Isaiah Chance's Lawyer Tells Julio Foolio Murder Jury To 'Choose Life'

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I appreciate your time as always. Thank you for having us. We really do.

[00:00:05]We've already made one of the hardest decisions any human being can make, and we're going to ask you to make a decision that in many ways is even harder.

[00:00:13]That decision is to look at Isaiah Chance's whole life, not just the worst moments of his life, from the beginning and who he was as a child and the man he was and is still becoming.

[00:00:25]Florida law and US Constitution permit, but never require, the imposition of the death penalty.

[00:00:32]The law strongly favors life. It strongly favors life because our society has always placed a high value on life.

[00:00:39]It strongly favors life because despite the fact that if you find the aggravators outweigh the mitigators, if your conscience tells you you not want to seek the death penalty, you do not have to vote for it.

[00:00:50]The law strongly favors life because it permits the jury to show mercy.

[00:00:56]The state has stated they're going to want two aggravators for Mr. Chance, that he was in a criminal gang and that the murder was committed in a cold, calculated, premeditated fashion.

[00:01:06]You have already found that Mr. Chance was in a criminal gang.

[00:01:10]And the state has indicated, correctly, there is a difference between premeditated and cold, calculated, and premeditated. We're not going to, in our presentation of the evidence, argue about the difference. We trust you'll make the proper decision on that. We're here because we believe that when you see the complete view of Isaiah Chance as a person, that those mitigators will outweigh the aggravators.

[00:01:34]Here are some of the mitigating circumstances we're going to present.

[00:01:37]The lack of any significant history, criminal history, of Mr. Chance is the fact that he was not an actual shooter in this offense.

[00:01:47]His age at the time of the crime, he was 21.

[00:01:51]And you'll hear from our expert, Dr. Tracy Hardigan, on this, the fact that he was borderline intellectually disabled or is borderline intellectually disabled, so all the other other developmental issues.

[00:02:03]Fact that he loves his children, of which he has three. He's a good father.

[00:02:06]He is a good son.

[00:02:08]All the witnesses from his upbringing, his mother, his father, stepfather, grandmother, godmother, and loving relationship with his friends and family before and during his incarceration.

[00:02:20]Isaiah Chance grew up in Jacksonville.

[00:02:22]He was not raised in chaos. His parents were divorced, but they both stayed in his life.

[00:02:28]You're going to hear about godmother who was with him from when he before he took his first steps. He was there when he was when his mother was pregnant with him.

[00:02:36]He was surrounded by people who loved him and he loved them back.

[00:02:41]You're going to hear from Nashon Nix. He served as a father figure from Isaiah from when he was around seven.

[00:02:46]Tell you he loved Isaiah like a son and he still does.

[00:02:49]He'll tell you that when he had structure and he had discipline, he moved in the right direction every time.

[00:02:56]Ms. Wade, a family friend, will tell you he was curious, quiet, and deeply interested in building a future.

[00:03:03]Isaiah was born premature. All of his mother Victoria's children came early and he was no exception. And as he grew, it became clear some things were harder for him. He struggled in school, not because he didn't try, but because his brain processed the world differently. The school had concerns and he needed more help than other students did.

[00:03:24]You'll hear this from Dr. Tracy Hardick.

[00:03:25]His IQ was recently tested. It was 71.

[00:03:29]This places Mr. Chance in the range that clinicians call borderline intellectual functioning.

[00:03:34]This is not an excuse, but this is a fact and it's a fact you are entitled to weigh.

[00:03:40]Everyone who knows Isaiah will describe him the same way, curious, quiet, gentle.

[00:03:46]A kid who wanted to be liked, a kid who wanted to fit in. A kid when he had structure and guidance, he could thrive.

[00:03:53]When he didn't, he struggled. He was not a person barreling towards this moment his his whole life.

[00:03:59]He was not a burden to the people around him. He was a presence.

[00:04:02]He went to his little sister's track meets, helped her train because he wanted to be around her.

[00:04:07]He attended church. He sat with Mr. Nix, talked about purpose and faith.

[00:04:12]He made people laugh. He had what some people considered dry, quiet sense of humor. He was funny. He was warm.

[00:04:19]He helped around the house.

[00:04:21]He helped other people. He reached out to other people for advice.

[00:04:25]These are not the acts of a person without value.

[00:04:28]The state will stand in before you and argue that Mr. Chance should die for what happened in this case. They will focus on the offense and that is their right to do so. We're asking you to focus on Isaiah's life.

[00:04:39]You're going to hear from family members and friends who will tell you about his life. You're going to hear Excuse me. We ask you to consider that a person can do something unforgivable and still not be beyond the reach of mercy.

[00:04:55]The law in its wisdom created this space precisely for that reason. Isaiah Chance is not the worst thing he has ever done.

[00:05:02]And by the end of those witnesses, we hope you will know Isaiah Chance. And then I will talk to you again at the end of this case and I will ask you to choose life. Thank you.