PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — Twenty years after a jury decided a Pensacola man should get the death penalty, a jury met again this week and could not reach a unanimous decision which means he will serve the rest of his life in prison without parole.
Timothy Hurst was 19 years old when he was working in a fast food restaurant and was convicted in the killing of his Popeye’s Manager Cynthia Harrison in 1998 on East Nine Mile Road.
Harrison’s body was found in the freezer with multiple stab wounds after he robbed her.
A jury found Hurst guilty of first-degree murder and he was ordered to death but he appealed that decision and the sentence was vacated. In 2012, a jury voted 7-5 for the death penalty, but the Supreme Court ruled a few years ago that Florida’s death penalty process violated the 6th Amendment because the judges were deciding the factors that brought the death penalty into play when it should’ve been the jurors reaching a unanimous decision.
This week, a jury met for the third time but did not reach a unanimous decision to impose the death penalty.
LATEST STORIES
- McGill-Toolen alum Carlton Martial showcases skills at Troy Pro Day
- Prichard Water Board votes on moratorium for Alabama Village
- China Super Buffet stakeholders sentenced to probation, forfeit $1.5 million after hiring illegal workers, providing free housing
- Escambia Co. school superintendent will remain appointed position
- Family members share stories after losing loved ones to fentanyl