TAMPA – The same ju-dean who discovered that Ronnie Tremel Walker had committed a crime for murdering 14-year-old Nylexia Alexander has decided that he should spend the rest of his life in prison.
After a two-day penalty hearing, a panel of five men and seven women discussed the lawsuit in less than two hours before denying the death sentence.
Hillsboro Circuit Judge Robin Husson immediately pleaded a life sentence. This is the only other option.
Walker did not respond immediately upon hearing the ju umpire’s decision, but after a while he sat at the defense table, removed his glasses and stared at the umpire.
On Friday afternoon, Walker’s defense emphasized that this week’s conviction would ensure retaliation and urged the ju judge to choose mercy.
“Mr. Walker will be punished severely for missing Alexander in life in a prison without parole,” said public defender Assistant Carolyn Schlemer. “He will never walk freely again.”
![Public defender aide Carolyn Schlemer claims he opposes Ronnie Walker's death sentence when he began Thursday's statement during the penalty phase of his trial. Walker was convicted of murder of 14-year-old Nilexia Alexander.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 413"/%3E "Public defender aide Carolyn Schlemer claims he opposes Ronnie Walker's death sentence when he began Thursday's statement during the penalty phase of his trial. Walker was convicted of murder of 14-year-old Nilexia Alexander.")
The ju judge’s decision concluded a two-day penalty hearing in which prosecutors focused on Walker’s prior conviction for another murder. Walker ultimately pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter for the crime and spent several years in prison.
He was free for about six months when Nylexia was killed.
She was a troubled teenager, and ran away from her house and wandered around her Belmont Heights neighborhood early in the morning. Surveillance cameras recorded footage of the black Ford fusion as Nilexia cruised through Tampa’s dark streets as she sat in the back seat.
A few minutes after she reached the car, it turned down a dead end stretch on Floribraska Avenue, made a U-turn before halting.
The passenger in the car, Robert Creed, later pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the facts, but testified that Walker began arguing with the girl there. The conflict had something to do with sex. Creed says Walker pulled the gun and shot Narexia once in the car.
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Walker’s past beliefs about violent felony were one of the worsening factors for prosecutors cited to justify the death penalty. They also argued that the Nilexia murder was carried out in a “cold, calculated and planned” way.
During the state’s closing discussion, Assistant State Attorney Chinwe Fossett argued that the ju judges repeated much of the evidence Walker used to convict him, showing that he had planned and thought about the murder before it happened.
There were drives into darkened areas, carrying loaded weapons, conflicts and multiple gunshots. The prosecutors alleged that it all proposed a plan.
“On May 6, 2022, defendant Ronnie Walker decided that it was the day he was about to kill Nilexia Alexander,” Fossett said.
![Assistant State Attorney Chinwe Fossett sat in court last week during the murder trial of Ronnie Walker.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 439"/%3E "Assistant State Attorney Chinwe Fossett sat in court last week during the murder trial of Ronnie Walker.")
However, the defense retorted that there was no evidence of a “enhanced” plan that could support the death penalty. At the same time, they argued that Walker’s living environment and personal character became more severe against death.
His mother, Emma Hamilton, detailed her son’s confused childhood. He suffered from pneumonia and bronchitis shortly after his birth. He suffered from seizures as a child and was prescribed medication. He once rolled a two-storey window and injured his head. He sometimes takes care when talking.
He never knew his father. He grew up mainly in public, low-income housing. He was one of six brothers and his mother struggled to provide.
His school records showed that he had not made any progress past sixth grade. At the age of nine, he was deemed “emotionally disturbed.” Two years later, the record labeled him “I’m mentally impaired.”
When Walker was 10, his mother missed a medical appointment. Social workers in the state have involved and divided their children. He and the two brothers went to live with their aunt while the sisters went elsewhere.
He was brought to life in some of East Tampa’s toughest areas, where he was exposed to the drug trade. He became poor at school and did not graduate.
Do you still love your son? Hamilton was asked.
“Yes,” she said.
The ju umpire heard the same thing often from Walker’s sister, his nie, his cousin, and his son’s mother. Walker has three children. He carried those photos.
A year before he was accused of murdering Nylexia, his eldest son was killed in a shooting. He visited his grave every day.
The ju-secret apprentice seemed to listen to the words of defense.
“If I could even see Mr. Walker’s small sparks of humanity,” Schlemer told the ju judge.
