ORLANDO, Fla. — Potential jurors were interviewed Monday about their beliefs on the death penalty and insanity defense claims, as well as their media exposure to the case of Markeith Loyd, who is accused of the 2017 killing of Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton.
Loyd, 46, faces the possibility of being sentenced to death if a 12-person jury finds him guilty of first-degree murder in Clayton’s death. Defense attorneys for Loyd, who has pleaded not guilty, plan to argue he was insane when he shot Clayton, having become convinced the police wanted to kill him.
During jury selection at the Orange County Courthouse, many said they had seen Loyd’s arrest on the news four years ago, with some saying they could not presume Loyd was innocent until proven guilty at trial.
One woman said her co-workers talked about the case in front of her after jury selection began Friday, noting its seriousness because it involves the death of an officer. She stopped them from talking to her but said it was hard for her to keep an open mind.
“I would say I would lean more toward guilty,” she said before being discharged.
At least two potential jurors said they had mixed feelings about Loyd’s arrest, during which he was beaten by four Orlando police officers, causing him to lose an eye.
“I just feel that law enforcement might have roughed him up more than they (should) have,” one man said. “Being that a police officer was slain, I could understand where that came from, but it doesn’t mean that’s right.”
The Orlando Police Department officers who punched, kicked and hit Loyd with their rifle muzzles were cleared of criminal wrongdoing and exonerated of excessive force claims by the agency.
Before he was excused, the man said he doubted he could vote for the death penalty.
“I don’t know how I would feel knowing that I would indirectly be responsible or could be responsible for this man’s demise,” he said.
Prosecutors say Loyd fatally shot Clayton Jan. 9, 2017, at a Walmart on Princeton Street after she tried to arrest him for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon in December 2016. Loyd was convicted of first-degree murder in 2019 for killing Dixon and her unborn child, but he avoided the death penalty after jurors recommended he be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Circuit Judge Leticia Marques previously ruled jurors couldn’t hear why Clayton was trying to take Loyd into custody unless the defense brought it up. Before potential jurors were questioned Monday, both parties agreed to tell jurors that Clayton tried to arrest Loyd on a warrant for Dixon’s killing and he had been convicted of his ex-girlfriend’s murder.
When Marques asked Loyd whether agreed to this, he began to argue with her about the evidence she allowed in the Dixon trial.
“I’m innocent,” Loyd told her.
The judge said she would not re-litigate the Dixon case and asked Loyd if he agreed to the statements.
“Yes, for my lawyer, yes,” he said.
Jury selection will continue Tuesday morning.
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