Sun Sentinel (TNS)

FORT LAUDERDALE — After Tashane Mario Chantiloupe allegedly shot to death a Boca Raton man who was a witness against him in an attempted murder case, prosecutors decided the crime was so cold-blooded, he deserved the death penalty.

But they neglected to tell the court before a 45-day deadline under a new Florida law — prosecutors were 14 days late.

So Palm Beach County Circuit Judge John Kastrenakes has declared the death penalty is off the table, finding he had no authority to skirt the rules and excuse the mistake.

"While other states include a good faith exception for failure to file within the prescribed time period, Florida does not," the judge wrote in a Dec. 15 order that will be appealed as the first challenge of its kind in the state.

Prosecutors disagree with the judge's reasoning, arguing the missed deadline is essentially a "harmless error," and prohibiting the death penalty over it is "the harshest punishment available."

The ruling, if left to stand, would block the state from seeking "the appropriate sentence" the most severe crimes demand and justice requires, prosecutors contend.

Meanwhile, the defense says the law is clear, and permitting the death penalty now would raise "serious concerns" about violating Chantiloupe's rights.

While siding with the defense, the judge made it clear, though, that he doesn't think Chantiloupe's rights would be harmed by putting the death penalty in play after the missed Oct. 2 deadline.

Kastrenakes wrote that "it would be wise" for higher courts or lawmakers to amend the law for "good faith" exceptions.

"However, it is not for this Court to re-work, change or fashion laws," he found.

Kastrenakes also pointed out the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office offered no explanation for why it dropped the ball.

The 45-day deadline and other changes in the state's death penalty law this year followed U.S. and Florida Supreme Court rulings that the state's process for sentencing people to be executed was unconstitutional.

Chantiloupe, 28, pleaded not guilty on Aug. 18 to charges of first-degree murder with a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm. He's accused of shooting Augustus Byam, 34, twice in the head at Boca Raton's Hughes Park.

Assistant Public Defender Joseph Walsh argued the court had no wiggle room with the law.

"No provision or exception exists for an original 'Notice of Intent to Seek Death' to be filed after the 45 days has passed," Walsh said, adding the deadline is critical to prepare a death penalty defense from the "inception of the case."

But prosecutor Aleathea McRoberts said she will ask the 4th District Court of Appeal to quash Kastrenakes' ruling, because the law doesn't say that a failure to meet the 45-day deadline "prohibits the State from seeking the death penalty."

She conceded that her official notice to seek death was "untimely," but argued "the two-week delay has not in any way prejudiced the defendant, nor has it violated any of his constitutional rights."

"There is nothing significant about any specific number of days, including the number forty-five," the prosecutor wrote.

McRoberts explained the prosecution and defense hadn't even started to share any "meaningful" evidence. She also said Chantiloupe's attorney didn't indicate why the two-week late death penalty notice was particularly harmful to his client.

The judge noted other states have similar strict deadline requirements. He said Montana has a rigid 60-day rule, while Nevada and Washington have 30-day deadlines that still enable prosecutors to seek a "good cause" exception.

The debate over the 45-day rule in Florida likely will wind up in the state Supreme Court, says Stephen K. Harper, a professor at Florida International University College of Law.

"The state has 45 days to make up their mind, period," said Harper, who leads the Florida Center for Capital Representation at the college. "It's not fair to the defense to proceed like it's not a death case and then it is."

There's no such deadline in federal court unless otherwise ordered by a trial judge.

With the appellate fight looming in the Chantiloupe case it could take years before it's presented to a jury.

Boca Raton police said Chantiloupe targeted "Gus" Byam because Byam was a witness against him in a 2016 attempted murder case that resulted in an aggravated battery conviction.

Byam was a landscaper who volunteered for a local ministry that aids homeless people.