18 Years Out: Death row exoneree Seth Penalver speaks at Florida Atlantic
Death row exoneree Seth Penalver came to campus last Tuesday to speak about his experiences on death row.
April 5, 2016
Former death row inmate Seth Penalver, who spent 18 years in prison before his exoneration, spoke to students and staff on the Boca campus Tuesday night.
“He actually changed my mind on the view of death penalty,” said Marissa Buchanan, a junior majoring in criminal justice. “I wasn’t pro death, but I wasn’t against it; my views were mixed.”
Close to 450 seats in the Grand Palm Room were entirely filled by students and staff, with a dozen others standing up in the back of the room.
Professor Cassandra Atkin-Plunk, who specializes in studying corrections and helped organize the event, opened the floor to Penalver’s public speech.
Penalver was accused of committing a 1994 triple murder in Broward County. He missed a meeting with detectives due to a personal emergency. From there forward, they were no longer interested in talking to him.
On Aug. 3, 1994, Penalver felt his options were drained. “I turned myself in, and that’s where my nightmare began,” he told the audience.
According to NBC Miami, Penalver was tried twice alongside his co-defendant, Pablo Ibar. The first ended with a gridlocked jury and a mistrial, and the second trial sentenced him to the death penalty in 1999.
While in prison, Penalver turned to faith — he became a life coach and a minister. “I found God in there,” he said.
He also turned to the legal system when he realized that people could receive new trials when police officers and prosecutors withhold evidence. “While people were buying candy, I was buying law books, because this can’t be the end,” the exoneree told the audience.
Penalver eventually discovered that the prosecutor and police held back information that may have proved his innocence.
“When I saw some of the stuff they withheld, I broke down,” he said. “Like, why? Why would you do this?”
In 2012 — after spending almost half of his life in prison — Penalver’s charge was overthrown by the Florida Supreme Court due to improper evidence at his trial.
According to the death row exoneree, one of the witnesses was bribed into giving a false testimony.
“They were paid — they were paid to say something and we didn’t know that until 17 and a half years later,” he told the silent audience.
His co-defendant, Ibar, still remains on death row.
Penalver is the 142th person to be exonerated from death row, and the 24th person in Florida alone. “Imagine the ones we don’t know about that were killed,” he added.
On whether the death penalty should be permissible, Penalver said: “It’s either you have it or you don’t, and even one person is too many if you got it wrong.”
In addition to public speaking and ministering, Penalver reaches out to juveniles at Miami’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center — an adult jail that houses minors based on their crimes.
Penalver gave advice to students interested in the criminal justice field: “Don’t manufacture what you don’t have,” he said. “That’s what happened to me.”
Penalver was invited to campus by the Beta Phi chapter of the American Criminal Justice Association at FAU. The ACJA Beta Phi chapter and Atkin-Plunk chose Penalver to shed light onto a different side of the criminal justice system.
“I believe this is important because many of our students aspire to be law enforcement officers or prosecutors, and as such they should realize the gravity of these positions and how they could potentially affect people’s lives,” President of ACJA Brandon Karns told the UP.
After his speech, Penalver took a Q&A session with the audience. Once that concluded, about 30 students and staff lined up to speak with him personally.
“It was a different perspective — I’ve always been neutral on the death row because I’ve had corrections and ethics [classes] so my perspective can be very different,” said Amanda Carrasquillo, a senior criminal justice major who is a part of ACJA. “Whether death row is still enrolled, whether it’s harsher, whether it’s not there anymore, I feel that as our generation we can all grow and develop from this speaker.”
Brittany Ferrendi is the features editor of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet her @BFerrendi.
Judgment • Apr 20, 2022 at 9:51 pm
Penalver is a liar and murderer. It wasn’t a missed appointment that made him a suspect, it was his roommate who identified Penalver and Ibar (also a roommate) from the video of the murder. The video is on the internet for all to see. Ibar takes off his mask after shooting all three victims in the back of the head as they lay helpless. Penalver then rifled through the pockets of the corpses like the ghoul he is. He was not “exonerated”, his conviction was overturned on a technicality. Hellfire awaits.
Myke • Feb 3, 2023 at 4:18 am
and hellfire arrived in January 2023. Brain hemorrhage.
Marcelle Vankuyk • Apr 26, 2024 at 3:06 pm
I saw this movie on Tubi the other night, if I’m not mistaken, the home video showed the other perpetrater actually doing the killing. And that would have been Penalver. And if it wasn’t him, who, then, was the other perpetrator??
Charlie • Jan 4, 2021 at 4:05 pm
“Ibar’s woman was found guilty of perjury”
That is the claim made by CATHERINE MIGLIANO on November 2nd, 2018 2:09 pm … WHEN and WHERE was she found guilty of perjury? I want the case number, etc. Prove me wrong, I dare you.
DAVID DANE WALLACE • Jul 13, 2020 at 7:55 pm
I AM A WORLD FAMOUS AUTHOR AND SETH PENALVER IS A FRIEND OVER FACEBOOK OF MINE. I WASN’T AT BUTCH CASEYS BAR ON 6/25/94 BUT I’VE SEEN THE DOC AND SETHS PERSONALITY AND DISPOSITION ARE TO LIGHT FOR THIS CRIME.I’M NOT JUST ANY AUTHOR, I HAVE 30 YEARS ON THE STREET AND HAVE KNOWN MANY KILLERS! SETH HAS THE WRONG DISPOSITION FOR SOMEONE WHO’S GOING TO CARRY OUT A HOME INVASION OR A CONTRACT KILLING!!
IT TAKES A PERSON WITH A MUCH DARKER DISPOSITION THAN THAT WHICH IS POSSESSED BY SETH PENALVER.
I’VE KNOWN SOME DIABOLICAL PEOPLE. I DON’T SEE THE CHARACTERISTICS IN PENALVER!
THE LITERARY WORLD KNOWS ME AS DAVID DANE WALLACE. THE STREET KNOWS ME AS VON”THE ICON”.
Alanis M. • Apr 20, 2022 at 9:52 pm
A real author would know how to use the Caps Lock button.
Jon • Feb 7, 2023 at 3:57 pm
Maybe he was not diabolical, which explains why he did not carry a gun in or do the shootings he played the role of a follower , and also yrs and jail or the circumstances in which he was in can change anyone ,Never judge a book bye its cover as we all should no ,That dude is guilty as hell
John • Apr 8, 2023 at 1:25 pm
Wrong… You don’t know Seth at all.
Rhonda Marshall • Dec 9, 2019 at 12:00 am
Hi All,
My condolences to the beautiful families. I just saw him on “Death Row” I was just sick. I have a question for those who are saying Seth is Guilty; because if he’s is guilty I can see how cold he can be to lie like he’s doing today but if he’s not guilty I can also see him doing what he’s doing today. I racked my brains out on this video. On the video two things disturb me; Seth’s nose or nostrils are turned up and is what makes me think it’s him but he appears to be taller than the other guy in the video but he’s not that tall. He hit the other guy and shot him; Seth looks the same height as the man he murdered (Rest His Soul) Why didn’t they get an expert witness to give a clear understanding of his features compared to the one in the video? Also, and I always wonder this… No disrespect towards the family but why is it that everyone gets so angry at people like Seth who are released or those who get off. If you were guilty I’m sure you would try to get out of jail too! I mean that’s just human nature. But that’s not my question; My question is; Why aren’t you angry at the cops? When people see that the tapes are erased and witnesses are hidden, what else are they supposed to think. I would think he’s not guilty as well and that the police had something to hide. Why are the tapes erased, why did they lie and say the tapes burned up in the car and why did they hide all the evidence and paperwork and witnesses? That is how he got off; The police are corrupt and as long as we direct our attention towards who we think is guilty or not guilty they’re off the hook. Police Officers need to follow the laws; but we allow them to get away with it all the time. Paid witnesses (I don’t care how they got it) either way it’s unethical, it’s unethical for them to lie during interrogation it’s unethical for them to hide evidence, they should all be fired, but they aren’t because our focus is on Seth. Seth got out of prison like it or not because of the cops, otherwise he would not have evidence for a re-trial and he would still be in jail.
John Tessier • Oct 9, 2021 at 10:14 pm
Seth murdered those people. He sold Casey a kilo of cocaine and was going there to rob it back. His drug dealing and counterfeit credit card dealing were not allowed to be mentioned at trial.
James M • Dec 8, 2019 at 10:05 pm
We now (years later) know that the shirt left at the crime scene had co-defendant Pablo Ibar’s DNA on it. Pablo wrote a letter to Seth telling him to step up and do the right thing. Seth got a not guilty, he gets to walk free, but at least don’t parade around bragging about it. Seth will never actually be accepted by society or forgiven, but I doubt he cares.
James Johnson • Jul 20, 2019 at 6:40 pm
Seth Penalver couldnt be more guilty. It’s disgusting to me that this scumbag garbage is walking around free, Thanks moron jury. You are dumber than dirt and you let a ruthless murderer go free. You better hope he doesn’t come after your family next you total imbeciles. God what idiots.
Mark G. • Jun 3, 2019 at 8:38 am
Seth you are as guilty as they come. But you duped some idealist anti-capital punishment lawyers into buying your act. They threw a bunch of nonsense up against the wall and some morons bought it. It is sad that you are free now, can only hope that your time in prison was miserable, but a rat like you probably adapted. Hoping you get yours, soon.
Lynn M Nelson • Jan 27, 2019 at 12:17 pm
Seth’s mother, Nancy, was a dear friend at the time her son was arrested. Nancy confessed to me that her son, Seth Penalver, confessed to her that he had murdered three people. He was on Death Row at the time Nancy related this to me. In sheer desperation she had to share this with someone, me. Nancy is gone now but I know she went to her grave knowing her son is a murderer.
Tim • Jan 20, 2019 at 12:29 am
It’s no doubt in my mind that these guys were the real killers. I followed the case closely. The last thing he should be doing is going around doing seminars. He should be on his knees every night praying to God for forgiveness and for having his life spared. This certainly is not going to look good on his record when he goes before that big judge after he dies. Obviously, we don’t expect him to go around and admitting that he did it, but if anything his seminars should be to young people about choosing your friends correctly and not hanging out in bad places and putting yourself in a position where you might be accused of something really bad..
CATHERINE MIGLIANO • Nov 2, 2018 at 2:09 pm
Seriously, a paid eye witness? That’s your gig because Ibar’s woman was found guilty of perjury after testifying that he was with her that night. Oddly, I was on duty that Alpha Shift and saw the pair at KC’s, and filed a report to that fact, including the fact that Penalver appeared to be dressed the same as when I satw them in the club. Metro Dade PSD had them on a watch list for home invasions. After the murders, Penalver was seen driving Butch’s car around town. When Dade arrested Ibar for the home invasion, they contacted me because they found a police ribbon that had fallen off my uniform at the club & Butch had taken home for safe keeping until he saw me again. My CNN number was micro etched on the back.
So tell me, who’s lying?
It made me sick to see Penalver come into jury selection like a big shot and cozy up to some documentarian who is claiming to be unbiased, yet all cozy with Ibar’s parents & sister-in-law, who insists he was with the family the night of the murders, but cannot explain how I not only saw them, but knew them at the time.
Further, Ibar is getting a nice slide with a pretty smart special State Appointed Defense Team led by Fred Haddad, whom I know pretty well from when I retired from Law Enforcement & went to work in the legal field, along with Keving Kulek & Benjamin Nascimato. Yet, while the taxpayers are footing the bill for this dirtbag’s defence, there’s a gofundme that has raised something like $1M. Now that just isn’t right.
It would be hilarious, if Ibar got convicted while Penalver had been acquitted.
My best experience with karma is in 2008, some rich chick murdered my cousin in Beverly Hills & tried to claim he committed suicide. the thing was, the angle of the gun shot in the back of the head was physically impossible, but $$ talks. They left it an unsolved homicide. 4 years later karma did what Beverly Hills PD wouldn’t do. Karma took care of the matter. Miss Rich Bitch died of a drug overdose.
So let Penalver parade around. He grouses he can’t get a job, which means he can only resort to what he knows best: crime. Seth, don’t think every cop in South Florida doesn’t have his/her eye out for your. It’s a legacy thing.
Lisa McLeod • Aug 28, 2018 at 3:46 pm
Seth.You are a total piece of shit.The killers are always born again and find Jesus in prison.Give me a break.All you psychos try to convince the vulnerable.The young and nieve.You are the devil in disguise.
Lisa McLeod • Aug 28, 2018 at 3:36 pm
I wish I was a part of the jury.Seth you should have never been released,growing up and living my whole life in South Florida and my dad having a career in Customs and during the Cocaine Cowboy days that the system is corrupt and my dad wrote a book about it. Also in his book he spoke of Karma.You didn’t pay the price in prison.Your true karma hasn’t come yet.I can’t wait to hear about it.
Virgilio Acevedo • Aug 20, 2018 at 3:31 pm
I feel for the families of the three that were murdered. My biggest fear now is that Pablo Ibar is also set free. I hear he was granted a new trail in August.
Howdy.talk • May 13, 2018 at 9:16 pm
Oh well! Modern DNA techniques puts Ibar at scene of murders – and to save himself from death row, I surmise he will name his accomplice whom evidence suggest is Seth.
Though Seth, because he was acquitted, can’t be retried by State of Florida, he can still face Federal charges. Thus, if Seth is tried in Federal court and does not get death penalty, he’ll, if found guilty, most likely spend remainder of his life in prison because Feds – from what I’ve heard – do not offer parole.
If Ibar sings, I hope victim’s families press for Federal charges.
Mark • May 12, 2018 at 1:40 pm
Seth, you are a murderer, that won’t change, ever.
Deborah Anderson • Dec 2, 2017 at 5:55 pm
Seth, stop parading yourself all over Florida with your lies. You gamed the system for a murder you committed, period. Any stupid person who believes your insane story needs their head examined.
But do know, Seth, judgment comes to us all.
Sharon Anderson’s sister, Debbie
Deborah Anderson • Dec 2, 2017 at 5:54 pm
Seth, stop parading yourself all over Florida with your lies. You gamed the system for a murder you committed, period. Any stupid person who believes your insane story needs their head examined.
But do know, Seth, judgment comes to us all.
Sharon Anderson’s duster, Debbie
Jean-Francois Tessier • May 11, 2017 at 12:58 pm
I am the witness who was “bribed”, Mr Klimeczko, and it is not true. I lived with Pablo at the time and Seth and Pablo ruthlessly murdered these people and it’s so sad to see Seth not only go free, but continue to play this charade. If he had any conscience whatsoever, he would fade into obscurity.
Sharon Whites • Apr 2, 2017 at 9:18 am
I Lost my Friends, and these boys haven’t changed.. They will do it again. Don’t use God as a Tool, because if you was so rightous, you would have owned up to the true.. May your coharts, family and friends exprience what we have.. You are Both disgusting for what you did to my Friends.. May Nick, Sharon and Marie RIP, Love Always to them..
Martin McFaddin • Mar 17, 2017 at 6:37 am
The witness wasn’t bribed to give false testimony as Mr. Penalver “mistakenly” asserts.He was given a reward offered by crime stoppers that anyone with information would have received.The man was Penalvers former room mate at the time and he denied being given money for his testimony as did a Detective because they considered this a reward for information and not a quid pro quo.Mr. Penalver was also seen by several witnesses the evening of the triple murder in the male victims night club with the other defendant,Pablo Ibar,who has won a new trial as well,but was apprehended a short time later committing a home invasion robbery exactly like this one in the act.He has written about Penalvers guilt on more than one occasion and after his retrial,and the subsequent appeals process has intimated he would write a book concerning this whole sordid affair.Mr. Penalver was found not guilty 18 years after the fact,which is not the same as being found innocent and there wasn’t any public statements by the jury or Judge about Penalvers innocence as he has constantly intimated since.There was some shoddy police work and the failure to collect DNA evidence or offer Mr. Ibar a deal taking the death sentence off the table was a huge mistake.Ibar was already undoubtedly guilty of the second home invasion,which in itself would carry an extremely lengthy prison term.Regardless the families of the three victims are the ones I truly feel for,because has the police not merely relied on a video tape of the 22 minute murder and robbery,perhaps they would have used every investigative tool at their disposal and the families would have received closure of some kind.18 years after a crime is committed is a very long time to gain a guilty verdict,particularly without DNA evidence and a crime stoppers reward that should have been identified as such at the time of the first trial.Being rewarded for evidence by crimestoppers is hardly a pay off and is still used to this day due to its affectiveness.Mr. Penalver hasn’t been rewarded any financial award for the years he was supposedly wrongly incarcerated due to prosecutorial misconduct and after five years won’r be.
Seth • Apr 28, 2016 at 12:15 am
TRUTH ONLY KNOWS TRUTH…
12-21-2012
SETH PENALVER
FLORIDA DEATH ROW EXONOREE #24
U.S. DEATH ROW EXONOREE #142