply the law in a constitutional manner," Pacheco wrote.

    http://health.wusf.usf.edu/post/stat...oceed#stream/0
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  7. #17
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    Retrial of former Jabil executive facing death penalty can move forward, Florida Supreme Court rules

    The Florida Supreme Court ruled Monday that the retrial of a former Jabil executive charged with killing his estranged wife and her friend can move forward.

    Patrick Evans' case came to a halt last year after the state's highest court ruled only unanimous juries can sentence defendants to death and that the current law requiring a 10-2 jury vote for the death penalty can't be applied to pending trials.

    Pinellas Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone ruled in October that the trial could go forward as long as jurors were told that, if Evans was convicted of the murders, all 12 of them must vote unanimously to send Evans to death row.

    Evans' attorneys from the Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender's Office disagreed and filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court.

    "It is not a court's job to write the law," the petition reads. "There cannot be a fair trial when there is not a constitutional law in place to follow."

    In the opinion released Monday, the justices explained that even though the current death penalty statute needs to be revised, most of the law "can be construed constitutionally and otherwise be validly applied to pending prosecutions" as long as the jury unanimously finds the defendant can be sentenced to death.

    The State Legislature is expected to pass a new statute this session.

    Five justices concurred with Monday's opinion. Chief Justice Jorge Labarga wrote that the "unconstitutional portion" of the current law that requires a 10-2 vote can be "separated from the rest" of the statute.

    Two justices dissented in part. Although Justice Barbara J. Pariente agreed that the trial phase of a death penalty case could move forward, she disagrees with having sentences imposed without a revised law. Justice Peggy A. Quince concurred.

    "What remains uncertain is whether additional appellate issues will be created by penalty phase proceedings conducted without benefit of a new statute," Pariente wrote.

    Before his arrest, Evans was a Jabil vice president earning a six-figure salary and was married to Elizabeth Evans, a sales director. She later filed for divorce. On Dec. 20, 2008, she went on a date with a co-worker, Gerald Taylor. Later that day, authorities said, Evans confronted them inside her Gulfport condo and shot them dead.

    In 2011, a jury convicted him on two counts of first-degree murder. The next year, a circuit judge sentenced him to death.

    But in November, the Florida Supreme Court overturned his conviction, citing errors in a detective's testimony and criticizing a prosecutor's remarks.

    A hearing to set a new trial date is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

    http://cars.tampabay.com/news/courts...orward/2313903
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  8. #18
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    Prosecuters still seek death penalty in retrial of Jabil executive

    By Laura C. Morel
    Tampa Bay Times

    LARGO — A 911 call captured the final moments of Elizabeth Evans and Gerald Taylor before they were shot to death on Dec. 20, 2008.

    Someone told them to sit on a bed. They begged the intruder to put the gun down. And before shots rang out, Elizabeth said the word "Rick."

    That name, said Pinellas-Pasco Assistant State Attorney Christopher Labruzzo, is how Elizabeth referred to her husband, Patrick Evans. He is charged with the murders of his wife and her friend.

    "There's only one verdict in this case," Labruzzo told the jury during opening statements in Evans' trial Thursday. "That's a verdict of guilty."

    Evans, a former Jabil vice president, was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders in 2012. But in 2015, the Florida Supreme Court overturned his convictions, citing errors in a detective's testimony and criticizing a prosecutor's remarks during the first trial.

    Prosecutors are still seeking the death penalty.

    Labruzzo told the 12-member jury, plus two alternates, about the Evans' strained relationship.

    They were married in 2005 and were together for three years until they separated in 2008. Evans filed for divorce, but later dismissed his petition. Elizabeth, 44, had also filed to end their marriage and moved into a condo at 6080 Gulfport Blvd. S in Gulfport.

    On Dec. 20, 2008, she was playing golf with a co-worker, the 43-year-old Taylor. They went back to her place to drink wine and play music. Later that day, Labruzzo said, Evans showed up and confronted them inside her bedroom.

    Someone dialed 911, but hung up. When a dispatcher called back, the call was picked up and recorded the seconds before Elizabeth and Taylor died.

    Prosecutors will also present other evidence. A neighbor walking his dog saw Evans outside moments before the 911 call. Evans' gun holster was also found at the scene. Shell casings left in Elizabeth's bedroom, Labruzzo said, matched Evans' Glock handgun, which detectives found in his safe. People who knew Evans and Elizabeth will also take the stand to identify the voices on the recording.

    While Labruzzo described the Evans as "estranged," Assistant Public Defender Paige Parish said the couple was "amicably separated." Elizabeth still spent time with her stepson. Patrick and Elizabeth had also seen each other recently, getting their cars washed together and meeting with a Realtor to discuss the sale of a property.

    Parish also pointed to holes in the investigation, which she said was squarely focused on only Evans. Detectives never questioned Elizabeth's ex-husbands or Taylor's wife, she added.

    Investigators also found prints on Elizabeth's back door and DNA on the gun holster that was never identified.

    "The most amazing thing about the American criminal justice system is that we don't get to tell you what the answer is," Parish told the jury. "You get to decide."

    The 911 recording was at the crux of Evans' appeal. In a 2015 opinion by the Florida Supreme Court, justices questioned Pinellas sheriff's Detective Edward Judy's testimony. On the stand, Judy said he believed the voice of the intruder was Evans because he had listened to his jail phone calls several times and was familiar with Evans' voice. The court ruled that Judy "did not have prior familiarity with Evans or special training in voice recognition."

    The justices also flagged former Assistant State Attorney William Loughery. They took issue with some of his comments, including Loughery's remarks about the defense's theory, at one point saying "only in a world populated by defense attorneys would that be true."

    Prosecutors are still seeking the death penalty. In Evans' first trial, jurors voted 9-3 in favor of the death penalty for the murder of Elizabeth Evans and 8-4 for the murder of Taylor.

    But under the state's new death penalty law, juries must vote unanimously to send someone to death row.

    The trial resumes today.

    http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/...cutive/2340894
    "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

  9. #19
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    Former Jabil executive again found guilty for 2008 double murders

    By Laura C. Morel
    Tampa Bay Times

    Patrick Evans, the former Jabil executive charged with the deaths of his wife and her friend, was found guilty by a jury Wednesday night.

    The 12-member jury convicted Evans on two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, so the penalty phase of the case, where jurors will determine if Evans should be sentenced to life in prison or death row, begins Thursday afternoon.

    Evans and his wife, Elizabeth, were married in 2005 and were together for three years until they separated in 2008.

    On Dec. 20, 2008, she was playing golf with a co-worker, 43-year-old Gerald Taylor. They went back to her place to drink wine and listen to music, prosecutors said during the trial. Later that day, Evans showed up and confronted them inside her bedroom.

    Someone dialed 911, but hung up. When a dispatcher called back, the call was picked up and recorded the seconds before Elizabeth Evans and Taylor died.

    This was the second time a jury heard Evans' case. In 2011, another jury convicted him and he was sentenced to death. But in 2015, the Florida Supreme Court overturned his conviction.

    In their opinion, justices questioned a Pinellas sheriff detective's testimony about the 911 call, ruling that he did not have "prior familiarity with Evans or special training in voice recognition." The justices also flagged a former prosecutor for comments he made about the defense's theory during Evans' first trial.

    http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/...murder/2341602
    "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

  10. #20
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    October 19, 2017

    Former Jabil executive avoids death penalty for 2008 double murders

    By Laura C. Morel
    Tampa Bay Times

    A few years ago, Patrick Evans was sitting on death row for the 2008 murders of his wife and her friend.

    Then, in 2015, the Florida Supreme Court overturned his conviction. On Wednesday after deliberating for four hours, a new jury convicted him a second time.

    But the 12 jurors reached a different decision when it came to Evans' fate: life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    For the families of Elizabeth Evans and Gerald Taylor, it didn't matter whether Evans, a former Jabil Circuit vice president, received life or death.

    "He's going away forever and he's never going to come out again," said Elizabeth's father, Julian Weingarten. "It's the second time we've had justice."

    The penalty phase of Evans' case was different than it was in 2012. Then, a simply majority vote by the jury was enough for a death sentence. In his first trial, jurors voted 9-3 in favor of death for the murder of Elizabeth and 8-4 for the murder of Taylor. But under a new state law created after the U.S. Supreme Court found Florida's death penalty law unconstitutional, juries must now vote unanimously to condemn someone to death row.

    "We have two dead people, the victims of his own ego and his own arrogance," said Pinellas Circuit judge Joseph Bulone after the jury's decision Thursday. " We have families that have been greatly affected by this."

    During the sentencing Thursday, Assistant Public Defender Jane McNeill asked the jury to consider the worth of her client's life.

    "Today is the last day that Patrick Evans will sit in a business suit," McNeill said. "The question before you now is: how will he die? Will he die a natural death, or will he die with chemicals coursing through his veins?"

    McNeill presented evidence of Evans' life before his arrest: He was raised in a suburb outside of Atlanta. He loved to fly, and obtained his full pilot's license at 18. He eventually worked for Jabil, flying executives to their meetings.

    "He learned and he asked questions and this young pilot with this inquisitive mind, he got the attention of the executives," McNeill said. "So Patrick was given the opportunity to go from being a pilot for Jabil to learning the entire business."

    Evans and his wife, Elizabeth, were married for three years and separated in 2008 when Elizabeth filed for divorce.

    On Dec. 20 of that year, she was playing golf with Taylor, her co-worker. They went back to her place to drink wine and listen to music, prosecutors said during the trial. Later that day, Evans showed up and confronted them inside her bedroom.

    The key piece of evidence was a 911 call that recorded the seconds before Elizabeth and Taylor died. It also captured Evans' voice, and Elizabeth saying his nickname, Rick.

    The call was also at the center of Evans' 2015 appeal. In their opinion, the Florida Supreme Court said a detective who testified in the first trial "did not have prior familiarity with Evans or special training in voice recognition."

    J.P. Taylor, Gerald's brother, said Thursday he was disappointed when he learned Evans would get a second trial, but he was certain he would be found guilty again.

    "Gerry and Beth gave us the best evidence we could ever have in this case," Taylor said, referring to the 911 call. "We're happy that he'll be gone forever.

    "We won't think about him again for the rest of our lives."

    http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/...murder/2341602
    "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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