The resentencing follows a new penalty phase tied to changes in Florida death penalty law.
PUNTA GORDA, FL — A Charlotte County judge on Friday resentenced Dwight Thomas Eaglin to death for killing a correctional officer and a fellow inmate during a failed 2003 escape attempt at Charlotte Correctional Institution.
The sentence returns Eaglin, 50, to death row in a case that has moved through Florida courts for more than two decades. His murder convictions were not retried. The latest proceeding focused on whether Eaglin should again receive death sentences for the killings of Correctional Officer Darla Lathrem and inmate Charlie Fuston.
Eaglin was originally sentenced to death in 2006 after jurors convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder. That earlier jury recommended death by an 8-4 vote. Years later, changes in Florida’s death penalty rules opened the door to a new penalty phase for some inmates whose death sentences had been based on nonunanimous jury recommendations. Eaglin’s new sentencing trial began in January in Charlotte County. After more than two weeks of testimony, jurors again recommended death. State Attorney Amira Fox said after the January recommendation that prosecutors would not stop seeking justice “after a day, a year, or decades.”
The killings happened June 11, 2003, inside Charlotte Correctional Institution near Punta Gorda. Prosecutors said Eaglin was part of an escape plan with other inmates working on a prison crew. Lathrem, 38, was supervising the crew at night when she was lured away and attacked. Authorities said she and Fuston were beaten with hammers. Fuston, 36, also was killed during the escape attempt. The escape failed, and Eaglin was later prosecuted for both deaths. At the time, he was already serving a life sentence for a 1998 murder in Pinellas County.
During the January penalty phase, the state argued that the killings were planned, violent and tied to an attempt to escape custody. Jurors heard from witnesses about the prison scene and about the events leading to the attack. The defense did not challenge the guilty verdicts, which remained in place, but argued against another death sentence. The new jury voted 11-1 to recommend death for Lathrem’s murder and 12-0 to recommend death for Fuston’s murder. Under Florida law, a judge makes the final sentencing decision after weighing the jury’s recommendation and the evidence presented in court.
The case has long carried weight for law enforcement and corrections officers in Florida. Lathrem was killed while working inside a state prison, and her death has been remembered by corrections employees and public safety groups. Fuston, who was incarcerated at the time, also became part of the case record as a victim of the attempted escape. Janet Best, Lathrem’s sister, said after the jury recommendation that her family was grateful jurors made what she called the appropriate recommendation. “We miss Darla very much,” Best said.
Eaglin’s resentencing was the result of a legal process separate from his convictions. A Spencer hearing, a Florida proceeding that allows both sides to present additional information before sentencing, was scheduled before the final sentencing date. Prosecutors from the 20th Judicial Circuit handled the new penalty phase. The court’s Friday order means Eaglin again faces death sentences on both first-degree murder counts, though post-sentencing motions and appeals are common in capital cases.
The Friday sentence leaves Eaglin under two death sentences for the 2003 prison murders, in addition to the life sentence he was already serving for the earlier Pinellas County killing. The next steps will move through the court record as the capital case returns to post-sentencing review.
Author note: Last updated June 20, 2026.