Carlie's Killer Sentenced To Death
Joseph P. Smith, the former auto mechanic and carpenter convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing 11-year-old Carlie Jane Brucia, was sentenced to death for her murder.
The abduction was caught on a widely broadcast car-wash surveillance video, leading to the arrest of Smith after people who recognized him on the tape identified him.
Circuit Judge Andrew D. Owens also sentenced Smith to two terms of life in prison for kidnapping and raping Brucia. He sentenced Smith to five years in prison, with credit for time served, for a violation of his probation.
Owens called the murder "cold and calculated and premeditated." Smith "held Carlie's life in his hands for not seconds, but minutes" as he slowly strangled her, Owens told the court Wednesday.
"At that time, the defendant had no idea his actions were being filmed by video cameras," and his nametag read "Joe," Owens said, reasoning that Smith did not intend to kill Brucia. It was "initially sexually motivated," Owens said.
"Carlie endured unspeakable trauma," Owens said. "The image of the defendant taking her arm and leading her away will forever be etched" in our minds."
Smith, 39, showed no emotion as the judge read his sentence.
The jury that convicted Smith in November had recommended by a vote of 10-2 that he be executed.CBS News RAW video of Smith's reaction to his death sentence.
Last month, Smith had tearfully apologized during a hearing, saying: "I take responsibility of my crimes. I don't understand how this could have happened. ... Every day I think about what I did and beg God for forgiveness."
On Wednesday, Owens said Smith's actions were deliberate and planned. He called Smith's crimes especially cruel, considering that Carlie never had a chance to fight back or escape.
Carlie's aunt says while justice has been served, the family has little reason to celebrate, CBS News' Christopher King reports.
"Am I happy with the verdict?," Laurie Brucia said. "Happy would be to have Carlie here."
Smith said he had taken heroin and cocaine in an attempt to kill himself before he abducted Carlie on Feb. 1, 2004. He said he didn't remember much about that day and asked Owens to spare him for the sake of his family.
His attorney, Adam Tebrugge, argued that Smith could lead a productive life in prison and be a positive influence on his three daughters if he was spared.
Owens discounted those arguments Wednesday. He said Carlie suffered "unspeakable terror and physical suffering" at Smith's hands.
Carlie's body was found four days after her disappearance on the grounds of a Sarasota church. News of the crime shook the community, and hundreds turned out for memorial services.
Absent from the courtroom was Carlie's mother, Susan Schorpen, who is in jail in Pinellas County on drug and prostitution charges.
She has said the pain of losing her daughter led her to institutionalize herself three times and take drugs to numb the pain.
Carlie was abducted while walking home from a friend's house in February 2004 — an attack that was caught on a car-wash surveillance tape and broadcast nationwide.
Carlie's stepfather, Steven Kansler, said that he wasn't moved by Smith's words or the arguments during his trial and sentencing.
"It doesn't bring Carlie back," he said. "I'll be happy when I see him die."
Friends and even Smith's brother said they recognized the burly mechanic grabbing the young girl's wrist on the tape as Smith. A jury found the 39-year-old guilty and recommended by a 10-2 vote that he be executed.
Under Florida law, Owens was required to give the jury's death-sentence recommendation "great weight."