By Skyla Carter
For the second time, Johnny Mack “Skeeto” Calhoun has been sentenced to death for the 2010 murder of Holmes County resident Mia Chay Brown, following a resentencing hearing held on Friday, July 24, more than a decade after his original conviction.
Calhoun’s original death sentence was vacated following post-conviction proceedings, resulting in a new penalty phase trial in 2026. The resentencing was conducted after courts reviewed Florida’s death penalty sentencing requirements following decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court.
According to court records, Calhoun was arrested on Dec. 20, 2010, in connection with Brown’s death on Dec. 17, 2010. Prosecutors alleged Brown was bound, kidnapped, transported in the trunk of her vehicle from Florida to Alabama and killed when Calhoun set the vehicle on fire while she was inside.
Calhoun was tried before a jury from Feb. 20 through Feb. 29, 2012. The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping. During the penalty phase, jurors recommended a death sentence by a vote of 9-3.
The court sentenced Calhoun to death for the murder conviction and imposed a 100-year prison sentence for kidnapping. The Florida Supreme Court later affirmed the convictions and sentence in 2013.
Following additional post-conviction proceedings, Calhoun was granted a new sentencing hearing, and the case was returned to the trial court for resentencing.
The resentencing trial began in April 2026. During the penalty phase, jurors heard evidence regarding aggravating circumstances presented by the state and mitigating circumstances presented by the defense.
On April 17, 2026, the jury unanimously found three aggravating circumstances applied in the case:
- The murder was heinous, atrocious or cruel.
- The murder was committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner.
- The murder occurred during the commission of a kidnapping.
The jury again recommended a death sentence by a vote of 9-3.
The court held a Spencer hearing on June 2, 2026, allowing both sides to present additional evidence and arguments before the final sentencing decision.
After reviewing the evidence presented during the resentencing trial and Spencer hearing, along with sentencing memoranda submitted by both sides, Chief Circuit Judge Christopher Patterson found that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating evidence presented by the defense. In the sentencing order, Patterson wrote that the aggravating factors “far outweigh the mitigating circumstances” and concluded that “a sentence of death is the only appropriate penalty in the present case.”
On Friday, Patterson ordered that Calhoun be sentenced to death by lethal injection.
Following the sentencing, State Attorney Larry Basford released a press statement:
“Justice in this case has been a long time in coming,” Basford said. “Now, 5,698 days have passed since Mia Brown was burned alive in her car by the defendant.”
Basford noted that it was the second time a jury recommended a death sentence for Calhoun and the second time Patterson imposed the death penalty. He said he believes the Florida Supreme Court will again uphold the sentence.
Basford also thanked the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their work on the case and expressed appreciation to Brown’s family “for their patience and faith.”
Calhoun’s sentence is subject to the automatic appeals process required in Florida death penalty cases.
AMBER PATINO 
Staff Report 