Jury recommends a life sentence for Steele. Members of Harrison’s family will now address the court.

Jurors deliberated for less than 20 minutes and will shortly deliver a recommendation to Judge Beach as to Steele’s penalty. The choice: Life in prison or death.

Alfredie Steele’s mother, Regina Clemmons, had just finished telling jurors about her son’s life; about how he had seen a crossed burned in the front yard of his Lacoochee home; about how his beloved stepfather had died in a boating accident; about how he avoided trouble for most of his life.

Assistant Public Defender Bob Focht said he had completed his questioning.

“But Mr. Focht,” Clemmons said, suddenly. “I just want to go on the record as saying I don’t believe my son did this.”

Clemmons took the stand today to tell jurors why her son shouldn’t be sentenced to death.  Near the end of her testimony, Clemmons related that Steele had told her that he didn’t remember shooting at a patrol car.

“Why is it you had Alfredie turn himself in on this?” Focht asked.
“Cause I felt it was the right thing to do,” she said. “I was going on what Nathaniel [Vanzant] told me. I had no knowledge of nothing else.”

Nathaniel Vanzant is Clemmons’ nephew, Steele’s cousin. Vanzant was the initial suspect in Harrison’s murder but told investigators shortly after the crime that Steele was the shooter.

Alfredie Steele Jr.’s friends and family have taken the stand today and offered testimony about his life and personality.

Most recalled Steele’s good nature and sense of humor.

“Freddie was a kid that was pretty happy,” said his aunt, Rebecca Steele. “He was a jokester, he kept us all laughing with his little rendition of Fire Marshall Bill.”

In a sense, the testimony of his family and friends could save Steele’s life. Jurors listening will weigh the good side of Steele, called mitigating factors, against aggravating factors presented by prosecutors. Aggravating factors are facts about a crime that make a defendant more deserving of the death penalty.

In Steele’s case, prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty based on two aggravating factors: Steele is convicted of killing a law enforcement officer who was acting in his official capacity; and the crime was carried out in a cold, calculated and premeditated way.

Prosecutors must prove aggravators beyond a reasonable doubt. If they do, the jury may consider the death penalty for Steele. The jury then weighs the aggravators and mitigators and may vote for death if they find aggravators outweigh mitigators.

At least 7 of the 12 jurors must vote for death for the panel to recommend the penalty to the judge.

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