In a decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court of Florida denied an attempt by a Putnam County man to have his death penalty overturned.
Mark Wilson was sentenced to death in 2023 after a three-day trial for the murders of his girlfriend’s young nephews at a home in Melrose.
Robert, 12, and Tayten, 14, were found dead by their mother, Sarah Baker, after being beaten with a hammer and having their throats cut, according to court documents.
The suspect, Wilson, was the boyfriend of Cindy Guinan, the boys’ aunt. The two, along with their infant daughter, had been living in a shed on the Bakers’ property before the brutal killings.
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In his appeal, Wilson did not argue that there was insufficient evidence for the first-degree murder convictions, but he did take issue with supposed errors during the trial.
One argument was that he was on Methamphetamine at the time of the murders, and that it should have been a mitigating factor in his sentencing.
The court wrote, “There is scant proof of this. All contemporaneous observations indicate he was not under the influence.” The court also said there was only slight weight to the argument that methamphetamine use could have affected his memory of the incident.
In the appeal, Wilson also argued that the death penalty should not be used in general.
“Having reviewed each of Wilson’s claims, we affirm the judgments of conviction and sentences, including the sentences of death,” concluded the court.
Read the court’s full decision and address of the appeal below:
At the time of sentencing, Judge Howard McGillin noted that Wilson had the choice to plead guilty and spare the family of the boys of a trial, but he chose not to. That was named a big factor in McGillin’s decision to hand down the death penalty.
Wilson remains incarcerated at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford.
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