USA - Florida. Judge Reemberto Diaz sentenced Ana Maria Cardona, 50, hispanic, to death

Circuit Judge Reemberto Diaz sentenced Ana Maria Cardona, 50, hispanic, to death. Last July, a Miami-Dade jury convicted Cardona of 1st-degree murder and aggravated abuse in the November 1990 death of his 3-year-old son Lazaro Figueroa. On October 14 (see), jurors recommended the death penalty – the 2nd time Cardona faced that verdict. In 1992, jurors convicted Cardona and she was sentenced to die, but on July 11, 2002 (see) a new trial was ordered by the Florida Supreme Court. The court ordered a new trial because prosecutors didn’t tell the defense that her girlfriend, the key witness, also admitted to abusing the little boy. Olivia Gonzalez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years.