ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A dismissed juror will face a judge Thursday on contempt charges and $33,000 in fines for trial costs.
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On Thursday, the juror blamed for causing a mistrial in a death penalty resentencing trial of Bessman Okafor will face her fate.
Kayla De Pena is going in front of a judge on charges of direct, and indirect contempt and could pay costs related to the trial. This comes after De Pena admitted to a judge during jury deliberations that she spoke to a friend about the case the weekend prior.
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Channel 9 obtained documents that show the State of Attorney’s office spent $8,879 on experts and travel during the three-week trial. The defense spent double that -- itemizing $24,426. That brings the grand total of possible fines for De Pena to more than $33,000.
Chief Assistant to the State Attorney Ryan Williams hopes the size of the fines sends a message.
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“People that set aside their time and are re-traumatized by trial will have to go through it again because this person made, in my view, a very selfish decision,” said Williams.
But while cost is an issue, defense attorneys worry these steps send the “wrong” message.
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“It would set a very bad precedent if the judge orders this particular juror to pay the cost associated with happened to retry the sentencing proceeding because mistakes do happen -- and they happen very frequently,” said Defense Attorney Richard Hornsby.
That hearing is set for 8:30 Thursday morning. Stay with Channel 9 for the latest on this developing story.
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