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Fla. inmate faces possible death sentence for killing cellmate

Authorities say Ricky D. Martin was found lying in a pool of blood with bound hands and feet in his cell at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in March 2012

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Santa Rosa County jurors found 37-year-old Shawn Rogers guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder and kidnapping.

Photo/Santa Rosa Police

Associated Press

MILTON, Fla. — A Florida prisoner with a history of attacking other inmates faces a possible death sentence for fatally beating his cellmate.

The Pensacola News Journal reports Santa Rosa County jurors found 37-year-old Shawn Rogers guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder and kidnapping. Jurors will next decide if Rogers deserves the death penalty or life in prison. Execution requires a unanimous vote.

Authorities say Ricky D. Martin was found lying in a pool of blood with bound hands and feet in his cell at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in March 2012. He was taken to a Pensacola hospital, where he died a week later.

Rogers is already serving a life sentence for armed robbery and battery convictions in Volusia County. Officials say Rogers has a history of violence, including multiple assaults on inmates.

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