By Missy Diaz
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 5, 2007
Rex Ditto is willing to die in prison, just not by lethal injection, according to his attorney.
At a hearing Thursday, lawyer Robert Gershman asked Circuit Judge Edward Garrison to allow Ditto, 31, to plead guilty to murdering Alan Shalleck, a collaborator in the Curious George children's books, and sentence him to life without parole.
Garrison denied the request, stating that Ditto is free to plead guilty and go straight to the sentencing phase of the trial, at which the state could present reasons why Ditto should be put to death and the defense could present evidence to spare his life. But the court is not obligated to remove the death penalty as an option.
"It's a hard call," Gershman said after the hearing. "He would be pleading [guilty] with a possible death sentence."
Both Ditto, 31, and co-defendant Vincent Puglisi, 56, face possible death sentences if convicted as charged of robbing and fatally stabbing 76-year-old Shalleck in his Boynton Beach mobile home in February 2006 during a sexual encounter.
In a five-page motion filed with the court, Gershman argued that the state previously extended a plea offer of life without parole to both men, but only if they both agreed to take the deal. Puglisi declined the offer, according to Gershman, thus revoking Ditto's as well.
Prosecutor Andy Slater recently amended the offer to Ditto with the conditions that he provide a sworn statement to Slater, who would then decide whether it was truthful, Gershman said. Ditto would then be prohibited from testifying as a witness for Puglisi.
Gershman maintains that his client cannot comply with those conditions because his current testimony would be inconsistent with prior statements he has made and may help exonerate Puglisi.
"It is unconscionable that Ditto, who wishes to spend the rest of his life in prison and die in his jail cell, is not permitted to do so because of individual decisions by a prosecutor and Puglisi," Gershman wrote. "This is not fair and a violation of the Defendant's constitutional rights."
Slater told the judge that Ditto's testimony, which helps exonerate Puglisi, is inconsistent with both the physical evidence at the scene and Ditto's prior statements. He declined to discuss plea negotiations he may have had with the defense.
The men are scheduled to go to trial Nov. 2. Though they will be tried together, there will be two juries.
Gershman said his client's desire to plead guilty and avoid a trial is two-fold: He doesn't want to receive the death penalty and he'd like to spare his parents, who live in rural Alabama, the "very gruesome and gory" crime scene photos as well as the salacious details of Ditto's sex life, which included sadistic and masochistic acts.
Missy Diaz can be reached at mdiaz@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5505.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 5, 2007
Rex Ditto is willing to die in prison, just not by lethal injection, according to his attorney.
At a hearing Thursday, lawyer Robert Gershman asked Circuit Judge Edward Garrison to allow Ditto, 31, to plead guilty to murdering Alan Shalleck, a collaborator in the Curious George children's books, and sentence him to life without parole.
Garrison denied the request, stating that Ditto is free to plead guilty and go straight to the sentencing phase of the trial, at which the state could present reasons why Ditto should be put to death and the defense could present evidence to spare his life. But the court is not obligated to remove the death penalty as an option.
"It's a hard call," Gershman said after the hearing. "He would be pleading [guilty] with a possible death sentence."
Both Ditto, 31, and co-defendant Vincent Puglisi, 56, face possible death sentences if convicted as charged of robbing and fatally stabbing 76-year-old Shalleck in his Boynton Beach mobile home in February 2006 during a sexual encounter.
In a five-page motion filed with the court, Gershman argued that the state previously extended a plea offer of life without parole to both men, but only if they both agreed to take the deal. Puglisi declined the offer, according to Gershman, thus revoking Ditto's as well.
Prosecutor Andy Slater recently amended the offer to Ditto with the conditions that he provide a sworn statement to Slater, who would then decide whether it was truthful, Gershman said. Ditto would then be prohibited from testifying as a witness for Puglisi.
Gershman maintains that his client cannot comply with those conditions because his current testimony would be inconsistent with prior statements he has made and may help exonerate Puglisi.
"It is unconscionable that Ditto, who wishes to spend the rest of his life in prison and die in his jail cell, is not permitted to do so because of individual decisions by a prosecutor and Puglisi," Gershman wrote. "This is not fair and a violation of the Defendant's constitutional rights."
Slater told the judge that Ditto's testimony, which helps exonerate Puglisi, is inconsistent with both the physical evidence at the scene and Ditto's prior statements. He declined to discuss plea negotiations he may have had with the defense.
The men are scheduled to go to trial Nov. 2. Though they will be tried together, there will be two juries.
Gershman said his client's desire to plead guilty and avoid a trial is two-fold: He doesn't want to receive the death penalty and he'd like to spare his parents, who live in rural Alabama, the "very gruesome and gory" crime scene photos as well as the salacious details of Ditto's sex life, which included sadistic and masochistic acts.
Missy Diaz can be reached at mdiaz@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5505.
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