USA - Florida. A jury voted 11 to 1 to recommend death for the 3rd time for James Guzman

A Volusia County jury voted 11 to 1 to recommend death for the 3rd time for James Guzman, 52, Hispanic. James "Chico" Guzman was found guilty last week of 1st-degree murder and robbery for killing David Colvin, a 48-year-old businessman, on Aug. 10, 1991. It is the 3rd time that Guzman has been sentenced to death for killing Colvin. The previous 2 convictions and sentences have been overturned on appeal. The final decision will be up to Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, who will hand down the sentence at a hearing to be set at the S. James Foxman Justice Center. Perkins could also sentence Guzman to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. The new death sentencing process has some key differences. Now jurors must unanimously find and specifically identify at least one aggravator justifying the death penalty. They must also check a box indicating they unanimously found each aggravator, something that increases the egregious nature of the crime. If the jurors do not unanimously find at least one aggravator then the person cannot be sentenced to death. Before jurors did not have to say which aggravator they found or check a box on a jury form indicating the aggravator. (See also March 17, 2010).