A death sentence recommendation could soon be thrown out just a month after a jury reached that verdict for a man they also found guilty of raping and killing a woman at a Hialeah hotel back in 2016.
In an 8-4 vote jurors recommended a judge should sentence Ronald Lopez Andrade to die for killing 30-year-old Yaimi Guevara Machado.
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It’s been eight years since the woman’s body was found in a grassy area on a Hialeah motel, completely naked, and covered in blood.
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Hours after the recommendation, one of the jurors emailed the court alleging several instances of juror misconduct while deliberating.
Among the allegations, one of the most concerning for attorneys was that, “The jurors engaged in a conversation where they drew a parallel between the death penalty in this case and ‘killing invasive animal species.’”
On Friday, Judge Michelle Delancy ordered for all jurors to take the stand, under oath, and individually testify about the conversations they had behind closed doors during deliberations.
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“As a wildlife professional I had mentioned that the concept of euthanasia in this particular conversation was something that I had been well versed in because I support and work with in situations where we mainly euthanize species that are from other places and are not good for our ecosystem here,” said one juror while trying to clarify the comment about invasive species which his colleague took to be xenophobic.
Judge Delancy then questioned that juror if the comment had anything to do with Lopez Andrade being an Honduran national.
“It had nothing to do with that,” the juror responded.
Another allegation claimed a woman consulted with her husband before reaching a verdict. That woman told Judge Delancy she obeyed orders and denied speaking to anyone about the case before reaching a verdict.
With the cloud of allegations hovering over the jury, Miami-Dade prosecutors believed a judge should grant a new penalty phase trial with a new set of jurors.
However, defense attorneys might want to start from scratch and ask for a new trial where fresh jurors will determine whether Lopez Andrade was guilty of the murder, and depending on the outcome continue to a penalty phase.
No decision was made. The next court hearing will be later this month.
