It has been more than two decades since Correctional Officer Darla Lathrem and inmate Charlie Fuston were beaten to death during a botched escape attempt, but on Wednesday night, a Charlotte County jury decided that their killer should pay with his life.
Just before 7 p.m., following a penalty phase trial that stretched on for more than two weeks, jurors recommended the death penalty for Dwight T. Eaglin.
The decision marks a significant turn in a legal saga that has dragged on for nearly 20 years. Eaglin was originally sentenced to death for the murders in 2006. However, changes to Florida’s death penalty laws gave his defense team an opening to challenge that sentence, granting Eaglin a new penalty phase trial.
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This time, the message from the jury box was emphatic.
For the murder of Charlie Fuston, the jury voted 12-0 in favor of death. For the murder of Officer Lathrem, the vote was 11-1. Under current Florida law, a vote of 8-4 or higher is required to recommend capital punishment.
A Night of Violence
The case centers on a gruesome night in 2003 at the Charlotte Correctional Institution. According to prosecutors, Eaglin was in the midst of an escape attempt when the violence broke out.
Officer Lathrem was supervising a work crew that night. Evidence presented during the trials showed she was lured away from her post before being attacked. Both she and Fuston were beaten to death with hammers.
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At the time of the murders, Eaglin was already a convicted killer. He was serving a life sentence for a 1998 case in Pinellas County where he stabbed a man to death and cut his throat outside a club.
‘Justice Will Finally Be Served’
The verdict brought a sense of closure to a family that has waited a long time to see the legal process conclude.
“Our family is grateful that jurors made the appropriate recommendation,” said Janet Best, Darla Lathrem’s sister, following the verdict. “And we look forward to the Judge imposing that recommendation, so that justice will finally be served. We miss Darla very much.”
State Attorney Amira Fox, whose office prosecuted the case, emphasized that the passage of time does not weaken the state’s resolve in capital cases.
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“We will never let up when it comes to seeking justice, not after a day, a year, or decades,” Fox said. “This was a heinous crime and clearly a death penalty case. We will never stop in our quest for justice for victims.”
The prosecution team included Assistant State Attorneys Dan Feinberg, Shannon Doolity, and Kristan Burns.
What Comes Next
While the jury has made their recommendation, the final decision technically rests with the judge, though judges rarely deviate from a jury’s death recommendation in Florida.
Procedural steps remain before the sentence is finalized. A “Spencer Hearing”—a legal proceeding that gives the defendant one last chance to provide evidence against the death penalty before sentencing—is scheduled for March 20 at 9:15 a.m.
Formal sentencing is set to follow a week later, on March 27.
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