Principal liability — how Florida convicts a person who never fired the gun
Plain-English explainer, drawn only from the case law, the statute, and the model jury instruction. Not legal advice.
The test
Florida has no separate, lighter crime for the person who arranges a killing. Under the principals statute, whoever "aids, abets, counsels, hires, or otherwise procures" an offense is guilty of that offense itself — the same first-degree murder as the shooter — whether or not they were present. For a defendant alleged to have paid the person who did it, the standard jury instruction asks two things: whether the defendant had a conscious intent that the killing be done, and whether the defendant did some act or said some word that actually caused it to happen. Because the top charge is first-degree murder, the state must also prove premeditation. Gardner is charged as a principal and by conspiracy and solicitation; she has pleaded not guilty, and the state carries the burden on every element.
Who has to prove what
Entirely on the state, beyond a reasonable doubt, on every count. Gardner does not have to prove anything, does not have to testify, and does not have to explain any piece of the state's evidence. Her side's task is to leave the jury unsure. The verdict must be unanimous either way.
- She was not at the scene. How can that be first-degree murder?
- Florida treats the person who hires or procures a killing as a principal — guilty of the same crime as the person who carried it out, whether or not they were present. That is why the charge against Gardner is first-degree murder and not something lesser.
- Why is she being tried last?
- Henry Tenon, the accused gunman, first pleaded guilty and agreed to testify, then moved to withdraw that plea. Mario Fernandez was tried first and convicted in August 2026. Gardner's trial was continued to 2027, and the state now says it will move to try her together with Tenon.
- What sentence does she face if convicted of the murder count?
- Life in prison. Prosecutors withdrew the death penalty in November 2025, and Florida law fixes the sentence for a capital felony where death is not imposed at life imprisonment, with no penalty phase.
— Fla. Stat. § 777.011 — Principal in first degree · Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 3.5(b) — principals, active participant hired by the defendant · Fla. Stat. § 782.04 — degrees of murder · Fla. Stat. § 777.04 — criminal solicitation
What each verdict means
Every outcome the jury can return in this case, and what it would mean. Each one carries the statute or the reporting it rests on.
Life in prison without parole, automatically. Because prosecutors withdrew the death penalty, Florida law leaves the judge no range: a capital felony where death is not imposed carries life imprisonment. There would be no penalty phase.
— Fla. Stat. § 775.082 — penalties · Fla. Stat. § 782.04 — degrees of murder · News4Jax/WJXT — death penalty withdrawn
Up to 30 years. Asking or hiring someone to commit a capital crime is graded one notch down, as a first-degree felony, which the sentencing statute caps at 30 years. The jury can convict on this count, on the murder count, on both, or on neither.
— Fla. Stat. § 777.04 — criminal solicitation · Fla. Stat. § 775.082 — penalties
She would be acquitted and could not be tried again for this case. It would not touch Henry Tenon's prosecution, which the state is moving to join with hers for the 2027 trial.
— News4Jax/WJXT — trial delayed, state to seek joint trial · Action News Jax — Gardner and Tenon to be tried together in May
A mistrial, and nothing is decided. Prosecutors would be free to try her again before a new jury — a hung jury is not an acquittal.
— Fla. Stat. § 782.04 — degrees of murder · CBS News / AP — case overview