The man convicted of killing Maddie Clifton was in court June 9 to start the process of scheduling a sentencing review. Joshua Phillips is serving life in prison for the murder of the 8-year-old more than two decades ago.
Maddie’s sister, Jessie Clifton, is now preparing for the details of her death to be played out in court once again.
“We miss her every day,” Clifton said.
She was just 11 years old when Maddie disappeared in November 1998.
“It has not been easy. I have a wonderful life and I love my life, but I think the three of us, we all suffer from a lot of demons,” Clifton said of her family.
Maddie was found dead days later hidden under Phillips’ waterbed. She had been badly beaten and stabbed; horrifying details Jessie has already had to relieve inside the courtroom.
“I didn’t know the full extent and the full effect that it would have on me sitting through all of that and listening, and I can tell you that I’m not excited to do it again,” her sister said.
Because of a supreme court ruling, Phillips was resentenced to life in prison in 2017 with the opportunity for review after serving 25 years. It is now time for that review.
Although no date was set for the review itself, Clifton is beginning to process what’s to come. She hopes Phillips will keep his life sentence and justice will remain for Maddie.
“When you try to hurt someone the first time and you don’t get the outcome you want, that’s your first chance at saving that person,” Clifton said. “And then you get a second chance and you decide again, ‘OK this person is still not hurt enough for me, I’m gonna do it a third time.’ So he had his chances in my mind on that day, that first chance and that second chance, and I think that that’s all he deserves.”
Both sides will reconvene on July 8 to discuss where they are in their preparation for the review and a date could be set then.
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While Clifton waits for that date to be set, she hopes people will never forget her younger sister.
“I just want people to remember her,” she said. “I want everyone that knew her and loved her to remember how wonderful and amazing she truly was.”
This story was first published by Times-Union news partner First Coast News.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: ‘He had his chances’: Maddie Clifton’s sister braces for a new round of court hearings
Reporting by Riley Phillips / Florida Times-Union
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