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Ocala
February 18, 2015
After fighting for more than a year to represent himself in court, death row inmate Renaldo McGirth ended what was supposed to be a week-long post-conviction hearing after just a few minutes Monday morning when he declined to present any evidence or call any of his 21 witnesses to testify.
The decision essentially ended any hope McGirth had of arguing to the judge that he received an unfair trial and should be given some relief.
Instead, McGirth said he wanted to appeal several motions that were denied by a judge last week in lieu of presenting more evidence.
McGirth, now 26, was sentenced to death row for the July 2006 killing of Diana Miller, 63, of The Villages, during a robbery. Miller’s husband, James, also suffered injuries during the incident. McGirth is believed to have been the triggerman.
Co-defendant Jarrod Roberts, 28, is currently serving a life prison term for his role and co-defendant Theodore Houston, 25, is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
“Do you want to say anything as to why you’re doing this?” presiding judge Brian Lambert asked McGirth on Monday.
“No,” McGirth responded.
Standby attorney David Gemmer of the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel office told Lambert that McGirth’s decision was against his advice.
Had the week-long hearing been held, McGirth could have presented any evidence in support of his argument that he did not receive a fair trial. Instead, he indicated that he would appeal Lambert’s rulings from Friday, when the judge denied four separate defense motions: to disqualify the trial judge; appoint co-counsel; continue; and appoint a conflict-free counsel.
