A judge appoints
accused cop killer Markeith Loyd another attorney in his deathpenalty case.
A judge agreed Thursday to appoint another attorney for death-penalty defendant Markeith Loyd, who is accused of fatally shooting his pregnant exgirlfriend and Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton.
Chief Judge Frederick Lauten appointed Orlando-based Ted Marrero as co-counsel for Loyd’s attorney, Roger Weeden.
Gov. Rick Scott took the case away from Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala’s office after she announced that she will not seek the death penalty for Loyd or anyone else. State Attorney Brad King of Ocala now oversees this case and 25 others.
Stephanie Dixon-Daniels, the mother of Loyd’s slain ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, sat in the courtroom Thursday with a family representative.
She hugged prosecutor Ryan Williams, a former Orange-Osceola assistant state attorney who left to work for King after Ayala’s announcement, before the hearing began.
“I’m focusing on the case moving forward, which it is,” Dixon-Daniels said. “… I’m willing to wait if that’s what it’s gonna take. I mean, he waived his right to a speedy trial. I’m willing for him to get everything for justice to prevail.”
Loyd, 41, will likely have two trials: one for Dixon’s murder and one for Clayton’s. Dixon’s case was the first to be scheduled for trial and is set for Sept. 11, 2018.
Dixon-Daniels said she plans to be there for the Clayton trial as well.
Weeden also asked Lauten to appoint Cynthia O’Shea as a mitigation specialist, who’d investigate factors that may persuade jurors to decide against the death penalty if Loyd is convicted. Those mitigating factors can be any aspect of Loyd’s life, upbringing and mental health.
“Mitigation is probably one of the most important aspects of a capital case,” Weeden said.
Lauten asked for more time to consider the request but said he hoped to make a decision in about 10 days.
Loyd is charged with firstdegree murder in the killings of Dixon and Clayton, who died trying to arrest Loyd about a month after Dixon’s death.
He sat silently in court Thursday, shifting in his chair and failing to answer the questions Lauten asked. Weeden told the judge he did not know why Loyd was not communicating but said his client has been speaking with him.
He was last in court in June, when Lauten declined to appoint the attorney he wanted, Miami-based death-penalty expert Terry Lenamon. Loyd is entitled to an attorney, but because his defense is taxpayer-funded, he cannot hand-pick an attorney, the judge said. Lenamon is not on the Orange-Osceola Circuit Court’s list of approved defense attorneys.
Loyd initially said he wanted to represent himself but was later appointed Weeden, who’s based in Orlando. Weeden also represented Juan Rosario, an Orange County man who was convicted of first-degree murder this year in the murder of Elena Ortega, 83. The jury unanimously recommended a death sentence for Rosario.