He confessed he coldly shot three people to death on Thanksgiving Day 1998 to steal some inexpensive electronics. Thomas Thibault threw himself on the mercy of the judge and got the death penalty. Now, a simple legal technicality means he will walk off Death Row.
The Florida Supreme Court upheld Thibault's three first-degree murder convictions on Thursday, but the justices ruled that the judge, prosecutor and defense attorneys who handled his case didn't take care of one thing -- clearly establish on the record that Thibault gave up his right to have a jury recommend a life sentence or the death penalty.
The prosecution and defense agree that was Thibault's intent, but without clear evidence of that the justices said they had no choice but to throw out the death sentence. That means Thibault now has the opportunity to have a jury hear evidence in the case and recommend to a judge either life behind bars or death, the only two punishments in Florida for first-degree murder.
"This is obviously is going to make it hard for everybody, because we have to go through this whole thing again," said Thibault's attorney, John Garcia, who said he will advise his client to opt for a jury this time around.
Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office spokesman Michael Edmondson said prosecutors would again seek the death penalty.
Prosecutors initially offered Thibault, 27, a deal that would mean life in prison, Garcia said.
"He initially took it, and then did not want it," he said. Yet Thibault went ahead and pleaded guilty, leaving his punishment to the judge. He testified against a co-defendant and then was sentenced to die.
The co-defendant, John Chamberlain, 25, was convicted of first-degree murder in the slayings and sentenced to death. A third co-defendant, Jason Dascott, 24, was given a plea agreement on second-degree murder charges to testify truthfully in exchange for 10 years in prison.
The three men went to the victims' home in the 6500 block of Norton Avenue in West Palm Beach early Thanksgiving morning after a night of doing drugs, Thibault testified. There, Thibault said, he shot Bryan Harrison, 21; Charlotte Kenyon, 26; and Daniel Ketchum, 27, while Chamberlain urged him on.
Kenyon's stepfather, John Charest, said he and Kenyon's mother were disappointed in the decision but that it was not unexpected. Anita Charest has closely followed the developments and attended the oral arguments in Thibault's case at the Florida Supreme Court.
"Obviously, we would be disappointed if he got the life sentence. The death penalty is the way we want it to go," he said, adding he and his wife take some consolation knowing Thibault will be locked up the rest of his life regardless. "He is never going to get out of jail, anyway."
Peter Franceschina can be reached at pfranceschina@sun-sentinel.com or 561-832-2894. | |
