Court upholds conviction in student’s killing

Saying the case could be described as an “American tragedy,” an appeals court Wednesday upheld the conviction of a former Florida Atlantic University student who took part in a drug deal that led to the murder of another student.

A panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal upheld the second-degree murder conviction of Donovan Henry in the December 2015 death of Nicholas Acosta. Henry, who knew Acosta, and four other men went to Acosta’s apartment to obtain marijuana.

During the incident, a co-defendant shot and killed Acosta. In the appeal, Henry’s attorney argued the prosecutors had made improper comments during cross-examination and closing arguments. But the appeals court rejected the arguments and alluded to quotes from William Shakespeare that had been used by a prosecutor.

“In December 2015, appellant (Henry) and Nicholas Acosta were young men attending college in South Florida, with promising lives ahead of them,” said the six-page ruling, written by appeals-court Judge Alan Forst and joined by judges Martha Warner and Melanie May.

“One year later, Acosta had been dead for a year and appellant had just been convicted of murder, burglary and robbery, sentenced to spend the next three decades in prison. This is not necessarily a Shakespearian tragedy, as the state suggested in closing, but it certainly can be characterized as an American tragedy,” the ruling said.

Henry, now 21, was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Henry