Appellate court upholds Henry Segura's quadruple murder convictions, life sentences

Appellate judges in Tallahassee Wednesday upheld the life sentences for convicted quadruple murderer Henry Segura, saying they would not substitute their opinion for the jury's verdict.

The unanimous opinion by a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal upholds Segura’s 2019 life sentences for the gruesome Nov. 19, 2010 murders of Brandi Peters, her twin 6-year-olds Tamiyah and Taniyah Peters, and his own 3-year-old son, JaVante Segura.

More on the Segura case:

• Jury calls for life term for Henry Segura, who told judge 'they should sentence me to death'

• Amid doubts, Henry Segura conviction puts end to chilling crime

Segura declared his innocence for almost a decade before the trial in which he told a judge he should be sentenced to death after his conviction.

“There was significant evidence of Segura’s guilt,” judges Robert Long Jr., Harvey Jay and M. Kemmerly Thomas wrote in a 4-page opinion.

They disagreed with the defense theory of the murders and the witness who claimed to have been the mastermind behind them: That the killings were carried out by a seven-member hit squad connected to an international drug cartel which Peters purportedly ran narcotics for.

“Segura’s real request is for us, as appellate judges, to substitute our verdict for the jury’s. Opposing theories must be weighed by the jury,” the judges wrote. “We do not try the case again on appeal.”

For now, Segura will continue to serve life imprisonment at Hardee Correctional Institution in Hardee County, where he is currently being held.

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Henry Segura to remain behind bars for Florida murders after appeal rejected