http://www.oranous.com/innocence/WayneTompkins/Tompkins-CC-MotionForDNA12-1-08.pdf
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA
CASE NO. 84-CF-010538 STATE OF FLORIDA,
Plaintiff,
v. WAYNE TOMPKINS, Defendant. __________________________/
MOTION FOR DNA TESTING
Pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853, WAYNE TOMPKINS, Defendant in the above-captioned action, respectfully requests this Court to order DNA testing of biological evidence collected and maintained by law enforcement in connection with the State’s prosecution of Mr. Tompkins in the above-entitled matter. Mr. Tompkins has always maintained his innocence, and the requested DNA analysis may provide the evidence that will exonerate him. The grounds for this motion are more fully set forth below.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Mr. Tompkins was indicted for first-degree murder and pled not guilty. Trial commenced September 16, 1983, and a jury found him guilty (R. 401). Following a penalty phase, the jury recommended the death penalty, and the judge immediately imposed a sentence of death (R. 678-81). The conviction and sentence were affirmed. Tompkins v. State, 502 So. 2d 415 (Fla.), cert. denied, 483 U.S. 1033 (1987). After a death warrant was signed, a motion to vacate was
filed and an evidentiary hearing was conducted. Though this Court found trial counsel’s performance was deficient, post-conviction relief was denied. The Florida Supreme Court stayed the execution and later affirmed the denial of collateral relief. Tompkins v. Dugger, 549 So. 2d 1370 (Fla. 1989). After a second death warrant was signed, a federal habeas petition was filed, and the federal district court stayed the execution. An amended petition was subsequently filed, and denied. On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed. Tompkins v. Moore, 193 F.3d 1327 (11th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 121 S.Ct. 149 (2000).
In March of 2001, a third death warrant was signed. Thereafter, Mr. Tompkins filed a second motion to vacate in which he challenged his conviction and sentence of death. This Court summarily denied guilt phase relief, but granted an evidentiary hearing on Mr. Tompkins’ challenge to his death sentence. At the conclusion of the hearing, this Court vacated Mr. Tompkins’ sentence of death and granted a resentencing. Both parties appealed. The Florida Supreme Court reversed this Court’s order granting a resentencing and affirmed the denial of guilt phase relief. Tompkins v. State, 872 So. 2d 230 (Fla. 2003). In its on October 9, 2003, opinion, the Florida Supreme Court stated: “Based on the foregoing, we affirm the trial court’s summary denials of Tompkins’ Brady claims and affirm the trial court’s denial of Tompkins motion for DNA testing and motion to compel the production of public records. However, we reverse the trial court’s order granting a new penalty phase trial and reinstate the death sentence.”
While that appeal was pending, Mr. Tompkins filed another Rule 3.850
2
motion with this Court. This Court dismissed the motion finding that it lacked jurisdiction during the pendency of the previous appeal. Mr. Tompkins appealed. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed, but granted Mr. Tompkins “60 days to refile his successive postconviction motion nunc pro tunc to February 5, 2003, the date the prior motion was filed in the trial court.” Tompkins v. State, 894 So. 2d 857 (Fla. 2005). Thereafter, Mr. Tompkins refiled his 3.850 motion. This Court denied the motion and Mr. Tompkins appealed to the Florida Supreme Court. On May 10, 2007, the Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion affirming the of 3.850 relief. Mr. Tompkins filed a motion for rehearing which was denied on July 16, 2007. The mandate issued returning jurisdiction to this Court on August 2, 2007.
On August 16, 2007, Mr. Tompkins filed another motion to vacate. Ultimately, this Court summarily denied the motion and Mr. Tompkins appealed.
While that appeal was pending, the Governor rescheduled Mr. Tompkins’ execution for October 28, 2008. The Florida Supreme Court issued a stay and gave Mr. Tompkins until October 15, 2008, to file any additional motions seeking collateral relief in this Court. Mr. Tompkins filed another motion to vacate which this Court summarily denied on October 21, 2008. Mr. Tompkins appealed.
The Florida Supreme Court ordered expedited briefing in both pending appeals. After Mr. Tompkins had submitted his reply briefs, the State disclosed a new sworn statement from Kenneth Turco. See Attachment A. The disclosure was made on October 30, 2008. Mr. Turco had gave the sworn statement to an assistant state attorney on October 28, 2008.
3
th
After receiving the statement on October 30 , Mr. Tompkins filed a motion
to relinquish jurisdiction with the Florida Supreme Court on November 3, 2008.
Thereafter, the Florida Supreme Court issued an order on November 4, 2008,
denying the motion to relinquish. On November 7, 2008, the Florida Supreme
Court issued its opinion affirming the summary denial of Mr. Tompkins requests
for collateral relief. Tompkins v. State, — So. 2d — (Fla. November 7, 2008).
ARGUMENT I
Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853 implements section 925.11, Florida Statutes, which
provides for postconviction DNA testing. See In Re Amendment to Florida Rules
of Criminal Procedure Creating Rule 3.853 (DNA Testing), 807 So. 2d 633 (Fla.
2001). This rule requires that the motion be made under oath and include:
(1) A statement of the facts relied upon in support of themotion, including a description of the physical evidencecontaining DNA to be tested and, if known, the presentlocation or last known location of the evidence and how it originally was obtained (Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853(b)(1)); (2) A statement that the evidence was not previously testedfor DNA, or a statement that the results of previous DNAtesting were inconclusive and that subsequent scientificdevelopments in DNA testing techniques likely would producea definitive result establishing that the movant is not the personwho committed the crime (Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853(b)(2)); (3) A statement that the movant is innocent and how the DNA testing requested by the motion will exonerate themovant of the crime for which the movant was sentenced, or a statement how the DNA testing will mitigate the sentencereceived by the movant for that crime (Fla. R. Crim. P.3.853(b)(3)); (4) A statement that identification of the movant is a genuinely disputed issue in the case and why it is an issue or an 4
explanation of how the DNA evidence would either exoneratethe defendant or mitigate the sentence that the movant received(Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853(b)(4));
(5) A statement of any other facts relevant to the motion(Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853(b)(5)); (6) A certificate that a copy of the motion has been servedon the prosecuting authority (Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853(b)(6)). This motion will address each of the above requirements in turn.
A. Statement of Facts Relied on in the Motion, Description of the Evidence to be Tested, and Last Known Location of the Evidence. (Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853 (b)(1)). 1. Statement of Facts On March 23, 1983, Lisa DeCarr and Kathy Stevens were expelled from school after they were discovered smoking under a tree. Lisa and Kathy were in special classes for emotional troubled students. Pot was found in Kathy’s purse. Lisa was told that she could not return until she was accompanied by a parent.
On the afternoon of the next day, March 24, 1983, Lisa’s mother contacted the police and filed a missing persons report. That police report is a two-page report dated March 24, 1983 at 5:30 PM.1 The first page lists the complainant, the date and the time of the incident being reported. The “Date Time Occurred” showed “24 Mar 83 1330-1400". The report listed Barbara DeCarr as the complainant/parent. On the first page of the report in the reconstruction section was handwritten, “Mrs. DeCarr stated her daughter ran away from home for no
1It is clear from the police report that Mrs. DeCarr reported Lisa missing withina couple of hours after she was last seen getting into a car. It is also clear from the police report that Mrs. DeCarr was aware of “some trouble in school.”
5
apparent reason.” The second page of the report listed Wendy Chancey as a witness. The report then contained the following in the narrative section:
Compl. stated she last saw Lisa at the listed residence at the listedtime. Compl. stated that everything was fine at home and has had notrouble with Lisa running away or anything. Compl. stated that Lisawas having some trouble in school but nothing to cause her to runaway. Compl. checked was Lisa’s friends and school forinformation as to where she might be with negative results. Compl.stated that one of Lisa’s friends told her that Lisa asked about Beach Place, but Compl. checked with Beach Place with negative results. Compl. stated Lisa did not take any of her belongings and gave noindication of wanting to leave.
The report showed the “listed time” as 1:30-2:00 on March 24, 1983. The “listed residence” was shown as 1225 E. Osborne St. According to the report, Mrs. DeCarr last saw her daughter, Lisa, at 1:30-2:00 PM on March 24, 1983.2 The report further indicated that a witness, Wendy Chancey, stated “she observed Lisa get into the suspect vehicle at 12th St. And Oasborne and was last seen heading north on 12th St.” The two-page police report indicated that Lisa was wearing “blue jeans, maroon shirt, diamond ring, cross earrings.” Implicit in the report was the fact that this was the attire Lisa was wearing at the time she was last seen by the complainant, Barbara DeCarr, when she saw Lisa at 1:30-2:00 PM.
For over a year, Mrs. DeCarr maintained that Lisa had runaway. This was documented by numerous police reports.3 Det. Gullo logged calls from Mrs.
2Since she was making representations to the police while filing a missingpersons report, presumably she subjected herself to prosecution if the police reportwas false. Kist v. State, 787 So. 2d 106 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2001).
3School records reveal that there was a March 24th phone call with Mrs. DeCarr“who called to inform that Lisa had left.” This was the day after Lisa had been
6
DeCarr reporting that others claimed to have sighted Lisa. But, Mrs. DeCarr did not a name for any of the people she said had told her they had seen Lisa after her disappearance. For example, the September 2, 1983 entry stated:
I received a phone call from Mrs. DeCarr who stated that she was toldby friends of Lisa that they had seen Lisa on East 7th Ave. at about46th St. Lisa was standing in the Jewel “T” parking lot speaking withtwo or three other w/f’s. The informants told Mrs. DeCarr that Lisa might be living in a trailer park which is across the street. Mrs. DeCarr told the informants that they should call the police the nexttime they see her. Mrs. DeCarr was advised that they didn’t want toget involved with the police.
The only name Mrs. DeCarr supplied Det. Gullo was when she indicated Kathy Stevens had reported that Lisa had called from New York. Yet when providing that information, Mrs. DeCarr misreported Kathy’s last name. She said Kathy’s last name was Sample. As a result, Det. Gullo did not locate Kathy.
When she testified at trial, Mrs. DeCarr denied practicing witchcraft: “I am a Catholic.” (Id.) In her deposition, Barbara said her daughter would be lying if she had said that Barbara had engaged in sex acts with “little boys” (DeCarr depo. at 65). At trial, Judge Coe refused to allow Mrs. DeCarr to be asked about her sexual relationships with 12 and 13 year old boys (R. 235).4
expelled and told that she could not return until she brought a parent. The records show that on March 25th, “mom says child ran away yesterday (24th). Thinkschild may be pregnant.” Records from the Missing Child Organization showedthat Barbara called on March 29, 1983, and reported Lisa as missing - “She maybe on drugs and she may be pregnant.” Mrs. DeCarr first mentioned a possiblepregnancy to Det. Gullo, the policeman looking for Lisa, on April 26 th.
4Det. Burke’s report of June 22, 1984, noted that “Jenice DeCarr who is, the
stepdaughter of Barbara DeCarr” stated, “that Barbara DeCarr was heavily intoWitchcraft and while living in New York, Barbara participated in witchcraft to a
7
In May of 1984 while she was voluntarily committed in a mental hospital,
Mrs. DeCarr contacted Donald Snell.5 He testified at trial that he met Mrs. DeCarr
in May, 1984 (R. 123-24). Snell headed a volunteer group that located missing
children, and employed the services of a psychic to do so (R. 124). A second
meeting occurred in early June of 1984, when Mrs. DeCarr assigned him power of
attorney to search for Lisa (R. 129). On or around June 6, 1984, Snell’s
organization conducted a search of Barbara’s former house (R. 130-31).6 Snell
recounted that “the house was raised in the front part” and when they looked under
it, “we could see a depression which we were sure was a grave.” When someone
reached under the house, “the earth gave way” and “saw the bones” (R. 132). The
great extent.” Jenice also said “that her brother Harold DeCarr, Jr. was seduced byBarbara when he was 12 yrs. old.” Det. Burke noted that “this was confirmed byHarold as we were on a three party telephone conversation at the time. He stated that he was in fact, 12 yrs old when this took place.” Michelle Hayes, “the sisterto Lisa DeCarr and the daughter of Mrs. DeCarr,” made similar statements. Michelle “stated she knew of one time that her mother had at least three or four young boys in her bedroom locked up with her ranging from ages 12 to 14 yrs andthat she knew that there was sex acts going on and that one of the subjs that was inthe bedroom with her mother was Harold, Jr., her stepbrother. She stated that she is certain that they were involved in some type of sex act with their mother. She said it got so bad, that the 12 and 14 yrs old boys would get in a fight over whowas to have her mother’s affections.”
5In the period between March, 1982, to June, 1984, Mrs. DeCarr had three otherboyfriends besides Wayne Tompkins (R. 227). As to one, Gary Francis, shedenied that she moved out of the trailer park because Gary had harmed Lisa (Id.).But Mrs. DeCarr did confirm that a man named Bob McElvin had propositionedLisa, saying he would do “certain things for her for sexual favors” (Id.).
Mrs. DeCarr found out in the spring of 1984 that Mr. Tompkins had sexwith another woman. However, in her testimony, she denied that she was angryover Mr. Tompkins’ affair with another woman (R. 237).
6Mrs. DeCarr and her family moved from that residence over a year before,weeks after Lisa disappeared.
8
depression was “on the right hand side under the front part, the front section, what
was the porch” and was about “two to three feet under the house” (R. 133; 135).
The police were then contacted (R. 135).7 Snell did not know if Barbara knew
where the body was before he went there, but “just didn't believe that she was
telling me the whole truth” (R. 138; 40).
After the body was found, Mrs. DeCarr told the police that Wayne
Tompkins, her ex-boyfriend, was the last person to see Lisa alive on the morning
of March 24, 1983, the day she disappeared. Based upon Mrs. DeCarr’s claims
and the discovery of the body, Mr. Tompkins was indicted. In early 1985, Mrs.
DeCarr was deposed by Mr. Tompkins’ counsel. Immediately afterwards, the
prosecutor began looking for more evidence or another witness. He contacted
Kathy Stevens in March of 1985.8 At first she maintained that her statements to
7Tampa Police Department Sergeant Rademaker testified that Mrs. DeCarr told him that she believed the body “was someplace on the property and possibly underthe house” (R. 170); even though this interview was conducted after the discoveryof the body, “we didn’t tell her during the interview. We didn’t tell her until after we were sure what we had” (Id.).
The medical examiner identified the body as being Lisa based uponinformation received from Mrs. DeCarr. The trial prosecutor testified in 1989 that“[o]ther than Mrs. DeCarr’s description of the strange tooth in her daughter’smouth” there was no basis for the dental identification (PC-R. 233). There was no way to determine how long the body had been in the grave, and that it is possible itcould have been as little as six or seven months prior to June, 1984 (R. 191).
8Benito first called Kathy Stevens on March 7, 1985. This was two days after Barbara DeCarr’s March 5th deposition in which she indicated she went to Mr.Tompkins’ mother’s house at “approximately 9:00 am.” (DeCarr depo. at 16). In her undated statement, she further indicated that Mr. Tompkins had already arrivedat his mother’s house and “stayed at his mother’s house until approximately 10:00am when he left to get some newspapers to pack dishes with.” In her deposition,she indicated Mr. Tompkins “could have been” gone “[t]wenty minutes, half an
9
school officials were true, that Lisa had runaway to New York and kept in touch
with Kathy. A couple of days after meeting the prosecutor, she re-contacted him.
After she was given authorization to visit a boyfriend who was incarcerated, she
changed her story and claimed witnessing Lisa being strangled by Mr. Tompkins
on the morning of March 24, 1983, at around 8:30 AM.9
Thereafter, Kenneth Turco surfaced, claiming that Mr. Tompkins had
confessed the murder.10 Mr. Turco’s testimony so aligned with Kathy Stevens’
hour.” (DeCarr depo. at 20). He subsequently left again with his stefather (DeCarr depo. at 21).
9Kathy’s new version of the facts began with her sneaking into Lisa’s bedroomwindow at 6:30 AM on March 24 th. She and Lisa were planning to run away after getting in trouble at school. In the early morning meeting, Kathy said that Lisasaid she was not running away after all. So Kathy left. When she noticed that she left her purse and had to go back to get it. When she got there at around 8:30 AM, the front door was open. She went in and saw Mr. Tompkins strangling Lisa. Lisa called out for her to call the police. But instead, she went the nearby store and ran into Lisa’s boyfriend, Junior Davis. When she told him what she had just seen, he was unconcerned. So, Kathy went to school. At trial, Kathy said she went backlater to get her purse with her girlfriend, Kim Lisenby. It was then Kim who knocked at the door, not Kathy, and may have spoken with Mr. Tompkins.
In her deposition, Kathy gave a different version. Then she said that Kim Lisenby was with her when she saw Lisa being strangled. After Lisa told her to call the police, she “grabbed [her] purse and [ ] left.” (Stevens depo. at 10) “I shut the door. And I told Kim, I said, ‘Come on, Kim we got to call the police.’ She said, ‘Don’t get involved.’ And I said, ‘Why?’ And she said, ‘Because you don’t need to.’ And I said, ‘Okay.’ And I went to the store and that’s when I ran into Junior.” In her deposition, Kathy indicated that she “grabbed her purse” when sheleft at 8:00 am. (Stevens depo at 10). She also indicated that after she talked to Junior, “me and [Kim] went back to the school. I cleaned out my locker, and Iwent to my stepmother’s and sat on her porch until she got back. And then I met Kim at school at 2:00 o’clock. And she cut class. And we went to go check on Lisa” (Stevens depo. at 14). “It takes about twenty minutes to get from the school to her house. It was about 2:20, 2:30, something like that”
10Kathy Stevens’ deposition occurred on June 12, 1985. Kenneth Turco’s deposition occurred on July 15, 1985. At that time, he said that in late June, 1985,
10
story that defense counsel argued that the informant had obtained access to Ms.
Stevens’ deposition or statement and used it to mold his testimony.11
After Kathy Stevens report that she witnessed Mr. Tompkins’ strangling
Lisa at around 8:30 AM, Mrs. DeCarr was able to remember that contrary to her
earlier statements that she had left home before 8:30 AM, and Mr. Tompkins was
still there, as was Lisa. Previously, her recollection was that Mr. Tompkins left to
take one of her sons to school and wasn’t home when she left after 9:00 AM.12
he first talked to Wayne Tompkins about his case, and that about a week and a halfbefore the deposition, Mr. Tompkins confessed to him (Turco depo. at 8).
11Kenneth Turco while serving a 30 year prison sentence for burglary and grandtheft escaped (R. 301-02). While serving his time, Turco had been a confidential informant in prison and received consideration (R. 317). After Turco entered a guilty plea to a felony escape charge in “June, I think, or maybe the end of May”
(R. 315), he was placed in a two man cell with Mr. Tompkins. His placement in jail cell with Mr. Tompkins occurred in June of 1985. He had just entered the guilty plea on an escape charge (R. 303). He was waiting to be sentenced (R. 304). While in the jail, he made contact with Wayne Tompkins after he “wasplaced in the cell with him” (R. 305). After his contact with Mr. Tompkins, Turcopersonally contacted prosecutor Benito, who visited him and promised only “mysafety in the jail and that [he] would tell the judge at my sentencing hearing that Icooperated and I came forward and testified in a murder trial” (R. 311).Turco testified that he was not hopeful that his testimony would help him onthe escape sentence because he would still be doing time anyway (R. 315). However, it had crossed his mind that his testimony would help him (Id.).
In 1989, Mike Benito, Mr. Tompkins’ prosecuting attorney, testified that hetook over Turco’s prosecution two weeks after Wayne Tompkins’ sentence ofdeath. He explained, “I walked down to court. I was about to offer Mr. Turco a negotiation. I got in here and I looked at Mr. Turco and I said, ‘This guy showed alot of guts coming forward as a jailhouse informant to testify as to what Mr.Tompkins told him.’” (PC-R. 235). So, Benito “got up and walked down here andannounced the case, and said, ‘I nol-pros it.’” A grateful Turco “looked at[Benito] like he had just been handed his first bicycle at Christmas.” (PC-R. 236).
12Mrs. DeCarr’s shifting the time line of her account was necessary because herprevious story made Kathy’s story impossible (between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM,Barbara had said she was home and Mr. Tompkins wasn’t and that he did not
11
According to an undated typed statement of Mrs. DeCarr that was provided to the police before Kathy Stevens claimed to have witness Mr. Tompkins strangling Lisa, Mrs. DeCarr said, “Wayne had taken Jamie (my youngest son) to school just before 8:00 am. and then went to his mother’s house for breakfast and coffee. He stayed at his mother’s house until approximately 10:00 am. when he left to get some newspapers to pack dishes with.”
At trial,13 Wendy Chancey was unavailable and defense counsel was precluded from crossing Mrs. DeCarr regarding the statements attributed to her in the March 24, 1983, police report.14 The State’s theory of the case was outlined in its opening statement. According to the State, Mr. Tompkins and Mrs. DeCarr were a couple in March of 1983. Mr. Tompkins was living with DeCarr, along with her three children, including 15-year old Lisa (R. 107-08). On the morning of March 24, 1983, Barbara went to Mr. Tompkins’ mother’s house to help her
return to the house until after 10:00 AM, while Kathy said before going to schoolat 8:30 AM or so she saw Mr. Tompkins was assaulting Lisa on the couch).
13Although it presented 8 witnesses at trial, the State advised the jury that “thekey testimony will come from three [] witnesses”--Barbara DeCarr (the victim'smother), Kathy Stevens (the victim’s best friend), and Kenneth Turco (thejailhouse snitch)--and that “[t]hose three will provide the overwhelming evidence”that Mr. Tompkins killed Lisa DeCarr on the morning of March 24, 1983 (R. 108).
14The jury did not learn of the information provided Mrs. DeCarr and WendyChancey to a police officer regarding what they saw of Lisa on the afternoon ofMarch 24, 1983, which was inconsistent with the testimony of Kathy Stevens,Barbara DeCarr, and Kenneth Turco. Nor did the jury learn of the information setforth in Lisa DeCarr’s school records and in police reports concerning Lisa DeCarras a missing person documenting statements by numerous people reportingsightings of contact with Lisa DeCarr after March 24, 1983, and throughout theremainder of that year.
12
move; before she left home between 8:30 and 9:00 AM, she checked in on Lisa, who was in bed and wearing a pink bathrobe (R. 110). After Barbara left, Kathy arrived between 8:30 and 9:00 AM and saw Mr. Tompkins strangling Lisa.15
During Mr. Tompkins’ trial, the prosecutor relied upon Stevens’ testimony to urge the jury to convict Mr. Tompkins, arguing, “[h]er testimony alone . . . convicts this man” (R. 346; see also R. 346-49, 360). The prosecutor relied upon Stevens’ testimony to urge the jury to recommend a death sentence (R. 444-45). Thereafter, the jury convicted and recommended a sentence of death. The trial judge relied upon Stevens’ testimony to support the “committed during a felony” aggravating circumstance (R. 679).
In the course of the collateral proceedings, withheld exculpatory evidence has surfaced, along with witnesses and documents that were not presented by the defense which demonstrated that Kathy’s story - the basis of the prosecution’s theory of the case - could have been thoroughly impeached and shown to not be true.16 For example in 2001, the State disclosed a June 8, 1984, police report
15At the 1989 hearing, the trial prosecutor, Mike Benito, confirmed that histheory was that the offense occurred on the morning of March 24th (PC-R. 87).
16In 1989, the State disclosed that it was in possession of Lisa DeCarr’s schoolrecords at the time of Mr. Tompkins’ trial. These records were not available to defense counsel since he did not have a release for the records, and because the trial prosecutor did not disclose the records. This records documented the circumstances of Lisa DeCarr’s suspension on March 23, 1983, and the numerousstatements made by Barbara DeCarr and others to school officials reporting thatLisa had runaway because she was pregnant and that various students had eitherseen or had contact with Lisa in April and May of 1983.
13
concerning an interview of an individual named Maureen Sweeney taken on June 8, 1984, at 2130 hrs:
SWEENEY advised that it was very strange the explanation givensurrounding LISA'S disappearance. She advised that she was told thatLISA had come home, found Wayne sitting at the kitchen table withher mother and asked 'what the hell is he doing here!' Her mother,BARBARA, explained that he had no place to go and that she wasgoing to let him move in with them, until he could get on his feet. Atthat point LISA ran out the back door. According to MAUREEN itwas very unusual for LISA to be outside without her makeup andsupposedly she had been outside then come back inside and then goneout again without her makeup. Lisa's brother BILLY left the house to go find her and came back to take care of JAMIE.
The sequence of events that Sweeney reported is consistent with what Mrs. DeCarr had told the police on March 24, 1983, and is inconsistent with the State’s theory of the case, that murder occurred between 8:00 and 9:00 AM on March 24 th.
It was only in the post-conviction proceedings that Mr. Tompkins or his counsel learned that the prosecutor had written file memos memorializing Kathy’s statements to him when he first contacted and she changed her story. It was only after receiving this memos that Mr. Tompkins learn that Kathy Stevens, a mentally troubled teen, was given access to her incarcerated boyfriend that she had not been allowed to see only after she changed her story and incriminated Mr. Tompkins.
In 1989, Mr. Tompkins presented the testimony of Gladys Staley regarding her contact with Lisa DeCarr in the early afternoon of March 24, 1983, at Ms. Staley’s residence (PC-R. 306-07). Gladys Staley testified that she saw Lisa in the early afternoon of March 24, 1983, at around 2:30 PM and spoke to her (PC-R. 410-11). Even though Ms. Staley had advised a police officer in June of 1984 of
14
th
her visit with Lisa DeCarr at around 2:30 PM on March 24 , the trial prosecutordid not list her as a witness (PC-R. 414).
In 1989, Mr. Tompkins also introduced an affidavit from Jerry Behringer into evidence in which he stated under oath that “Lisa is not dead. About three months after Wayne’s trial I saw Lisa at a convenience store on the corner of 15th and Hillsborough Street. I called out, ‘Lisa.’ She turned, looked directly at me, froze, and then ran down an alley behind the store. I lost her but there is not a question, whatsoever, that I personally saw Lisa DeCarr, alive.” (PC-R. 251; Def. Ex. 16; PC-R. 568). See Attachment B.
Subsequnetly, Kathy Stevens’ testimony was contradicted by “Junior” Davis, Lisa DeCarr’s boyfriend at the time of her disappearance when he was located in 2002. After years of searching and after the State finally provided previously undisclosed documents about Davis in 2001, Mr. Tompkins’ counsel located “Junior” Davis in April of 2002. “Junior” Davis’s full name is James M. Davis, Jr. Upon being contacted, Mr. Davis reported that he had been Lisa DeCarr’s boyfriend in March of 1983. In a sworn affidavit, Mr. Davis stated, “[t]he story of Kathy running into me at the store the day Lisa disappeared is not true. If anyone had told me that Wayne was attacking Lisa and she was screaming for someone to call the police, I would have gone directly there” (Affidavit of James M. Davis, Jr., paragraph 6, 4PC-R. 130). Mr. Davis elaborated:
If I thought there was anyway I could have helped [Lisa], I wouldhave, especially if she were in trouble. This is why what Kathy said is not true. I never saw Kathy on the morning that Lisa disappeared,nor did Kathy ever tell me that she had just seen Lisa being attacked
15
by Wayne. In fact, the first time I heard of anything having possiblyhappened to Lisa was when I heard on the radio she was missing. (Affidavit of James M. Davis, Jr., paragraph 8, 4PC-R. 130). On October 30, 2008, the State disclosed a newly obtained sworn statement from Kenneth Turco. In this statement, Mr. Turco explained that the prosecutor instructed him to add the pocketbook to his testimony at Mr. Tompkins’ trial:
Well, Michael Bonito [sic] at the time of my - - prior to thetestimony, and naturally we met at the Hillsborough County jail, wentinto a little room and as I was telling him what happened he told me
- he said - - he told me, he said don’t forget the purse. She was buried with a purse. Make sure you add that in your testimony, and I did. (Turco Sworn Statement of October 28, 2008, at 5). Later, Mr. Turco explained:
Q And this thing about the purse in your deposition, yousaid that you mentioned a pocketbook or purse of something to that
effect. A The victim was buried - - Q Go ahead. A That came from Mr. Bonito [sic].
(Turco Sworn Statement of October 28, 2008, at 6). According to Mr. Turco’s sworn statement of October 28, 2008, at Mr. Benito’s instruction, Mr. Turco added untrue details to his story.17
Mr. Turco testified at Mr. Tompkins’ trial in September of 1985. Over twenty-three years later on October 30, 2008, the State disclosed a new sworn
17Certainly, Mr. Turco’s willingness to add untrue details to his testimonyexplains the prosecutor’s subsequent dismissal of charges that Mr. Turco hadalready pled guilty to.
16
statement from Mr. Turco indicating that part of his trial testimony was false and that he testified falsely at the trial prosecutor’s instruction.
Mr. Turco thereupon testified that Mr. Tompkins confessed to strangling Lisa DeCarr after she rebuffed his sexual advances (R. 309). According to Mr. Turco, Mr. Tompkins indicated that he buried the body under the house. Thereupon, Mr. Turco had the following exchange with Michael Benito, the prosecuting attorney:
Q. Did he tell you he buried anything else under the house of hers? A. Yes. He said he buried some clothing to make it look like she ran away. Q. Anything else? Do you specifically recall the pocketbook? A. Yes, sir. It was a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt or a blouse, Ican’t remember exactly, but it was a top, and he did say a pocket book for sure. Q. Did he tell you where he had buried the pocketbook, thejeans and blouse? A. No, he didn’t sir. (R. 310)(emphasis added). During cross-examination, the following exchanged occurred with Mr. Tompkins’ counsel: Q. He told you that not only did he kill her but he gave youthe specifics about clothing and things of that nature that he alsoburied? A. Yes, he did, sir. 17
Q. Those would be information, matters about clothing andmatters about details you would expect to find in police reports,would you not, and depositions? A. I have no idea, sir. (R. 316). In his closing argument, the prosecutor made the pocketbook an important
feature:
It was enough time for him to plan his coverup, not enough time. He made mistakes, and the mistakes which have left a trail directly to him. And one big mistake, listen to this, one big mistake,he got rid of the pocketbook just like he told Turco he did.
Recall Barbara, when she searched Lisa’s belongings thatevening, did not find her pocketbook. We never have found the pocketbook. But what was not missing? Her wallet. Her wallet. Remember Barbara’s testimony. Her wallet was there but not her pocketbook. In his haste, in his hurrying to cover up this crime, heforgot to put the wallet in the pocketbook.
He panicked after killing her, just like he told Turco he did, and he grabbed the pocketbook, grabbed some clothes, buried them. We don’t know where. He said he buried them, but thinking thewallet was in the pocketbook, he buried them but the wallet wasn’t inthe pocketbook.
No young girl is going to run away and take her pocketbookbut leave her wallet. And, besides that, as already mentioned, noyoung girl is going to run away in her bathrobe and her pajama top.
Use your common sense. She did not run away.
The defendant told Barbara DeCarr, “Jeans and a blouse and her pocketbook, that’s what I saw her the last time wearing and carrying.”
(R. 355-56)(emphasis added). Clearly, the prosecutor used the pocketbook as an essential piece of evidence that pulled his case together and rebutted any
18
contention by the defense that Lisa DeCarr had in fact run away as Mrs. DeCarr reported to the police on March 24, 1983.
Throughout the history of this case, Mr. Tompkins has maintained that he did not commit the murder for which he stands convicted. He has always maintained his innocence.
2. Description of the Evidence Mr. Tompkins seeks DNA testing of the items found at the grave site, including hair skeletal remains, robe, pajamas and miscellaneous debris. In 2001, the State asserted that the hair collected from the grave site was lost.18 However at that time counsel for the Defendant did in fact observed that the Tampa police department had collected and retained a portion of a bone removed from the grave site. Counsel also understood that the clothing found with the human remains at the grave site were still available for testing. The robe, sash, and pajamas were introduced into evidence at the time of trial and are in the possession of the clerk of court (State’s Exh. Nos. 12, 13, 19).
3. Last Known Location of Evidence to be Tested Counsel for Mr. Tompkins observed a portion of the bone removed from the grave site in the Tampa Police Department’s possession in 2001. The record in
18According to a FBI Lab Report in Mr. Tompkins’ case, several hairsdiscovered with the human remains found at 1225 Osborne Street were forwarded to the FBI for comparison. The report noted that the hairs “were suitable for possible future comparison” (R. 31-34). It was these hairs that were reported lost or misplaced in 2001. Certainly, if these hairs have since been located, Mr.Tompkins would ask that they be submitted for DNA testing as well.
19
Mr. Tompkins’ case indicates that the robe, sash and pajamas found with the body
were admitted into evidence and placed in the custody of the clerk of court at the
time of Mr. Tompkins’ trial.
B. Statement that the Evidence was not Previously Tested for DNA (Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.853(b)(2)). Evidence was collected when the human remains were found in June of
1984. No DNA testing has ever been performed on any of the evidence collected
in this case. When DNA testing was requested by Mr. Tompkins in 2001 before
the adoption of Rule 3.853, this Court refused to permit it. This Court’s ruling
was affirmed on appeal. Tompkins v. State, 872 So. 2d 230 (Fla. 2003).19
C. Statement that the Movant is Innocent and Statement Explaining HowDNA Testing Would Exonerate the Movant. (Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853(b)(3)). 19At the time of this Court’s action in 2001, the affidavit from Mr. Davis had not been obtained, nor had Mr. Turco made a sworn statement that he was told to add false details to his testimony by the prosecuting attorney. This new information warrants revisiting this matter because it impeaches the State’s case at trial,specifically the testimony of Kathy Stevens and Kenneth Turco. If the human remains found at 1225 E. Osborne Street are not those of Lisa DeCarr, Mr. Tompkins will be exonerated of her murder.
Moreover, there is considerable evidence known now, but not by the jury thatconvicted Mr. Tompkins, that Lisa DeCarr was alive after Kathy Stevens andKenneth Turco testified that she was dead. This evidence impeaching thetestimony that she was killed on the morning of March 24, 1983, would beconsistent with her not being the source of the human remains. This evidence includes school records showing reports that Lisa was alive in April of 1983,police records showing that Mrs. DeCarr advised the police throughout 1983 thatLisa had been seen alive in and around Tampa, Ms. Staley’s testimony in 1989 thatshe saw Lisa alive on the afternoon of March 24, 1983, the police reportconcerning Maureen Sweeney reporting that Mrs. DeCarr had told her that Lisawas last seen in the afternoon when she ran from the house while fighting with hermother about Mr. Tompkins moving in, and the sworn statement in 1989 fromJerry Behringer recounting his observation of Lisa DeCarr alive and well threemonths after Mr. Tompkins had been convicted and sentence to death.
20
1. Statement of Innocence Mr. Tompkins pled not guilty and maintained his innocence throughout the history of this case. He continues to maintain that he is innocent today. Because Mr. Tompkins is innocent, he does not know whose remains were found under the house at 1225 E. Osborne St. In Tampa, Florida, nor how those remains came to be located there. Because Mr. Tompkins is innocent, he only knows that he did not murder Lisa DeCarr and that he did not place human remains under the house.
2. Statement Explaining How DNA Testing Will Exonerate the Movant Florida courts have interpreted the “how the DNA testing will exonerate” language in Rule 3.853 to mean that testing will be granted if the results would create a “reasonable probability that the [defendant] would have been acquitted” had these results been available at trial. Knighten v. State, 829 So.2d 249 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); Hitchcock v. State, 866 So. 2d 23, 27 (Fla. 2004). As Florida courts have explained, “the purpose of the rule 3.853 is to provide defendants with a means by which to challenge convictions when there is a ‘credible concern that an injustice may have occurred and DNA testing may resolve the issue.’” Zollman, 820 So. 2d 1059, 1062 (quoting In re Amendment to Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure Creating Rule 3.853 (DNA Testing), 807 So. 2d 633, 636 (Fla. 2001) (Anstead, J., concurring)). Only when the DNA testing would “shed no light on the defendant’s guilt or innocence” is such testing unwarranted by Fla. R. Crim. P.
3.853. Zollman, 820 So. 2d at 1063. 21
Here, evidence that the human remains are not those of Lisa DeCarr would mean that the State’s charge that Mr. Tompkins murdered her and place her body there on the morning of March 24, 1983, would certainly exonerate Mr. Tompkins. DNA test results from the following evidence meets the “reasonable probability” standard of Rule 3.853(b)(3) and would exonerate Wayne Tompkins as the person who murdered Lisa DeCarr. Huffman v. State, 837 So. 2d 1147, 1148 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2003).
D. Statement that Identification of the Movant is a Disputed Issue in theCase. (Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853 (b)(4)). The identity of the murdered is a genuinely disputed issue in this case. Mr. Tompkins was arrested and charged with having been the perpetrator. Mr. Tompkins has always contended that he is innocent of the crime and did not commit the crime charged.
In 1989, Mr. Tompkins presented the testimony of Gladys Staley regarding her contact with Lisa DeCarr in the early afternoon of March 24, 1983, at Ms. Staley’s residence (PC-R. 306-07). Gladys Staley testified that she saw Lisa in the early afternoon of March 24, 1983, at around 2:30 PM and spoke to her (PC-R. 410-11). Even though Ms. Staley had advised a police officer in June of 1984 of
th
her visit with Lisa DeCarr at around 2:30 PM on March 24 , the trial prosecutordid not list her as a witness (PC-R. 414).
In 1989, Mr. Tompkins also introduced an affidavit from Jerry Behringer into evidence in which he stated under oath that “Lisa is not dead. About three months after Wayne’s trial I saw Lisa at a convenience store on the corner of 15th
22
and Hillsborough Street. I called out, ‘Lisa.’ She turned, looked directly at me, froze, and then ran down an alley behind the store. I lost her but there is not a question, whatsoever, that I personally saw Lisa DeCarr, alive.” (PC-R. 251; Def. Ex. 16; PC-R. 568).
At trial, the State relied upon circumstantial evidence that the human remains were those of Lisa DeCarr as evidence identifying Mr. Tompkins as the murderer. It was essential to the State’s case that the remains were those of Lisa DeCarr in order to argue the identity of the killer as Mr. Tompkins. The purpose of the “identification” requirement is to exclude movants who assert that they performed the act in question but are, nevertheless, not culpable – such as those who assert defenses like insanity, duress, or consent as a defense to rape. In such cases, DNA testing would not show that the movant did not commit the act in question because the movant asserts that he did commit the act. Crow v. State, 866 So. 2d 1257, 1260-61 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004)
E. Statement of Any Other Relevant Facts. (Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853 (b)(5)). Mr. Tompkins relies on the aforementioned statement of the facts pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.853(b)(1).
F. Certificate of Service of Motion on Prosecuting Attorney. (Fla. R. Crim.P. 3.853 (b)(6)). A certificate of service of the motion on the prosecuting authority is attached to this motion.
ARGUMENT II
23
The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that a convicted criminal defendant is entitled to DNA testing of biological evidence in the State’s possession when the results of the testing could exonerate the defendant. Osborne v. District Attorney’s Office, 521 F.3d 1118 (9th Cir. 2008), cert. granted, — U.S. — (November 3, 2008).
Here, Mr. Tompkins has presented a sworn statement that was introduced into evidence in 1989 that Lisa DeCarr was seen alive and well three months after Mr. Tompkins had been convicted and sentence to death for her murder. This statement in conjunction with the numerous reports that Lisa DeCarr was seen alive after the State’s main witnesses had testified that she was dead requires that Mr. Tompkins be given the opportunity to conduct DNA testing on all of the biological material that was found at the grave site under the house at 1225 E. Osborne Street in Tampa. Denying Mr. Tompkins access the biological evidence which is in the State’s possession for DNA testing would violated the constitutionally guaranteed right of due process.
GOOD CAUSE EXISTS TO ORDER THE DNA TESTING AT A PRIVATE LAB AT THE
DEFENDANT’S EXPENSE
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.853(c)(7) provides that “on showing of good cause,” a court may order testing by a laboratory other than FDLE so long as the other laboratory is certified by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors or the National Forensic Science Training Center. “Good cause” is established in this case because FDLE does not currently perform several types of DNA testing that will be necessary to adequately examine the biological evidence
24
at issue, i.e., Y-Chromosome, miniSTR, and/or mitochondrial DNA testing. Nevertheless, these types of DNA testing are admissible and widely used in criminal cases, and certified laboratories such as Orchid Cellmark in Farmers Branch, Texas, and MitoTyping Technologies in State College, Pennsylvania, do perform such testing.20 Mr. Tompkins and his counsel agree to pay all costs for this testing.
Accordingly, it is respectfully requested that when this Court grants the Defendant’s Motion for DNA Testing, it find that “good cause” exists to order that such testing be conducted by either Orchid Cellmark, in Farmers Branch, Texas, or MitoTyping Technologies, in State College, Pennsylvania, certified laboratories capable of performing such testing, at the expense of Mr. Tompkins or his counsel.
CONCLUSION
In sum, as Florida courts have noted, “the purpose of Rule 3.853 is to provide defendants with a means by which to challenge convictions when there is a ‘credible concern that an injustice may have occurred and DNA testing may resolve the issue.’” Zollman v. State, 820 So. 2d 1059, 1062 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (quoting In re Amendment to Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure Creating Rule
3.853 (DNA Testing), 807 So. 2d 633 (Fla. 2001) (Anstead, J., concurring)). In this case, there is such a credible concern: this are numerous reports and sworn testimony that Lisa DeCarr was seen alive after the State’s witnesses testified that 20Orchid Cellmark and Mitotyping Technologies are widely respected
national laboratories.
25
she was dead. This Court should grant this Motion for DNA testing, as favorable results will demonstrate that Mr. Tompkins is innocent and may lead to the apprehension of the true perpetrator.
WHEREFORE, Mr. Tompkins, through undersigned counsel, respectfully requests this Court grant this Motion for DNA Testing and order DNA testing of the requested items that would exonerate the Defendant, and order that “good cause” exists for such testing to be performed at a private laboratory at the expense of Defendant or his counsel, and order the State to produce the evidence identified herein for DNA testing, and to conduct a thorough search for the above evidence at the Tampa Police Department and at any other place where evidence is customarily stored in Hillsborough County.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true copy of the foregoing Notice of Appeal has been furnished by mail, to Jalal Harb, Assistant State Attorney, Office of the State Attorney, 800 East Kennedy Blvd., 5th Floor, Tampa, FL 33602-4148; Robert Landry, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Legal Affairs, 3507 Frontage Road, Suite 200, Tampa, FL 33607 on December 1, 2008.
MARTIN McCLAIN Special Assistant CCRC-SouthFlorida Bar No. 0754773 141 N.E. 30th Street Wilton Manors, FL 33334 Tel: (305) 984-8344Fax: (954) 564-5412
NEAL DUPREE CCRC-South
26
101 NE 3rd Ave., Suite 400 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 Tel: (954) 713-1284
SETH E. MILLER Fla. Bar No. 0806471 DAVID MENSCHEL Member of New York Bar INNOCENCE PROJECT OF FLORIDA 1100 East Park Avenue Tallahassee, Florida 32301 Tel: (850) 561-6769Fax: (850) 561-5077
Counsel for Mr. Tompkins
27
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Examining Human Error in Wrongful Convictions
Examining Human Error in Wrongful ConvictionsThat's the title of an article in the New York Times by Manny Fernandez. LINK
A new examination of wrongful convictions in New York City and around the state found that a number of them stemmed not from DNA evidence being used to prove someone’s innocence, but from a far older phenomenon: human error.
The report, released on Friday by the New York State Bar Association, studied the cases of 53 men and women whose convictions were overturned, often after spending years, sometimes decades, in prison for murders, rapes and other crimes they did not commit.
It determined that the root causes of the convictions included errors by a prosecutor, judge or member of law enforcement, as well as the misidentification of the accused by victims or witnesses. The mishandling of forensic evidence and a reliance on false confessions from the accused or false testimony from jailhouse informants were also to blame.
Fewer than half the cases involved new DNA evidence. Even with the DNA cases, elements of human error were found.
In many of the 53 cases, several factors, not just one, played a role in the wrongful convictions, the report found. Thirty-six cases involved a misidentification by a witness or a victim, and 31 involved errors by prosecutors, judges or law enforcement, it said.
“If you were manufacturing widgets, and 53 widgets were defective, it would be acceptable,” said Barry M. Kamins, a Criminal Court judge in Manhattan who was the chair of the state bar association task force that prepared the report. “If you’re dealing in human lives, and 53 people are innocent and serving time for crimes they didn’t commit, that is unacceptable. One is too many, and 53 in New York is unacceptable.”
The 53 cases in the report read like a litany of legal missteps.
And:
The task force that prepared the report makes a number of recommendations, including additional training for the police, prosecutors, defense lawyers and judges, as well as changes in how police lineups are conducted. It also calls for interrogations of all felony-level suspects to be electronically recorded, and urges the state to provide financial aid and re-entry services to those exonerated, which Mr. Kamins said is not provided currently.
The task force that prepared the report makes a number of recommendations, including additional training for the police, prosecutors, defense lawyers and judges, as well as changes in how police lineups are conducted. It also calls for interrogations of all felony-level suspects to be electronically recorded, and urges the state to provide financial aid and re-entry services to those exonerated, which Mr. Kamins said is not provided currently.
The bar association will hold two public hearings on the report’s findings — one in Manhattan on Feb. 13 and the other in Albany on Feb. 24. The report will then be presented on April 4 to the bar association’s House of Delegates, which will vote on whether to formally adopt it.
(Source : www.Standdown.typepad.com)
Can we afford death penalty?
Florida's public defenders are pushing the Legislature to temporarily end the death penalty this year, but the focus is not about morality, or the possibility of executing an innocent person.
The state could save money -- some estimates are $51 million a year -- if it temporarily stopped seeking the death penalty for defendants and executing death row inmates, a Polk County assistant public defender told state senators this month.
"Right now the whole question is: 'Can we afford to keep doing this with all the other cuts that are being made?'" Rex Dimmig said in an interview this week.
In a year when Florida and other states are facing budget crunches, the cost of enforcing the death penalty suddenly has become the hot argument for those opposing the ultimate punishment for criminals across the country.
Putting a stop to the death penalty in Florida is a long shot at best. State Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, chair of the committee that funds the criminal justice system, calls the idea "ridiculous."
Florida voters overwhelmingly voted for the death penalty in a referendum, Crist said, and the issue of having the ultimate penalty for the most heinous of crimes is not about money.
But other states are going to give serious consideration to dropping their death penalty based on cost this year, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.
Maryland is about to vote on the issue after learning the state spent $37 million per execution over the past 28 years, Dieter said. New Jersey cited cost as part of the reason in a vote to drop the death penalty there last year.
Close financial scrutiny of death penalty programs has not happened for a long time because it has usually been debated on moral grounds in easier budget times, Dieter said.
"It's caught up in emotional issues, victims and police and crime," Dieter said. "Now, it's going to be put to the test that many government programs have."
Florida has never had an official study looking at the cost of the death penalty. The most widely quoted cost analysis is a 2000 report in The Palm Beach Post that concluded the state spends $24 million to execute each person because of appeals that stretch an average of 12 years.
In the alternative, it costs the state $72 per day to house an inmate on a life sentence, or about $1.3 million over 50 years, the paper found.
There are currently 392 inmates on death row in Florida, which has executed an average of 2.6 people per year in the last few decades.
California spends $138 million a year on the death penalty, while executing less than one person every two years, a recent study found.
The death penalty cases are costly for the court system, particularly for public defenders across Florida who have already been forced to cut budgets, lay off some employees and force others to take unpaid furloughs this year.
Crist said he doubts the state would save that much money ending the death penalty.
"I don't see how that's possible," Crist said. "It would be marginal."
The majority of any savings would go to the Florida Department of Corrections, not the public defenders, he said.
After debates about the death penalty earlier this decade, the state increased spending to make the death penalty system ensure that no innocent people are executed, Crist said.
(Source : Sarasota Herald-Tribune.com)
Trial starts Monday in murder of Gadsden County confidential informant
QUINCY - Six years after Constance Dupont was gunned down through the front window of her Havana apartment, the drug dealer accused of ordering the confidential informant killed for being a “snitch” will stand trial for her murder.
Jury selection in the case against Hernandez Lopaz Daniels begins today. The 36-year-old Daniels, currently serving a life sentence on federal drug-dealing charges, is the first person to face the death penalty in Gadsden County in more than a decade.
Assistant State Attorney Richard Combs is saving for trial his reasons for seeking the maximum punishment against Daniels. But police reports detail a calculated and brutal crime, which culminated with a knock on Dupont’s window in the early morning hours of Aug. 3, 2002, her pulling back the blinds and bullets ripping into her chest.
At the time she was killed, the 39-year-old grandmother was working for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Leon County Sheriffs Office to bust Daniels for drug crimes. She was recruited by officers after being caught in a car with cocaine.
Another man, Fernando Taylor, is also charged in her murder. A jailhouse informant told investigators Taylor said Daniels paid him $5,000 to kill her. He will be tried separately later. If Daniels is found guilty and sentenced to death, Taylor also will face the death penalty, said his attorney Greg Cummings.
Dupont’s family has waited a long time to see the inside of a courtroom. It took more than three years for Daniels and Taylor to be charged with her murder, and another three to see the case brought to trial.
Dupont’s daughter, La Sharka Jones, will be watching from the spectator benches this week.
“I’ll be glad when it’s over so I can put it all behind me,” said the 27-year-old, who spent years plagued by nightmares and depression. “It’s not going to bring her back, but I’ll know justice will be done.”
Much of the case against Daniels is built on the statements of inmates who shared jail cells with him, court records show. He was found guilty on federal drug trafficking charges in 2003. Prosecutors used Dupont’s killing to help win a conviction in that case.
Witnesses in that case said Daniels learned Dupont was working as a confidential informant when an officer accidentally answered a cell phone she had been given to contact him.
Unlike the recent high-profile killing of confidential informant Rachel Hoffman, Dupont’s death received little media attention at the time, and law enforcement’s role in it was never scrutinized.
Daniels’ attorney Clyde Taylor did not return a call for comment. But court records show the defense will likely focus on the unreliability of “snitch witnesses” and witness reports that point to the possibility that others could have killed Dupont or wanted to see to see her dead.
Dupont’s brother, Bernard Hunter, is optimistic about the outcome of the trial. But more than anything, he is ready for closure.
“I’m glad it is coming to a head,” said Hunter, who will testify at the trial. “I’m just ready to get it over with because it just brings back too many memories.”
(Source : Thallahassee.com)
Jury selection in the case against Hernandez Lopaz Daniels begins today. The 36-year-old Daniels, currently serving a life sentence on federal drug-dealing charges, is the first person to face the death penalty in Gadsden County in more than a decade.
Assistant State Attorney Richard Combs is saving for trial his reasons for seeking the maximum punishment against Daniels. But police reports detail a calculated and brutal crime, which culminated with a knock on Dupont’s window in the early morning hours of Aug. 3, 2002, her pulling back the blinds and bullets ripping into her chest.
At the time she was killed, the 39-year-old grandmother was working for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Leon County Sheriffs Office to bust Daniels for drug crimes. She was recruited by officers after being caught in a car with cocaine.
Another man, Fernando Taylor, is also charged in her murder. A jailhouse informant told investigators Taylor said Daniels paid him $5,000 to kill her. He will be tried separately later. If Daniels is found guilty and sentenced to death, Taylor also will face the death penalty, said his attorney Greg Cummings.
Dupont’s family has waited a long time to see the inside of a courtroom. It took more than three years for Daniels and Taylor to be charged with her murder, and another three to see the case brought to trial.
Dupont’s daughter, La Sharka Jones, will be watching from the spectator benches this week.
“I’ll be glad when it’s over so I can put it all behind me,” said the 27-year-old, who spent years plagued by nightmares and depression. “It’s not going to bring her back, but I’ll know justice will be done.”
Much of the case against Daniels is built on the statements of inmates who shared jail cells with him, court records show. He was found guilty on federal drug trafficking charges in 2003. Prosecutors used Dupont’s killing to help win a conviction in that case.
Witnesses in that case said Daniels learned Dupont was working as a confidential informant when an officer accidentally answered a cell phone she had been given to contact him.
Unlike the recent high-profile killing of confidential informant Rachel Hoffman, Dupont’s death received little media attention at the time, and law enforcement’s role in it was never scrutinized.
Daniels’ attorney Clyde Taylor did not return a call for comment. But court records show the defense will likely focus on the unreliability of “snitch witnesses” and witness reports that point to the possibility that others could have killed Dupont or wanted to see to see her dead.
Dupont’s brother, Bernard Hunter, is optimistic about the outcome of the trial. But more than anything, he is ready for closure.
“I’m glad it is coming to a head,” said Hunter, who will testify at the trial. “I’m just ready to get it over with because it just brings back too many memories.”
(Source : Thallahassee.com)
Quinn says Ill. death penalty moratorium will stay
COLLINSVILLE, Ill. -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says he has no immediate plans to lift the state's moratorium on the death penalty.
The Democrat who last week replaced ousted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he supports capital punishment. But he says he worries innocent people have been sent to Illinois' death row.
During a visit to Collinsville on Friday, Quinn said he wants to make sure there are adequate safeguards to make sure no one is put to death improperly in Illinois. He says that would weigh on everyone's conscience.
Imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions in Illinois in 2000. Ryan commuted the sentence of every inmate on death row, citing a number of wrongful convictions.
The Democrat who last week replaced ousted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he supports capital punishment. But he says he worries innocent people have been sent to Illinois' death row.
During a visit to Collinsville on Friday, Quinn said he wants to make sure there are adequate safeguards to make sure no one is put to death improperly in Illinois. He says that would weigh on everyone's conscience.
Imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions in Illinois in 2000. Ryan commuted the sentence of every inmate on death row, citing a number of wrongful convictions.
(Source : Ap Associated Press)
Friday, February 6, 2009
STATUS REPORT FROM WAYNE TOMPKINS`COUNSEL
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA
WAYNE TOMPKINS,
Appellant
v. CASE NO. 67974
STATE OF FLORIDA
Appellee.
________________________/
STATUS REPORT FROM WAYNE TOMPKINS= COUNSEL
Yesterday, February 3, 2009, counsel for WAYNE TOMPKINS was advised that this
Court had directed a status report to be filed. However, this Court=s order is not available online,
nor has counsel received the report in any other fashion. When the State filed it=s report it
referenced the above-entitled case number. And from the online docket it is apparent that this
Court did enter yesterday=s order in the above-captioned case, which unfortunately is not included
on the death warrant page and thus is not available to be reviewed online.
WAYNE TOMPKINS,
Appellant
v. CASE NO. 67974
STATE OF FLORIDA
Appellee.
________________________/
STATUS REPORT FROM WAYNE TOMPKINS= COUNSEL
Yesterday, February 3, 2009, counsel for WAYNE TOMPKINS was advised that this
Court had directed a status report to be filed. However, this Court=s order is not available online,
nor has counsel received the report in any other fashion. When the State filed it=s report it
referenced the above-entitled case number. And from the online docket it is apparent that this
Court did enter yesterday=s order in the above-captioned case, which unfortunately is not included
on the death warrant page and thus is not available to be reviewed online.
Currently, there is pending in state circuit court a motion submitted by Mr. Tompkins
requesting DNA testing. Even though the State opposed any testing, the Governor ordered DNA
testing to be conducted of a number of items. Bone fragments from the body, a bathrobe found
with the body, a sash found around the victims neck, a pajama top, and a piece of a barrette were
obtained by FDLE and sent to the FBI on December 16, 2008.
requesting DNA testing. Even though the State opposed any testing, the Governor ordered DNA
testing to be conducted of a number of items. Bone fragments from the body, a bathrobe found
with the body, a sash found around the victims neck, a pajama top, and a piece of a barrette were
obtained by FDLE and sent to the FBI on December 16, 2008.
According to the FBI report that was provided to Mr. Tompkins= counsel which was dated
January 2, 2009, only one of the three bone fragments submitted was tested for mitochondrial
DNA. As to the one fragment that was tested, there was an insufficient quantity of mitochondrial
DNA found and thus no DNA sequence was obtained. Beyond testing just the one bone fragment,
January 2, 2009, only one of the three bone fragments submitted was tested for mitochondrial
DNA. As to the one fragment that was tested, there was an insufficient quantity of mitochondrial
DNA found and thus no DNA sequence was obtained. Beyond testing just the one bone fragment,
A[n]o other mtDNA examinations were conducted.@ No explanation was provided a to why the
other bone fragments were not tested.
According to the FBI report that was provided to Mr. Tompkins= counsel, which was dated
December 23, 2008, besides the submission of three bone fragments, the FBI was provided a piece
of barrette, a robe, a pajama top, and a robe sash. However, no reports concerning any testing of
these items by the FBI has been provided to counsel. Counsel has merely received an FDLE
report indicating that these items were returned to the FDLE on January 20, 2009.
However, an FDLE report dated January 27, 2009, reveals that FDLE did an analysis of the
bathrobe, the sash, and the pajama top. According to the FDLE report, the bathrobe, the sash and
the pajama top all gave chemical indications for the presence of blood. Also according to the
FDLE report, hair and debris were collected from each item, i.e. the bathrobe, the sash, and the
pajama top. However as to this hair debris that was collected, A[n]o analysis was performed@.
ASamples@ from the bathrobe, the sash, and the pajama top were submitted for DNA
analysis. However according to the January 27th report, a ADNA profile was not obtained from
the STR analysis@ of the items.
December 23, 2008, besides the submission of three bone fragments, the FBI was provided a piece
of barrette, a robe, a pajama top, and a robe sash. However, no reports concerning any testing of
these items by the FBI has been provided to counsel. Counsel has merely received an FDLE
report indicating that these items were returned to the FDLE on January 20, 2009.
However, an FDLE report dated January 27, 2009, reveals that FDLE did an analysis of the
bathrobe, the sash, and the pajama top. According to the FDLE report, the bathrobe, the sash and
the pajama top all gave chemical indications for the presence of blood. Also according to the
FDLE report, hair and debris were collected from each item, i.e. the bathrobe, the sash, and the
pajama top. However as to this hair debris that was collected, A[n]o analysis was performed@.
ASamples@ from the bathrobe, the sash, and the pajama top were submitted for DNA
analysis. However according to the January 27th report, a ADNA profile was not obtained from
the STR analysis@ of the items.
These reports were provided to Mr. Tompkins= counsel on January 28, 2009. Counsel has
been consulting with appropriate experts as to what thee reports mean and/or reveal. At a
minimum, it is clear that hair and debris found with the victim exists, the existence of which was
not previously known. There is biological material on the bathrobe, the sash, and the pajama top,
which by definition must contain DNA, but which the methods used by FDLE were not
sophisticated enough to produce a DNA sequence. And, there remains bone fragments which the
FBI did not test for mitochondrial DNA, but which could be tested by analyst of Mr. Tompkins=
choice.
been consulting with appropriate experts as to what thee reports mean and/or reveal. At a
minimum, it is clear that hair and debris found with the victim exists, the existence of which was
not previously known. There is biological material on the bathrobe, the sash, and the pajama top,
which by definition must contain DNA, but which the methods used by FDLE were not
sophisticated enough to produce a DNA sequence. And, there remains bone fragments which the
FBI did not test for mitochondrial DNA, but which could be tested by analyst of Mr. Tompkins=
choice.
Given that the reports revealing this information was disclosed exactly one week ago
today, counsel has not had time to further digest this information and determine what avenues to
pursue on behalf of Mr. Tompkins. Counsel is consulting with Mr. Tompkins today and is trying
to prepare the appropriate legal papers for filing as soon as they are completed.
As for federal proceedings currently pending, Mr. Tompkins has filed a notice of appeal
from the dismissal of federal habeas petition. Currently an application for a certificate of
appealability is pending in the Eleventh Circuit.
Mr. Tompkins is also pursuing certiorari review in the United States Supreme Court. An
application for a extension of time was sent to the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday, January 31,
2009, obviously before counsel was advised of the new execution date.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true copy of the foregoing status report has been furnished
by United States Mail, first class postage prepaid, to Jalal Harb, Assistant State Attorney, Office of
the State Attorney, Courthouse Annex, 800 East Twiggs Street; Tampa, FL 33602; Scott
Browne, Assistant Attorney General, Concourse Center 4, 3507 E. Frontage Road, Suite 200,
Tampa, FL 33607-7013 on February 4, 2009.
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________________
MARTIN J. MCCLAIN
Florida Bar No. 0754773
Special Assistant CCRC-South
101 NE Third Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
(305) 984-8344
Attorney for Mr. Tompkins
Illinois Keeping Death Penalty Moratorium
COLLINSVILLE, Ill. - Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says he has no immediate plans to lift the state's moratorium on the death penalty.
The Democrat who last week replaced ousted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he supports capital punishment. But he says he worries innocent people have been sent to Illinois' death row.
During a visit to Collinsville on Friday, Quinn said he wants to make sure there are adequate safeguards to make sure no one is put to death improperly in Illinois. He says that would weigh on everyone's conscience.
Imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions in Illinois in 2000. Ryan commuted the sentence of every inmate on death row, citing a number of wrongful convictions.
(Source : www.huntingtonpost.com)
Edenfield trial stays in Glynn
But jury to come from Jeff Davis in first case against family in child's death.BRUNSWICK - The first of three family members will stand trial beginning in late April on murder and related charges in the sexual abuse slaying of 6-year-old Christopher Michael Barrios Jr. two years ago.
David Edenfield, 59, who faces the death penalty in the case, will be tried in Brunswick by a jury empaneled from Jeff Davis County, Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett ruled Thursday.
Jury selection will begin Monday, April 20, in Hazlehurst and testimony will begin Monday, May 4, at the Glynn County Courthouse. The jurors will be sequestered during the trial, Scarlett said.
Hazlehurst, the Jeff Davis County seat, is 90 miles northwest of Brunswick. Predominantly rural, Jeff Davis is the farthest county from Glynn in the five-county Brunswick Judicial Circuit, which also covers Appling, Camden and Wayne counties.
Scarlett said importing a jury is necessary because of the extensive media coverage of the case in Glynn County. Jeff Davis is far enough away to get an impartial jury, but not too far that Christopher's family and interested residents can't attend the jury selection, he said.
District Attorney Stephen Kelley said he was pleased with the ruling. He told Scarlett that Jeff Davis was his first choice for a jury pool.
Not so for Edenfield's attorneys, James Yancey Jr. and John Beall IV. Yancey told the judge they have "strong objections" to keeping the trial in Brunswick. Hostility in the community triggered by "unprecedented news media coverage" makes it impossible for Edenfield to receive a fair trial anywhere in Coastal Georgia, Yancey said.
"As we move closer to trial, you have to believe you will have such a media frenzy and circus-like atmosphere that the people [jurors] will be tainted," said Yancey, who expects protesters calling for Edenfield's execution to descend on the trial.
Yancey asked Scarlett to move the trial to Bibb County or somewhere else in central Georgia.
Scarlett denied the request, but said he would reconsider if protests or other circumstances endanger Edenfield's right to a fair trial.
"We're going to have news media coverage no matter where we are in Georgia," Scarlett said.
In fact, national media first covered the search for Christopher when he was still missing and continued well past the time he was found dead.
He was killed March 8, 2007. His body was discovered a week later inside a black plastic trash bag hidden in woods about 2 miles from the Canal Mobile Home Park, where he had lived with his extended family.
Edenfield and his wife, Peggy, 58, and their 33-year-old son, George, were neighbors of the Barrios family in the park north of Brunswick.
All three Edenfields are jailed without bail.
Kelley said it should take about a week for prosecutors to present their evidence against David Edenfield. It's unknown how long the defense case may take.
Beall, however, said the trial might need to be postponed because the defense hasn't received state funding to pay for experts essential to Edenfield's defense. Because those experts haven't been paid, they haven't completed their work or turned over any of their findings, Beall said.
Scarlett said he would look into the situation. He scheduled a final pretrial hearing for March 30 in Hazlehurst to take up any matters remaining unresolved.
Christopher's grandmother, Sue Rodriguez, and his father, Christopher Michael Barrios Sr., watched Edenfield throughout Thursday's court hearing. Both appeared somewhat relieved to have a trial date set.
"Thank God. It's a start," Rodriguez said after the hearing. "There won't ever be closure until I die and go to heaven with him."
They deferred to their attorney, Mark Gelman of Jacksonville, who is serving as their adviser and spokesman during the case.
"They came here expecting further delays ... They've grown frustrated in the almost two years since Christopher was killed, but [a trial date] is a positive step forward," Gelman said.
Gelman represented Mark Lunsford, whose 9-year-old daughter, Jessica, was abducted, raped and murdered in 2005 by a neighbor, John Couey, a convicted sex offender, in Central Florida.
David Edenfield also is a convicted sex offender. He was convicted of incest against his daughter in 1994, but wasn't required to register with the state because his conviction occurred two years before the Georgia law took effect.
Kelley is seeking the death penalty against George and David Edenfield. Peggy Edenfield has agreed to testify against her husband and son in exchange for prosecutors not asking that she get the death penalty.
Court proceedings against George Edenfield, a convicted child molester, are on hold until a special civil trial determines if he is mentally competent to stand trial. If Peggy Edenfield is convicted, she will automatically be sentenced to life in prison and must serve 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.
(Source :www.jacksonville.com)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Alleged shooter pleads no contest in Marion Oaks murder
OCALA - Charles Jerome Austin, a co-defendant in the April 2006 Marion Oaks home invasion that left a teenager dead and another man seriously injured, pleaded no contest on Thursday to second-degree murder with a firearm and attempted first-degree murder.
The hearing in Circuit Court in Ocala made this the fourth of five co-defendants to enter a plea in the case.
Austin, who turned 29 Thursday, was facing the death penalty on charges of first-degree murder, and a maximum of life in prison on separate charges of attempted first-degree murder and home invasion robbery with a firearm.
Under the terms of the deal, he will face no less than 40 years in prison but no more than 50 years, with no chance of gain time on at least 25 years of that sentence, due to Florida's minimum mandatory sentencing laws in cases involving a firearm.
Austin stood quietly by his attorney, Ronald E. Fox, on Thursday morning as Circuit Judge Willard Pope read him the rights he forfeits by entering a plea.
He was accused of fatally shooting 17-year-old Kindrell Lamar Stocker during the April 2006 home invasion, which was undertaken to procure drugs and a large sum of money.
Stocker, it was established in court Thursday, was an innocent victim — a boyfriend of one of the homeowner's children who was returning to the house when a scuffle started- and was shot on the front doorstep, Assistant State Attorney Jeremy Powers said.
The other co-defendants in the case all entered pleas at various points last year and agreed to testify against the remaining defendants in exchange for reduced sentences.
Jason Hardy, 31, faces a maximum 40 years after pleading no contest to similar charges in October 2008.
Deyonco Flowers, 21, pleaded no contest to armed home invasion robbery in November 2008 to secure a maximum 20 years in prison.
In July, Delliah Robinson, the driver of the getaway car, pleaded no contest to similar charges and the 29-year-old faces no more than 10 years in prison.
The fifth and final co-defendant, Brian Hubbard, currently sits in federal prison in Texas on separate drug charges. He has been indicted by a Marion County grand jury, but prosecutor Rock Hooker said he is waiting for his release from federal prison to arrest him and bring him back to Marion County.
Hubbard is accusing of serving as the other gunman in the case, who reportedly shot and injured Eddie Hamilton.
The sentencings for Austin, Hardy, Robinson and Flowers have all been deferred pending their testimony against Hubbard. In the event the fifth co-defendant also enters a plea, their deals will still stand.
"Justice moves on for Kindrell Stocker," Hooker said after Thursday's hearing.
Stocker's mother, Debra Bryant, shed tears as she left the courtroom.
"I feel better they got everyone, but that won't change that day," she said.
"He was perfect. He was one of my best kids," she said of Kindrell, her fourth-born among seven children.
"There was a little bit of light at the end of a very long dark tunnel," Fox, Austin's court-appointed attorney, said later about Austin's case.
But he raised concerns about adequately defending death-penalty cases under the minimally funded operations of the Justice Administrative Commission, which appoints death-qualified lawyers to indigent cases.
"You can't defend death cases with two hands tied behind your back," he said.
(Source : www.ocala.com)Obama singles out Duval man for faith-based initiative
Gay puts Jacksonville on the map with his inmate rehabilitation program.
There he was, the great community organizer, a man whose politics of reform have built belief in better days.
Surely he'd get it. He'd understand that revolving prison doors cost more money than America should spend. He wouldn't just nod his head. He'd listen.
"What if I told you I could save you $30 billion in your first year of office?"
Kevin Gay, who put Jacksonville on the map with his inmate rehabilitation program, popped that question to President Barack Obama in June. He explained the savings would happen as part of a larger scheme to cut national recidivism in half.
On an otherwise sweltering day on the Northeast Florida campaign trail, when the media fixed on Obama's criticism of offshore oil drilling, Gay's largely undocumented chat helped give Jacksonville a voice in the Obama White House.
"I wanted to do something that would shock him a little bit," Gay said. "I said we've found a way to save that kind of money here in Jacksonville."
Shocked or not, Obama remembered the talk. He even mentioned Ready4Work, Gay's organization's employment arm, a little more than a week later while campaigning in Zanesville, Ohio.
Gay learned later that he'd earned a seat on the presidential transition team helping shape the president's Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Council.
What work lies ahead isn't entirely clear. The council - a team of volunteer advisers for community programming - is in its infancy, albeit a mutation of a faith-based office hatched during the George W. Bush administration.
A call to the White House press office requesting more information about the council was not returned.
While campaigning, Obama dismissed the Bush version as "a photo op" and said he'd build the concept into a critical part of his presidency. His pick to head the effort, 26-year-old Pentecostal pastor and campaign strategist Joshua DuBois, was revealed just days ago. Gay said he's already been in several conference calls with DuBois.
In Jacksonville, a city known as Florida's murder capital, local officials say they're hopeful the inroads Gay has made in the Obama administration will boost the region's national profile and bring home federal assistance.
"He worked so hard. He earned everybody's respect. I could see why the president would be taken by him," said Charles "Skip" Cramer, executive director of Jacksonville Community Council Inc., a nonprofit think tank.
Gay is 50. He graduated from The Bolles School in 1976 and from the University of Florida in 1980.
President Bill Clinton applauded his work. President George W. Bush made Ready4Work a national model in 2002. Gay's name is well-known at City Hall, as well, and it's practically legendary in the region's nonprofit sector.
His primary business: Rebuilding lives. Through Ready4Work, he helps discharged inmates achieve the jobs they need to stay out of jail.
Through Operation New Hope, he is the hammer and paintbrush striving to freshen urban housing stock for new families and a stronger community.
The Rev. Davette Turk remembers a younger, more corporate-bound version of Gay - he was once on the path to a lucrative insurance career - coming into her office at All Saints Episcopal Church around a dozen or so years ago.
Gay said he remembered feeling a calling as a younger man, but wasn't sure how to translate it into his life's work. He remembered Turk asking, "When are you going to quit chasing that corporate buck?"
Turk said Gay seemed to be excited until he sat down. Then, as she put it, "The excitement drained out."
He was losing himself, he explained.
Turk suggested a drive through the Northside, which in retrospect became inspiration to rehabilitate housing.
Not long after, he found love in helping others.
"Jacksonville is a tale of two cities. He's not going to stop until the Northside and the Southside look like the same side," Turk said.
While marketing the Jacksonville Journey anti-crime plan to the City Council, Mayor John Peyton used Gay's organization as a prime example of what the city needed to expand.
"He's got a good track record, a strong board of directors. They're good stewards of their money and they have the results to prove it," the mayor said.
Gay said Ready4Work, which is about a decade old, has a 95 percent success rate and recently surpassed its 1,000th participant.
Statistics like that help reassure Turk that the region is in good hands. At 73, she reflects on a photograph she took with Gay while both were in Washington for Obama's inauguration.
"Here is the next generation," she said.
(Source : Jacksonville.com)
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Xbox murders ringleader claims he didn't get fair trial
TALLAHASSEE -- For more than four years, Troy Victorino has been described as the ringleader behind the murders of six people in a Deltona home.
But Tuesday, his attorney told Florida Supreme Court justices that Victorino did not receive a fair trial before being sent to death row.
Attorney Jeff Dowdy said Victorino should have been tried separately from co-defendants Jerone Hunter and Michael Salas, who testified in the case and blamed Victorino for their involvement.
"Not only did Mr. Victorino have to defend against the prosecution," Dowdy said. "We had to defend against Jerone Hunter and Michael Salas."
But justices appeared skeptical, at least in part because they rejected an appeal last year by Hunter that also contended the defendants should have received separate trials.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Nunnelley said other evidence during the trial pointed to Victorino as the leader behind the August 2004 bludgeoning deaths of six people and a dog that drew national attention.
"You have evidence before Hunter and Salas got on the stand that says Victorino is the one who was planning the attack on the Telford Lane home," Nunnelley said.
If the appeal is successful, Victorino could receive a new trial. Justices typically take months to rule on cases after hearing the arguments.
Victorino, now 32, was convicted in 2006 on six counts of first-degree murder and received death sentences for four of the murders. He is being held at Union Correctional Institution.
Hunter also was sentenced to death, while Salas received a life sentence. A fourth defendant, Robert Cannon, accepted a life sentence in exchange for his testimony, though he later refused to fully testify at trial.
Victorino and the others were accused of breaking into the Deltona home and using aluminum baseball bats to beat the victims, who also suffered numerous stab wounds.
The case became known as the "Xbox murders" because it stemmed, at least in part, from a dispute about video-game systems taken from a home where Victorino had been living as a squatter.
The victims in the case were Erin Belanger, 22; Jonathan Gleason, 17; Michelle Nathan, 19; Roberto "Tito" Gonzalez, 28; Francisco "Flaco" Ayo-Roman, 30; and Anthony Vega, 34.
Dowdy said Tuesday that Hunter and Salas testified they participated in the murders because they were afraid of Victorino, who had been in prison earlier and was reputedly a member of the Latin Kings gang. State records indicate Victorino is 6 foot 6 inches tall and weighs 314 pounds.
Dowdy also said Cannon implicated Victorino in front of the jury but refused to answer questions and be cross-examined. He said that combined with the testimony from Hunter and Salas to prevent Victorino from getting a fair trial.
Justice Barbara Pariente said she had concerns during Hunter's appeal about the three defendants being tried together. She also said it appeared that Victorino got a "triple whammy," with the others blaming him.
But Pariente and Justice Charles Wells raised questions about why the court should treat Victorino's arguments about a separate trial differently than their rejection of Hunter's appeal last year.
Also, Pariente said jurors were able to make "reasoned distinctions" after hearing the testimony. Along with not getting sentenced to die for two of the murders, Victorino also was found not guilty of some charges in the wide-ranging case.
"They didn't just take Victorino and say he's guilty of everything," Pariente said.
(Source : NewsJournalOnline)
Cruel and unusual
Joe Sullivan is a 33-year-old black man who has spent the last 20 years in a Florida prison. He was convicted of raping a 72-year-old white woman after burglarizing her home in 1989. This means that when Sullivan was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, he was just 13 years old.
Now Sullivan is trying to have his case heard by the Supreme Court, a development in American judicial politics that could draw attention away from capital cases and place it on less severe but more common punishments, including life imprisonment.
In the past few years, the Supreme Court has clarified the circumstances wherein the death penalty is acceptable, but very little attention has been paid to the basis for many life imprisonments such as Sullivan's. While the Supreme Court doesn't generally retroactively apply its rulings to cases of bygone years, Sullivan's situation could be the exception the rule.
Sullivan's case lasted only one day and doesn't seem to have involved any direct evidence linking him to the rape of which he was accused. He admitted to burglarizing the house with two older boys but maintained that his involvement had ended there. DNA evidence was available, but for unknown reasons, it was not used in his trial.
The evidence was destroyed by the state of Florida in 1993 for unknown reasons. Sullivan was represented by an attorney who declined to deliver an opening statement and gave only a three-page closing argument.
In spite of these facts, Sullivan is not pressing for his immediate release, but only for the right to parole hearings. In other words, he is not decrying his imprisonment, only his inability to prove his reform and legally end his time behind bars.
While it is possible that Sullivan could be reintegrated into society, it is unlikely that a 13 year old who spent the better part of his life behind bars would flourish with freedom.
What Sullivan represents, however, is another facet of the judicial system that can be fixed now that more light has been shed on it. The judicial system shares an unfortunate similarity to a computer program: errors can rarely be uncovered before the program is running and mistakes are made. But once that mistake is realized, it must be corrected, or the basis of our justice system is itself unjust.
(source : The Spectrum Student Periodical)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Scalia on 2000: 'Get over it'
WEST PALM BEACH — Eight years after he and four of his U.S. Supreme Court colleagues effectively decided the 2000 presidential election, Justice Antonin Scalia visited this hotbed of recount passion Tuesday and was asked to reflect on the momentous Bush vs. Gore decision.
"My response to that is always: Get over it," Scalia told a packed Forum Club of the Palm Beaches luncheon.
Alternating between earthiness and erudition, Scalia laid out his "originalist" approach to the Constitution during a 40-minute speech, mixed it up with audience members in a question-and-answer session, then promoted his recent book, Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges. The book promotion led Florida Atlantic University student Sarah Jeck to ask Scalia if the Supreme Court's opposition to having its proceedings televised was "vitiated" by, among other things, "Supreme Court justices going out on book tours." Her question drew laughter and applause from the crowd of about 730, but Scalia wasn't amused. "That's a nasty, impolite question," Scalia said before moving on to another query. Later, however, Scalia addressed Jeck's question, saying he originally favored televising Supreme Court proceedings when President Reagan appointed him in 1986. But he said he has come to believe that "most people will only see 30-second takeouts" that would not give a true impression of the court. "Why should I be a party to the miseducation of the American people?" Scalia said. The event was co-sponsored by the Palm Beach County Bar Association and drew several of the county's judges. Scalia was part of a 7-2 high court majority that ruled in December 2000 that a recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court was unconstitutional because different counties used different standards to judge ballots. He was then on the prevailing side of the more controversial 5-4 ruling to end the recount - which he called a "charade" - rather than try to correct it and continue. (Source : Palm Beach Post)
Drugs, guns, wigs found at home of man charged in Turnpike slaying case
WEST PALM BEACH — Guns. Drugs. Money.
Prosecutors say these three things were the cornerstones of Danny Varela's empire, stashed throught his bedroom in the West Palm Beach home that was the alleged home base for a drug ring that eventually claimed the lives of a young family.
Varela looked on expressionless this morning in the federal courthouse as Palm Beach County sheriff's crime scene analyst Angela Culpepper led jurors through his bedroom at 6458 Garden Court, where investigators uncovered not only drugs, guns and live ammunition, but also black ski masks, gloves, wigs and handcuffs. Varela is not charged in the deaths of his alleged drug associate Jose Luis Escobedo and Escobedo's family, but prosecutors say he and three others, Liana Lee Lopez, Ricardo Sanchez and Daniel Troya, engaged in a conspiracy to possess and distribute large quantities of cocaine. A trial against the four began last week. Sanchez and Troya face the death penalty if convicted on charges related to the deaths of Escobedo, 28, his wife Yessica, 25, and their 4 and 3-year-old sons Luis Julian and Luis Damian. The family wasfound slain October 13, 2006 along Florida's Turnpike south of Fort Pierce. Earlier this morning, Varela's childhood friend David Doran told jurors he, Varela and others spent the night of the Escobedo murders hanging out at bars and at Varela's house. Doran testified he never saw Troya or Sancez throughout the night, but as he, his brother and brother-in-law were leaving the house between 4:30 and 5 a.m., he saw a maroon conversion van driving into Varela's gated community followed by a dark-colored SUV. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Carlton has previously shown jurors surveillance footage from Turnpike toll booths showing the conversion van getting on and off the highway immediatly followed both times by the Escobedos' Jeep Cherokee. A fingerprint expert testified last week that Sanchez and Troya's fingerprints were on toll receipts that investigators say correspond with toll booth footage recorded when the cars exited the Turnpike after the Escobedos were shot to death. Varela's friend Doran testified before a grand jury that he met Jose Luis Escobedo, known in the group as "Lou," from Varela in the summer of 2006 as a friend who had recently moved to Florida from Texas. Doran, a paremedic, also testified about having to nurse a wound to Escobedo's head sometime over the summer, when the man told him he had been hit in the head. Investigators say Escobedo worked as a connection for the transport of drugs from Mexico to Florida through Texas and was murdered to erase a drug debt. Doran told a grand jury he thought the SUV following the van early that morning after the murders could have been the same make and model as Escobedo's Jeep, but this morning he said he wasn't sure what kind of car it was. Jurors this morning also heard testimony from Chris Bly, a former Lake Worth car salesman who testified he sold the maroon conversion van at the center of the case. Bly testified that although another man, Michael Naujalis, purchased the car in his name, it was Varela who testdrove the car, gave naujalis the money for the down payment and drove it away from the dealership. This afternoon will bring more testimony from Culpepper, who is expected to continue laying out the items found in Varela's home after authorities surrounded the house and arrested the four and another man, Juan Gutierrez, before executing a search warrant. The trial is expected to last through next month. (Source : PalmBeachPost.com )
HOLLADAY SPARED THE DEATH PENALTY
The man convicted of killing his ex-wife, her boyfriend, and a 16 year old neighbor, back in 1986, has been spared the death penalty.
A federal appeals panel upheld a ruling that Glenn Holladay is mentally challenged, and can not be put to death. A U.S. District Judge ruled that Holladay's IQ of 64, met the state's standard for mental retardation, which is a score of 70 or below.
Former District Attorney James Hedgspeth, who prosecuted Holladay, believes he is not mentally retarded, regardless of what the IQ tests may show.
He was arrested in Florida several weeks following the slayings, which took place in the Tidmore Bend community of Etowah County.
Holladay was 37 when he shot and killed the victims his ex-wife Rebecca Holladay; her boyfriend David Robinson; and a 16 year old neighbor and family friend, Larry Thomas Jr. on August 25th, 1986.
Alabama Assistant Attorney General Clay Crenshaw, said that the state will first ask the 11th Circuit to reconsider, before filing an appeal with the Supreme Court(Source:WEIS Radio)
Expanding the Death Penalty Is Fiscally Irresponsible
The Commonwealth of Virginia is in the throes of a massive budgetary crisis, with a current shortfall of just under $3 billion. As a result, a reduction in services, job losses and funding cuts for secondary and higher education are expected. Lawmakers, officials and state employees also face the difficult task of paring down their budgets in the face of dwindling financial support from the Commonwealth. As Delegate Terry G. Kilgore stated, "Everyone needs to be concentrating on the budget this year. The budget transcends everything."
Yet in the midst of this financial crisis, the Virginia legislature is expanding the death penalty, which will only further burden Virginia taxpayers. The various proposals to expand the death penalty include adding fire marshals, assistant fire marshals, auxiliary police officers, and uncompensated auxiliary police officers to the capital murder statute. One bill would also redefine the "triggerman rule," which says that only a person who pulls the trigger in a capital murder case is eligible for the death penalty, so that accomplices could also be eligible for the death penalty.
Unfortunately, as other states have learned to their detriment, expansive use of the death penalty only increases the financial burden upon state coffers--and taxpayers. In fact, studies in Maryland, North Carolina and Florida show that, due to the lengthy nature of death penalty trials and appeals, states incur costs far exceeding those of non-death penalty cases.
Most recently, a Maryland commission charged with reviewing the state's capital punishment system concluded that "death penalty cases are more costly than non-death penalty cases" and recommended that the state discontinue executions in favor of the life-without-parole sentencing option. This echoes a New Jersey commission's 2007 finding concerning the prohibitive costs of capital punishment. For example, a Duke University study determined that North Carolina incurred $2.16 million per execution over the cost of condemning a convicted murderer to life in prison. (It bears noting that over the last 32 years, Virginia has executed 102 individuals. Assuming a comparable expense rate for the Commonwealth's executions, the cost of Virginia's state-sanctioned deaths comes in at $220 million total, or about $7 million per year.)
In addition to the costs of the actual executions, one must also factor in the expenses associated with prosecuting capital punishment cases, which can take many years until the various avenues of appeal are exhausted. California counties, for example, spend an additional $1.1 million in prosecuting death penalty cases over standard murder trials, with the state committing an additional $117 million a year. The vast majority of these expenses are derived from providing public defenders for the accused during the long trial and appeal process, as well as attorneys for the prosecution and court costs.
The Palm Beach Post found that the cost of death penalty cases in Florida far outstrips the price for standard-fare murder prosecutions. Indeed, the death penalty forces the state government to disburse $51 million more a year than it would if all capital punishment prosecutions instead sought a sentence of life without parole. As Elliott Metcalfe, president of the Florida Public Defenders Association, observed, "It is much cheaper to put these people in prison and leave them there until they die. Simple as that."
It's time to re-examine our priorities. For most Americans, that means keeping a roof over their heads, food on the table and ensuring that their taxpayer dollars are being used where they can do the most good. Thus, at a time when Virginia lawmakers are being forced to eliminate thousands of jobs, slash agencies' spending by 15 percent and trim $800 million from K-12 education and Medicaid programs for the indigent, elderly and disabled, the last thing our representatives need to be doing is adding to the tax burden by expanding the scope of the death penalty.
It's time to declare a temporary moratorium on the death penalty while a review commission can be formed to investigate the condition of the Commonwealth's death penalty system, both financially and legally. These actions will save the Commonwealth millions of dollars in the short term and also allow Virginians to make informed, responsible decisions regarding the death penalty in the long term.
(Source : Rutherford Institute)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Death penalty pause discussed during budget talks
The current state of the economy has everyone looking for ways to cut costs in order to balance budgets, and the Florida Legislature was recently presented with a new idea to help the State court system.
Lawmakers handed down a $5 million, or 1.25 percent, budget cut to the State court system at the end of a 10-day special session, which left its budget at $433.2 million. During this special session, Senate Criminal Justice and Judiciary Committees were presented with a suggestion on how to save the court system some money by enacting a moratorium on the death penalty. Florida is one of 36 states that use the death penalty and it can be imposed for charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, capital drug trafficking and capital sexual battery.
The idea to furlough the death sentence came from 10th Judicial Circuit Assistant Public Defender Howard Dimmig, who is also its administrative division director responsible for overseeing the departments of fiscal-administrative, information technology and secretarial-clerical services. These duties have given him a clear picture of the time and resources required for a death penalty case and Fourth Judicial Circuit Public Defender Matt Shirk agreed with the idea.
“We definitely could benefit financially if there would be a moratorium on the death penalty,” said Shirk. “There is just so much more involved in a death penalty case from the staffing to the documentation that is required.”
In most circumstances, two attorneys will be assigned to a death penalty case by the Public Defender’s Office and they will focus on the case. In regards to documentation, Shirk pointed out one of the more recent death penalty cases as an example, that of serial killer Paul Durousseau. The cost of the defense of the convicted murderer was nearly $210,000 and the files of the case are so voluminous they fill a room at the Public Defender’s Office. The date of Durousseau’s offense was July 26, 1999 and the date of his sentencing was Dec. 13, 2007. The average number of years between offense and execution is about 14 years, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
There are currently 392 prisoners on death row and 46 are from Duval County. There are 241 white males and 137 black males currently on death row. Both the youngest death row inmate, 21 year-old Alan Wade, and one of the youngest inmates executed, 16 year-old Willie Clay, were prosecuted in Duval County.
Another cost involved with a death penalty case is housing. Prisoners are taken out of the general prison population once they are sentenced to death. They are sent to either Florida State Prison in Starke or Union Correctional Institution in Raiford. Women are housed in the Lowell Correctional Institution Annex, Lowell. Judias “Judy” Buenoano became the first woman to die in Florida’s electric chair March 30, 1998.
This wouldn’t be the first time Florida halted executions. Former Gov. Jeb Bush instituted a moratorium on executions shortly after problems occurred during a lethal injection procedure in 2006. The moratorium was in effect while the State reviewed its lethal injection protocols.
Though the courts are experiencing some tough economic decisions, State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit Angela Corey is sure a moratorium is an idea she couldn‘t support.
“All murder cases are labor intensive, death penalty or not,” said Corey. “I’m not in favor of a moratorium under any circumstance.”
(Source :Financial News & Daily Record)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Wild tips tangled Dunlap case
Recently released documents show the earnest but futile efforts of law-enforcement officers who investigated Cheryl Dunlap's disappearance and brutal slaying.
Tips investigators received were all over the place. A heated conversation Dunlap had on the cell phone at work had new significance. Her relationship with her ex-husband — and a new romantic interest — were prodded. A boss acting strangely was reason enough to call the police.
A girlfriend was suspicious of her boyfriend's facial creme, which resembled the mask of the unknown man who used Dunlap's ATM card. A Florida State student came under suspicion for having a mask from the movie "Halloween."
With no solid leads to follow, officers were led every which way.
The 380-page stack of heavily redacted documents was released Thursday, and more is expected to be released later. The Tallahassee Democrat and WCTV filed motions to open the records to the public in July. But prosecutors and defense attorneys urged Leon Circuit Judge Terry Lewis to keep them sealed, fearing their release would make it hard to pick an unbiased jury in Leon County. Lewis took a middle road, closing the evidence temporarily.
The documents hint at Dunlap's whereabouts the day she disappeared. She did make it to a library to use the Internet, records show. She talked about getting together with a friend that Saturday night, but when she didn't call later, the friend was unconcerned, thinking something must've come up. Friends were worried the next day — Dec. 2, 2007 — when Dunlap didn't show up to teach her Sunday school class at the River of Life church.
She'd call, friends said, if she were going to be a minute late.
A friend reported her missing when she didn't report to work Dec. 3, 2007, at Florida State University's Thagard Student Health Center.
Deputies soon found her 2006 white Toyota abandoned with a flat tire on U.S. Highway 319 just inside the Leon County line. They discovered a puncture in a rear tire, but it's not clear whether that was an accident or an act of vandalism. No prints were lifted from the car, which was covered with rain.
Motorists reported seeing a woman resembling Dunlap and one or two other people near her car and a black Dodge Ram pickup, but the sightings are not consistent. One friend said Dunlap would have tried to change the tire herself or call friends for help. She'd never get in a car with a stranger.
Deputies went to her Crawfordville home and forced their way in to see if she was inside. Instead, they found her small chihuahua alone. Those who knew her said she would never go anywhere for an extended period without the dog.
Deputies were given one of their strongest leads Dec. 4, 2007: Dunlap's debit card had been used about 7 a.m. at the Hancock Bank ATM on West Tennessee Street and the previous two days by a man wearing a mask, according to a bank surveillance tape. Investigators spent hours that evening staked out in the parking lot and questioned a couple in a tow truck. But there was no sign of the man.
State wildlife officers flew a helicopter over Leon Sinks that day.
Investigators talked to friends and fielded reports from the public for days. Someone reported seeing her Saturday morning at the Wal-Mart in Crawfordville. Another tipster said she was at the Target store on Apalachee Parkway. Law enforcement reviewed surveillance videos but were unable to confirm the tips.
By the ninth day of searching, investigators were following up on leads. One officer received information that Dunlap had been seen at Leon Sinks reading a book by V.C. Andrews. A detective checked bookstores in Tallahassee, including the Borders on Apalachee Parkway, to see whether she had purchased books there.
As leads dwindled, investigators put the call out for the public's help identifying the man in the bank-surveillance tape and the owner of the black truck. Later, they asked citizens to help find a camouflage-wrapped truck also seen in the video. Deputies received a barrage of tips, but the reports indicate neither truck was found.
A glimmer of hope emerged when a Greyhound bus station employee reported he spoke with a woman Dec. 12, 2007, who he thought resembled Dunlap. The woman had bought a round-trip ticket to Gainesville.
On Dec. 15, 2007, hunters in the Apalachicola National Forest found Dunlap's body partially covered with palmetto leaves and branches. They had noticed buzzards after turning onto Forest Service Road 381-E.
A report from a U.S. Forest Service employee indicates buzzards were seen flying low over the forest as early as Dec. 7, 2007.
It wasn't until another woman went missing in the Georgia woods on New Year's Day that investigators fingered Gary Michael Hilton as Dunlap's killer. Communicating with Georgia investigators about Jan. 7, 2008, local law enforcement noticed similarities between Dunlap's case and that of 24-year-old hiker Meredith Emerson, according to reports. Hilton was indicted by a Leon County grand jury in February on a charge of first-degree murder, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
After the connection to Emerson was made, new leads rolled in about sightings of a tall, thin man who lived out of a white Chevrolet Astro van and had a reddish-colored dog.
A Leon sheriff's deputy had followed up on a tip Dec. 26, 2007, that a man matching Hilton's description had been seen in the forest, but after more than an hour searching, the deputy found nothing. Two days later, Hilton was some 150 miles away in the Osceola National Forest, where he received a ticket from a ranger for having an expired license plate.
Reports show law enforcement thinks Hilton had been living in the Leon County area for sometime. Federal officers reported seeing Hilton in the Apalachicola National Forest before Dunlap went missing.
On Nov. 16, 2007, a man now thought to be Hilton was seen with a dog walking west on a forest road, hiking in a two-piece jogging suit and a tan hat with a large bill and flaps on the sides and back. Two officers spoke with him about safety and camping regulations.
The next day, a federal officer discovered Hilton west of a forest road. Hilton said he liked to go long-distance hiking and that "if you come to a (Wildlife Management Area) that you would get patted down." The officer ran Hilton's driver's license and then let him go on a warning about driving on closed roads and camping in an unauthorized place.
Investigators learned Hilton was seen Dec. 10, 2007, using a pay phone at Glenda's Country Store, 525 Crawfordville Highway.
A woman reported seeing someone who resembled Hilton at the store. She said they talked about the organized search for Dunlap around Leon Sinks. She told investigators she didn't think anything of it — she assumed the man was assisting in the search. She later saw him as she and her aunt were searching for Dunlap a quarter-mile east of Forest Service Road 381 E. They thought he was hunting.
(Source : Tallahassee.com)
Polston invested as Fla. Supreme Court justice
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Ricky Polston has been formally invested as a Florida Supreme Court justice.
At the ceremony Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Crist praised the former appellate court judge for already demonstrating "fairness and humility" while serving on Florida's highest court.
Polston, of Tallahassee, began hearing cases shortly after Crist appointed him in October to replace Kenneth Bell, who resigned to return to his hometown, Pensacola.
That was the second of 4 vacancies - a majority of the seven-member high court - that Crist will be filling in less than a year. He's also named Justices Charles Canady and Jorge Labarga. The next opening will be in March when Justice Charles Wells retires.
(Source : Associated Press)
Crusading Fla. judge to get public reprimand
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A crusading St. Lucie County judge will get a public reprimand for publicly criticizing his colleagues and suing them along with other officials in a bid to stop jail overcrowding.
Those actions by County Judge Clifford Barnes violated judicial canons requiring judges to act in an impartial manner and follow proper channels to report judicial misconduct, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The justices also found he violated a canon against publicly criticizing other judges by filing the lawsuit and writing a newspaper guest column blaming jail overcrowding on problems in the local criminal justice system and other judges' pretrial release policies.
"The strident and harsh manner of attack embraced by Judge Barnes combined with his choice of a public forum to attack particular judges and their practices clearly separates this case from legitimate attempts to improve the law," the justices wrote in an unsigned unanimous opinion.
They ordered Barnes to pay unspecified costs for his disciplinary proceedings and appear before the Supreme Court to receive his scolding on a date to be set later.
The judge's lawyer did not immediately return a telephone message seeing comment.
The justices noted Barnes did not dispute the penalty recommended by a hearing panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission. The panel acknowledged he was acting primarily with good motives but concluded he still should be disciplined.
(Source : The Associated Press)
Panel interviewing 8 Fla. Supreme Court applicants
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A state panel has interviewed eight applicants for a fourth Florida Supreme Court vacancy in less than a year.
They answered questions Friday from the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. The nominees included two black judges, three white women and three white men.
The panel will nominate from three to six applicants Friday to replace Justice Charles Wells who retires in March.
Gov. Charlie Crist has urged the commission to send him a diverse slate.
The vacancy must be filled from the 5th appellate district, which includes Orlando, Daytona Beach and Melbourne.
It gives Crist an unprecedented opportunity to appoint a majority of the seven-member high court in his first term.
(Source: Associated Press)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
