OCALA, Fla. — A re-sentencing trial began Wednesday in Ocala to decide whether a man convicted of murdering a Marion County teen in 2011 should stay on death row.
- Seath Jackson was killed in 2011
- Michael Bargo was sentenced to death in 2013
- Florida Supreme Court ruling required resentencing
Michael Bargo was convicted in the brutal killing of 15-year-old Seath Jackson in 2013 and sentenced to death.
But in 2016, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that jury recommendations for a death sentence must be unanimous, triggering the resentencing of dozens of death row inmates, including Bargo.
That was prompted by a separate U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Florida's sentencing guidelines.
Prosecutors now have a tougher job, because they must convince all the jurors to vote in favor of the death penalty in a unanimous guilty verdict.
During arguments, Bargo sat and looked emotionless in court as the prosecutor talked about gruesome details of the murder plot and Bargo's co-conspirators.
The defense, meanwhile, said it would bring expert testimony broving that Bargo has mental health issues, and had had no prior arrests before the 2011 murder.
The defense asked that information relating to the disposal of the Jackson's body be tossed out, but the judge overruled that motion.
Bargo was the only one sentenced to death of the five people convicted of killing 15-year-old Seath Jackson. Charlie Ely, Justin Soto, Kyle Hooper, and Amber Wright all received life sentences without the possibility of parole.
The re-sentencing trial is expected to last about a week.