Man convicted of killing retired officer granted new sentencing hearing

Florida law now requires unanimous vote to obtain death penalty sentence

A Jacksonville man convicted in the 2005 killing of his stepfather, a retired Jacksonville police officer, had his death sentence thrown out by the Florida Supreme Court.

Robert Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder and evidence tampering for the murder of his 64-year-old stepfather, Roy Andrews, a retired officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

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The jury voted 7-5 to sentence Peterson to death in 2009, but a new Florida law requires a unanimous decision of the jury to enforce the death penalty. 

Police said Peterson was angry that Andrews had kicked him out of the house, and told his mother not to give him any more money. Peterson had also told people he would kill Andrews, and Peterson admitted to the murder in recordings, according to the police.

The Florida Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing hearing for Peterson, but they upheld the 2005 conviction.

In October, the Florida Supreme Court struck down part of the law that required 10 jurors to obtain a death sentence.  The decision was based on the Hurst v. Florida decision by the U.S Supreme Court in January 2017, which ruled a portion of the state’s death penalty law unconstitutional under the Sixth Amendment.

In December, the Florida Supreme Court system relieved death penalty sentences for over half of the state’s 395 inmates on death row, allowing them to receive new sentencing hearings.