ORLANDO, Fla. (WESH) – As a Spencer hearing for Markeith Loyd resumed Monday morning, he left the courtroom abruptly while struggling with deputies.
In December, a jury recommended the death penalty for Markeith Loyd for murdering Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton. A judge is still deciding whether to sentence Loyd to life in prison or death.
Monday’s hearing was the second half of last month’s Spencer hearing and was going to be focused on just one witness. It is part of Loyd’s last chance to convince the judge to give him life in prison, although a jury recommended the death penalty.
The judge said just one witness will be allowed to testify: a psychologist hired by Loyd’s attorneys who is an expert on people who are mentally ill but either don’t know they have an illness or minimize how serious it is.
The court was dealing with a technical problem, trying to connect with a doctor, when Loyd suddenly stood up, yelling. That’s when deputies tried to get him to calm down. The court’s official audio feed did not record all of what Markeith Loyd said.
After Loyd was taken out of the courtroom, the judge said “I didn’t give him permission to leave.” His attorneys told the judge after Loyd left “Today, his mental health is not in a good state.”
After the hearing resumed, the defense’s expert witness, a clinical psychologist, said Loyd shows a “constellation of delusional thinking,” as a result of mental illness.
The psychologist said he does not believe Loyd understands the reason why he is facing the death penalty.
His defense’s strategy all along has been: He is profoundly mentally ill, and that’s one reason they don’t believe he should be executed for murdering Lt. Debra Clayton.
At the last hearing, his team called other doctors, along with his family members, to talk about how his rough childhood and young adult life traumatized him.
Prosecutors say none of that had anything to do with Clayton’s murder and Loyd shot her only because he was trying to get away from police.
The judge today has set aside one hour for that defense expert to testify. She will make her ruling on whether Loyd gets life or death in the weeks to come.