State
of Florida
Office of the State Attorney
16th Judicial Circuit
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Office of the State Attorney 16th Judicial Circuit
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Criminal Justice System Overview Employment Opportunities |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 2, 2006 Judge Sets Bennett Sentencing The Key West man who beat his five-year-old son to death in April 2003 had a final opportunity Monday to ask the court to spare his life. Christopher Lamont Bennett, 31, along with some five other witnesses appeared before visiting Judge Leonard Glick to argue for life imprisonment instead of the death penalty. The 12-member panel that unanimously convicted Bennett of aggravated child abuse and first-degree murder in February was also charged with recommending his punishment. On April 5, in a decisive vote of ten-to-two, the jury called for the death sentence. At yesterday’s hearing, witnesses included Bennett’s mother, Darlene Bennett of Key West and psychiatrist Michael Maher. Maher said that genetic and environmental factors may have exacerbated Bennett’s anger, although he conceded that Bennett’s own childhood was apparently not marred by violence or abuse. Bennett himself characterized April 15, 2003 – the day his five-year-old son Zachary died of multiple blunt-force trauma injuries – as “the worst day of my life,” but he refused to accept guilt for the murder. “I maintain my innocence,” Bennett testified. Judge Glick will hand down his sentence on May 22 at 9:30 AM in Key West. |
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Last modified:
10/23/07
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