Clifford Williams, now 77, gives God the credit for his release from prison, after state prosecutors found he and his nephew, Hubert Nathan Myers, were wrongly convicted in the 1976 Jacksonville murder of a woman and the attempted murder of her girlfriend.
Eighth Amendment
For Seven Days, Flagler Sees Florida’s Broken Death Penalty Machinery in Action
Though David Snelgrove was finally sentenced to life in prison rather than death this week, his trial shows how the 20-year ordeal in court could have been avoided with the same result two decades ago, had capital punishment not been on the table.
Death Row’s Cornelius Baker a No-Show at His Own Pre-Trial Ahead of Potential Reprieve
Lawyers and the judge in the re-sentencing case of convicted murderer Cornelius Baker focused on a lengthy questionnaire about the death penalty the defense planned to submit to potential jurors. The judge ordered the questionnaire significantly shortened.
Life in Prison Without Parole, Not Death, For David Snelgrove as 20-Year Ordeal Over Fowler Murders Ends
The seven-day re-trial over the penalty for the 2000 murders in Palm Coast’s B-Section was necessary because two previous verdicts were ruled unconstitutional. Today’s verdict means that years, maybe decades, of further proceedings will not be necessary.
After Dueling Witnesses and Sniping Lawyers, Jury Must Now Decide Whether to Call for David Snelgrove’s Killing
David Snelgrove’s double-murder of Glyn and Vivian Fowler in Palm Coast 20 years ago comes down, in this third sentencing trial in two decades, to a jury willing to believe he was a calculated killer as opposed to a crack-addicted mentally impaired man who snapped.
Grim Day for Snelgrove’s Defense as Prosecution Makes Largely Unanswered Case for Death
A jury tasked with deciding whether to recommend death for David Snelgrove saw a psychologist for the defense unable to convincingly show that Snelgrove is a simple-minded individual who could not weigh the severity of the double-murder of an elderly couple he committed in Palm Coast 20 years ago.
Video and Pictures Revive Vivid Reactions to Double-Murder in Snelgrove’s Death-Penalty Trial
To reservations from the defense, the jury watched video and saw pictures of the crime scene following the murders of Glyn and Vivian Fowler in Palm Coast 20 years ago, part of a penalty phase–the third in 18 years–requiring the jury to decide whether to recommend death for Snelgrove or life in prison.
For Jury in Double-Murderer Case, Snelgrove’s Mental Disability Is a Gray Matter of Life and Death
David Snelgrove’s double-murder of an elderly couple in palm Coast 20 years ago is not in dispute, but whether he should be put to death for it is. A jury will have to contend with the brutality of the murders as opposed to the mitigating factor of his mental disability.
Solitary Confinement in Florida’s Prisons and Juvenile Detention Challenged in Court
In separate but parallel lawsuits, civil-rights and legal groups are challenging Florida’s use of solitary confinement in prisons and juvenile detention centers —- but are facing pushback from state agencies.
Death Penalty: Now It’s Florida’s Conservative Supreme Court’s Turn To Be Accused of ‘Judicial Activism’
Reversing the state’s retroactive consideration of certain death-penalty cases would amount to “the most egregious judicial activism in the history of Florida,” a lawyer for a Death Row inmate argued in a brief filed this week.
DeSantis Signs Death Warrant of Homophobic Serial Killer Gary Bowles
Gary Bowles murdered six people in 1994. He is serving life sentences in the murders of John Roberts in Daytona Beach and Albert Morris in Nassau County, and is being killed for the murder of Walter Hinton in Jacksonville.
Attorney General Moody To Supreme Court on Death Row Inmates: Let ‘Em Die
Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office is urging the Florida Supreme Court to reverse course on decisions that allowed dozens of convicted murderers to have their death sentences reconsidered.
With Conservatives In Control of Supreme Court, A 2016 Decision Reducing Death Sentences Is In Jeopardy
The court has begun the process of reconsidering whether changes to Florida’s death penalty-sentencing system should continue being applied retroactively to cases dating to 2002.
Federal Lawsuit Targets Florida Prisons Over ‘Deliberately Indifferent’ Use of Solitary Confinement
Florida’s prison system is “widely overusing” the practice of solitary confinement to manage inmates, sometimes locking them up in cells that are no bigger than a parking spaces over often-minor infractions, according to a federal lawsuit.
Past Prison Sentences Could Be Reduced as Criminal Justice Reform Advances at Legislature
A bill that would give the Legislature power to decide on a law-by-law basis whether to reduce past prison sentences cleared a Senate panel Monday following tearful testimony from criminal-justice reform advocates.
After Granting Stay, Supreme Court Clears Way for Execution of Murderer Jose Antonio Jimenez
Jimenez had cited a February execution of Death Row inmate Eric Branch, who reportedly screamed and made body movements as he was being executed, among reasons not to proceed.
Saint Kavanaugh
Whether Kavanaugh was confirmed or not is irrelevant: whoever’s next might be less personally sleazy, more temperamentally amoebic, but judicially? Same shill, different name.
Cruel and Usual Trump
The Trump-Sessions zero-tolerance policy of separating children from their parents at the border has no precedent except in America’s slavery times.
Federal Judge Declares Florida’s Arbitrary and Governor-Controlled Method of Restoring Felons’ Voting Rights Unconstitutional
In a stinging blow to Gov. Rick Scott, a federal judge ruled that the governor’s near-exclusive authority to restore, and more often deny, voting rights to ex-felon is unconstitutional.
In Last-Minute Reversal, Judge Agrees To More Lenient Plea in Maria Howell Case
After rejecting the deal last month, Circuit Judge Dennis Craig agreed to 18 months in prison for Maria Howell, who’d faced trial and possibly 15 years in prison over a molestation charge.
Appeals Court Rejects Patrick Hannon Stay, Will Be 26th Executed On Gov. Scott’s Watch
A federal appeals court rejected Hannon’s claim that a new state death-penalty requirements relating to the unanimity of juries should be applied to his case. He murdered two men in 1991.
For David Snelgrove, Sentenced in Palm Coast Double-Murder in 2000, Execution Again In Question
The Supreme Court threw out David Snelgrove’s death sentence as unconstitutional because twice juries were not unanimous. A re-sentencing’s complicated road began today before Judge Dennis Craig.
Mark James Asay Is Executed for 1987 Jacksonville Murders, 24th on Scott’s Watch
Asay is the first Florida inmate to be put to death in more than 19 months and the first execution under a lethal injection procedure never used before in Florida or any other state.
Not This Time: Supreme Court Rejects Re-Sentencing For Murderer of 13-Year-Old Girl
Hitchcock was sent to Death Row after a 10-2 jury recommendation. Attorneys argued that the new unanimity standard should retroactively apply to his case and lead to a new sentencing hearing.
Clash Continues Ahead of Aug. 24 Execution Over Lethal Injection Drug Never Before Used
Asay’s execution would be the first carried out in Florida since a January 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found Florida’s death penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional.
Florida’s “Execution Machine” Back On As Gov. Scott Schedules First State Killing In 18 Months
Gov. Rick Scott rescheduled the execution date of convicted killer Mark James Asay for Aug. 27. The killing was put on hold after the U.S. and Florida supreme courts declared the state’s execution methods unconstitutional.
High Court Denies Challenge to Florida’s New Unanimous Jury Requirement in Death Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision cements a state law enacted this year that requires unanimous jury recommendations for the death penalty to be considered in capital cases.
Supreme Court Orders New Sentencing of Palm Coast Double-Murderer on Death Row
David Snelgrove has twice been sentenced to death for the murders of Glyn Fowler, 84, and his wife, Vivian, 79, on Bannbury Lane in Palm Coast in late June 2000, but never unanimously.
For Florida’s Troubled Death Penalty, Prosecutor’s Refusal to Enforce It Is Latest Challenge
Recent studies have provided additional evidence to bolster criticism of the death penalty in Florida, which leads the nation in Death Row exonerations.
Ousted In Cop Case, Prosecutor Who Won’t Seek Death Penalty Challenges Scott
State Attorney Aramis Ayala is accusing Gov. Scott of abusing his authority by ousting her as prosecutor in the case of alleged cop-killer Markeith Loyd.
In Stunning Move, State Attorney Ayala Won’t Pursue Death Sentences in Orange and Osceola
Ayala’s decision infuriated Gov. Scott, Attorney General Bondi and police organizations, but drew praise from others who see the position more in line with a growing national trend by courts, some governors and legislatures.
Florida’s Lethal Injections Ready to Stab Again As Gov. Scott Signs Death Penalty Bill
Florida is again poised to begin executions and prosecute death penalty cases after Gov. Rick Scott signed a law Monday aimed at fixing flaws in the state’s capital sentencing procedure.
Florida Senate Backs Unanimous Juries in Death Sentences
Thursday’s Senate vote — on the third day of the 2017 legislative session — would ostensibly fix the weaknesses identified by the majority of the Florida Supreme Court with the current law.
Proposal to Require Unanimity from Florida Juries in Death Penalty Cases Advances
But efforts to broaden the legislation to address other issues involved in a series of court rulings that prompted this year’s measure appear, at least for now, to be doomed.
Justice James E.C. Perry’s Last Dissent Denounces Florida’s Death Penalty
Justice Justice James E.C. Perry in a blistering condemnation of the death penalty in general rendered a blistering analysis of the manner in which capital punishment is carried out in Florida.
Seizing on Orlando Murder Case, Justice Breyer Asks Court to “Reconsider Constitutionality of Death Penalty”
Justice Stephen Breyer characterized the death penalty as cruel and unusual in light of the case of Henry Sireci, 68, who’s been on Florida’s Death Row for 40 years and has yet again been cleared for execution.
Revealed: Florida Stockpiling Lethal Injection Protocol Never Used Before, Inviting Litigation
The new triple-drug cocktail would be the only one of its kind among the states that rely on similar procedures to kill prisoners, including a drug never used to that end before.
Florida’s Death Penalty Law in Disarray, Supreme Court Throws Out Yet More Sentences
Signaling how it is likely to handle scores of Death Row cases, a majority of the Florida Supreme Court threw out death sentences and ordered a new penalty proceeding for a convicted triple-murderer.
In Saint Augustine, A Dead Priest Pleads for the Life of His Killer
Father Rene Robert, who was murdered, signed the Declaration of Life in 1995: it is wrong for the state to take the life of a convicted criminal, no matter how vile the crime, and no matter how innocent the victim.
Florida’s Death Penalty On Hold: Supreme Court Halts Trial Pending Legislative Change
The Florida Supreme Court on Friday stopped a Clearwater judge from proceeding with a death penalty case, signaling that courts might not be able to move forward with capital trials until the Legislature changes a law that justices earlier this month struck down as unconstitutional.
Florida Justices Overturn 42-Year-Old Death Sentence in “Black Revolutionary Army” Killing
Jacob John Dougan, Jr., now 69, was convicted in the 1974 murder of Stephen Orlando, an 18-year-old white man, whose body was found in Jacksonville Beach accompanied by a note signed by the “Black Revolutionary Army.”
Florida Supreme Court in Seminal Decision Rules Death Penalty Verdicts Must Be Unanimous
The court’s 5-2 decision, which will immediately affect 40 inmates and many of the 385 others on death row, ends Florida’s status as an outlier state where non-unanimous death penalty recommendations were allowed.
After Reaching Record Pace, Executions in Florida Are on Hold as Ruling Muddies Syringes
Executions are on hold, judges across the state are postponing death penalty cases, and defense lawyers are seeking additional reviews in the aftermath of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in January that struck down Florida’s death-penalty sentencing process.
Palm Coast Offender Branded a Sexual Predator 5 Years After Prison, With No New Sex Crime
The sheriff’s office announced Thursday that Dorian Buzz Coppedge, 37, a “sexual predator,” is now living in Flagler, yet he’s lived here five years. Only his designation changed, even though he committed no new sex crime.
South Florida Judge Declares State’s New Death Penalty Law Unconstitutional
While the decision is not necessarily controlling in Flagler County and the rest of Florida, it again muddies the fate of a law barely eight weeks old, and further sheds a harsh light on Florida’s outlier system of executions.
Florida’s Death Penalty Alive and Willed as Guzman Is Sentenced to Die For 3rd Time in Daytona
A jury in Daytona Beach today voted 11-1 to recommend death for James “Chico” Guzman in the hacking to death of David Colvin, 48, at a motel on Ridgewood Avenue on Aug. 10, 1991.
In Florida, Court Rules, a 55-Year Prison Sentence For a Juvenile Is Not a Life Term
Anthony Julian Collins was two months shy of 17 when he was committed an attempted second-degree murder, carjacking with a firearm and attempted armed robbery.
Poll-Tax Redux: Millions Free From Jail Are Barred From Voting By Criminal Debt
Debt from fines starts at sentencing and can grow at interest rates of 12 percent or more while inmates serve their sentences. It continues to grow after they’re released and face the numerous barriers to finding work and housing.
Supreme Court Halts Double Murderer James Asay’s Execution, 2nd Stay in 4 Weeks
Hours after hearing arguments in the case, the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday indefinitely postponed the execution of Mark James Asay, a convicted double murderer scheduled to die on March 17.
Too Many Questions Beg The Answer: End the Death Penalty in Florida
Rick Scott shouldn’t plan on signing any more death warrants soon, if ever, argues Martin Dyckman, even as the Florida House “cured” what the U.S. Supreme Court specifically found wrong with Florida’s death penalty.