Nearly three decades after the brutal murder of University of Miami linebacker Marlin Barnes, the case is back in court as a new jury decides whether the convicted killer should be sentenced to life in prison or death.
Barnes, a once-Hurricanes linebacker with dreams of reaching the NFL, was found beaten to death inside his campus dorm room in April of 1996. His childhood best friend from Liberty City and eventually college roommate, Earl Little Sr., who later went on to play in the NFL for nine years, told jurors how he discovered the horrifying scene.
“I see my best friend laying in a pool of blood, his face crushed,” Little told jurors through tears. “He was taking deep breaths, choking on blood because there was so much.”
Prosecutors said 22-year-old Barnes and his friend Timwanika Lumpkins were killed by Labrant Dennis, Lumpkins’ ex-boyfriend. It’s believed Dennis went on a jealous rage. Both victims were found with unrecognizable injuries.
“Marlin was hit over the head with a shotgun 20 to 25 times over and over, ” Shawn Abuhoff, Assistant State Attorney, told jurors Thursday.
Dennis was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999, but in 2017, the Florida Supreme Court vacated that sentence. The court ruled that Dennis’s original death sentence violated the Constitution because his jury’s recommendation was not unanimous.
The state’s highest court granted Dennis a new penalty phase where jurors must once again weigh whether Dennis should face execution or spend the rest of his life in prison.
Prosecutors are urging the jury to recommend the death penalty, arguing the brutality of the crime warrants the harshest punishment.
Defense attorneys counter that Dennis grew up in a traumatic environment filled with abuse and has shown good behavior after nearly 30 years in prison.
“He’s done almost 30 years in prison,” said Terrance Lenamon, one of Dennis’s attorneys, told the jury. “He is not the same man who was involved in these killings.”
Since Dennis’ original sentencing, Florida has changed its death penalty law again. Now, only eight jurors must recommend death for a judge to impose that sentence.
The resentencing trial continues Friday.