On Monday, Prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty against the four young adults who murdered Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor. The reason, the accused shooter was a minor when the crime was committed. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a suspect cannot be executed for crimes committed when they’re under 18, and it’s a well established legal principle that others involved in the same case as a minor cannot face the ultimate penalty if they are less directly responsible. An assistant State Attorney filed the notice Friday citing the death penalty would be waived. Therefore, the four suspects can get a maximum of life in prison if convicted of first degree murder. The trial is scheduled to commence on August 25, 2008. Eric Rivera Jr., who turned 18 last month, was 17 at the time he allegedly shot Taylor during a botched robbery at the Pro Bowl safety’s Miami-area home in November. Taylor, 24, died of massive blood loss after he was shot in the upper leg.    

The Taylor family accepted prosecutor’s explanation for the move, a family spokesman said.  “All the co-defendants can’t be subject to the death penalty if the (alleged) shooter is not,” said Richard Sharpstein, a lawyer who has acted as spokesman for the Taylor family. “There are no issues of discretion here. There’s no choice.”

Eric Rivera, who is accused of shooting Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, has not admitted that he was the who shot Taylor. The 17 year old’s lawyer is said to be searching high and low for a plea deal with prosecutors. “When the State Attorney’s Office is ready, we would like to sit down and begin discussion with them so we can move towards a resolution in the case that has the best interest of all parties in mind,” said his lawyer Sawyer Smith, according to the Associated Press. “We want to minimize the impact of case resolution on the Taylor family and find a result that’s in the best interest of justice.” The State is accusing Rivera of being the trigger man during the Nov. 26 incident at Taylor’s Miami home. The 17-year-old will be tried as an adult, which means he will also be eligible for the death penalty.

ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that as police investigate the slaying of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, it has become increasingly clear that his half sister Sasha Johnson unwittingly provided a direct link between Taylor and the four Fort Myers men charged with killing him in a bungled burglary attempt. Johnson, 21, had been dating a relative of one of the accused men since her senior year at Dunbar High School in Fort Myers. Johnson’s boyfriend, Christopher Devon Wardlow, brought one of the four men to Johnson’s birthday party, at the house where Taylor was later shot, Johnson’s father said. The relative of Wardlow, Charles Kendrick Lee Wardlow, has confessed to having had a role in the crime, John Evans III, Wardlow’s defense attorney, said Saturday. 

Fox Sports reports that authorities have detained at least three people in the Fort Myers area for questioning in the death of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor. A law enforcement official in Lee County confirmed the men from the Fort Myers area were in custody, but requested anonymity because the investigation is being handled by Miami-Dade County police. Miami-Dade police Detective Carlos Maura said he was not aware of anyone in custody. He said only that detectives were in the Fort Myers area for a case, but declined to say which one. The Miami Herald, which first reported the development on its Web site, said investigators believe three suspects learned of Taylor’s house through someone who unwittingly set up the burglary by bragging about his wealth. The suspects include two teenagers and a man in his 20s, all from the Fort Myers area, the paper reported.
Richard Sharpstein, a former Taylor lawyer and family friend, confirmed the law enforcement report. “It’s my understanding that three individuals are in custody. A house is being searched,” Sharpstein said, without disclosing who had given him the information. He repeated previous statements that the burglary did not appear to be random, and that the 24-year-old’s house had been targeted. Evidence at Taylor’s home indicated one or more intruders barged into the house early Monday in an attempted burglary, Miami-Dade police director Robert Parker said Wednesday. As previously reported, Taylor and longtime girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, were awakened by loud noises at Taylor’s home in an affluent Miami suburb, Sharpstein has said. Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection, Sharpstein said, then someone broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor in the upper leg. Neither the couple’s 18-month-old daughter, also named Jackie, nor Garcia were injured in the attack.

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR SEAN TAYLOR WILL BE HELD ON MONDAY DEC. 3RD AT 11AM AT FIU SOUTH CAMPUS IN THE PHARMED ARENA. 11200 SW 8TH ST, FL…IT WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC…

NFL Player and former U.M. football player, Sean Taylor,  died Tuesday after he was shot in his home by an apparent intruder, leaving the Washington Redskins in mourning for a teammate who seemed to have reordered his life since becoming a father. The 24-year-old player died at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he had been airlifted after the shooting early Monday, family friend Richard Sharpstein said. Sharpstein said Taylor’s father informed him of the death at about 5:30 a.m. Friends of the player expressed their condolences on a South Florida local radio show this morning. Everyone is shocked because Sean was a strong man who could fight through anything…Keep his family in your prayers.