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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A man convicted three different times of a 1991 murder has been sentenced to death for a second time, decades after the crime was committed.
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Now 60-year-old James Guzman had his first two murder convictions overturned on appeal and sent back for new trials.
He was most recently convicted of murder in 2016 for using a sword to kill a Virginia businessman he chauffeured in Daytona Beach on August 10, 1991.
Guzman then stole money and a diamond ring from the victim then sold it for crack cocaine and cash.
After the third conviction, a jury voted 11-1 in favor of the death penalty for Guzman, but the sentence was nullified the next year after Florida courts began requiring unanimous jury recommendations in death penalty cases.
However, in April of 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill authorizing a new non-unanimous sentencing standard of 8-4 in capital cases.
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The new law cleared the way for another sentencing hearing to be held for Guzman in March of this year.
After a week-long hearing, a Volusia County jury voted unanimously to recommend death for Guzman.
Finally, after a hearing Monday afternoon, Judge Dawn Nichols upheld that jury’s recommendation and again sentenced Guzman to death for his murder conviction, more than 30 years after the crime was committed.
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“33 years after the brutal and callous murder, the defendant is finally held accountable,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case. “This case confirms that – in Florida – there is no time limit on making Justice a Reality. My only regret is that the family of our murder victim had to wait so long!”
The case was investigated by the Daytona Beach Police Department.
Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak successfully prosecuted the case for the state.
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