The leader of the violent John Doe gang no longer faces the death penalty – NBC 6 South Florida

A member of a violent Liberty City gang sent to death row for the murders of two people will no longer face the death chamber.

Decades after his indictment, prosecutors are abandoning their attempt to re-sentence him to death after Corey Smith won changes to Florida’s death penalty law over the years that gave him a second chance.

This comes amid questionable actions by the Miami-Dade District Attorney’s Office that were uncovered by his defense team.

The lawyer for the alleged leader of a violent Liberty City drug gang in the 1990s called for a criminal investigation into the Miami-Dade district attorney’s office after a judge found wrongdoing. NBC6’s Tony Pipitone reports

Smith was convicted of two murders in 2005 and received lesser sentences for the deaths of four other murders.

According to the Court of Auditors, several witnesses and testifying police officers have died since the charges were made 24 years ago.

Not to mention that some of the witnesses have become uncooperative.

In a statement, SAO said:

“While the prior statements of deceased and recanting witnesses can be read to the jury, cold transcripts are not as effective as the words of a living witness…mitigating evidence will highlight aspects [Smith’s] background, upbringing and state of mind, suggesting that a lesser life sentence is appropriate… being forced into resentment due to court decisions, over time and taking all these factors into account, we feel that we do not have a sufficient sentence have compelling arguments for presenting the death penalty to the jury.”

The Corey Smith case is surrounded by controversy. The lead prosecutor on the case – Michael Von Zamft – resigned in March after making a damning phone call from prison to a convicted murderer linked to the gang. A judge issued a rare order removing prosecutors from the case after findings of misconduct including witness tampering and improperly withholding relevant documents from the defense.

The latest move comes after the state provided the defense with text messages between the prosecutor and an original prosecutor in the case who is now an appeals court judge.

The defense claims they engaged in more unethical behavior.

With death now off the table, the defense will continue trying to get a judge to overturn all of Smith’s 2005 convictions.