Sentencing at Lee County courthouse to decide severity of Sievers’ punishment

On Tuesday, the jury will start deciding the fate of Mark Sievers, convicted of planning his wife’s murder.

The same jury found Mark guilty of first-degree murder last week.

Sievers hired two men to kill his wife, Doctor Teresa Sievers, at their Bonita Springs home in 2015. Those men are Jimmy Rodgers and Curtis Wayne Wright.

A jury convicted Rodgers last month and he’s scheduled for sentencing on Thursday. Wright took a plea deal to testify against them.

The last time Mark Sievers was in courtroom 8A on Wednesday, tears were seen in his eyes moments after a jury found him guilty of planning his wife’s murder.

A jury reached the guilty verdict in just four hours. But, the case is still not over. Jurors will now have to decide if Mark Sievers gets life in prison or the death penalty.

Erica Baer, a former jury consultant who now works at FGCU, says we can expect a lot more emotion in the courtroom, including victim impact statements from Teresa’s family.

The defense, we expect, will do the same: tug on the heartstrings of the jury. Except their focus is the man now convicted of first-degree murder—Mark Sievers.

“He’s a father, he has family, he has ties to the community as well and really humanize him,” said Baer.

The jury is expected to hear some extremely personal and emotional statements and testimony from both Dr. Teresa Sievers’ family and Mark Sievers’ family.

The jury will use this to determine whether to recommend life in prison or death for Mark.

On Tuesday, you’ll notice a lot of familiar faces from the trial. It will be the same jurors and the same attorneys in courtroom 8A.

The penalty phase is expected to last two days and begin Tuesday morning.