ST. PETERSBURG – More than 20 years ago, a jury took only about an hour to convict James Floyd of murdering an 86-year-old woman in her home. They took another hour to send him to death row.
The evidence seemed compelling. Police caught Floyd cashing the victim’s stolen checks. A bloodied sock, a jailhouse snitch, tire tracks and some hairs also were presented at trial.
But on Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court tossed out Floyd’s conviction and death sentence because prosecutors didn’t share other important evidence with defense attorneys. The ruling called the new evidence “unsettling.”