Charlotte Broadnax’s life was forever changed for the worse in 2022 when she discovered her father, Roosevelt Broadnax Jr., had been fatally shot with a single bullet while in his own home.
Just how much impact did that event have in her life?
“A man asked me to marry him, and I said, ‘No,’ because my father is not here to walk me down the aisle,” she told Judge John Miller during the Dec. 17 sentencing of the duo responsible for her father’s death.
Miller considered statements from Charlotte Broadnax and others when determining the sentence of Kopelyn Gildon, the man convicted of Roosevelt’s second-degree murder, and Raven Morgan, who was charged as a principal to the murder.
Gildon was issued a life sentence, and Morgan was sentenced to a decade in prison.
On the afternoon of Aug. 7, 2022, Gildon shot and killed Roosevelt Broadnax Jr., in Broadnax’s home on Walnut Avenue, prosecutors said. Gildon was accompanied by Morgan who initially distracted Broadnax before Gildon came into the bedroom and shot Broadnax as he lay on the bed.
Morgan later confessed to her involvement in the case and explained the homicide was a murder-for-hire transacted by Gildon with another local drug dealer.
Daughter of murder victim tells killer, ‘I choose to forgive you’
Morgan—who previously took a deal from the state and pleaded guilty to principal to second-degree murder and giving false information to law enforcement—was the sole reason the Office of the State Attorney could prosecute Gildon, according to Assistant State Attorney Amy Shea. Morgan was the only witness to the crime, and without her assistance Shea said she would not have been able to file a case against Gildon.
Despite Gildon and Raven conspiring to kill Broadnax, Charlotte looked both defendants in the eye and said, “I forgive you.”
“I’m sorry to my family, but I’m not happy with my life,” Charlotte Broadnax said, referring to the pent up anger and mourning she’s held for over three years. “I choose to forgive you.”
One of Roosevelt Broadnax’s siblings, Monica, also took the opportunity to speak to the court prior to the sentencing, telling both Gildon and Morgan that her brother died over something small and trivial.
“You took someone that was so precious away from us,” Monica said through tears. “All because you low-life cowards wanted drugs.
“My brother didn’t deserve this,” she added. “These crimes you have committed has shaken this family to the core.”
Raven Morgan rewarded for cooperation in murder investigation
Once the family finished providing insight to Miller as to who Broadnax was as a person and giving their opinion as to what they feel is a proper sentence, Miller announced his sentence.
After saying that almost every murder he’s ever tried during his tenure as a judge has been “senseless,” he sentenced Gildon to life in Florida’s Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole.
For Morgan, the sentence was not as straightforward. Morgan’s plea deal with the state capped her prison time at 25 years, allowing her to avoid a potential life sentence, and her minimum was roughly 22 years. However, her attorney, Molly Snyder, argued for a downward departure, a way for a judge to legally sentence a defendant below a required minimum sentence.
According to Miller, a judge must find a legal basis for a downward departure and must believe it’s appropriate in that specific case. Miller said he did find a legal basis for the departure, noting that Morgan was substantially helpful in getting Gildon arrested and ultimately convicted of Broadnax’s murder.
He also felt it was appropriate to downward depart Morgan, saying he would reward her for helping convict someone who otherwise may not have even been arrested.
“Both attorneys are absolutely right. There is no way the state could have even filed this case (against Gildon)—much less got a conviction—without the cooperation of Ms. Morgan,” Miller said. “It would have been impossible.
“He would not have even been prosecuted, we wouldn’t have had a trial last week, we would not have had a sentencing today, we would not have gotten to watch him get carried out of here in handcuffs to go to where he belongs, which is prison for the rest of his life, without (Morgan’s) cooperation,” the judge added. “The court feels obligated to reward cooperation.”
Miller—noting that number of crimes that go unsolved because witnesses refuse to forward and speak to law enforcement—said that if cooperation is not rewarded for those who help, there would be no incentive for future witnesses of crimes to speak out.
Following his statements, Miller granted Snyder’s motion for a downward departure and sentenced Morgan to 10 years in state prison for her murder charge and five years for her false information charge, served concurrently.
When Morgan is released from prison, Miller ordered her to serve 20 years of probation.
“To encourage people to cooperate in the future, (and) to help this community solve crimes, especially when it involves the trigger person, I feel it’s important to reward cooperation,” Miller said.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Daughter forgives dad’s killers at murder-for-hire plot sentencing
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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