Florida Jury Rejects Death Penalty For Julio Foolio Murderers [eFAzUJIatOs]
A jury today rejected the death penalty and recommended the men who murdered a gang leader and rapper in Florida be sentenced to life in prison without parole. The same jurors convicted Sean Gathright, Isaiah Chance, Rashad Murphy and Davion Murphy of murder one week ago today. Jurors deliberated less than two hours this morning after hearing four days of testimony about the men’s childhoods and families. They found prosecutors proved all aggravating factors, including the men were gang members, that the homicide was committed “a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification” and “created a great risk of death to many persons,” but they agreed the mitigating factors outweighed them and recommended Judge Michelle Sisco sentence the men to life in prison without parole. 01:57 "We have further considered whether Isaiah Chance should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or death. We, the jury, finds Isaiah Chance should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole." 03:27 "We have further considered whether Sean Gathright should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or death. We, the jury, find Sean Gathright should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole." 04:57 "We have further considered whether Rashad Murphy. Should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or death. We, the jury, find Rashad Murphy, should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole." 06:18 "Each of us has weighed whether the proven aggravating factors are sufficient, and whether the proven aggravating factors outweigh any proven mitigating circumstances. We have further considered whether Davion Murphy should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or death. We, the jury, find Davion Murphy should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole." 12:10 "On a much more personal note, these are tough cases. These are tough cases, and I've handled a lot of tough cases. This is not my first rodeo, as far as handling tough cases. This one, this one takes the cake. This one was one of the up to date in my 24 years of doing this as a judge, one of the toughest cases. And you all are amazing, you're amazing people, you are smart, you are attentive, you are patient." Sisco, who presides in Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit in Tampa, will sentence the men on June 22. The victim was Charles “Julio Foolio” Jones Jr., a gang leader and rapper in Jacksonville who was prominent in drill rap, a subgenre of hip hop that celebrates violence and mocks death. Jurors could’ve recommend death sentences on an 8-4 vote after Florida lawmakers changed the statute in 2023 following a jury voting 9-3 in favor of the death penalty for the mass shooter at a high school in Parkland. Gathright and the Murphys were the gunmen on June 23, 2024, outside the Home2 Suites hotel next to the University of South Florida while Chance stood by in the same hotel parking lot with his girlfriend, Alicia Andrews, after tracking Jones through the city. Gathright and the Murphys were convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and three counts of attempted second-degree murder, which was a lesser included to attempted first-degree murder. Chance was convicted of murder and conspiracy but was not charged with attempted murder. Gathright also was convicted of evidence tampering. **************************** You can read about the first trial over Julio Foolio's murder here: