For Terry Lenamon, it happens almost every day: getting asked why he does what he does — defending people in criminal cases where they are facing the death penalty in some of the most horrific and troubling crimes imaginable. 

Byron Burch Case: State Wanted Death Penalty

Take for example his recent trial over in Tampa, Florida, where Byron Burch was facing the death penalty after being found guilty of killing 80 year old Sarah Davis after he broke into her home to steal things. They knew each other: she had hired him to do some handyman chores. She was found in her bathroom, with over 25 knife wounds.

It was a horrific bloody crime and a sad and tragic story. Sarah Davis didn’t deserve to end her days this way.

So how can Terence Lenamon take on the job of arguing that Byron Bunch shouldn’t pay in kind and get capital punishment for this crime?

It’s a balance. It’s looking at the mitigating factors found in the Florida statutes as they compare to the aggravating factors the state argues in its quest for death.

Read Terry’s Arguments on Why Byron Bunch Shouldn’t Be Executed Here

To hear Terry’s own arguments here, and the state’s as well, we provide the Opening Arguments in the Byron Bunch case so you can read exactly what Terry’s position was in this case — one that rang true with the jury here, because they came back with a recommendation that Byron Bunch be spared the death penalty and be given life without the possibility of parole as his punishment.

Read the State’s opening here.

Terence Lenamon’s Arguments to the Jury against the Death Penalty

Read Death Penalty Defense Attorney Terence Lenamon’s opening statement in the Byron Bunch case here:

 

 

 Watch the verdict being read here: