Guilty Plea in Polk County Death Penalty Case

Joshua Altersberger pleaded guilty to first degree murder at the Polk County Courthouse in Bartow, FL late last week. Prosecutors had previously filed notice of intent to seek the death penalty and the case was set for trial later this month. A motion to suppress Altersberger’s statement to police following his arrest, including his consent to the testing of his hands for gunshot residue, were denied last week prior to the plea.

Altersberger admitted to shooting and killing Sgt. Nicholas Sottile, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper during a Jan. 12, 2007 traffic stop.

The change of plea is somewhat unusual in that there appears to have been no plea agreement with the prosecutors, who still intend to ask a jury to recommend and the court to impose the death penalty on Altersberger. In some Florida death penalty cases, attorneys for the state and for the defendant will work out an agreement in which the prosecutors agree to lessen the charges to second degree murder or agree to withdraw their request to seek the death penalty, resulting in a life term for the defendant.

A jury will still be chosen and seated later this month. Both the prosecution and defense will then have the opportunity to introduce evidence and witness testimony regarding the crime itself, the victim and the background of the defendant. This is generally referred to as the “penalty phase” of a Florida capital murder case.

The jury will determine whether sufficient “aggravating circumstances” (as defined by Florida’s death penalty statute) exist to impose a sentence of death. They then determine whether any “mitigating circumstances” (again, as defined by statute) exist which might outweigh the aggravating circumstances. All of these considered together result in a jury’s recommended sentence of life in prison or death.

In the Altersberger case, the aggravating circumstances presented by the prosecution will almost certainly include the death of a law enforcement officer and the fact that the murder was committed to avoid arrest. A possible mitigating circumstance might be the age of the defendant at the time of the murder (he was 19 years old at the time). We will have to wait and see how the Polk County jury weighs the evidence.