Loyd no longer trying to fire his defense team
Markeith Loyd, who faces the death penalty in the killings of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and an Orlando police officer, said Tuesday he no longer wants to fire his courtappointed attorneys.
He told Chief Judge Frederick Lauten he wants to wait for the outcome of a motion to dismiss the prosecutor, State Attorney Brad King, because of a conflict of interest. Lauten said he will handle that motion at a hearing next week, ordered Loyd back in court then, and ended Tuesday’s hearing after about 20 minutes.
Loyd had claimed that he has an adversarial relationship with his attorneys, that they did not seek proper medical treatment for injuries he sustained when law enforcement officers kicked his head during his arrest, and that they have not investigated certain evidence.
He did not specify whether he was referring to lead attorney Roger Weeden, co-counsel Ted Marrero, Jr., or both.
Loyd’s trial in the killing of his ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon is scheduled for Sept. 11. His second trial, in Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton’s death, is set for Jan. 14.
Lauten said Loyd can re-file the motion in the future if he wants to, but noted that the judge would be the one who decides when to hear it.
On Sunday, Weeden filed a motion saying King and his office should not be on the case because he is the chairman of the Justice Administrative Commission — the state board that approves the funding of expert witnesses for indigent defendants facing the death penalty, including Loyd. Weeden cited a decision the Florida Supreme Court released in May saying that prosecutors should not be involved in the trial strategy of indigent defendants, just as they would have no role in the strategy of wealthy people bankrolling their own defense.
“It’s obviously a concern that he’s charge of the commission that provides funding in this case for my office, for Mr. Marrero’s office, for our investigator, for our experts, for our mitigation specialist,” Weeden said. “… We’re concerned about them having access to information in our cases.”
The attorney pointed to the JAC’s decision not to renew the contract of Cynthia O’Shea, who has researched Loyd’s history and family to try to convince jurors not to sentence him to death. The JAC cited problems with double-billing and charging taxpayers for sometimes up to 22 hours of work in one day. JAC staff wrote a memo reviewing O’Shea’s work, which included specifics of her work in other cases.
Loyd’s family was in court to see him Tuesday. Asked for comment, one woman asked why reporters are not paying more attention to the brother of Orlando police Chief John Mina, Edward Mina, who was arrested last week on child molestation accusations.
“When we try to talk, y’all try to flip the story around,” she said.