Man smiles as judge issues a life sentence for prison cellmate’s stabbing
A man who was convicted of stabbing his prison cellmate to death with a pen smiled as he was handed another life sentence in a Miami courtroom on Tuesday.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Ellen Sue Venzer sentenced Marcus Terry, 43, to life for the stabbing death of Ray Matos, 68, at Dade Correctional Institution, a prison in South Miami-Dade. Matos, who was killed in April 2021, was serving a life sentence for a 1998 attempted murder and robbery case from Miami-Dade.
Terry shoved a pillowcase into Matos’ mouth, took a pen and “jammed it into [Matos’] brain,” Venzer said. When Matos was found “bloodied and barely breathing,” Terry didn’t have any scratches on him.
Terry laughed as Venzer described the killing.
Attorney Steven Yermish requested that Terry be sentenced 25 years because he had previously been in a psych unit before the murder. Yermish also argued that Terry was entitled to a new trial because the jury heard inadmissible evidence in the December trial.
The jurors found Terry guilty of second-degree murder. At the time of his conviction, he was already serving two life sentences for an 2011 armed robbery and burglary case out of Broward.
“I don’t see any reason not to sentence him to life without the possibility of parole,” Venzer said.
The judge then addressed Terry: “God have mercy on your soul.”
“That’s what you need,” replied Terry, who flashed a smile as Venzer sentenced him.
Terry plans to appeal his conviction and sentence, Yermish said. The inmate claimed that he stabbed Matos because Matos tried to attack him after they smoked synthetic drugs.
