Jury Rules Marcus Floyd Was Fit To Stand Trial In 2015 In Murder Of CPD Officer Thomas Wortham IV, Over Attorneys' Claims That Floyd Had Amnesia
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A jury on Thursday ruled that a man convicted in the 2010 murder of Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV had been fit to stand trial, after his attorneys argued that he'd had amnesia and did not remember the incident.
Marcus Floyd was convicted and is serving a life sentence for the murder of Thomas Wortham IV. But Floyd's attorney claimed his client was never fit to go to trial the first time.
On May 19, 2010, Floyd and three others followed Officer Wortham and tried stealing his motorcycle outside his parents' house in the Chatham community. Wortham identified himself as a Chicago Police officer while out front with his father.
At that point, the men opened fire. The senior Thomas Wortham III – a retired Chicago Police officer – shot and killed one of the suspects, Floyd's cousin Brian Floyd, and injured Marcus Floyd himself.
But the younger Wortham died.
Marcus Floyd was convicted of Officer Wortham's murder – along with two other men, Paris McGee and Toyious Taylor, who are also both now serving life prison sentences. But Marcus Floyd's attorney said his client has amnesia and does not remember the day of the murder.
This prompted a new fitness trial to determine if Marcus Floyd had been fit to stand trial in 2015. On Thursday, a jury ruled that indeed he had been.
The jury deliberated for just over three hours.
Outside the courtroom Thursday night, an exhausted Wortham family said enough is enough.
"I was a law enforcement officer for 32 years. I believe that everyone has rights. But I think what this society is turning towards – they're forgetting about victims; victims' rights," said Thomas Wortham III. "They need to think more about victims."
Had the jury ruled Floyd was unfit, Wortham's family had worried he could have been released. The family respects justice, called the new hearing is a slap in the face.
"We don't believe you try and try until you figure out how to get away with crime you committed," Officer Wortham's sister, Sandra Wortham, told CBS 2's Jermont Terry earlier this week. "There's not been one ounce of accountability from any of these offenders. All they have done is spent the last 12 years trying to maneuver around their convictions."
The fitness trial is expected to last all week. The family plans to be in court every day.
