‘It’s very rare’: Could a Florida mother get the death penalty?
By Rachael Perry
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RIVIERA BEACH, FL (WPBF) — If convicted and sentenced to death, a Riviera Beach mother could be the third woman to be executed in the state of Florida.
The State Attorney’s Office has filed paperwork to seek the death penalty against Naikishia Williams, who is accused of killing her 7-year-old daughter, Nia, in Riviera Beach.
However, her defense has filed several motions that experts say could be an attempt to stop that from happening.
Woman And Death Row Only two women have been executed after being sentenced to death in the state of Florida, and only one woman is currently sitting on death row. WPBF 25 News spoke with attorney Dave Aronberg on just how rare death sentences are for women.
“As far as a woman getting capital punishment, it’s very rare. Jurors generally don’t like to give the death penalty to women, especially mothers,” Aronberg said.
He said the people who commit these “atrocious crimes” of first-degree murder overwhelmingly are men who make up the majority of death row. However, Aronberg said prosecutors have sought the death penalty for women in the past.
“When it comes to women who are charged with these crimes, like a Susan Smith, who drove her kids into a body of water killing them, even she was spared the death penalty. It’s very hard for a jury to get their head around giving a mother the ultimate penalty,” he said.
As for why that is, Aronberg believes it comes down to human nature.
“Jurors are human beings like the rest of us, and even though they’re told not to let sympathy get in the way, they’re human beings,” Aronberg said.
Despite the fact that jurors are told to follow the evidence and the law, he said that might be a difficult ask for some.
“To say that the woman who is a mother should have her life ended by the state is a tough ask for people, and it is tougher when it is a woman than a man. It’s just human nature. It’s just reality,” he said.
Aronberg explained what goes into deciding if a person should be eligible for the death penalty. He said prosecutors have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that at least one aggravator exists.
“Was it cold, calculated, and premeditated? Was it heinous, atrocious, and cruel? Were there specific victims involved in a vulnerable class? So, there are a number of potential aggravators. You need to have at least one that you believe you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt to even make that person eligible for the death penalty,” he told WPBF.
William’s Attorneys Seek Mental Health Experts In the case against Williams, her defense attorneys have filed several motions, including a motion to appoint a mental health expert and mitigation expert.
Aronberg said these experts are likely brought in to help the defense argue that the death penalty shouldn’t be considered.
“A mitigator could be anything, and that is allowed to be introduced during the penalty phase of a trial. For example, the brutal murderer in Parkland who slaughtered so many innocent young people a few years ago was spared the death penalty, in part because his lawyers argued that his mother smoked in the womb and he was mistreated,” he said.
Aronberg said the defense is able to hire a mitigating expert to come up with reasons why the individual should not be eligible for the death penalty, and then at trial, why this person should not get the death penalty in front of a jury.
He said the committee that oversees cases where the death penalty is being sought will review what those experts say.
“When you’re talking about the ultimate penalty, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. I mean, you better get it right every time, and if there is a mental health issue at play, prosecutors want and need to know about that,” Aronberg said.
Williams’ attorneys have also filed a motion to determine competency. That would evaluate if she’s able to stand trial based on whether she understands the court proceedings and if she can assist in her own defense.
If someone is ruled incompetent, they’re transferred to a mental health facility until they regain competency. If the person doesn’t regain competency, the charges against them could be dismissed.
Aronberg explained the differences between competency and insanity in court proceedings.
“Competency is whether the person is able to stand trial. The insanity defense is whether the person at trial can prove that they had an established medical condition and did not know the difference between right and wrong. Insanity defense is rarely successful,” he said.
8-12 Needed To Sentence Someone to Death While prosecutors have filed paperwork to seek the death penalty for Williams, the court has not ruled on whether that will stand. If it does and she’s convicted, prosecutors would need eight out of 12 jurors to sentence her to death.
That was changed following the Parkland mass shooting, when the threshold for a death sentence was lowered. Instead of prosecutors needing a unanimous jury to give someone the death penalty in Florida, they only need eight out of 12.
“Florida changed this law after the Parkland massacre, after the killer there was able to escape the death penalty. His number was 9-3. So after he was able to escape the death penalty, the legislature ruled they were going to lower it all the way down to 8-4, which could implicate some constitutional issues,” Aronberg said.
He said Florida has the lowest threshold of any state for someone to be sentenced to death. However, Aronberg said it’s not yet ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court whether eight out of 12 is constitutional.
WPBF 25 News reached out to William’s attorney, who declined to comment on the specifics of why they’ve filed all of these motions; however, he said they already have several experts helping and will continue bringing in more to ensure the case is fairly adjudicated.
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