Supreme Court Overturns Conviction In "Baby Lollipops" Case
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Florida's highest court has again vacated the conviction, and subsequent death sentence, of Ana Maria Cardona in the death of her three year old son Lazaro Figueroa.
A Florida Power & Light Company employee found the boy's body in the bushes in front of a Miami Beach home on the morning of November 2, 1990. He was was extremely thin, his bones were visible, and he had a large bruise near his right eye. He was dressed in blue gym shorts, over a dirty diaper, and t-shirt with lollipops on it.
His t-shirt inspired Miami Beach police to dub the investigation into his death as the "Baby Lollipops" case.
The medical examiner determined that Lazaro ultimately died on November 1st as a result of a significant blunt injury to the head that had occurred hours to days before his death.
Investigators were able to identify the child as Lazaro - the son of Cardoza, who was 29 at the time, and Fidel Figueroa, who was murdered a month before Lazaro was born.
Cardona was originally tried in 1992, found guilty of aggravated child abuse and first-degree murder, and sentenced to death.
Florida Supreme Court then overturned the conviction in 2002 due to procedural problems. After hearing the evidence against her for a second time, a new jury also found her guilty.
That conviction was also appealed.
In their latest ruling the high court justices said they were compelled to overturn Cardona's conviction because of "the cumulative effect of the prosecutor's numerous improper closing arguments in the guilt phase, which repeatedly crossed the line this Court has clearly established regarding impermissible prosecutorial comments."
"Based upon the prosecutor's improper comments that permeated the State's closing argument, which repeatedly invoked "justice for Lazaro" and appealed to the passions of the jury, the "over zealousness in prosecuting the State's cause actually worked against justice, rather than for it."
In response to the high court's decision, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office issued the following statement:
"While we are saddened by today's Florida Supreme Court decision in the Ana Cardona murder case, we are prepared to retry this homicide. The cruelty involved in young Lazaro Figueroa's murder deserves our fundamental commitment."