Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 1-16-18

Features
Florida Supreme Court Tosses Out Death Sentence
OFFICER JEFF KOCAB OFFICER DAVID CURTIS DEREK ANDERSON HAROLD WRIGHT RODNEY JONES Killed June 29, 2010 Killed June 29, 2010 Killed May 18, 2010 Killed June 8, 2010 Killed May 31, 2010
DONTAE MORRIS Convicted of 4 murders
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court tossed out one of the death sentences given to Dontae Morris, now 32- years-old. The case involved the murder of 21-year-old Derek Anderson, who was killed on May 18, 2010.
Morris was convicted of the murder in July 2015, and the jury voted 10-2 to give him the death sentence. However, death penalty laws have changed since Morris’ conviction.
The jury verdict now must be unanimous before the death penalty can be imposed.
Last year, in the case of Hurst vs. State, the Courts ruled that “before the trial judge may consider imposing a sen- tence of death, the jury in a cap-
ital case must ... unanimously recommend a sentence of death.”
The Florida Supreme Court Justices said, “Because the jury in this case recommended by a vote of ten to two, we ‘cannot determine that the jury unani- mously found that the aggrava- tors outweighed the mitigation.’”
In previous trials, Hillsbor- ough County Judge William Fuente handed down two death sentences to Morris for killing Tampa Police Officers Jeff Kocab and David Curtis on June 29, 2010, following a traffic stop.
In that case, an Orange County jury was sequestered for the trial. The jury took less than 4 hours to find Morris guilty. They voted unanimously to give Morris the death penalty in
November 2013.
Other Murder Cases: Morris was also the defen- dant in three other murders that took place prior to the offi-
cers’ deaths.
In March 2013, Morris was
convicted of killing Rodney Jones on May 31, 2010. Jones, 41, was killed outside of the Cotton Club, 2405 W. Al- bany.
Prosecutors said Ander- son was the first person Mor- ris killed after being released from prison in April 2010.
Anderson was shot in the back on May 18, 2010, near his mother’s apartment in an East Tampa complex.
Harold Wright, 25, was killed on June 8, 2010. Wright’s body was discovered on the side of the road in Palm River. Morris never went to
trial in the Wright case. In De- cember 2015, the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office dropped the charges against Morris.
Morris’ Previous Prison Sentence
Morris was sentenced to 2 years, 3 months in Florida State Prison, on March 28, 2008. He was released April 4, 2010. At the time, the Florida Depart- ment of Corrections was aware that there were active warrants for his arrest on worthless check charges.
Morris was in state custody at the time the crimes were committed. The warrants were never removed from the sys- tem.
When Officer Curtis stopped the vehicle Morris was a pas- senger in on June 29, 2010, the computer revealed the warrants
were still active. Officer Cur- tis, backed up by Officer Kocab, attempted to take Morris into custody.
Morris pulled a gun and fa- tally shot the officers.
The murders of the officers sparked a nationwide manhunt for Morris. The reward climbed to over $100,000 for his arrest.
Morris quietly surren- dered to police four days after the murders.
Attorney Rena Frazier, spokesperson for the Hillsbor- ough County State Attorney’s Office said the attorneys must first determine if they will seek the death penalty again. If so, they will be required to have a penalty phase trial.
The Anderson case is the only case in which Morris must be re-sentenced.
Legacy Continues In Memory Of Beloved Teacher; Awards $1,500 Scholarship
For over 15 years, Mrs. Annie L. Robertson edu- cated students at St. Peter Claver Catholic School in Tampa. She was also a Sun- day School teacher at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens for over 20 years.
‘Mrs. Ann’ was an advo- cate for excellence in higher education. She shared her leadership skills and passion to establish a college scholar- ship program at the church. Additional evidence of her powerful commitment toward higher education is seen by the success of her daughters, Dr. Vandelon Robertson Holland and Dr. Turkesia Robertson-Jones.
Though Mrs. Ann’s flame was extinguished in October, 2010, her presence will always be felt and her legacy contin- ues in the hearts and minds of everyone she taught and touched.
In 2013, her widow, Wil- son Robertson, Jr., her daughters, Vandelon and Turkesia, her son, Horace
MRS. ANNIE L. ROBERTSON ... ‘Mrs. Ann’
and her sons-in-law, Eric and David established a college scholarship in her name, which is administered by Cas- cade United Methodist Church in Atlanta, GA. Since its inception, the family has raised thousands of dollars to help African American stu- dents pursue their higher ed- ucation goal. Last year, a $1,500 scholarship was awarded to Ms. Amber Burks, a senior pursuing a
Bachelor’s degree in Special Education.
Applications for the Annie L. Robertson Memorial Schol- arship for the 2018-2019 aca- demic year are now available online at http://www.cas- cadeumc.info//hecm_schol- arship.html. In addition, there are over 70 other schol- arships available on the web- site. Students in the United States who attend an accred- ited college or university are eligible to apply. The deadline for all applications & support- ing documents is Friday, Feb- ruary 9, 2018, 5 PM EST.
The Tampa Bay com- m u nity is commended for continuing to support the legacy of excellence in educa- tion of Mrs. Annie L. Robertson. The family greatly appreciates the finan- cial contributions to ensure that a deserving student can fulfill their educational goal. If you are interested in donating to this worthy cause, please contact Dr. Holland at 813- 966-9720.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018