Convicted murderer Scott Edward Nelson, 55, told jurors in Orange Circuit Court, in Orlando, that he wished for the death penalty on Monday as he had be ‘treated like an animal for 25 years during the time he previously spent in prison
A Florida murderer who claims he was ‘treated like an animal for 25 years’ in prison has asked jurors for the death penalty over further incarceration.
Scott Edward Nelson, 55, confirmed his wish to be executed stating, ‘I’m a homicidal maniac’ to the jury at Orange Circuit Court, in Orlando.
Last month, he was found guilty of killing Jennifer Fulford, 56, of Altamonte Springs, after kidnapping her during a robbery in 2017.
After withdrawing money from her bank account, he took her to an abandoned field in South West Orange County, where he duct-taped her entire head and stabbed her several times until she was dead. He did not previously know his victim.
Nelson’s attorneys have asked the jury whether he should spend the rest of his life in prison or face the death penalty.
Testifying in the penalty phases of the murder trial, when he was asked if he wanted to be sentenced to death on Monday afternoon, he replied, ‘Yes.’
Nelson confirmed to jurors on Monday that he wanted to be executed after being found guilty of murdering Jennifer Fulford, 56, in 2017
Jennifer Fulford (above) was kidnapped by Nelson in 2017, after withdrawing money from her account he drove her to a field where he duct-taped her entire head and stabbed her multiple times
Nelson agreed to testify before jurors in the hope of convincing them to give him the death penalty over life imprisonment
Nelson testified about some of the extreme conditions he had experienced in the federal prison system.
Previously he had been incarcerated in both 1994 an 2010 for two robberies, where he claimed to have suffered abuse.
He told Circuit Judge Keith White that he wanted the jury to know the effect that 25-years in prison had had on him and what it risked doing in the future.
‘I’ve been brutalized,’ Nelson said according to the Orlando Sentinel. ‘There’s nothing you can dream up that hasn’t been done to me in federal custody,’
‘I want them to know what is going to happen if I get life in prison.
‘This is important to me. This is the only reason I wanted to testify.’
In one account Nelson claimed other inmates regularly set off the fire alarm sprinkler system to flood his cell.
He said this would leave him ankle-deep in water, toilet feces and fire retardant.
Nelson also described being kept in a small cell while incarcerated in Kansas Prison without a fan or air conditioning in 100-degree weather.
He told them that he was ‘tied like a dog’ on Christmas morning, when an officer dressed as Santa Claus restrained him to his bed, by his ankles and feet, for the amusement of prison visitors.
From a previous prison stint, he explained that he was beaten unconscious and raped by a cellmate in 2015, which he claims left him positive for Hepatitis C.
Nelson said: ‘I asked for blood testing for HIV and Hepatitis C.
‘My entire life I was negative for Hepatitis C. All of a sudden, now I’m positive for Hepatitis C, with no treatment.’
Nelson appeared before Orange Cicuit County Court in Orlando, Florida, he told the Circuit Judge Keith White that he only agreed to testify in the hope of convincing the jury to give him the death penalty over more time in prison
Nelson hopes his testimony will convince jurors that he should be executed rather than spending the rest of his life in prison
Valerie McClain, a psychologist hired by Nelson’s lawyers, cited the disturbances in the past that led up to his disturbed state of mind and suggest how that could have influenced his decision to Fulford in 2017
Valerie McClain, a psychologist hired by Nelson’s team, said that he was left with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of solitary confinement and the sexual assault he suffered.
She also cited emotional and physical abuse he suffered as a child leading to his difficulties.
While in prison, he was noted to be a suicide risk as well as suffering high anxiety and paranoia.
He was also diagnosed with depression and a mood disorder.
After being released from prison in 2017, Nelson had a colostomy bag, was suffering from hypertension, an irregular heart rate problem and Hepatitis C, The Sentinel reports.
When he killed Fulford, he was not taking medication and was homeless.
McClain said: ‘I did make the opinion at the time of the events leading up to the current offenses that he was suffering from extreme emotional disturbances.’