A judge in Charlotte County has granted a convicted murderer a new trial.
Dwight Eaglin was sentenced to life in prison in 1998 when he was convicted of stabbing a man to death. He was then convicted in 2006 of killing an inmate named Charles Fuston and corrections officer Darla Lathrem during a prison escape attempt.
Eaglin was eventually sentenced to death. He now wants to challenge Florida's 8-4 jury death penalty rule signed into law in 2023.
This law makes it so a person can be sentenced to death if at least eight jurors vote for it. The rule changed the previous requirement for a unanimous vote.
Eaglin wants to challenge his death sentence but is also asking the court not to apply the new death sentencing rules when the new jury hears his case. He said a nonunanimous verdict in his case should not apply since the law took effect after the crime occurred.
Judge Shannon McFee granted Eaglin a new trial set to take place June 9, 2025.
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