USA - Florida. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that Thomas Woodel should be placed back on death row.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled 2-1 today that Thomas Woodel should be placed back on Florida's death row. Woodel, 44, White, killed Bernice Moody, 74, and Clifford Moody, 79, on Dec. 31, 1996, inside their winter home. In 1998, Woodel was found guilty and later sentenced to death. The Florida Supreme Court overturned Woodel's original death sentences in 2001 because the judge did not properly consider mitigating circumstances. A 2nd jury was asked to make a recommendation in Woodel's case. On July 20, 2004 (see) the new jury recommended by the narrowest of margins, a 7-5 vote, that Woodel should be executed for Bernice Moody's killing. They recommended he receive a life sentence for Clifford Moody's killing, and a judge upheld the recommendation on July 1, 2005 (See). On December 28, 2011, Circuit Judge J. Michael Hunter concluded Woodel's lawyers should have found an expert who could testify about the impact on Woodel of growing up as a speaking and hearing child with deaf parents. The judge also noted that a toxicologist could have helped explain for jurors how alcohol abuse might have affected Woodel. In today's opinion, a majority of justices concluded the 2nd jury received "a thorough presentation of Woodel's life history and his relevant family background."