Acquitted but serving life in prison
Curtis Shuler Jr. is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for burglary and the killing of Larry Steven Tyler in 1998. Convicted for a crime he supposedly committed when he was 16, there was no physical evidence tying him to the crime. Witnesses could not place Curtis at the scene, and he had an alibi. Curtis was arrested on the basis of information from another person implicated in the crime, who later admitted in court that he was lying about Curtis' involvement.
When he was finally tried five years after being arrested, a jury acquitted Curtis of murder, but found him guilty of the lesser charge of burglary, stating in part, "[W]e further find that the defendant did not carry, display or use a firearm, and we further find that the defendant did not make an assault or battery on Larry Steven Tyler."
In the state of Florida, however, under the "felony murder" rule, if a person is found guilty of an additional felony charge, they can be penalized for the murder component of the charges as well. The jury may not have been aware of the felony murder rule, or the punishment Curtis would receive as a result, when it found him guilty of the burglary charge.
Here, Curtis' wife describes his ongoing struggle for justice.
MY HUSBAND'S name is Curtis Shuler Jr., and he is currently serving a term of natural life in prison without the possibility of parole.
He was a 16 year old when he was arrested in 1998. He was charged with premeditated first-degree murder. A jury acquitted him of murder. In fact, they jury acquitted him of every essential element that constituted the crime. Yet instead of following state and federal laws when it comes to legally inconsistent verdicts, the prosecutor persuaded the judge to find Curtis guilty as charged, and the court adjudicated him guilty--despite the judge's confusion as to the verdict.
Curtis has a life sentence without parole for a murder he was never convicted of committing. He was wrongfully convicted and railroaded by the state. In fact, the verdict was favorable to him.
Curtis was tried four consecutive times on these charges. His first trial was reversed by the Second District Court of Appeals due to the exclusion of a Black juror from the panel by the prosecution. His second trial resulted in a mistrial. Then he had a third trial. In the jury verdict in his third trial, the jurors were ten for "not guilty" and two for "guilty," resulting in a hung jury.
He was tried again. In this trial, the jury returned what in law is called a "legally inconsistent verdict." Before someone can be convicted of a crime, the due process clause of the 14th Amendment requires that all elements to that crime be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge said that the verdict made no sense to him and that he did not understand it. He asked the prosecutor to review it. The prosecutor made the determination of what Curtis was guilty of, not the jury. The judge adjudicated him guilty as charged of premeditated first degree murder, having been persuaded by the prosecutor to basically ignore the verdict of the jury. Many of his appeals have failed because the courts refuse to answer them on the merits.
This could happen to you or anybody, and it should not. The state could not lawfully convict him. He had 13 alibi witnesses. There was no physical or scientific evidence, DNA, gunshot residue or fingerprints linking him to this crime, and no eyewitnesses with a positive identification.
The state used two unindicted men to testify against Curtis, who actually participated in the crime and who later recanted their testimonies. Curtis was never afforded the protection of the Constitution. He was an ignorant 16-year-old, oblivious to the legal proceedings.
When he does receive his freedom, he will use it well--but I need help to expose this injustice.
In 1998, there were a total of seven teens convicted of murder and prosecuted by the same state's attorney, John Aguero. He pushed for lesser sentences for the white teenagers. Two are already free and the other two will be coming home soon. The three Black teens, however, were given life without parole. Why did he feel compassion for the white teens and not the Black teens?
Thank you for your time and patience, and may God's peace be with you. Please help free Curtis. I have created a website in which I have scanned the legal documents from the court and I also have multiple copies to send you if need be.
Melissa Shuler
For information about Curtis Shuler's case, visit the Justice4Juveniles and Free Curtis Shuler websites.
