ORLANDO, Fla. – The resentencing trial for convicted murderer Bessman Okafor will begin Monday in Orange County after a jury was seated Friday.
A bench of 12 jurors and two alternates was picked Friday afternoon after nearly a week of the selection process. Ten men and four women were picked. The majority are white except two of them.
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This will be the second resentencing trial for Okafor, who was originally sentenced to death in 2015 for the murder of Alex Zaldivar, 19, who was slated to testify against Okafor in a home invasion case.
After the Florida Supreme Court ruled that jury recommendations in a death sentence had to be unanimous in 2016, Okafor’s sentence was overturned. But a more conservative Supreme Court a few years later reversed that ruling, and Okafor had to be resentenced.
In November, a judge declared a mistrial in the first resentencing trial after a juror, Kayla De Pena, 26, told the court she discussed the case with a friend. She eventually told the judge that she lied about having any conversations about the trial, in the hopes of getting out of further jury service.
On Jan. 9, De Pena was ordered to spend 179 days in jail for direct criminal contempt of court charges and pay a $500 fine – both maximum sentences the court could impose.
The trial for Okafor will start on Monday at 9 a.m.
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