A Clay County jury declined Wednesday to recommend the death penalty for a man who raped, stabbed and strangled veterinary technician Andrea Boyer before beating her to death with a fire extinguisher in 2007.
Michael Renard Jackson, 53, was sentenced to death in 2010 in the same case, but the Florida Supreme Court threw out the conviction after finding that Clay County deputies had made prejudicial comments on the witness stand.
The jury in 2010 took just 20 minutes to recommend death for Jackson, but the vote was 9-3. This time, under newer Florida law, the vote for death had to be unanimous.
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