ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – After a grueling 12-year ordeal, the fate of convicted murderer Bessman Okafor will be decided by a judge on Monday, marking a pivotal moment for the families of his victims who have sought justice for over a decade.
“He’s put a life sentence on our entire family,” said Rafael Zaldivar, father of 19-year-old Alex Zaldivar, whom Okafor killed in 2012. As covered by the source Yahoo
“We have to live with this forever. I want him executed, I want him euthanized.” Okafor was originally sentenced to death in 2015 after an 11-1 jury vote for the murder of Alex and the shooting of two others, all of whom were set to testify against him in a home invasion trial.
In 2016, the Florida Supreme Court overturned Okafor’s death sentence, ruling that death penalty recommendations needed to be unanimous.
This decision left Rafael Zaldivar and other victims’ families in limbo. “I thought we were done with this 10 years ago, but no,” Rafael lamented.
However, the legal landscape shifted again in 2020 when the Supreme Court reversed its earlier decision, stating that juries did not need to be unanimous in death penalty cases.
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This change led to Okafor being resentenced to death in January 2023 by a 9-3 vote, leaving the final decision to the judge.
Rafael Zaldivar, who plans to be in court for the decision, expressed his frustration with the judicial system. “It’s ridiculous, that’s one of my issues that I had with our judicial system.
It failed him. Miserably,” he said. He remains resolute in seeking closure, saying, “I want to be the last person that he sees. When it’s time. When they put him on that gurney. I want to be right in front of him.”
Regardless of the outcome, Rafael acknowledges that true peace may never come for his family, but the hope for justice remains undiminished.