Jurors urge death penalty

The judge will decide the fate of a double murderer.

By COLLEEN JENKINS, Times Staff Writer
Published November 3, 2007

TAMPA - The prosecutor wanted Khalid Ali Pasha to die for his grisly double murder, and the defense attorney suggested humanity for a troubled man.

A jury on Friday met them close to the middle, with the majority recommending the death penalty for Pasha in two 7-5 votes.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge William Fuente will issue a final sentence Dec. 21. But the narrow vote and automatic appeals mean Pasha, 64, will likely die a natural death no matter what the judge decides.

"Statistically, 7-5 death recommendations sit on death row forever," said defense attorney Bob Fraser.

Jurors spent about two hours deliberating Friday, just slightly longer than it took them Wednesday to find Pasha guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.

On Aug. 23, 2002, Pasha killed Robin Canady, 43, his wife of less than one month, and her daughter, Ranesha Singleton, 20. He stabbed and beat them in a cul-de-sac in the Woodlands Corporate Center on Waters Avenue, west of Dale Mabry Highway.

Awitness saw a man wearing a bloody white hazmat jumpsuit. Detectives found the suit, a knife and a club in Pasha's van.

Pasha's attorney initially argued that no one saw the killings or could say for sure that it was Pasha, an environmental technician at HSA Engineers in Tampa, wearing the suit.

The defense switched gears after Pasha's conviction.

A psychiatrist said Pasha was intelligent but paranoid. He struggled to form lasting relationships after his mother and stepmother died by the time he was 6.

Former colleagues called him a hard worker, and his two ex-wives said they had never known the devout Muslim to be violent.

"The acts you found him guilty of were totally out of character," Fraser said during his closing argument. "No one thought him capable of doing this."

But Assistant State Attorney Jalal Harb argued the acts weren't such a stretch. Pasha served prison time for robbing banks in Kentucky and Indiana.

Jurors heard no motive, Harb said, but they saw plenty evidence of cold calculation.

The heaviness of the death recommendation seemed lost in the courtroom of strangers. No family members of the victims or the defendant attended the trial. Pasha gave no visible reaction. One female juror cried. Lawyers packed up quickly.

The jurors walked out, telling reporters they did not want to discuss their decision.

They left in a pack, heading to Hooters for a final gathering.

Colleen Jenkins can be reached at cjenkins@sptimes.com or 813 226-3337.

[Last modified November 2, 2007, 22:41:26]