The Mercy Seat
All 12 jurors agreed Russell Tillis deserved death, but 3 voted for life. Why a new approach to death penalty trials may have made the difference. Author: Anne Schindler Updated: 10:10 PM EDT April 16, 2021
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. She said it so often, some eye-rolling could be seen in the courtroom.
“Death is never required,” Allison Miller told jurors. “Not in this case, not in the worst case you can imagine.”
She repeated it again and again, to most if not quite all of the 60 jurors questioned over two days in the capital murder trial of Russell Tillis. She said it despite the fact that this likely
Attorneys question first 30 jurors in the murder, kidnapping and sex trafficking trial of Russell Tillis. Author: Anne Schindler Updated: 9:10 PM EDT April 5, 2021
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Jury selection in the death penalty trial of Russell Tillis got underway Monday morning, the first capital murder case in Duval County since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 59-year-old Tillis is accused of killing and dismembering 30-year-old Joni Gunter roughly six years ago, and burying her remains in his Southside backyard.
The high-profile case has received years of media attention, but only three of 30 potential jurors Monday had heard his name or news reports about his Southside home, which neighbors dubbed the “House of Horrors.”