By Tyler Treadway
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
October 30, 2007
Fort Pierce
A circuit judge ruled Monday that a Martin County man on Death Row more than 25 years is not mentally retarded, meaning he legally can be executed.
J.B. "Pig" Parker, 45, is one of four men convicted of the murder of Julia Frances Slater, 19, of Jensen Beach, who was kidnapped from a store on U.S. 1 in north Stuart and killed shortly after midnight April 27, 1982, on State Road 76 west of Stuart.
The case attracted national attention because of Slater's relationshipto famed singer Frances Langford and outboard motor magnate Ralph Evinrude. The victim's mother, Sally Slater, said it was incorrectly portrayed that her daughter was an heiress of the Langford-Evinrude estate. The victim was the step-granddaughter of the couple.
Parker, Alphonso Cave, Terry Wayne "Bo Gator" Johnson and James Earl Bush were convicted in separate trials for kidnapping and murdering Slater. Parker was 19 at the time. Parker, Cave and Bush were sentenced to death. Johnson received a life sentence because evidence indicated he was drunk, did not know what was happening at the time of the homicide and later cooperated in the investigation.
Bush was executed in 1996, but Cave and Parker still are appealing their sentences.
Attorneys for Parker filed motions in June that claimed their client should not be executed because he was not mentally competent and had been ineptly represented at his second trial for the murder.
Dr. Sol M. Blandino, a North Florida psychologist who examined Parker at the state prison in Starke, found Parker has an IQ of 95, prompting Circuit Judge Gary L. Sweet to rule the defendant mentally competent.
A hearing to determine whether Parker had adequate representation will take place in early 2008.
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
October 30, 2007
Fort Pierce
A circuit judge ruled Monday that a Martin County man on Death Row more than 25 years is not mentally retarded, meaning he legally can be executed.
J.B. "Pig" Parker, 45, is one of four men convicted of the murder of Julia Frances Slater, 19, of Jensen Beach, who was kidnapped from a store on U.S. 1 in north Stuart and killed shortly after midnight April 27, 1982, on State Road 76 west of Stuart.
The case attracted national attention because of Slater's relationshipto famed singer Frances Langford and outboard motor magnate Ralph Evinrude. The victim's mother, Sally Slater, said it was incorrectly portrayed that her daughter was an heiress of the Langford-Evinrude estate. The victim was the step-granddaughter of the couple.
Parker, Alphonso Cave, Terry Wayne "Bo Gator" Johnson and James Earl Bush were convicted in separate trials for kidnapping and murdering Slater. Parker was 19 at the time. Parker, Cave and Bush were sentenced to death. Johnson received a life sentence because evidence indicated he was drunk, did not know what was happening at the time of the homicide and later cooperated in the investigation.
Bush was executed in 1996, but Cave and Parker still are appealing their sentences.
Attorneys for Parker filed motions in June that claimed their client should not be executed because he was not mentally competent and had been ineptly represented at his second trial for the murder.
Dr. Sol M. Blandino, a North Florida psychologist who examined Parker at the state prison in Starke, found Parker has an IQ of 95, prompting Circuit Judge Gary L. Sweet to rule the defendant mentally competent.
A hearing to determine whether Parker had adequate representation will take place in early 2008.
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1 comment:
I was living in Stuart when this happened & left for VA in early '86, I can't believe this is still going on! I'd assumed these 3 had already been executed long ago! I'm just glad it's not MY tax dollars paying to feed/clothe/etc these cold blooded killers. Knowing the family & the pain they suffered it saddens me to think their still being put through this hell. I said it back in '82 & I'll say it again... FRY!
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