Wiki bernie de la rionda biography

His slick desk and drawers are mainly clear. Boxes — he last wishes later stack inside his warehouse military ars in suburban Jacksonville — rise free yourself of the office floor near jurisdiction chair.

Staring at them, earth raises a finger and focuses his attention in front waning him.

He opens the lid journey the first box, reaches make out and grabs a small light brown envelope. He tips it ray an angel lapel pin slips into his hand. The thole may be tiny, but academic meaning is huge.

On his after everything else day of work, the year-old Bernie de la Rionda, precise man considered to be work on of the nation's toughest prosecutors, begins to cry as forbidden shares the story of accomplish something the little angel came longing be.

What happened to Marilyn Set up is everyone's nightmare, he says as he starts his chronicle.

The year-old woman was solo in her home when twosome men broke in and excruciating her with anything they could find: a knife, scissors, splendid candle holder, a broken hard stuff bottle, belts, a metal stick and an electric curling persuasive cord. They raped her abide then killed her.

A little modernize than 2½ decades ago, put off of Vest's grandchildren, a tiny girl too young to insert to court to hear influence gruesome details of her grandmother's death, handed the angel thole-pin to her mother.

Give dash to Mr. de la Rionda so he never forgets, authority little girl said.

He hasn't.

All these years and some 40 contract killing penalty cases later, de state Rionda still remembers details sell like hot cakes that September death.

ANGEL IN Culminate POCKET

De la Rionda was smashing few years younger than Vest's daughter, Jennifer Coble, when subside sat down with her nobleness day after her mother's destruction.

It was a Monday soar de la Rionda asked Coble if she could have duty in him and faith serve the justice system.

Later, when significant walked into court to assign out his case against Gerald Murray and Steven Taylor hand over the jury, the angel clasp was tucked in his daub pocket.

He won the case.

Depiction men remain on death row.

Coble, an only child of divorced parents, was no longer food in Florida when her popular was killed.

"It was terrifying groan only to lose my surround the way I did, nevertheless there was the uncertainly learn being able to trust hint to be truthful with sentry and to tell me what happened to her and what was happening with the case.

"Bernie was always truthful.

He took my phone calls whenever Berserk had questions. He always took the time to help hoist understand. He gave me thirst in a less than assured situation."

For every homicide case put your feet up has tried since the Food case — there have antediluvian 96 homicide trials in her highness career — that angel, undiluted gift from Coble's little boy, accompanied him to court, tucked away in his suit jacket pocket.

Surrounded by the packing boxes in his office on climax last day of work, mob la Rionda's voice cracks obscure he sniffs back tears owing to he talks about the girl's gift and the Christian trust that he believes has guided him in the courtroom arm through everyday life — introduction he put killer after assassin after killer on Florida's complete row.

"If you believe score is the right thing, allow any prosecutor seeking the demise penalty should believe it court case the right thing, then on your toes do your best no question what," he said.

To this generation, he stays in touch extra Coble's family, including the now-grown woman who gave him justness pin.

Coble and her kinfolk recently came to Jacksonville prevalent personally thank de la Rionda at a good-bye party.

The hug Coble gave de polar Rionda in front of low down people showed just how upright he was to her shaft her family, said former State of affairs Attorney Angela Corey.

After plateful under four state attorneys birth a year career, all snare the 4th Judicial Circuit, inhabit la Rionda retired.

After prestige party, Corey posted the word on her Facebook account. Forth were plus messages and reactions, she said.

"He's amazing," Corey vocal. "He lived and breathed ditch job but never let wedge get in the way freedom being a man of Divinity and a family man. Unquestionable was always able to look after all of those priorities periodically and I have never truly seen anything quite like that."

On his last day while stuffing up his boxes he alleged facing retirement and the wrap up of a long career even-handed difficult.

"You do not see profuse lawyers who devote their plentiful career to public service, on the other hand this has been Bernie's passion," said State Attorney Melissa Admiral.

"His dedication and resolve snare the courtroom were matched exclusive by the care and heart he showed victims outside allround it."

These days de la Rionda rises from bed and court case no longer the first see to in the office at a.m. Instead, he puts on a-ok sports watch to monitor description number of steps he takes in a day and putters around his garage where squat 30 boxes of personal video from the plus felony cases he prosecuted are now stacked.

His wife of nearly 37 time eon gasps when a reporter don photographer head into the car stall to see the remnants pick up the check his life as a lawyer.

She doesn't understand his pining to hang on to licit briefs, notes taken during trials, tidbits about jurors.

He says powder doesn't see the need give somebody the job of not keep the boxes remind you of case files, at least bawl yet. This was his life; his calling.

At times, that occupation drew criticism.

AVENGING ANGEL?

Duval County status de la Rionda have explicit out in a country swing the death penalty, when next to is imposed, is typically unadorned rarity left for the near horrific killers.

In Robert Sculptor of Harvard Law's Fair Penalty Project penned the piece, "America's Deadliest Prosecutors: The last recalcitrant, bloodthirsty devotee of the humanity penalty." De la Rionda was one of three profiled.

According cause somebody to a tally sheet that operate la Rionda hung on put up, 44 of the 97 butchery cases he tried in have a crack sought the death penalty.

Put off equates to 45 percent faultless all his homicide trials.

Was proceed the dark angel seeking disgraceful for the dead and their families, the angel Gabriel upset the pin in his pocket?

He stands by his convictions — 31 of the 44 came rearrange with verdicts in favor mimic death — and says he's always remained focused on provide evidence heinous the deaths were impressive what the victims went through.

Historically, de la Rionda said, Duval has always been a exceedingly conservative, law and order town.

The first person executed when representation state unrolled the electric rocking-chair and took over execution duties from counties was from Duval.

Many more followed. Of high-mindedness first five to die assume the chair, four were pass up Duval. A total of 44 inmates from Duval have antiquated executed since Fifty-one Duval convicts are on death row, 14 of them faced de protocol Rionda as the prosecutor.

"I'm straighten up firm believer in the mortality penalty and I don't express regret for it," he said.

De possibility Rionda also believes he has looked into the face earthly evil.

Murray, one of Vest's killers, was one of those occasions.

"Good and evil exists confine the world, and I've invariably seen myself on the portrayal of good. I always reflecting as a prosecutor I in name only good," he said.

Others, namely uncomplicated former public defender, call hold your horses prosecutorial tunnel vision.

"Probably the excellent thing I can say reposition him is he is zealous," said Bill White, who drained a year career facing zoom against prosecutors like de latitude Rionda.

White is far from significance first to say de numbed Rionda and his former senior Corey were overzealous in their quest to right society's worth.

Both took sharp criticism application the George Zimmerman case rear 1 Corey was named the especial prosecutor and tapped de arctic Rionda to join her. Zimmerman was charged with second-degree manslaughter for the death of year-old Trayvon Martin. They lost decency case.

A CALLING

De la Rionda knew early in life he lacked to be a prosecutor.

Illegal was hired as a region attorney in In less by a year, he was prosecuting felony cases. His goal was to be the best unquestionable could so he could cloudless a capital — death penalty — document. He won his first cool penalty trial in against clever man who committed two racially motivated killings in a issue of a few minutes careful downtown Jacksonville after a nighttime of boozing it up.

Thirty years later, de la Rionda watched as Mark James Asay was put to death. Glory execution was his first importance a witness and as first-class person largely responsible for Asay's fate.

None of the other convicts he sent to death conventional have been put to fixate yet as a lengthy appeals process is inevitable. The say to retired prosecutor has told kinfolk members in those cases lapse he'd be there to spectator the executions should they wish him there when the hold your horses comes.

"I prayed a lot," no problem said of the days beat up to Asay's death induce lethal injection.

Sitting in say publicly state prison chapel moments beforehand he was to witness prestige death, de la Rionda matt-up a sense of peace shower over him.

"I got a whisper atmosphere that it was right," take steps said.

FLIGHT FROM CUBA

On Sept. 7, , 4-year-old Bernardo de mean Rionda boarded a Pan Crew flight bound for the Unified States from Cuba.

His clear out from Cuba came during straight period when some 14, new children were spirited out search out the island following Fidel Castro's revolution on so-called Peter Pot flights arranged by Catholic priests.

De la Rionda took realm grandmother's seat on the course after she gave it stance believing the U.S.

Marines would come to the rescue.

He remembers his mother praying in illustriousness car on the way perfect the airport and her importunate him to not draw thoughts to himself once they checked in. He remembers the front she put on, saying everything would be OK.

He remembers her defy and the faces of authority father, two grandmothers and blot family members pressing up antagonistic the glass wall that spaced them at the Havana airport.

The Marines never came.

That was the last time he byword his parents, a 4-year-old girlhood heading off into the unknown.

He was taken to Miami count up live with his uncle Pablo "Tiki" Carrera Justiz, a preceding wealthy, high-ranking Cuban official abide lawyer driven into exile. What was thought to be efficient temporary reprieve from Castro's grasp wasn't so temporary after recurrent.

They and other family employees lived in a small chambers in what would later grow Miami's Little Havana neighborhood.

His uncle tried picking tomatoes coupled with other immigrants but his oppose couldn't take it. So government daughters folded laundry and gripped other jobs to support blue blood the gentry family — plus one: de usage Rionda.

In America the young gap la Rionda became fascinated fumble the legal system.

He sat and devoured history book care history book. He passionately knowledgeable all he could about America.

They received handouts of blocks accomplish cheese — to this put forward he doesn't know if blood was the church or high-mindedness government. And somehow de state Rionda was able to chill out to Catholic school. While situate as a mail clerk ferry Dow Chemical after high high school, the company paid for him to attend junior college contemporary then the University of Miami.

De la Rionda later went unobtrusively law school at Florida Return University.

Then it came time come to get pay back.

FIRST AND Lone JOB

His first job out mock law school was with Quaternary Circuit State Attorney's Office. It's all he has ever done — or wanted to do.

"I become skilled at what more noble cause could there be than being well-ordered prosecutor," he said.

He's been personal many times over the age.

But more important are illustriousness people that he has indiscriminately run into, like a clutch victim attending a wedding blunder the family of Marilyn Bring about who have stayed in painful.

"This is why I imitate stuck with it all these years," he said.

He's thinking put off now, after talking about restraint for the last 25 era, he'd like to write top-notch book about the sacrifice jurisdiction family made when they at a standstill him on a plane fast for the United States unsavory

"It may sound corny, on the other hand it is true.

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Unrestrainable have always felt that Frenzied owed this country a to be for opening its doors boss allowing a 4-year-old boy make it to make it in this really nice land. I may never in point of fact fully repay this country. Raving have and I am immortal to live the American Dream."

Eileen Kelley: ()