Florida, S, 1848-2000, Undated

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF TRIAL:

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MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF EXECUTION:

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Rds Haag a re [[i47

STAYS OF
EXECUTION:

. EXECUTIONER:
WITNESSES:

RITUALS:

Last worps: "Ves , 2.4 Perl 72 mee] My Cod.

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OTHER INFORMATION: Me wat Ae fresi whi maw execu in Dave.
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whose house the shooting occurred, was the first to enter the room and to his ouestiih:
"My God, what has ahppened,! Smith's only reply was 'I killed my sister.'! Lying upon
the floor, saspige fin the last feeble expressions: of life was the form of the wounded *
girl, Smith, himself, was bleeding from a wound in the left ear, while the girl's. oh
cldfing was saturated with her ownlife's blood. Physicians were cal ledj*and Shaking
th heads that all hope was gone, placed the body: upon the bed, Four‘ wounds were

found upon her body, One bullet had pierced her left breast, entering the lung, Ano- =)
ther plowed through the fore part of her skull, while poweder burns and wounds on her
left hand showed the path of a third leaden deatedealtr, while the fourth struck her
left forearm, piercing it and cutting in twain her gold bracelet. Ina few short se-
conds she breathed:her last and the heavy hand of the law clothed in the blue coasts
of two policement, took away from the scene of the tragédy’ thé blood-covered brother.
\t the police headouarters, a physician removed from the base of Smith's left ear‘a
oullet which had flattened itself:against the skull, Crying, out that he had not mur-
dered his sister, but that she was shot in a tussle for the revolver, with whcih she
aad tried to kill him, Smith evinced no sorrow at the death of one of his own blood,
out seémed to think only of how he might gain liberty, A coroner's jury found him
cesponsible for the death of his sister and heard for the first time his revolting
story accusing*his sister of a life of shame and connecting her‘with a prominent At-
Lantian, whose name he would not divulge, Then, follwoed two months in the county jail
ayhere he waited for a hearing HBRSKAXHRRRUREXHEXAUSHXGRY before a coutPt of justice,
'@h Monday the trial began, with Attorney Gordon Broome defending Smith on a plea of
insanity. More like the acts of an insane man was the curelty of‘Smith toward his
sister, of which witness after witness told upon the stand, He had beaten her into
insensibility on many occasions and had compelled’her to give to him her kharnings which
she secured for her hard daily work’as a press feeder at a local print shop, Then to
idd to the horrible story and make it still more revolting came the story‘of Smith
apon the stand. There under oathrto tell the truth, he testified that he was thé broe
ther:of Cora Belle Smiths; that he had lived in Jacksonville ) years and Was a pressman
W@Made. Then he himself argued that he was insane, menbelly unbalanced, “e suffered,
headed with the jury; with some trouble in his head, 'I can't tell just how I felt,!
fimpered. 'I felt just like a man that didn't have any sense.! He had made the 2
statement himself that no other witness had made for him, Then, thurning his attention
.o his sister again, he announced that he had been worried about her and her life, ;
1aking the statement though her very blood had been calling out of the ground to be

iwenged of the wrongs he had heaped upon herg ‘'Have you any recollection of the shoote
ing oB Belle Smith? Asked Attorney Broome, 'I have some recollection of it, Mrs, -

trooks told me not to let my sisthr come back there arly more. I told her I was going’

3t,. Augustine to get a position over there, I thought I would get a rddm aft Mr, Hicks'ts

Tor a short time, I got the room, carried my trunk there, and we went up to Belle's

6o get hhr things and I was shotin the ear, I didn't remember anything more until I -

vas arrested, ‘hile we were in the room, Zelle said to me: 'I understand you have been

taling aboub mee! I said: 'Yes, I have made some remarks about you,! and I was then
shot in the ear, and we grappled for the pistol and I didn't remember anything more ume
til I ws arrested,! On cross examination of Smith, the st te's attorney asked: ' 7 —>

"Didn't you testify in the prelimanary trial before Judve “illard that your sister
had made an affidavit that you were the cause of her ruin?! : 'T testified that she told
me she did,' said Smith, The charge to the jury was given by Judze Call on Wednesday
Evening and through the whole night following the jury ballétted, On the following
morning a verdict of guilty was rendered, Smith, when the verdict wasread, betrayed no
enation.
"Smith came to Jacksonville from Atlanta bout 3 years ago, He is a pressman by tzade
and has borne an unsavory repution with the police during a part of his residence :in this
city. ‘the sister came from Atlanta only last December, Friends of the girl and

~ellov-workers say she was of a cuiet disposition and had oftén noted the fact that she
‘cared some violence from her brother, ‘There is nothing in the evidence in resard to
“a@Mctions since she hasbeen in Jacksonville to show that the charges made by her &
wer are trues; on the otherhand, she seemed to be a hard-working young woman who did

cll in her power to Live quietly and respectably, Her body was laid to rest in the local

cenetery, the Pressman's upion @fra ing the expenses, No relative shed a tear for her

1508 (1th) no one of her blood attendéd the funeral," JOURNAL, Atlanta, Ga. July 17,

re


SMITH, Otis D.

"Jacksonville, Flae, June 11, 1909-Otis D, Smith, a young
white man, was hanged af’ the county jail for the murder of
his sister, Cora Bell Smith, in this city several months
ago. Smith, on the gallows, protested innocence, He and
his sister came here a few years ago from Atlanta and workd
ed in various job printing offices, Smith declared the
death of his sister was due to a scuffle for a revolver

whith which she attempted to kill him. Endeavors were made
to save Smith's life but the state pardoning board refused
to interfere. Smith is the first white man to be executed}
in this county for more than thirty years. He requested tc
be buried by the side of his Sister and the wish was
granted," BIRMINGHAM NEWS, Btham, Ala,, 6-11-1909.
Appealed and affirmed 8 SOUTHERN 7h)

~

48 SOUTHERN 7h)

! , ' ae é
SMITH, Opis Durrell,’ 32-year-old white man, hanged, Jacksonville, Florida, on June 11, 1906
6 . . 3 ?

"Jacksonville, Fla,, June ll, 1909-Maintaining his innocence to the very last and mounting
the scaffold bravely, Otis Durrell Smith, 32-years-ob, formerly of Atlanta, was executed
in the Duval County jail this morning, expiating upon the gallows the murder of his sis-
ter, Cora Belle Smith, whom the law says he shot and killed in a rooming house on West
Adams Street, a little over a year ago, ace

"Shortly after 10 o'clock Smith was brought from his cell, where he has lived since

the crime was committed except for a few hours at the police headquarters, after his
arrest, With him were the Rev. J. T. Boone, of the First Christian Church, and Ithe Rev,
O, K. Cull, an evangelist, now holding a revival meeting in this city,

"Besides these two gentlemen, acting as spiritual advisers, were several women who have
assisted the ministers singing ‘Jesus, Lover of My Soul,'! These persons, with the news-
paper men, Sheriff Bowden and Deputies Frank and Ben Jones, Jailer Argo and the physici-
ans required were the only. ones on the floor level of the gallows. Below ere the mem=
bers of the jury. ;

"As the straps were adjusted, the singing was continued and Smith look upward, During

the time the straps were being fastened the Rev, Mr, Boone offered a prayer for the #&#S#8x

repose of Smith's soul, At 10:06 Sheriff Bowden asked Smith if he had any statement to
make, Looking about at the small assembly, Smith spoke in a firm voice? 'Now that you
gentlemen are all together, I wish to state that it is not through bravery that I come
out here upon the gallows, but by the help of Jesus Christ. I feel that I have a hone
in heaven, and have no fear or dréad to go,!

"The cap was adjusted and the noose fitted upon his neck, Sheriff Bowden asked Smith if
he was ready, thén, without faltering, Smith said in a firm tone: 'Yes, I am ready to
meet my God,' As the last word left his kips the &%rap was sprung and he shot downward
into the room below. The execution was perfect. Smith s neck being broken by the fall,
and although he was allowed to hang until 11:17 the physicians declared that death was
instantaneous, Only a faint heart beatconfinuted for a few minutes,

"Before he was taken to the gallows, Smith talked with his spiritual advisers and en-

gared in prayer and a short religious service, He talked with newspaper men in a calm
voice, the main topic being an religious subjects. He declared his innocence of the crime
for which he died and handed SheriBB Bowden a letter, the publication of which he request
ede

"Smith did not sleep last night, but spent the whole night in reading the Bible and
prayer, “He até only a light breakfast. He will’be buried beside the sister he killed,"
JOURNAL, Atlanta, Ga., June 11,°1909 (10-2) Photograph on this Daze.

"Jacksonville, July 17, 1908-Languishing in a cell at the county jail, treme ‘4
every footsbeph heard in the corridor and on the verge of a nervous cOslap sey, a ie:
Smith, formerly of Atlanta, awaits the death sentence for the nye der of ‘pe — on
ter, Cora Belle Smith, Only one ray of hope gleams through the narrow Ss - ;
dark cell inwhich Smith daily broows over his wayward life. Ais A nee IP
Broome, provided for by the state, for he had no funds, no friends and ‘no Sgt
aid him in his fight for life, may yet succeed ‘in having the case snet to t gird
court, shouda@ the move for a new trial fadee the trial of Smith during the Ms Lae
only served to intensify the feeling against him and a punishment even more sev
than hanging could not expiate the crime of which he was charged. ee ae ae
"On May 5, weakened in health by hard labor sometimes late into ms night, : ce
Smith, compelled to give her every penny, heyond a mere SV ONCEs Le cee ae Lae
brother, 1«ft the furnished rooms in which they had pee: living vogether at 2 cae
son Street, and went to a rooming house at 321 Bridge St., thinking to ree Soe,
who had been to her a demon, For one brief day, 2h; hours of peace, she live a me
new auarters and heped that,as he promiséd, Smith wuld leave the city, Instea A
yulture-Like Smith had sought out his sister's new home and beset her as she starve z
for her wrk, Frightened, as she always was, she cowed before his demands and cite
to meet him on the evening of the 6th, She kept the appointment and went with him to
his new room at 631 Vest Adams St., not far from her own boarding house, as she
thought. tos ecure some few articles that were left in his t Funk, Sieg, Bis Rees ane 2
went, and what happened there no one know or ever will, Im a few short minuves 4 {

the evening and tHe scream of a woman‘ gave

. : wa)
: ’ rT
tol shots rang our upon the cuiet air of J, ts. Hicks, at

nad + 3 ”
tha firat inkling that murder was beyond the closed door of the room,

would only be permitted to be present in the witness room. The Superintendent
explained his reasons as being security-minded. The Superintendent even sug-
gested that the condemned man's minister might introduce a psychotrophic drug
into the prison permitting the condemned man to take his own life. The same
reason of "security" was used for originally denying the condemned man communion.
Reverend Tom Feamster, John Spenkelink's minister, suggested that the prison
furnish the wafer and wine to negate this fear of a psychotrophic drug being
introduced into the prison. This was also rejected. After the attorneys for
John Spenkelink threatened to call a press conference on this matter, Superin-
tendent Brierton relented and, on the morning of his execution, John Spenkelink
received communion from his own minister, Reverend Tom Feamster.

It is also the interpretation of the Superintendent that the statute
and administrative rule only permit the resident chaplain to accompany the con-
demned inmate to the execution chamber. This, again, was explained as necessary
for reasons of "security" and to prevent a thoughtless minister from killing
himself by attempting to administer Last Rites and touching the body during the
execution.

John Spenkelink rejected the prison chaplain as being insincere when
the chaplain refused to commit himself as being opposed to capital punishment.

The readers of this report will have to interpret the statute and rule
for themselves to determine if John Spenkelink's right to a minister fo his own
choosing were violated.

COMPLAINT 4

John Spenkelink was purportedly denied adequate contact
visits with his immediate family.

FINDING 4

We cannot find any rules or regulations dealing with contact visits with
the family of the condemned man. These seem to be promulgated on an ad hoc basis.
The family desired additional contact visits for a longer period of time. The
prison authorities believe that the requirements of security and the limitation
of sufficient personnel prevent them from permitting additional and longer con-
tact visits. At one time, the condemned man was almost forced to choose between
his mother and a very close personal friend for a contact visit. After con-
ferences with counsel for John Spenkelink, the prison relented and permitted
shorter contact visits with each of the persons. The prison, however, refused
to permit contact visits with all the members of his immediate family.

COMPLAINT 5

The female visitors, including his mother, were subjected
to an unnecessary and degrading physical examination of
their vaginal and rectal areas.

FINDING 5

The last female visitors to John Spenkelink, including his mother, were
subjected to vaginal and rectal examination. One of the ladies visiting the

Contact visit - An in-person visit in the same room with the prisoner
when he could, although handcuffed, momentarily embrace and kiss the visitor.

-9—

prisoner, who went to the toilet during the visit, was subjected to a second
rectal and vaginal examination after she came back from the toilet. The prison
officials maintain the necessity of these examinations for reasons of "security."
We are unable to find any rules or regulations covering this subject. The

family protests these acts as being dehumanizing, degrading and unnecessary.

They point out that the contact visits basically consist of a kiss and a hug at
the beginning and at the end of each session in the presence of a guard. The
prisoner is handcuffed at all times during the visit. There is always a guard
present in the room observing the visit. They claim there is no way possible
that anything could have been extracted by them from their rectum or vagina under
these circumstances without the ever-present guard seeing it.

COMPLAINT 6

John Spenkelink was denied the opportunity of inventorying
and signing an inventory of his personal property to
assure the family that they would receive all of his pro-
perty.3

FINDING 6

John Spenkelink did not inventory his personal property or sign an in-
ventory of his personal property. The only provision in the rules and regula-
tions concerning inventory is one contained in Special Post Order No. 100(III)
(A) (4) which provides:

When he (the condemned man) leaves his cell, immediately
clean out his cell and personally inventory all property
items.

An unresolved dispute exists as to whether or not the family and counsel for
Mr. Spenkelink received all of his personal property. The main item in dispute
is an address book. Assistant Superintendent Dugger claims that the book was
removed from a sealed carton, xeroxed, returned to the carton and eventually
delivered to counsel and the family. They deny they ever received the address
book.* The Assistant Superintendent offered to make the xerox copy available
to the family during his testimony. We have learned that this has not yet been
done.

COMPLAINT 7

John Spenkelink was denied the privilege of having a
representative of his choosing present at all times
from the time of preparation until the time of execution.

FINDING 7

John Spenkelink was, in fact, denied the privilege of having a repre-
sentative of his own choosing present at all times from the time of preparation
until the time of execution. There are no rules or regulations governing this

subject.

Assistant Superintendent Dugger has conceded possessing a xerox copy
of a missing address book which he has agreed to turn over to David Kendall, one

of John Spenkelink's attorneys.

This is the address book purportedly containing notes of prison

irregularities.
=i p=

COMPLAINT 8

There was no adequate phone communication with the
prison to advise prison officials of stays of execution.

FINDING 8

Counsel for John Spenkelink claims that there was no adequate phone com-
munication with the prison to permit them to advise prison officials of stays
of execution. The prison officials claim that the regular prison telephone
number is answered throughout the night, even after the switchboard is closed
and that there is no communication problem. Furthermore, there is an open line
between the Governor's office and the death chamber commencing one (1) hour
prior to the execution and continuing until the execution is completed.

COMPLAINT 9

John Spenkelink purportedly fought to prevent his electrocution,
resisted guards who sought to shave his head, was gagged and silenced and then
placed in the electric chair.

FINDING 9

There is no evidence supporting the allegation that John Spenkelink fought
to prevent his electrocution, resisted the guards who sought to shave his head
and was gagged and silenced when he was placed in the electric chair. Not a
single person testifying gave any evidence to support this allegation. If any-
thing of this nature occurred, a conspiracy of silence exists, which would be a
matter for further investigation by the State Attorney of the Circuit.

COMPLAINT 10

John Spenkelink was wrestled to the floor and huge gobs
of cotton were inserted into his rectum to attempt to
stop his bowels from vacating upon electrocution.

FINDING 10

There is no evidence that John Spenkelink was wrestled to the floor in
order to have huge gobs of cotton inserted into his rectum. This is perhaps the
major complaint involving the execution procedures and should be commented upon
more fully.

The complaint surfaced when a death row inmate reported it to the press.
This inmate does not claim to have seen or heard anything, but claims to have
received the information from a prison employee. This inmate appears to be sin-
cere and believes he is telling the truth. The prison employee involved totally
denies that he ever made the statement to the inmate and claims that he was not
even on duty on the day of the execution. Contrary to the claims of the employee,
the records of the prison show that he was on duty on May 25, 1979. The personnel
records and testimony of the technician's supervisor show that the employee in
question came on duty the morning of the execution, was there at the time of the
electrocution and then left for a doctor's appointment. The inmate offered to
take a polygraph examination to prove he was telling the truth. The employee
says that it was the practice at the prison to sign in for days that you were

-l1-

not at work, if you were entitled to compensatory time off, and that on May 25,
1979, he did not work, but had signed in for this purpose on a prior date. The
employee has offered to produce a letter from a new prospective employer with
whom he claims he was interviewing on the day the execution took place. This
letter has not been received. Testimony of a co-employee on duty on May 25, 1979
confirms that the employee was on duty the morning of May 25. This matter is be-
ing brought to the attention of the State Attorney of the Circuit for his mirtier
consideration.

A second inmate, whose identity will be kept secret because of possible
retaliation, purportedly heard a similar story from a prison guard; the inmate
refuses to reveal the prison guard's name for fear of retaliation against the
guard. The story differed only in that the second inmate stated that after John
Spenkelink resisted the attempt to place cotton in his rectum, the attempt was
abandoned. Again, and unless a conspiracy of silence exists amongst the prison
officials, there is no evidence to support the allegations that cotton was placed
in the prisoner's rectum. Furthermore, testimony from the funeral directors in-
volved in the preparation of the body for interment confirm that no evidence of

any cotton was found in the bowels; they did, however, find evidence of vacation
of bowels and urine that generally accompany a traumatic death.

COMPLAINT 11

John Spenkelink's mouth was purportedly taped prior to
entering the death chamber to prevent him from exposing
the inhumane treatment he received.

FINDING 11

John Spenkelink's mouth was not taped prior to his entering the death
chamber. At the time he was being prepared for electrocution, a chin strap
that was placed across his chin to restrain his head against the chair so as
to prevent its movement during the electrocution slipped and covered all or
part of his mouth. This is apparently the basis for the statements by some
witnesses that his mouth was taped during the execution.

COMPLAINT 12

John Spenkelink was denied the right to make a final
statement in the execution chamber immediately prior
to his death.

FINDING 12

Rule 33-15.02(c) provides that:

Final statements by the condemned offender immediately
prior to execution will be authorized at the offender's

option.
Florida State Prison Policy Memorandum No. 24 provides, in Section 34-9:

6. Just prior to the execution, the Superintendent will
allow the condemned inmate to make his last statement.

=12-

TTT

bid

nena ates mewn ser stewee se

to halt execut tion

.. Related stories on Page’ A-7:..) ;

By RICHARD CARELLI
Associated Press Writer |.

- WASHINGTON. — ° A‘, Florida

-Death Row inmate.who may become

the nation’s first prisoner put to wag eek :

‘against his will since 1967 lost his~

_ help Monday, ssi

‘“last opportunity” for Saree vate

Aspe

_. The court, for ‘the third Fina re-
, fused to hear John A. Spenkelink's at- ay

“tempt to stave-off execution in Flor: °
~ ida’s electric chair. | -.. :

~The’ convicted faurderer's wnt execution’ ‘was stayed. bya last- :
; hope now is that he will be granted /' minute, court appeal. Co aes

. clemency. State officials are restudy-

; ing his case after refusing last yen to:

t an his life.

 Spenkelink’s :'¢ case “thas: “been 4

Tadeo closely by a national alll, ©

’

“ance of lawyers who oppose capital -

, punishment. The lawyers fear his ex:
‘ ecution could spark a revival of such «

‘ state- -imposed meaies,

see
pga We

Fi. “Nearly 500 men td ie are ;

“Death Row inmates in 32 sales, ifs

ited

pee ware

MS hee =)

Pesta: a “last: opportunity. to be’:

s heard on several substantial constitu: ‘

» tional contentions before. che. As elec:
itrocuted.”, ; pti ie

“ Bob: Graham ‘has ordered that the ®

‘s.i¢mendation is: bi ara within two

°°! No ‘execution date has. best ‘set hh
ee Spenkelink, a 30-year-old drifter.”
from Buena -.Vista, Calif.,: who six:
years ago was convicted of killing a |
“traveling companion in Tallakassee.

‘Florida last ieairesce a A. prisoner in. 4
| ant tee rere mente at See Ne

,Former Gov: “Reubin Askew iad“
slarned down Spenkelink’s request for’
* clemency, but newly : lected : Gov.

«state's .Parole and. Probation Com-:'
mission restudy the request. vine

Askew signed Spenkelirik’s death’
warrant. in’ ‘September 1977,"but the:

| ex

‘

‘the commission's - mali recom:

j j fmonths.’

wie  Spenkellnk's " "sneal, i Ss

‘Without comment: by. the nation’s |
? highest court; contended that electro-
cution is an “unnecessarily | torturous“.

>and sacar cruel’ means’ of execu:
tion.” ser :

ee Segued also,. ‘thatt Figriaa’e ees

economic, condition. ai & 4h
i,

Sear Phe. Supreme. ‘Court’ in: 1976 uséd. ig ty
ig Flos s scepter pasha Jaw, 3 as 3

4 ¢ ‘
piety arcu rebar WBiiaed oem dies Sak Lad Lee

“ment for convicted murderers. -

‘

4

ey death penalty laws are unfairly im: well a as laws in “Georgia and Texas, to’ : U.S. prisoner has -been executed.
~ Spenkelifk’s. lawyers” called his’ :posed 'on’.the basis of race, -sex: and .. rule that thé death penalty may be. a...Gary Mark Gilmore, who rather than

‘ * constitutionally . permissible punish-.. ; appeal his conviction for murdering a
«Utah motel clerk asked authorities to

. kill him, was shot by a firing squad | in

é Singe “then,” however.' only one : sanatary 1977.

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Sat nae re MAMET FTA Fee ve te

SL61 ‘Le HOAVIAI

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~


UTHERN
COALITION

REPORT

ON JAILS & PRISONS

VOL. 6, NO 1

WINTER 1979

John Spenkelink, Starke, Florida

A campaign of harrassment and illegal
actions against Florida's 122 Death Row
prisoners has culminated in the construction
of a permanent wall that will separate Death
Row prisoners from their visitors. The cement
wall is in the middle of the visiting room used
by individuals on Death Row and runs from
floor to ceiling, with 15 telephone outlets and
windows through which visitors will have to
look at their incarcerated relatives.

Construction of The Wall at Florida State
Prison in Starke began in early December by
order of Department of Corrections
Secretary Wainwright, prison superintendent
Brierton, and then-Governor Askew. Death
Row prisoners were told by prison officials
that they would no longer be allowed contact
visits with their families and loved ones after
January 1, 1979.

Families, prisoners, and prisoners’
advocates across the South reacted swiftly
and convinced Governor Askew that his
approval of the decision to stop contact
visitation for Death Row prisoners was
wrong. In the final days of his administration,
he ordered a halt to construction of The Wall.
A few days later, however, prison officials

resumed building The Wall and told the staff
of the Florida Clearinghouse that they would
be asking the new Governor of Florida, Bob
Graham, to approve its use. In their
recommendations to Governor Graham,
prison officials claim that The Wall is
necessary to provide security in Florida's
maximum security prison.

The Clearinghouse is calling upon all those
who care about the lives of the condemned in
Florida to write Governor Bob Graham and
ask him not to eliminate contact visiting for
Death ‘Row prisoners. His address is:
Governor Bob Graham, State Capitol,
Tallahassee, Florida 32304.

Construction of The Wall is one in a series
of bizarre actions taken against Death Row
prisoners over the past two months. An
independent investigation, conducted by the
Clearinghouse, confirmed prisoners’ reports
of physical assaults by guards, suspended
visiting privileges, petty harrassment about
Christmas packages, and verbal abuse.

One prisoner, John Spenkelink, was
beaten in his cell by guards following his
repeated requests to contact his attorneys or
representatives from the Clearinghouse.
Spenkelink, scheduled to be the first man to
die in Florida's electric chair since 1964, was
assaulted and knocked unconscious by four
guards who rushed his cell. He received a
broken rib, lacerations and bruises.
Statements from six Death Row prisoners,
confined on the same cellblock as
Spenkelink, revealed a departure from
normal prison procedures prior to the
beating.

Late Wednesday morning, November 22 -
the day before Thanksgiving - 18 Death Row
inmates were told by prison officials that they
would not be allowed any visits during
Thanksgiving holidays. Prison authorities
state that the 18 men had received visits from
family members or friends the day Robert
Lewis, the first man to escape Florida's Death
Row, walked out of the maximum security
prison in Starke. The suspension of visiting
privileges during the holiday followed reports

Death Row in Florida:

Spenkelink Beaten Unconscious

that holiday packages were being returned to
the senders. The timing of the
announcement, made the morning before
holiday visits were to begin, did not allow the
prisoners time to contact their attorneys or
the Florida Clearinghouse to seek help in
appealing the administrations’s decision.

John Spenkelink, concerned that this
could be his last opportunity to see his
seriously ill mother, asked guards to allow
him to contact his attorneys. He also asked
that officials be requested to reconsider their
decision. Other Death Row inmates also
asked that the Florida Clearinghouse be
notified of the suspended visiting privileges.
All the requests were denied.

At lunch on Wednesday, several of the 17
men on R Wing, 2nd Floor, North Side, said
they would not return their meal trays until
their requests were honored. (Prisoners on
Death Row are not allowed outside their
individual cells except for visits and weekly
exercise. They eat all their meals in their 9 x6
cells. The meals are served on trays that are
passed through a special opening in the bars.
Trays are distributed and collected by
trustees. Prisoners and others report that
trays are sometimes left on tables or in cells.
Thus, the holding of a meal tray in not always
considered disobeying an order.)

The guards apparently alerted the
administration to the prisoners’ actions. Two
counselors from other wings of the prison
were sent to R Wing. One of the counselors
assured the prisoners that he would call the
attorney. All but Spenkelink returned their
trays. The first counselor never returned. A
second counselor said he would allow the call
or call himself, and Spenkelink then gave up
his tray. That counselor, however, never
returned either.

By dinner time, no word had been received
and tension was mounting. Other death row
inmates increased their support for
Spenkelink's request. Since being sent to
Florida's death row, Spenkelink has earned
respect and trust from other inmates because
of his concern for their well-being and his

Halting a Prison
In Union Springs,

a.

Alabama

&
$

oP
1

i
ea
H

Protesters at the Union Springs, Alabama, prison construction site

mild-mannered nature. Although not well-
educated formally, Spenkelink frequently
writes letters for inmates who are illiterate
and he helps decipher the legal process to
condemned men who do not understand it.
As a board member of the Committee of
Southern Churchmen, he has contacts with
individuals and groups opposed to the death
penalty across the nation and often asks
those groups to come to the assistance of
other Death Row inmates with particular
problems. Many Death Row inmates have met
his family and they are aware of his mother's
ill health.

At dinner time, several of the inmates on R
Wing said they would return their dinner trays
when Spenkelink’s attorneys or the Florida
Clearinghouse were notified. A squad of six
guards. led by Colonel Barton, was sent to the
Row. All the prisoners except Spenkelink
returned their trays. Spenkelink repeated his
requests but to no avail. At one point, he
pleaded, “you're going to kill me, why not let
my mother visit.” The squad of guards rushed
into the cell behind a fiberglass shield,
rammed Spenkelink against the sink, beat
him and knocked him unconscious. During
the attack, inmates state that prison officials
walked to the opposite end of the wing.
Several minutes later, Spenkelink was taken
from his cell and placed in a punitive
confinement cell on FSP’s notorious Q Wing.

Following the incident, prison officials filed
disciplinary action against several Death Row
prisoners for failure to follow verbal
commands. John Spenkelink was charged
with attempted armed assault against the
prison guards who beat him in his cell.
Spenkelink was found guilty of the charges
by an in-prison court and was sentenced to 90
days isolation.

Scharlette Holdman
Florida Clearinghouse on
Criminal Justice

(Editor's Note: John Spenkelink has served
90 days on Q Wing in segregation. He has
now returned to R Wing after his confinement
in disciplinary lock up. He and others on
death row are still receiving contact visits
despite the erection of The Wall.)

It was over two years ago when Governor
George Wallace interrupted a Board of
Corrections meeting to instruct the members
to keep new prisons out of north Alabama for
political reasons. Although Federal District
Court Judge Frank Johnson had
recommended to the Board that they build
their new facilities innorth Alabama, because
more than 50% of the state's prisoners come
from north Alabama. the Board began
looking in south Alabama for possible prison
sites

County officials approached the Board of
Corrections offering Bullock County as a site
for a medium minimum security prison for
400 adult males. The citizens of Bullock
county were not aware that their
representatives had requested a prison and
there was never a public meeting to discuss
the pros and cons of having a prison located
in their county. There was never any
opportunity to vote

When a site near Union Springs was
announced. citizens of Bullock County
began actively fighting against the prison
Prison opponents charged that the economy
of their county could not support the added

continued on page 2


FrLorioa Times-Union
APRIL 35.4379

try Paar iar anneal

i peakelink to — Lawyers-for: Death Row in-.
Mate an er Said in Tallahassee Monday they .
ah (inh: will ask the U.S. Su-

to hear his last-ditch |
“‘appeal to avoid Flor-
ida’s electric. chair.
“The: Spenkelink has
“until April 20 to ask


aed
i TALLAHASSEE.: (AP) °. 5
J inmate’ John A. Spenkelink on
fighting “for: his: life, even’ tho
has rejected 2 Ja
electrocution.

“would have to

- Jack Boger, an attorney with

his situation. ‘Really,

"pleas in other cases.

- Seriously,” he said,
. hung in the balance

of Florida Citizens Against the
that the U.S. Supreme Court had
_~ appeal. “It’s so frightening.”

- the court by Spenkelink —who

‘There have been no executions in

Row in the entire United

is scheduled to die: April 6.
f that his execution not be d

Postpone his execution.

~: In the latest appeal

“Said he would eall a meeti

to follow the law,” Graham said. ‘
our responsibilities just because of th
. Ta Florida, once a death sentence
"case is referred to the Parole and
for a clemency investigation. The co
a report to the Board of Executiy

_2 members of the Cabinet must vote to

Ms. Holdman said groups opposin

that Florida’s death penalty
and the poor,

indicated tha
Instead, Smith said, he would look

those kinds of facts,” Smith said in
that the death penalty in Florida is ap

Court f

made on whether to go ahead with

given up.” is ee
He did say, however, that Spenkelin

¢ Retains tn Sede bom cee ene
‘By THOMAS E, SLAUGHTER

In a’ one-line note handed down Monday. the nation’s
' < highest court’ Tefused to consider a third appeal filed with

. ; Death ‘Row inmate to unwillingly face execution since 1967.

-+There are more than 120 Persons on Death Row in Florida,
~ Which is'more than one-fourth of all the persons on Death
States ‘and the largest number
‘Of persons on Death Row in any one state. SPST %
. ‘Gary Mark. Gilmore was shot by a Utah firing Squad
- in 1977 after he decided against appealing his death sentence.
_An Alabama Death Row inmate, John Louis Evans UI,
Like Gilmore, Evans has asked

elayed. However, the Alabama
Supreme- Court Monday -dismissed a petition: filed. without
Evans’ permission by-his former ~attorneys, Seeking to

Monday’s action marked the. third tim
Supreme Court had left intact Spenkelink’ KI y
-Which ‘was returned six years ago by a Tallahassee jury anything new, the go

eeting of the Cabinet between April |
1

not to commute the Sentence, we will m

g the death penalty plan
an intensive lobbying campaign to try to convince the Cabinet
discriminates against blacks

But Attorney General Jim Smith, a member of the Cabinet,
t he would not be swayed by such appeals.

at each case to determine
if new facts had been discovered since th

sentenced to warrant a reduction in sentence,
“Its not. the function of the Clemency Board to consider

“That issue has been handled by the courts.” Ms. Holdman -

Said she expects Spenkelink’s lawyers to petition

or a rehearing, However, Andrew Graham of Cocoa,

one of Spenkelink’s attorneys, said no decisi

such a petition .“‘Natural-

ly I’m disappointed,” Graham said. “But we still haven’t
k’s attorneys are pre- |

aOR ee
ie 7,

+

Has

_ Meanwhile, a spokesman for Gov. Bob: Graham —who
Sign Spenkelink’s death warrant -— said
Graham: and . the Cabinet could hear a final review of
_ Spenkelink’s case as early as April 15.. ieee ee, at
3 “The Principal legal challenges available to him seem

- to” have been exhausted, or very nearly exhausted,” said

the NAACP Legal Defense

:Fund. The New York-based group is among a handful, of
" Broups fighting the death penalty nationwide and attorneys
for the group are representing Spenkelink. pi je
- There is really nobody else in the country that is in
no one has gone as far as Spenkelink.”
_ Boger said the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case,
“and to consider arguments: that Florida’s death penalty
.is applied discriminatorily, is discouraging because it may
_ be. a signal that the co + may refuse to consider similar

,> “It seems clear that the Supreme Court took this case
“They were aware that.a man’s life

and that must:weigh anyone’s assess-
“ment of the impact of their denial in this case.”

“Oh my Ged,” said Scharlette Holdman, executive director

-Death Penalty, when told
fumed down Spenkelink’s

e

could be the nation’s first

Florida since 1964.°° .

Ss death sentence,

ove expeditiously
We will not shirk from
eir enormity.” —. . ’
has béen returned the
Probation Commission
mmission then presents -
e Clemency. Before 2

Sentence may. be commuted, .the governor and three other

do so. .

€ person was
reference to claims

plied discriminatorily.

the Supreme

on has been

‘Supporters .of - Death Row
Monday promised to.continue nt
ugh the U.S.. Supreme Court
St-ditch appeal that pushes Spenkelink near -

2. Governor’s

. reporters Monday that it is ha

e that. the U.S...”

er

"paring an ‘extensiv “case to present befo
~ Board when it hears Spenkelink’s case>.-.::

Robin. Gibson, the. govenor’

will conclude its review of §S
board probably will want t

0 hear all- 10 appeals before
deciding Spenkelink’s, - : ;

- Gibson also said the govern

Ne ie Sone

Sr gk

y two years since

ewed Spenkelink’s case, “Té there’s

> Sovenor would want the Clemency Board
-for the 1973 murder of Joseph Szymakiewicz, 43, of Detroit... be aware of it, Gibson said. He

_there is no indicatj
Florida death penalty statute discriminates against that the have changed since

Spenkelink was denied | is sentence.

added, though, that

On that the facts in Spenkelink’s case
the Cabinet first declined to conimute

SARA SOTA HERALD TrISUNE

March 27, 1979

Piet eS a

ce oA peer UPI Telcohet ;
Counsel Robert Gibson
+ explains clemency board procedures °

re the Clemency

rich poster ede S28

v

Nil 2

SRDS ek

N

ship RAP at eth dh anaeinah ce aed

ne ees Deere rere


eS

SOUTHWORTH, T., white, electrocuted Florida (Palm Beach) Feb. 12, 193):

" Raiford, Feb, 12, - Harry McConarty, alias T, Southworth, K&XEX&HX of
Boston, was electrocuted at the state prison today for the killing of
Horace Wells, Southampton,Long Island, automobile dealer, during the
robbery of a fashionable West Palm Beach dinner party two years agol
The ¢7-year-old bandit, who nonchahantly remarked ‘Ain't that swell,'
when his death warrant was signed and later w#ote to Governor Doyle
&, Carlton and requested that hissexecution be speeded up, was pro-
nounced dead at 11:05 a.m., four minutes after the first current was
applied, The condemned man was calm as he walked from the death cell
to the electric chair, He glanced up at the approximately 30 witnesses
and then as the head piece was adjusted said only one word - ‘Goodbye. '
McConarty, who had maintained a jaunty, indifferent attitude toward his
approaching execution frog the time he was condemned, assumed a more
morose feeling as the final hour approached, but showed no Sign of
breaking. He made a final appeal for a new trial, which was denied,
and then became resigned to his fate, The fatel whooting of Wells
occurred on the night of February 23, XBZ 1929, af the fashionable home
on the southside of Mrs, Vincent B. Hall, who was entertaining a party
of six at dinner," DEMOCRAT, Tallahassee, Fla,, 2-12-1931 (page 1.)


or ATER

sy Elta: Prades A ath,
= 5 a ee / el i ‘aie ie a
Eu 8 aii aia 3 Hie i
22 e nla aim elt
22 i ih dla TH nae


THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville)
Tuesday, 16 January 1945, page 5.


| Sa

THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville)

Saturday, 28 January 1913,

!
|

MURDERER OF
DR. SPENCER |
PAID PENALTY

TOM SMITH DISPLAYED WON. |

DERFUL NERVE ON THE GAL-
LOWS — DECLARED ‘THE
DEVIL GOT ME INTO THIS,
BUT GOD WILL GET ME OUT.

|

Gainesville, June %.—Tom Smith, the
relf-confessed murderer of Dr H. C.
Spencer, paid the death penalty from
the gallows in the Ajachua county jail
thia morning

People were attracted here from many
Points in the State and a crowd of be-

tween 1,500 and 2.000 persons assembled
(at the jail to witness the execution, but
with few cxceptions they were disap-
pointed, as only a Iiimfted number were
admitted to the old jail. in which buil-
ing the ecaffold is located.

The death march began at 11.10 o'clock,
Sinith leaving the cell in the new jail
handcuffed to Sheriff Ramsey. On the
steps of this structure Smith was per-
mitted to make a talk. in which he ada-
monished his hearers to live right and
sala that. he hoped his mistake would
serve a8 a tesson to others. ‘The devil
got me into this trouble, but God will
wet me out,” declared Smith, who ex-
plained that he had been converted. He
was baptised in the jail on last Sunday.

‘case, hut without result. fn October

Those who believed that the negro would

Page 3.

would throw more Nahe
were disappointed, as Smith Pabiesue
ed in substance that he would die for
his own stn and that he could gay noth-
ing that would save anyone else. |
sisek’ | exhibited wonderful nerve and
piece Unaseisted while the mtraps ana
re Cap were being adjusted. He took
Desition on the gatlows at 13:37 ana

hand away and readj
: ust the strap.
pec Beck was not broken. but ns
pronounced dead at 11:52:30. The
posted ae tte * 13:01 and turned
omas LU’ 7
ping’ $08 Racine ndertaking Com-

The crime for which Smith

wan
death was one of the most Narrinis aver
committed im the state. Dr. Rpencer
who was ane of Gainesville’s most bo-

loved cit was called fro
le : m his home
oa North ecu street on the night of

February 2% 1912 by @ party who sa
id
ion hie wife was Critieally 1 near «
urpentine still tnree miles away. The
Physician left his home in his auto aad.
after reaching the still the physician
was decoyed through the woods over a
poy being shet down in @ secludea
A number of detectives worked na the

last a pocket ledger that was tak
OR

— the body of .Dr. Spencer was {quad

y & white woman in a house tnat

—_—

make a statement at this time that |


Jacksonville: Journa|
May 23,1979

Fe Ae ny rs BN Noes OO ty:
: +4 kt? oa Bes ryt iaes
is nA Se She a)

ay

“(Continued From Pagel)! z
owns is on Death Row for the =
urder-for-hire killing of Forrest (Jerry) Har-.-:
ris," allegedly i masterminded’ by John WwW, as
*Garelick, who died in a plane crash two days *.
_ after, Harris’ body was found. The two were
7. business associates. « eae cee J
x4 <-T Was happy that God had saved a man’s

dell ee Sabo Pi: : 2
‘.: Mrs. Peters talked with her son Sunday,
le was awful sad about this thing,” she said. ~~

* executed after Spenkelink ‘today, was
granted a stay. °° aig yay i vad
AGUA it's ‘a
‘oor v-(hanging) tree: or-a chair?”. aske
‘Deborah David; a ‘University of Flo ere’.wearing a_red T-shirt which: read: :::
a law student and vice president of “Don't murder Spenkelink. Only God has the “2s:

F’s student government associatio “right:to say a’man should die”. ke
““We are the only thing standing be: ; ss Es

2“ “T don’t believe in an eye for an eye and °'
»=g} tooth for a tooth,” she said.\“I’ve known Spen- :

.Kelink for two years, .:, Sohn stake es }
“I’ve gotten to know him, both of them — =
rden.and Spenkelink.- If you met him (Spen- :

kelink) you would never say he hurt any one. *. -
And he carries on an intelligent conversation.” -**

a Before, learning’ of the stay, two women, :*’
2? Carla Wilks of Raiford and Wanda Kinghorn of"
 Pernidacksonville,

rove around a road fronting the th!

Se er gr

PS ne wer Gere ae

5.25
Swepi Protest

-.. prison supporting Gov. Bob Graham’s decision.
Their car was decorated wi
els, like newlyweds on the
moon, with

vickly

th green paper tow- -
ir way to the honey-
“Support the victim not. the :
. ¢riminal” painted on the windows.

at Gov. Graham doesn’t have
Mrs. Wilks said. “They (pris:
'.,. oners) know they can wait:to be paroled. And -
. “NO one out here has e
thing expect those w
, |, death penalty). So so
:. They would feel diffe
killed their people. It

: But the protesters disa

ernor’s signature on the d
carried signs which read,

. “Only the poor get execut

. enough support,”

nough guts to say any-
ho are against it (the
mebody has to stand up,
rently if some murderers
"S not fair.” -

greed with the gov-
cath warrants and
“Thou shalt not kill,”
ed,” “Ayatollah Gra- .* *
and other anti-death penalty slogans.

g the Jacksonville sympathiz-° -
last night were Rabbi Howard”
v. Richard Farr, white-hatted
olks, who said he was go-
link today, and K
tney Bill Shepherd in the

Spenketink

y, we will bring tents and
et 2,000 people
re. Or to Tallahasee, if it's
_. More advantageous. We need to have a
Stronger showing of blacks to le
know that blacks as we

* “ers who waited
Greenstein, Re
evangelist Warren F
.° ing to see Spenke

“If necessar
Thomas said. “We will g
“to march out he

~ who worked with atto
defense of Darden, |
~. Gregory Thom
“Inmate, said his Jackso
cide early today if it w
march on Tallahasse 0
attention to thei

t Spenkelink
Re ip be kek ll as whites are behind
as, director of Opcration

nville group would de-
ill be more effective to

Starke to bring |

By 1:45 a.m. most of
acked up their
eft to return to their homes

the protesters had
$ and candles and
or headquarters to

sleeping bag

conduct their private vigils,


‘

4

at Thmes-Union

May 24, (979

STN erate

B, Re

t Times-Union News Services Re: . gn ye Pie
Ve . Fe Pb ch bz aa, nts S post--. demned man did not have adequate
x ‘Florida . Attorney “General . Jim ‘poning the execution!» P ;

i Smith hand, delivered ‘an emer, Beit a} “te : :

eath warrant éxpires at’
y noon Friday. § ek:
* Smith and three other’;
d into the 5th U.S. Circuit Court’
of Appeals in New Orleans 10 minutes
after the clerk's ‘office’ was’ to -hav

ae

3)

si oe etic tee

1s

|

a

See,
3
‘

r)

during the case,

is) 'The, other, stay, issued. by: Su-:
““preme. Court Justice Thurgood Mar-

‘shall, will“ be considered by: the Su-.
‘preme Court today when it meets in
‘Ats ‘regular, closed ‘Thursday session. .
4 35. Phe'stay is ‘valid’ only until the
» full court has a chance to consider it.

: efore Smith ‘filed’ his appeal, |

Smith’s petition
court argued that

cused the ‘defense.
withholding the issue
resort.

“ey 'S se tag te gquuttle’s...office in-Atlanta said the .moved by noon Frida
(” closed, but officials were waiting to judge «would wait‘ for: the Supreme

4 accept his petitions. aA Court before moving further on the: Hé “Said he. ahd
2 ; Ren ee pe o eee f et rare f . i Fibade: 5 : «

£ » His goal'was to get. th ‘appeals® stay, eee’, oo “2 .ecutors would fly to
es t to overrule Judge Elbert Tuttl Tuttle issued:his order after law-

Rega nape paledsaed eb A Ai ss i Ndda'e

i aes (From Page B-1) :
Tom ‘Feamster, a Presbyterian minister

eh

‘in his cell.

carn begin, :: i er
iy, Spenkelink sucked in his breath then
~Sald,:"“Thank God,” Feamster reported:
‘“He never gave up hope.” pts

im ‘ turbances by other convicts inside the pris-
oe eFr—at} ON and’ the. noisy clamor of protesters

fromthe penitentiary,

3:¢ Ponent of capital punishment, broke from

“ gee. ? When he blocked the scheduled execution, '
— BERET tices, William’ Rehnquist and John Paul
ee .;, Stevens, had denied Spenkelink’s requests,
Z REGS Once one justice has refused an appli-
KAS
eo,.-Kumally. goes along with what the first one
i pr did, : explained " Eugene Gressman,;: co-

feet cs“), author’ of: a book called “Supreme Court.

meene teen

legal representation at various stages

have adequate representation. It ac- besa heasae!
of deliberately. shortly before midnight Tuesday.

“Our goal is to have the stays re-’

“Atlanta today in attempts to remove «.:

> 4. The news brought an end to fiery dis-

{standing vigil in the night across the road:
“| Justice Marshall, who is a strong op-

normal; practice. onthe Supreme Court... -

issued.” yers for Spenkelink said the. con. “ the stays.

to. the appeals’
Spenkelink did
the reprieve orderec

‘to use as a last’!

’ take place,” Smith said.

other top pros- :
Washington and

Cou Pytac’t PoYoai

?

Practice.” But in capital cases, he said,

“You don’t expect the normal rules to al.

‘: learned ‘his. execution had been stayed 4Y D scarecpctan®
from a news bulletin on the television set

Graham, who signed death warrants
for Spenkelink and Darden, named _ his

<The inews came Shortly after. mid: chief counsel, Robin Gibson, to speak for
‘night, fewer than two hours before prep- him regarding the stays.‘
arations for his execution at 7 a.m. were to

Gibson said it would be inappropriate
to say whether the governor would sign an-
other warrant for Spenkelink’s death if the

~~ present one expires without the execution.

“T think the intent is to Carry out the

« laws,” Gibson said..“If there is no change

“dn the law, there will be no change in the

} governor's approach.”

Gibson again refused to discuss the

* *governor’s personal view of his decision
last Friday to order Spenkelink and Dar-

» den to be executed.

“There's really not any emotion at-

., tached to this,” Gibson said. “He has to ap-

»Marshall acted after two other jus- - proach this as something he has td do un-

1:,der the law"... °F.
ic, Gibson said’ Darden’s stay, issued by
Tampa U.S, District Judge W. Terrell Hod-

MS + cation: fora’ stay. order, the next one nor~s Bes, requires the state to respond within 20

“days. He said Hodges’ decision effectively
“blocks Darden’s execution under the exist-

Sn Rarenmeemern tleeeapele eten ce etn erent aati hn of pea pmgeeineec A

ae aE es LOM ee iy as

ing death warrant.

!
‘Smith, who used Gov. Bob Gra-
, hams private jet for the trip to New
~ Orleans, said he would urge the Su-
~ preme Court to refuse a hearing on
Spenkelink’s latest Sap and to lift
by Marshall

“Our goal quite obviously is to.
; try to have Judge Tuttle's stay lifted
and Justice Marshall’s stay lifted be-
y so that the ex... fore noon Friday so the execution can
ecution can take place,” Smith said. |

The death warrants for both
Spenkelink and Willie Jasper Darden
‘expire at noon Friday. Smith said his

i ey ee

Ree omen ae 6

Appeal of Spenkelink stay

office could see no way to speed up a, :
lengthy appeal process under way for. :
Darden. ;

The successful final-hours ap-,* .
peals halted the process that would:
have pul the 30-year-old Spenkelink’’:
first and then Darden, 45, into Flor: *
Ida's electric chair beginning at 7°.
a.m. Wednesday, ty Slee ae

But since the warrant has not yet
expired, Spenkelink remains a con- '
demned man, held under constant ‘-

* guard in the prison's Q wing only! ~

steps from the electric chair,
Spenkelink, sitting with the Rev,» 5
(See DEATH, Page B-9) |


L. 3 from his pute who had been yeitg

Jacksonville: Jour
May 23,1979

3 8B “PAUL HENKEMEYER :
Journal Staff Writer ~~: +:
SSTARKE“-<" “Attorneys for: con-
cted killer John Spenkelink were to. -
; x betin- Atlanta’ today “to present argu-**
oe. ‘Yments:- - before’ one- of= two: federal

;. Brierton but ho Tet Set
oy ““opensline.”. °°. Fy,

; doesn’t, work*.:; ;

¢~contacted an’ aide. to. th
* who Spread the word.

7 original habeas’ corpus petition con-,
e ‘5 - tending © ineffective assistance (Of
t ‘ccunsel. Tae Bt Sa 48s Ms
2 8A" half: hae later’ Us. ‘Supreme, ‘
Court Justice phe Marshall. is-"

F ae
i$ 3? pajepe dani geisha Gal ease
{ ayn
4

a

Word of the stays V was received
by Spenkelink’s TRS. here at 2: 05 ¢
¥ and 12:15 today. .{.. Ee

“ Spenkelink learned of them he

.-@ news bulletin was flashed on a tele-

» vision screen in his holding cell a few
:. feet from the death house.. © - |

. : “Thank God,” Spenkelink report--
. edly said, then received communion ,

aes.

ing him::
ia Spenkelink’s! over eile: iy)
; xpected the full Supreme Court. to
_ “Feview the case at its regular confer-{ 4
yence tomorrow. They said their peti-i,
“Stion to the high court was based on a }
eharge that the prosecution had not }
4 x {properly informed the defense in the ;
& Repay phase of the trial. fet

“~The death warrant.‘ for Spen-
f, “, kelink Signed .byGov. Bob rehany
Hy Fs hs at noon Friday.
If either of the stays is still in oh t
tect then, another warrant will be j
Fe needed. : }
oct Earlier yesterday, US. District”;
- Court Judge W. Terrell Hodges in :
Tampa granted a stay of execution i
. for Willie Darden, 45. i!
Spenkelink, 30, was to die in the «
electric chair at 7 a.m., Darden im- }
mediately after him. Spenkelink’s - .
would have been the first execution in |.
the state since 1964 and the first in /
the nation since Gary Gilmore was
executed in Utah two years ago. 4
One of Spenkelink’s lawyers, Su- : }
’ san Cary, said that after they were in-’
formed by telephone of the: Stays,
ee tried to contact Graham pene?

a i » ig Phe a” 1
a iy Bod ogee shat hncy ¢ Sorc 7 i if

Florida ‘State. Prison : en “David:

‘Regen:
she: Said. abeir. =faibsale ~Ssystem

The’ te ‘said they. ‘finally

“* Spenkelink's 67- spear Shall?
Lois Said.as soon as she learned of —
_, the stays she talked to her son on the,
. phone, but.was so happy she could not.
, Femember what he Said. ;

nal

CrP eve te Venere roy

9eaod

- 4 5 ft x
ere The. ‘condemned man’s « -sister,2
Carol, ‘and her husband, Tim Myers,
~., were ina field across the street from
"> the prison with about 200 persons op-
posed to. the death penalty and plan- -
ning an all-night vigil; a

PA: mare

babi int an.

oo See he ote

“As their’ cheers subsided after :
being told of the ‘stays. by newsmen,
ce g reat japplause_ echoed through the. prison

ve OH -f holding about. 1,500 inmates as: ng
learned of the: i by’ the
judges. -


eh Eads Bee BOO BS

oN
vie
s
’

Se eR en 2 ERE LAYS BEET ES Cet Seger ah ween.
Ae eres > es pide "OR
st we mp

ay.
eee

40%

A

tlanta -
! © (Continued From Page 1), ;

to the Journal that Carlotta .
» Key of - Jacksonville - is - Sere
><-Spenkelink’s - girlfriend. 222"
). {Mrs Key, they said, is from 207 2
«5. Iowa and has been living in
*- Jacksonville »: about. two.

ei ky

are
way

*

.
’
vey

So: piper, we Goby

\The Rev.

71 »Southern-Coalition for Jails
'*+and Prisons, issued a plea
.«i.to Graham, Saying, “Please
“{don’t ‘put ‘us through this
-¢s,¢fagain. Please just give us
“commutation.”

~, -s° Death Row more than five
» +. years after being convicted
» tn December 1973 of killing
+:: Joseph Szymankiewicz -in
. ©+le" Tallahassee. - . Spenkelink
‘’s.) etand his lawyers contend
“2 ;Spenkelink killed Szyman-
* Kiewicz in self-defense.
y-7,2'Darden was. given the’
‘... death sentence in 1974 for
;t-.-ithe murder of a Lakeland
| furniture store owner. Dar-
. den’s lawyers _ had peti-
‘tioned for a stay. on:
‘grounds’ Darden’s © civil
-, 20 Fights had been violated in
~» >.< his trial when the prosecu-
_ {J {tion allegedly. prejudiced -
_“/{sthe jury with repeated in- :
‘flammatory remarks: =~
:; Darden was’ returned
‘from his holding cell to his
:.?. Own Cell on Death Row |
‘after the stay was an-
nounced. -
. Attorneys for Spenkelink
*. Said at 2 a.m. that Spen-
- kelink was still in the hold-
* ing cell and they did not
know the plans of prison of-
ficials,

The Rev. Tom Feamster > °
» Said he was with Spen-:
'.* Kelink when he learned of
the stayse sy Cire oe fa ee

aca

“John took a.deep bréath. ,.

* -. and so did I. Suddenly I

» became very tired,” said

» ‘¢ Feamster, ‘of Keystone :
_: Heights. eee

The minister said Spen-—
kelink then. ‘asked to.‘ré- {'
ceived communion, which

. ~ had been planned
| Adena a een
* ,- Ingle brought Lois Spen-
- kelink to a bank of micro-
- phones to address about 100

?' years. and ‘visiting Spen-
*-:kelink nearly every week-

25°? !phey “met © through” Pa
: ;+ friends. She has four chil-"
dren,” said Mrs. Myers.~: ~~”

‘Spenkelink and Darden .

».Spenkelink has been on.

Veni Sue orate trts ¥ 2 Rees x StS
Father Feamster, Spenkelink’s Pastor

newsmen, She stumbled

once as she walked with’:
cane. across the

- her
grounds,

- She’ looked tired and.

drawn from the experience
and: repeated Ingle’s _re-
quest to the governor not to
“put.-John through ~ this
again.” 203} Aare ns

“I hope it will be indefi-

“nite,” Mrs. Spenkelink said
of the stay. “The Lord will- :
ing, he will give him a per- -
“manent stay.” - -

Last. night, Spenkelink
Visited with his mother,
then a minister. He was de-
scribed as calm. His moth-
er was permitted to kiss
and embrace him for the
first time in months. :

He did not request the
traditional final meal, but
did ask to hold a press con-

ference and to meet Gra-
Vega ie, pd

fea

|

=

for later }

_in Gainesville, dismissed;
‘. to the: Florida Supreme

'

at a a et te a a they

BILL CRANFORD/Statt
ham face-to-face. —
Supreme Court Justices !
- John Paul Stevens and Wik.
liam Rehnquist had tumed
down Spenkelink before :
. Marshall's stay capped a
round of appeals by Spen-
kKelink’s lawyers.. taal tk
_: The ‘lawyers’ rescue ef-'/
forts included pleas to the

full 5th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals in New Orleans,
denied 2-1; to a state judge

Court, denied 7-0.
--Rehnquist, denying the
Supreme Court © review
which Marshall later }
granted, said Spenkelink ’
“has had not only one day ;
in court. He has. had:
many.” Four times before, /
the U.S. Supreme Court |
had refused to overturn his :
conviction or grant a Stay. -

!
’


ASR Ree ANON NE capo 8 mA A per Rte Hla alinte wine any onile <sBal dh da enctich nppaonencannpace tesa’

_. By MATT BO ae
“> The Associated Press |»
ASSEE. .—- Lois, Spen-.
‘an attempt to plead*
m to spare her...
n Florida’s elec";
tors Sunday'’’S
ath ‘penalty should: b

in’ DeLand to’
niversity’s com- x
e. Said he be-»
death penalty -
y in America. .,
He‘ said. he. had: not
penkelink before he left Tallahassee, «
nd’ he! would : not Say, Whether he:'
er .when he.returned to.

ae it 3 mencement, where h

a tleved' the use of the
ras ae oe * would decrease brutalit
°" son from execution j Pat ;
tric chair, told demonstra
"that. the de
;°. abolished, Po cea CRE we
<". “We're ’all in society and if we le
d, we're all guilty,”.=

;. Would: see hi
ie the capital. .:.:

2, Spenkelink and Willi

rson be kille
‘Mrs. Spenkelink
fe 500 death pen
4.wiped tears f
“> white-haired,

ally protesters. Some:
rom their eyes, as the:
67-year-old - woman

yaa

Times -Unton

May 21, 1979

Tea

R

. She rode 130 miles to the. state:
y to plead with Gov,
pare her son from:
electric: chair,

.
4

ob Graham to s
> execution in Florida’s

"but the governor had left town: es

ei eS vi ee ed gir ch pes
“Hundreds of protesters attend
Services at a church, then walked un:*

= ADL PE

: Leadets of. each ‘gro iy
nts passages «from "the ‘Bible to”:

upport their : positions, They. sang: Sk 1

Florida

a
Wa be

te Mrs. Lois Spenkelink joins capital punishment protesters in prayer ‘

‘der police escort to a
“Steps of the Capitol...

Tally ‘on, th

e”. under the shade of 7)...
vistately oaks and dogwood trees, then?
i the, argument. briefly: be: 3:
@ supporting the death penal-

Amazing Grac auf
State University.

Eight of the’ protesters spent’ all’
_{/ Saturday night in a vigil outside the
‘’Governor’s.. Mansion,
i‘ talked with Graham late Sa ;
and urged him to spare the men or at
,, least meet them before they die.

‘ Graham \came out and talked
‘with them. and a

"before the Florida Supreme Court to-
:,day in an effort to delay the execu-
ons so..further appeals could be
fa Heard = o45 ese

LET NER Te ee

nisters,’ death-
nents and. other. Floridi
called the: afternoon prayer service, °
nd a Presbyterian laywoman-and a s
wrote. a liturgy of

Darden’s lawyer, Robert A.
“ Harper Jr. of Gainesville, said he also

would ask a federal court for a writ
‘of habeas corpus — to prevent the ex-
‘» €cution until further appeals could be
., handled in the state courts — and ask
(the trial judge, John Dewell of Bar-
-- tow, to review the conviction.

eligion professor

od, from: Voices sof vin

shooting and killing James Turman, a
. Lakeland furniture store owner, when
Turman Interrupted a holdup at his

:#Atlorneys for Spenkelink and
Jarden were preparing to file briefs

talk to her about h

store in 1973. He is also serving. sen- !
tences of life and 35 years for convic-
tions including assault to rape, :
breaking ‘and entering, and murder-
ous assault with a firearm. Bes

Spenkelink, a California prison
escapee, was convicted of shooting
his traveling companion, Joseph
Szymankiewicz of Detroit, in their
Tallahassee motel recom in 1973, He
has become outwardly religious in re-
cent years, and his mother says one
reason to spare him is that after a
wasted life, he has become a better
man, Four times the U.S, Supreme
Court has declined to hear his up-
peals, ee


MOT Sere 3H ~

Jacksonville Journal

10-11-78

By PAUL HENKEMEYER,
Journal Staff Writer ;

who was within 63 hours of dying in
Prison here a year ago, today- issued

abolished. :
“ Spenkelink. igs been on dgath:

murder in Tallahassee ot rahasaet Jo-
seph Sepankiewice.- io :

rie! 2 GOV.
“Spenkelink’s death warrant Sept: "12,
. 1977, but it was stayed seven- days

“in i Fabahasere.

mes me
The US. Sth Circuit Court of ABS
Bye two months ago denied an ap-
,peal by Spenkelink and his lawyer,-
Andrew A. Graham of Miami. In the
press conference today, Graham said
he expects to file a request in Novem-’
“ber that the U.S. Supreme Court re-
view the ea s8> Aol =a harmed

~ court, vt

Spenkelink, . 29, and Graham
talked to about a dozen newsmen to-
day.in a large room in the opposite
end of the prison from where 119 men
are on death row, © os

> om

STARKE. —' John Spenkelink,
the electric chair at the Florida State:

- an appeal for. ie death fare bes ie be
row since December 1973 for the <

‘Reubin “Askew Sa

‘later by a federal district court fade:

; and said,
judge on that.” He said he does not -

“= PRISON PRESS CONFERENCE

Spenkelink: -Ban Death Penalty

“Graben t told reporters he didn not
want to comment at this time on
what action he might take if the high

court refuses to review the,case.

~’ Spenkelink, wearing the light
~ blue prison uniform and tan with
_white-striped running shoes, ap-
“. peared. nervous at the outset of the
‘conference: He scanned the reporters
~ Slowly; then sat looking at his hands
on the table in front of him while Gra-
_ham reviewed legal steps made to try
‘to: hibhiborde: the death penalty.

. Spenkelink, speaking in a: soft |
voice, told reporters he spends his
time “reading, answering letters and _
drawing. I hayen’ t had moe Tach ex: |
atte time.’ ragheie's 42

S Kee if ‘he ‘thought inébe were

: any circumstances under which the ~

State could justify: executing a per-
son, Spenkelink shook his head slowly
“I never. want to be the

‘ Raneve in any kind of murder.”
Spenkelink said he thinks society -

ry try to rehabilitate convicted

criminals. Asked if he thinks he is re-
habilitated, he said, “Yes.”

_Spenkélink raised the issue his
lawyer has. brought forth. before:

Graham, Left, Spenklink F Face Reporters’ Questioning

Journal Photo By John Huber

AN,

- would have deterred them in the

StruBele.

* na State prison where he was serving

~ “TI wish him luck.” - i

' Saying he is rehabilitated. “I do see

question.

That the poor and black people ame
the ones sent to death row. He sand |
the death penalty is senseless amd
said some of those on death row here
now should not have been charged |
with any degree of murder. He said
some of them should be in State hos-
pitals. ~°

: islsabeg Wecetenee question,
Spenkelink said -he hoped that
through the press conference he
would get a noe honest justice.”

= The prisoner said he is ‘Gegoy
about it” when asked how he felt
about Bob Shevin losing in his bid to
be governor of Florida. He said he ||
- has no favorite between Graham and .
Eckerd but said he felt. Graham &b
“more honest.’” :

“Spenkelink said if ne had to be
executed: “T would probably favor an
“injection rather than the chair. No |
way I would ever digiocad to be put in

the chair.’ - :

“Answering a Soe ray, as to
Wialtes other prisoners on death row
felt the same as*he on the death pen-
alty and if the threat of execution |

crimes they were convicted for,
Spenkelink said, “The threat of the |
death penalty does not stop crimes of
passion. There was no One
as the stale said.”

Spenkelink says Bia man he was
convicted of killing in Tallahassee
had robbed and sodomized him dur-
ing a cross-country auto trip and that
Szmankiewicz was killed iia a

~ At the time of the killing, Spenk-
elink was an escapee from a Califor-

five years to life for armed robbery.

All Spenkelink would say when
asked if he had any advice he would
offer to Theodore Bundy, charged
with killing a Lake City girl and two
Florida State University co-eds, was

Spenkelink said he would not be
Surprised if persons viewing films or
reading statements made in 1 the press
conference were cynical about his

the truth of: the death penalty,” he
said. ‘I hope the people will face the
death penalty with facts.”

He said, “I don’t ever give up
hope,’’ but ducked a reporter’s ques-
tion about whether he is ready to face
an execution. A year ago he had said
in a press conference that he was
prepared to handie it, but today he
said he did not want to answer that

. €


appears to be the BOVEL MOT cron ig teds
Graham has remained si-} it ighways “in front: ‘ot the: #
lent on the subject, refus- ii prison Monday ‘as “security”?
j . ing to meet with protesters !! was tightened.;,The press
‘;or  ssue any public |}, and public. ‘has . been -re-
»» Statements, +? stricted to a fenced-in area:
:, Spenkelink and Darden J: in’ the. prison, reservation vt
. learned of the rulings in’? ; pasture. Roadblocks will be';;
_ Special isolation cells at’ { set ‘up on-Florida 16 at, the;

test the | axebution: Some’
° groups ° are Planning night-

long vigils.’ |

than» 100: Floridians « have
-asked' to

“«Wednesday’ $ execution.

',Brierton said that ' ‘more z

watch:

“the: press has in coining

here.".°,

He was also

asked “
whether many of the let-'°
‘ters seemed to be from».
crackpots, or whether they oe
«/ were otherwise motivated.
“Probably a. combination *

will help select the 12 offi-
cial witnesses to the execu-
tion. .

He said there’s one Flo-
ridian who won't watch it,
however — the governor.

’ Graham’s legal counsel

Graham hadn't asked and
that he
. Vite him.

The Corrections Depart-
‘ment is also making a list
. of news media witnesses

and planus to announce
| those names today.

had no plans to in-

nents and proponents ¢f th:

eee

paid $150 for the job.

Brierton ordered tw
large areas several hu:
dred yards from the pris:
cordoned off for demo
trators. Separate are:
were reserved for opp

. Florida State Prison, where in and west, archway en-‘:"’"Asked why anyone would ® of both,” he said. -had said last week that the execution. ‘ an
they were described by su-z traces to the'prison. vant to witness the grisly“: Brierton. ‘said’..’ he: governor didn’t plan on lle said two executioners i &
perintendent David Brier-:*\'Brierton said he expects:.s'scene,'he said with a busi-. forwarded all the letters to watching because Brierton have been chosen, but he _.News reporters /ha\ a.
ton as “apprehensive, but: |'as many.as’300 persons. esslike air, I.suppose for . Department of Corrections . hadn’t. invited him, but would not reveal their been assigned to an ,arc at
Repent: “s begin, ane today ‘to pr the’ same motivation: that ,' officials in Tallahassee who © Brierton said-Monday that names. Executioners are between the two groups.
~Reated story on n Page fi 12 “The two’ men **whiled ee FE aE a aaa ae a ae SR Ee Eo eR sine — <=
fora "away the hours Monday: is 7
- 5 Tines. Union News Services. s;:3; Teading, watching  televi-}\ 3
4S j : Sion and iistening to radios. ‘:|}
“Baring another last-minute stay’: Spenkelink’s pte ines a “ cf aa 6: L , .
by a U.S Supreme Court justice, con-)! “yaw Tim Meyers of Buena |} Oriag limes ~ inion :
victed nurderer John A. Spenkelink ; - Park, Calif.; S s .
penkelink’s. |: ‘sy
will go © the electric chair at 10a.m.;. sister, Carol, and his moth-"|’ \\ 22, \979
oday, lecoming the first man to be! a )
exectited in Florida since. 1964. ; CaP: the condemned fe
* oman in the afternoon, “ '"}
weAt ‘three-judge’: federal! eoeaie’ ‘Meyers said. the family: }
‘panel svept away the judicial barrier}* hopes for a contact. visit’|'
between Spenkelink: and . Florida’s;! with him today. Certain |‘
electric chair late Thursday, aking | Death Row inmates in re-*|:.
down a judge's, order x saying his ex cent weeks have been al-‘ |:
ecution. : ; ape ~. lowed visitors to talk to',/¢.
‘ ‘them. only. with. micro-
oy “At ee Starke, i ‘niles ‘rom! ° “phones through plate glass” '
the Florida State Prison isolation cell?’ windows, prohibiting them |}
holding Spenkelink’ a few oo from: . from physical contact. |
the electric chair, his ailing, -year-; ; ‘
old mother and other members of he ais Reged — pm roe {
good spirits,” while * |:
family got the news via television. "his mother still has hopes |
_. ! “We're in a state of ciuaiaT the death sentence will via }
reported Tim . Myers, mes commuted. rt :
brother-in-law. “We hope it's not ex- ;'- ’ Mrs. Spenkelink, just be- Alt
-actly:true. We're holding our breath. , \ fore leaving for the prison: |
We're sort of in a state of quandary’; from the home of a family,.|}
wondering what's going. to > happer, ‘where she has been staying , |
next.’ f ae ints “}: here the past few months, ;}}
es ie ne hog a rs +} said, “You can just eee on |} :
“Uns fJohnny. mig ave ‘see ‘on: (-praying.” 3. il :
sleeve, too,” Myers added. : fy « Bricrton told vanweinen “ { ‘
One of Spenkelink’s three’ ‘attor:{ Activities‘on: ee ee: r
Preys Margie Pitts Hames, sald in At- ie ated in The reek he eee 5
lanta that they were still ne of Seaton! mal. “We haven't 2).
i Stay: the efbeution. 8 fe are ao betel pe front ars ‘lf
: “Rowe ‘hope. to) Take’ another’ eft point,” he said. spc 6 ‘a ?
“fo ‘ oak Te: aid ito maka pl ans | ~.. There.are 134 persons ons, |-¢ !
NOW,” , 3S e & Florida’s Death Row. :The:'| ¢
ts lf ‘last men the state executed “|; ‘
ae "were Emmett Blake of Pa: | 4. .
Attends: or in Starke: the ee ‘nama City and Sie Dawson *|¥
-was de ressed but. not. {
We aes the news. v4 0f Quincy, They died in the ‘|:
ty wader Sho % aibshat “3 electric «chair minutes” t
‘3 i apart on May 12, 1964, pie at
_/ All was quiet along the:


TEER OIA

bods og hes ot Som

V ae BR.

. Sp

‘guards beat h ‘h

Sa

De: ath” Rows ‘secu

Boon aie Ft

Srp

3 ve; S TALLAHASSEE (AP) teen as

* Spenkelink, the ‘convicted’ murderer .~

? Who stands first in line for. Florida’s .

peléctric chair, suffered a cracked rib ©

,almost two..weeks ago when he was™

“injured ina scuffle with’ four prison +

Zuards, state Officials said Monday.:

cf ee But: prison reformers who inves-
‘tigated the Nov.'22 incident on Death.
“Row‘at Starke charged that guards at

the Florida-State Prison “provoked”
a brawl in which the 29-year-old: man,. *
whose Case is the latest test of Flor- .-
ida’s death penalty aw; was knocked _
;. for his complaint, but we are going to

unconscious. 0). yinty sp:

a oY atets
4 af

ars They": ‘accused | state’"*

.denying ‘him ‘proper medical . care.
They wouldn’t’ elaborate but called a
brant press conference...‘ ee a0

“> Department of Corrections offi-
cials claimed Spenkelink was injured
in-a scuffle. on the -evening before

enkelink ee

prison; Se
Suards of using excessive force’ in i
confrontation with Spenkelink, ' ‘and’ |

Times-Union

Florida

a in

BYU ont

“anankegitig’ E eae “he asioaeiy
armed himself with makeshift weap-
-ons- and .attacked four guards who
stormed : his: cell during a protest
“staged by about a dozen inmates.

“4 However, they “said Spenkelink
“was the only inmate injured. .,

“He claimed at the time that
‘he’d been brutalized but-then. he sent;
Word to the superintendent. that he:
was’ willing. to. forget the whole!
thing,” said prison spokesman Al Lee.
“Now. ‘I think he’s changed his mind
‘again. There appears to be no basis

have the matter investigated by state
‘ prison inspectors.” » AY Hepa

o«Lee denied that Spenkelink was
knocked: : unconscious «--and . said
‘paramedics treated him the night of
.the incident; But he confirmed that
>Spenkelink wasn't X-rayed for five
days. He said state prison medical of-
ficers were off — hates of the
holidays. — L yates

Seed I Lette IO oat ay Bes hast Bee.

12-5-78


October 26, 1976

maa ke naa “4 41 5, 1935
SMITH, Herman, ~“e electrocuted Florida (Orange County) on April 5, r
Mr. Vatt Espy, Jr.,
Post Cffice Eox 67,
Heedland, Ala. 36345.
Preliminary Report.
Dear Mr. Espy:
Tocay 1 made a somewhat abortive attempt to get some information for youre I
have been tied up with a variety of "stuff." Yesterdey I had some time, and
found the librery closed on holiday. Today I had some other matters, but I
did get to the library and ask for the films on the newspaper.
a

i found in the April 5 Crlando Morning Sentinel (1935) on pace 8, Florida
State News, that "conderned killer to die today." Smith's nerve seems to be
breaking. Eerman Smith will die in the electric chair and there is little
chance the Governor will sign a reprieve. He has a crime spotted career,
and known as a killer type. He is being electrocuted for the slaying at
Clarcona (this is a rural district west of Orlando) of Casteel, who was
found shot and stabbed.

This is certainly not very good reporting. Casteel's first neme is not given.
There is nothing about the trial or when he was convicted.

The April 6 issue of the same paper said Sheriff Harry Hand went to Raif'ord
yesterday and vulled the switch that executed Herman Smith. It was the first
man he ever executed. The doctor cave the convict a shot of morprine, and

he was stranved in the chair, and it was all over. Smith had been awaiting
execution for the past few months. He confessed he killed Jeneral Casteel,
and Mrs. Cesteel had nothing to do with it. "I shot him and staboed him,

end I am solely responsible."

Acain, there is no date of the trial or any details. It did say Smith had
been asking for a bible in the past several weeks and his mind kad taken

a religiovs turn. And that he left a will: an estate estimeted at #1,3000.00
to Mrs. Allie Thompson, including hogs and cattle and 80 acres of land

near Clarcona.

Then I went to the 191 roll of the newspaper. And of all things - the
Cctober 6 issue was missing. I looked at the previous issue and the following
one, but saw nothing. It occu:s to me that if Charlie Hendersen was indeed
black, nobody paid much attention to the blacks as newspaper items beck in
1341. There was probably something about it at the time of the trial.

Well I cid not find out the time of the trial of either man. I will have to
go to the ccurt records, and then gO beck and find the newspaper items when
I get the dates of the arrests and convicticns. Fut I ran out of time today.

It is a good thing you told me there was no special hurry, because I seem
to get myself involved in a variety of things. More anon.

Sincerely, 9

Eox 16636
érlando: Fla. 32811

a


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GOOD LUCK

Si eee

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Se Bere. 2)


ALBERT SMITH WAS
~ HANGED AT OCALA

PAID DEATH PENALTY FOR KILL-!

ING MAN OF HIS RACE.

Made Lengthy Statement on Gallows
Deslaring His Innocence to

the Last.

Times-Union Bureau, Ocala, Aug. 10.
After saying goodbye to a crowd easti-
mated at more than 2,000 people. albert |
Smith, colored, paid the penalty for his
crime at 11:31 o'clock this morning.
@mitbh’s neck was broken by the fall and
hig body never moved after the trap was
released. The Goctors pronounced him dead
Qt 11:83 and a few minutes later Ais body
waa taken down and turned over to Smith

@ Reberts, who have charge of the fu-
meral arrangements.

a

S

@mith walked up on the scaffold without
@& murmer and protested his innucence to
the last. When asked by Sherif Galloway
tf he had any statement to make, the
Geomed man faced the crowd and spoke
for twelve minutes, denying all connection
with the crime in any way. He said that
he knew that he would have to die and
that he was ready to go and that he hoped
the Lord would be merciful to thosq@ whom
be claimed had given false testimony

m. His spiritual adviserg were
allew the scaffold and after singing
eeveral hymne all descended with the ex-
eeption of the sheriff, who reached ever
the railing and released the trap. It was
thought by the crowd that the sheriff
would have to spring the trap from the
groumd and the sudden drop took the
erowd unawares.

Promptly at 11 o’clock the condemne4
man was taken from hie oel! in the rear
o¢ the jail and before coming down stair®,
an4é at his request, was aliowed to stop
and say goodbye to the murdered man’s
wife, Isabelie Draft, who received a lite
santence for her alleged part in the crime.
The woman was, however, graated a new

When first arrested Smitn, wolle he did
net cenfess to the crime, was very talka-
tive and accempanied the Officers to the
scene of the crime and showed them where
te And the gua which was the instrument
of Geath and which was later tdentified,
but after the trial commanced he denied
alt scotetes ef the muséer and his ~e-
fuseal to make a ierhisie ty noe ps

aly a great dlsappoin(men ° r
ba crowd who had gathered te see him

-c¢ abed ‘606T asnbiny TT ‘Aepseupem

(aTTTAuosyoer) NOINN-SSWIL vdIEold AHL

pay the penelty.

Hanged, Ocala, 6-10-1909,,,

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF TRIAL:

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF EXECUTION:

METHOD: Ings a
iat Fo eon POS
Peswourced ord ulcers
STAYS OF
EXECUTION:
EXECUTIONER:

le
witnesses: 3060 /€°P

RITUALS : SMITH, Albert
Black, hanged Ocala, Fla., 8-10-1909, Scaffold erected
in rear of jail, Had murdered Parson Draft, also. black,
After saying goodbye to crowd estimated at more than 3,00C
was han ged at.11:31 AM, Neck broken and body never
moved after trap fell. Pronounced dead at 11:43. Went
on scaffold without a murmer and protested innocence until
LAST WORDS: the lest. Spoke for 12 minutes denying any connection
with crime. Expressed hope that God would beXK#EX merci- |
ful towards those who had given false testimony, Spirit-|
ual advisers allowed on platform and after singing several
hymns, descended, leaving only Sheriff and Smith, I Be-
fore going to gallows, allowed to stop and bid goodbye to
Draft's wife, Isabelle, who had received a life sentence
for her part in murder, Isabelle had been granted a new
trial, When first arrested, he was very talkative and,

OTHER INFORMATION:

while not confessin had ac i ice

and showed them don to Shad eee ae Fy pet aneamepet

weapon, After trial commenced he denied.a
_the murder and his refusal to make confe

was disappointment to the large SKA crowd,"

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, August 11,1909,


FOREWORD

The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that capital punishment
is not cruel and not unusual, and that it can be carried out in the context of
"due process of law." The two reports reprinted here look closely at the events
in Florida State Prison and in our nation's courtrooms as the State of Florida
engaged in the grisly business of deliberately killing a human being, John
Spenkelink. They prove the falsehood of the Supreme Court's position.

John Spenkelink was the fizst person to be involuntarily executed in the
United States since 1967. At this writing there are 140 others waiting on
Florida's Death Row and a total of nearly 600 people condemned nationally.
With the rulings of the Supreme Court and this country's political climate be-
ing what they are, it seems likely that John Spenkelink's execution will be
followed by a wave of legal killings in the states' death chambers.

These articles are sobering. They describe in horrifying detail the
deliberate process that the state used to kill one individual. As the several
states move to kill many individuals, it is important that we remember the way
John Spenkelink was put to death and that we understand the implications of
these articles. We point to only two of the implications:

(1) The death penalty is a peculiarly human issue, involving very human
actors throughout: judges, jurors, guards, governors, victims, family members,
lawyers, and expecially the condemned person, all with their individual strengths
and faults and prejudices. The debate about capital punishment must never be
abstracted or divorced from its reality: people condemning and killing other
people.

(2) Absolute authority over human life leads to absolute disregard of
individual human rights and dignity, and even to disregard of the law. It is
impossible to engage in killing human beings with compassion and restraint.

We are grateful for the kind donation of © Sage J

printing for this booklet by Playboy Press, yy
and for permission from The Nation to re- 4
print "Spenkelink's Last Appeal" by Ramsey
Clark. The men on Death Row in Tennessee

collated and assembled this booklet, and
we thank Warden Jim Rose for his cooper-
ation.

Ce

“\

SPENKELINIGS
LAST APPEAL

This week Jesse Bishop is scheduled to die in the

gas chamber in Nevada. He has pleaded guilty

and refused to authorize appeals. The twelve-

year unofficial moratorium on capital punish-

ment in this country—a moratorium interrupted
only by the death by firing squad of Gary Gil-

more, who demanded to die—was ended by the
electrocution of John Spenkelink on May 25.

During the sixty-five hours prior to Spenkelink’s
death, a last-ditch appeal was mounted by two
Georgia lawyers, Margie Pitts Hames and Mil-
lard Farmer, and former U.S. Attorney General
Ramsey Clark, a longtime opponent of capital
punishment. The following is Clark's account of
that appeal, excerpted from a longer version.

The issue Clark and his colleagues raised had not
been previously considered in the six years of
appeals in Spenkelink’s case: did he have ade-
quate representation by his court-appointed
counsel as required by the Sixth Amendment?
The question was a grave one, but beyond that,
Clark shows how the judicial system brushed it
aside, brooking no further delays in the State of
Florida’s implacable drive to activate the death
penalty. —The Editors

RAMSEY CLARK

John Spenkelink was scheduled to die at 7:00
A.M. Wednesday, May 23, at Raiford Prison in
Florida. Tuesday morning I flew from my home
in New York City. to Jacksonville, where I was
met by Henry Schwarzschild, director of the
American Civil Liberties Union’s Capital. Pun-
ishment Project. We drove to Starke, Florida,
near Raiford Prison to protest the execution and
to bear witness.

After a late-morning press conference outside

The Nation. _

October 27, 1979

the prison and anottfier at mid-afternoon with Lois Spenke-
link, John’s mother, who brought what proved to be his last
public statement, I had returned to town. I spent thirty
minutes trying to place a telephone call and five reading the
local paper. We ate a late lunch; then, to burn off energy
while waiting for the all-night vigil, I took a walk through
town and around the courthouse. As I crossed a filling-
station apron on the main street, a young man ran up and
said I had an emergency call at the motel. It was from
Margie Pitts Hames, an Atlanta lawyer who is a friend and
colleague in the A.C.L.U. It was 5:30 P.M.

Phones at the motel were tied up by the press. Circuits out
of the small town of Starke were busy. After a few minutes

Ramsey Clark is former Attorney General of the United
States.

we were able to place a call from the filling station and
reached Margie in Tallahassee. She told me she had just
talked to Millard Farmer, a Georgia lawyer who heads a
comprehensive litigation effort in death cases called Team
Defense. Millard first studied the notes of a skilled appeals
lawyer who had analyzed the trial transcript carefully. This
lawyer argued persuasively that the defense attorneys were
ineffective. Reviewing the trial records himself, Millard was
convinced that Spenkelink had been denied his Sixth
Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel. He
had been formally authorized by John Spenkelink to enter
his case earlier that day.

Margie had reviewed what Millard round, looked at parts
of the trial record herself and agreed. She augmented Mil-
lard’s work with her own findings and ideas and helped
draft an original petition for a writ of habeas corpus raising
the single question of effective counsel. Margie asked me to
listen while she read the pleading; if I found it had merit, I
was to fly to Atlanta and join them in presenting it to Judge
Elbert P. Tuttle, a senior judge on the United States Court of
Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

She began a litany of allegations familiar to all who have
followed capital trials in the United States these last years.
John Spenkelink’s trial attorneys were court-appointed.
They lacked sufficient resources to prepare and conduct the
defense. One publicly stated that the case was beyond his
competence. One was absent during part of the jury selec-
tion to be with his wife in childbirth. He had not sought
a delay in the proceeding or permission of the court to
be absent.

Spenkelink’s lawyers also failed to challenge the composi-
tion of the grand and petit juries. Both were later found to
underrepresent blacks, women and young people—groups
considered by most experienced attorneys to be favorable to
the defense in capital cases. The lawyers failed to ask that
Spenkelink be tried separately from his co-defendant who
was acquitted. Severance was authorized under Florida law
and would seem strategically important. Counsel failed to
challenge excessive security measures in the courtroom,
which are generally thought to be prejudicial to a defendant.
After reading the record, Millard Farmer believed the
defense lawyers were too poorly informed on the rules of evi-
dence and procedure in capital cases to conduct an effective
defense. They had informed the jury in their closing argu-
ment that the judge could not impose a more severe sentence
than the jury recommended. This may have encouraged the
jury to ask for a maximum sentence, leaving the judge the
full range of punishment alternatives. Counsel failed to
obtain a transcript of questions asked prospective jurors,
which was necessary in determining if they were constitu-
tionally selected. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that
all objections had been waived. With their client facing
death, counsel did not request oral argument on appeal in
the Supreme Court of Florida.

Next, Margie sketched in a background of John Spenke-
link that convinced me he had not been adequately defended.
With his strange foreign-sounding name, style, voice, ap-
pearance, a long criminal record, he had testified without

October 27, 1979

‘The Nation. 401

any preparation or advice on how what he said might affect
a jury. From years in prison, homosexuality and homosex-
ual rape were something he could describe as naturally as
jurors would a Sunday School picnic. A jury in Leon Coun-
ty, Florida, might find him guilty on his appearance and
testimony alone.

Then came what was for me the clincher. Spenkelink’s
father was a paratrooper in World War II. He jumped with
the 82nd Airborne Division. When it was nearly wiped out,
he was transferred to the 101st. He fought in the Battle of
the Bulge. The war weighed heavily on him. Life wasn’t easy
thereafter. To his son he was a hero.

One day, when John was 11, his father went into the
garage, attached a hose to the car exhaust, started the
motor, put the hose in his mouth and asphyxiated himself.
John found his father dead on the garage floor with the hose
in his mouth. The troubled youngster began a career of
minor crime. Prison psychiatrists examining him over the
years wrote that his criminal behavior was in large part due
to the suicide of his father and that he was amenable to
treatment. Incredibly, when the sentencing phase of the case
was tried, these facts were not presented to mitigate the
punishment. A jury would not give a death penalty in the
face of such evidence. John Spenkelink was a second-
generation casualty of World War II.

My own experience with capital cases, familiarity with the
records of many other cases, and years spent working with
the problems of obtaining lawyers to represent poor people
accused of crime have taught me that the overwhelming ma-
jority of those on death row did not have effective assistance
of counsel. Most were represented by court-appointed law-
yers or public defenders. Few of these lawyers had much
experience. All met with hatred from the community, the
police and even the judiciary. They had no adequate
resources to investigate and present a full defense. Their ac-
cess to psychiatric and other professional services was
severely limited. Many were afraid of their clients and

unable to communicate meaningfully with them. Often they
were so traumatized by the forces arrayed against them that
they didn’t press obvious points like fair jury selection,
discovery of the prosecution case, insistence on public funds
for investigation, or vigorously argue every issue.

Criminal defense counsel are usually young—conscien-
tious and more courageous than the bar generally, but also
less experienced, often overburdened with cases and usually —
underpaid and unable to finance the defense themselves. If
the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is to have meaning,
the question of effective assistance of counsel must be asked
and answered constantly.

Lawyers hate to charge other lawyers with having failed
to adequately represent a criminal defendant and rarely do.
Where the defendant is indigent, it adds insult to injury. In
death cases it is especially hard. Are you saying their indif-
ference or incompetence cost a client his life?

Clark told Hames that he would leave immediately for
Atlanta. On arriving, he hurried to Millard Farmer’s office,
where the petition for habeas corpus was being typed up. By
11 P.M. Farmer, Hames and Clark were on the doorstep of
Circuit Judge Elbert Tuttle. Tuttle, whom Clark has long re-
garded as ‘‘a genuine American hero,’’ was for twenty years
Chief Judge on the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
during the stormy era of segregation cases, and consistently
ruled to enforce constitutional principles in civil rights cases.

Mrs. Tuttle answered the door, and graciously led us to
her living room. As we settled down with Judge Tuttle, she
retired. I had not seen him in a decade. Now in his early 80s,
Judge Tuttle was as erect, dignified, alert and interested as
ever. He knew of course why we were there. He stated at the
outset that he was pleased to meet with us, that he would
read our petition and hear our plea. But he cautioned us that
he had not granted a writ of habeas corpus since assuming
senior status a dozen years earlier and did not see how he


402 The Nation.

October 27, 1979

could do so now. Then he asked why we had come from
Florida to bring a Florida case to him. It was an important
question. Forum shopping, as lawyers call it, offends the
idea that courts dispense justice uniformly. It implies that
judicial favoritism is being sought, an advantage gained by
going outside the usual channels. The statute giving Judge
Tuttle jurisdiction required an explanation of why the case
was not taken to a Federal judge in Florida.

I gave him a hard, straight answer. This case had been in
the courts for six years. The Federal district judges in Flor-
ida had reviewed it at length time and time again. It had
been rejected on other grounds just the day before by the
District Court in Florida. The Legal Defense Fund had
made prodigious efforts at the District, Appellate and
Supreme Court levels.

ow we were eight hours away from an execution

and a new and difficult question, never raised in

the case, and one courts and lawyers alike abhor,

was raised. Did Spenkelink’s court-appointed
Florida lawyers represent him effectively? There was little
chance that judges with six years’ involvement behind them
would consider this new issue. And then it would be too late
to go elsewhere. We needed a very courageous, very inde-
pendent, open-minded and fair judge. That is why we chose
Judge Tuttle. That is what I told him.

Millard Farmer described what he had found reviewing
the trial record. Judge Tuttle was quick and to the point
with questions. He knew the law and that he had jurisdic-
tion and therefore the duty to decide. His first question was,
why did a jury impose the death sentence?

Spenkelink’s sentence cried out for explanation. This
should not have been a capital case. Prosecutors pay little
attention to murder among convicts. When blacks, convicts
and other ‘‘despised poor’’ kill one another, our society has
not cared so much as it does when ‘‘one of them kills one of
us.’’ Here there was a claim of self-defense, that the defend-
ant had been homosexually raped and his money taken
from him, that he had entered the motel room to recover his
money and go his own way. The other man was older, big-
ger, stronger, had spent decades in prison and was in viola-
tion of parole at the time. He heard someone in his room.
There was a struggle. He was killed. The death penalty is not
normally asked for or given in such cases.

But Leon County, Florida, is special. More than half of
all people on death rows in the nation are in three Southern
states—Florida, Texas and Georgia. This unequal distribu-
tion only begins to suggest the severely limited number of
jurisdictions prosecuting capital cases. Most of the more
than 300 men in these three states were convicted in a hand-
ful of counties in each state. The prejudices of the prosecu-
tors, political ambitions, local idiosyncracies, community
attitudes in these counties were the determinants. Had these
events occurred in nearly any of America’s 3,000 other
counties—or even in I.eon County at another time—it is
very unlikely the prosecutor would have asked for death.

Although I wasn’t at the trial, only one explanation
seemed an answer to Judge Tuttle’s question: The jury hated

John Spenkelink. His own testimony must have done it. An
outsider with a strange name, a convict, a troublemaker,
and finally a life style that deeply offended the jury. A man
describing his own rape, homosexual conduct, a life of
crime, was scum, not to be believed, who ought to die.

The jury had heard no explanation of how Spenkelink
came to be what he was. They didn’t know that this man, as
a child, had found his hero father dead, a suicide. Didn’t
know of the instability and pain in the family before the
father’s death. Didn’t know how the child had been affected
by finding the father he loved on the garage floor dead by
his own hand.

When the story was told, Judge Tuttle did not hesitate.
He said he would grant a stay of execution to permit consid-
eration of the petition. He said it quietly, as simply as that.
Did we have an order prepared? No, but Millard Farmer
quickly wrote one out in longhand on a coffee table in Mrs.
Tuttle’s living room. While Millard wrote, the judge and I
talked. He said he didn’t favor abolition of the death pen-
alty in all cases as he knew I did. .

At 11:30 P.M. Judge Tuttle signed the order. We rushed
to Millard’s office in a state of euphoria. It was now after
midnight. We encountered difficulty getting a phone call
through to either the Governor in Tallahassee or the warden
at Raiford. Millard found a pilot who would fly us to Flor-
ida, but before he could get the plane ready we had spoken
with the authorities, who assured us that the stay would be
honored without actual service of the papers. Millard ar-
ranged to have copies of our petition and Judge Tuttle’s
order available for the Attorney General that morning. We
were confident that we would have full hearings on the issue
of trial counsel’s adequacy.

The stay of execution meant Judge Tuttle would either
assign the matter to the appropriate district fudge, or hear it
himself. He wanted to meet with the parties to determine
these issues Wednesday afternoon but the Attorney Gen-
eral’s office declined. We outlined the issues and evidence
for the hearing before I left. We could win this case, I felt.
We could be ready for a hearing within weeks. I caught a
flight to New York at 7 A.M.

Clark returned to New York, and the next day, Thursday,
May 24, tried fruitlessly to reach Florida Attorney General
Jim Smith, in order to learn if the State would seek an emer-
gency review of Judge Tuttle’s stay. Later, Clark learned
that Smith had held a press conference at which he vowed
that the execution would take place. Smith then flew to
Washington and filed a motion in the U.S. Supreme Court
to vacate Judge Tuttle’s order. Clark and the other defense
lawyers were given no chance to oppose this motion and
Clark learned of it only after the results were announced.
The Supreme Court, with only one dissent—Justice William
Rehnquist—denied the State of Florida’s appeal, and the
stay held. Justice Rehnquist wrote that his ‘‘difficulty un-
doubtedly stems from six years of litigation.’ He said con-
tinuing appeals could ‘‘result in a situation where States are
powerless to carry out a death sentence’’, he was also critical
of the defense’s new contention that Spenkelink had not had

TU 3-27-30

SARE SORT
eport::Sp nkelink not taunted.
ay: TALLAHASSEE — There ‘is no’ eviderice to sup-
port*a: former: prison-employee’s charge. that guards .
taunted ‘murderer*John Spenkelink on his way to the:
electric chair last May 25, State Attorney Eugene Whit: :
Fines th investigation, iriclud--
and former:prison‘per-’
Spenkelink; only prison-:
past 16 years, “suffered -
tning of his execution.” 4
: aunts was made by Ber-
d: Geme hnician at. Florida’ State
Prison at t Cution, who said last Sep-

dentified guard tell Spenkelink,

COU de

Bt, rison records indicate that
i Gamelli heard any com-
h Row the day of John Spenkelink’s ex-
,ecution,”. Whitworth said in an 11-page report to -Gov.
;Bob ‘Graham. 37607 ote aot serine aca t *;

, eae ee aces os edhe pk Shaper |
FAR 163 oct ALAA AL Peele see oa


x
4
54
iy

tational Law Journal 3-17-c0

he

r

Monday, March 17, 1980

THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL

Sth Circuit Investigating 11th-Hour Ruling Lifting Stay —

Py JONATHAN M. WINER

National Law Journal Suff Reporter

THE 5th U.S. CIRCUIT Court of Ap-
peals is investigating two of its
members on charges that they lifted
John Spenkelink's stay of execution
without proper. jurisdiction last May
24, allowing his electrocution by the
‘state of Florida the following morning.

The court began the unusual in-
vestigative proceeding six weeks ago
- at the request of the House Subcom-
mittee on Courts, Civil Liberties and
the Administration of Justice. The re-
quest followed charges by former U.S.

Attorney General Ramsey Clark, one °

‘, of Mr. Spenkelink's lawyers, that the

two judges violated his client's rights |

. in-a ‘rush to execution."’

“It is a serious matter. It is being’ |

handled, but I don't know when the

Continued on page 16

decision will be made," Judge John L.
Brown, the 5th Circuit's senior active
judge, said last week.
Under the rules of the circuit, Judge
Brown alone has jurisdiction to review
the behavior of his colleagues follow-
ing a complaint. He is empowered to

issue an opinion with findings. of facts. ° —

_ Such an opinion would only be ad-

‘visory under current law, although a.-

bill now before the congressional sub-

‘committee, the Judicial Conduct and

Disability Act, would allow a circuit
court temporarily to stop assignments
of cases to a judge found to have

‘behaved improperly.

Investigation of federal judges’

Continued from page s

a
behavior by Congress ig highly un-
usual, The congressional subcommit-
tee has requested such investigations
six times during the past five years,
but none involved a major case.

In an article published inthe Nation -

magazine last Oct. 27, Mr. Clark
charged Judges James P. Coleman
and Peter T. Ray with violating Mr.
Spenkelink's duc proccss rights late In
the evening of May 24 when they lifted
the stay of execution issued by fellow
5th Circuit Judge Elbert P. Tuttle one
day earlier,

Mr. Clark contended that the judges
had no jurisdiction under the federal
habeas corpus statute to review Judge
Tuttle's decision, and therefore went
beyond their power in authorizing the
execution of Mr. Spenkelink.

A third circuit judge, Alvin B.

JON
‘“rush to execution’?

ing conference call

Spenkelink’s Execution: Probed

ne an

o $

toe

Mebane oe :

ec ee * “awe RO :
SPENKELINK: ‘victim of a!

‘Rubin, dissented from the lifting of the

stay on unexplained procedural
grounds, following an emotional even-
with Judge
Coleman, Mr. Clark, Mr. Spenkelink's

: ‘other lawyers and the Florida attorney

general's office. .
‘A Nightmare’

In the Nation article, Mr. Clark
characterized that conversation as '‘a
nightmare" in which Judge Coleman
argued with the defense lawyers about
the jurisdictional question without
having any of the defense's papers.

According to Mr. Clark, Judge
Coleman and Judge Fay then voted to
lift the stay of execution, although
Judge Fay had not participated in the
conference call and therefore could not
be counted as one of the three judges
needed to make a quorum for hearing
unofficial arguments.

‘

“Why did Coleman proceed after

years of careful, painstaking litigation

to compel exhausted lawyers and the
court to discuss a life-and-death cage
late at night, over the phone, without
exchanging papers, without giving
time for review or study, without al-

lowing time for supporting af- .

fidavits?"' Mr. Clark asked.

Repeated Requests

Not one of the judges who voted on
lifting the stay — Messrs. Coleman,

Fay and Rubin — has issued a written ,

opinion, despite repeated requests
from Mr. Clark for a clarification of
the issues in the, case,

The chairman of the congressional
subcommittee, Rep. Robert W.

Kastenmeler, D-Wls., told the clerk of

the 5th Circuit in the Jan, 16 letter ask-
ing for the investigation that Judge
Tuttle's stay ''was deserving of more
thoughtful and judicious consideration
than an unrecorded telephone conver-
sation between the parties."

‘Appropriate Action’ :

He questioned whether three judges
had actually -participated in the case

as required by 29 U.S.C. 48, which

“mandates a quorum of three for sucha

hearing. Mr. Kastenmeter. asked-
Judge Brown to Issue a report on “any

disciplinary or other action which [he]
deems appropriate."

Unreachable
' Neither Judge Coleman nor Judge

- Fay could be reached for comment.

The House subconmittee 1s current-
ly reviewing the Judicial Conduct and
Disability Act, which passed the
Senate last October as S,.1873,

The bill would authorize each:
judicial circuit to form a circult coun-
cil to be responsible for the disciplining.
or censuring of a judge.

Speclal Court ey

Under the bill, the counc!! could re-
quest that a judge voluntarily retire, -
order that no further cases be assigned
to a judge on a temporary basis or is-
sue a public rebuke. 3

The bill would also establish a

- Special Court on Judicial Conduct and

Disability, staffed by federal judges,
which would review council decisions
and make recommendations to
Congress regarding {mpeachment.


*
Tet aee :

Florida: Times -Union
May 26,1979

= ee “speteniptiper penne 2 Phase, septelaeny

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ES

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Ve (i
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ee aS rather calls and tele

ae Rij ae zs es fee anc aes Pe ‘grams. Ae the country. offered -
\ Tak conse ene thy and support to Spenkelink’s fam-*

mE Gee USTARKE - Lois. Spenkelink Teceived “/ SYmpa priests ist bse pp

é: ey :morning’s’*’ mail:“", Wy: He: said he’ and his: wife, Carol, had=

2¢Shame on you. for-asking.1 us:to have mer:

pa.e on: your pve zat sald. aes
BAGES

‘memorial service for, Spenkelink today- at:

Tre

Tallahassee, Myers: said 3.2%:

~

jp. Mrs: Spenk Friday:i in” ce ae electric chair:

CEng Das. SES PE SEAS RAE Pa OE eae As
$35-\9'-Tim: Myers,- Mrs::Spenkelink’s son-in-
¥? Jaw, ‘described ‘the: contents ‘of :the. letter
"which. he said was postmarked in Orlando

ed to return.to Buena. Park, Calif. and hold -
a. private funeral. service, then bury Spen-:
sched at an “undisclosed site in California.

ae on the mother’s: son’ he Killed’ in’.
“Lakeland, did ent f the Jetter said. an Pet

‘ aT a

: should n nes contributions to the “Emer-
my Sa tat a 2. gency Fund to Stop eee der ere soit

yo ae aes “Did he have mercy. ‘on the wife or the. 3 in Nashville, Tenn. - “

Be F ‘children? No, he thought only of himself... ue ag
=<...) \The mother in Lakeland suffered because <=". ‘Spenkelink's Body hy Saturday 2 at the’
“of your ‘so-called son. Now it is your. turn.» ey. “DeWitt C. Jones Funeral Home in Starke,

“You. can’t stand iss can you? eet an miles from. the state prison where he
: BS oksck < died. A hearse from the funeral home took °
ie AES “Don't: you ‘ever think of somebody be- *. Spenkelink’s body out of the prison irony
He of “sides you?. John needs to have the electric “ after. the exe CUnCe <p :
+. ¢ 7. Chair. It’s good enough for him. You should’
have thought of this before he did it... :

on “Thank you, God; for answering ray
: ‘ers: You should know the Bible says 5 do un-.
- to others:as you wish to, be: done, as ‘he:
“died. Here’s hoping your son gets what he
a ; eserves,” " the letter said_.

MCB” Futch, the funeral home ae
‘ager, said the home had performed similar
‘duties many times in the: ‘years are Up.

sto Florida’s last, execution in 1964.

“32 Tienda = Sire mg

Futch recalled that the home fandiet

“one ‘of the two prisoners who were killed in

‘the state’s last execution before Spen-

Ed -kelink. Emmett Blake- and Sie Vewaen.,
went to the chair. on May. 12, 1964.

“Futch said ‘the Jones” home ee
have taken care of Blake, who was white,
_and that Dawson, a black man, Spm aay
oe to another mortuary. nae

oS et4: The reference ‘to Lakeland, a ‘city i in:
Central Florida, apparently stemmed from
confusing ‘Spenkelink with Willie Jasper
- Darden. He was originally condemned to
_idie on the same day as Be acaricaien but was -
‘saved by.a stay. Sars Si?

‘6 eee Te oo  Spenkelink was white. tr
hee Darden was convicted of arden a’ =
“furniture store owner in Lakeland. Spen- “It’s not a racial thing,” Fateh. sald
‘Kelink was convicted of murdering a trav- “The families choose. The people them-
“ling companion in Tallahassee. hag: Selves want someone of their. own, Heirs
EEA wiry 30-year-old who had evaded pacesee! beecentssn ee ete
‘the executioner for more than five years, -Spenkelink ‘wrote a Pape 5. word:

~ Spenkelink went to the chair Friday morn- “will pris fen few Mie toe 0. fore Sis-
ing 23 minutes after the U.S. Supreme. ter. : as Ee

_; Court; rejected his last mercy plea. _- iP ee his fra pets a ie “tin ae ia ha
ey 2 “It. was the nation’s first: execution: “wrote an epitaph: “Man is’ what he
“'since a firing squad in Utah shot Gary ‘chooses to become. He “chooses that BOF
Mark runone on Jan. 1, Bees. BS tet Rimselt. sia :

Reet, 2 nas. icabiees pe cet Rie bas

, se
~ae

ey ey iis az ats 2

stried to screen out, those. that were critical -

“The family Bins to oa a fee.
#3. p.mvat the. First: Presbyterian Church i in”

ay After t that, ‘he said. the fa family eels

A ares
ache ame

nat
a


Sarasota Herald-7/19/80

Complaint Is Rejected in

ng of the case
he Oct. 27 issue

convicted of killing a fellow ex-
convict, was executed May 25;
1979 after six years of appeals.
At the last minute, both the
5th Circuit and the Supreme
Court refused to stay the ex-

Circuit's handli
in an article int
of The Nation.

He contended the
a decision in the

By PETER M.
NEW ORLEANS (UPI) — In
t unprecedented” ac-
tion, a federal appe
Friday dismisse
against his cour
a challenge t
convicted murder

t’s handling of
d “bizarre” and
may have violated federal law.
Clark's article ¢

tention of Rep.

General Ramsey Clark raised

k, a Florida drifter serious questions about the Sth

Spenkelink Case

Kastenmeier, D-Wis., chairman
of the House Judiciary sub-
committee on the courts, civil
and administration of justice.
Kastenmeier asked for a review
of Clark's charges, particularly
that the three-judge panel of the
5th Circuit — Judge James P.

Coleman (now chief judge)
Robert W Peter T. Fay an

d Alvin B.

Rubin — may have broken the
law by having only two panel
members review the Spenkelink
matter.

Clark accused Coleman of an
“abuse of power” in a “rush
to execution’ because
“Coleman wanted the man ex:
ecuted quickly, regardless of
the law.”


Miami Herald 3-27-79

“BY BARRY BEARAK
teat Herald Staff Writer My)

Bi Vodked:.in.Death Row ee five :
[yeas ‘John Spenkelink has devoted.”

“hig days to-legal briefs, love letters, \

.God's' ward as written in the Bible.’:
‘He is aflame with redemption.
bi : He:soothes the terrible facts with ©
the kind, hopettl words gf. farally
sand friends. “ah

gj vOU, ARE: THE peg ae ‘poy
‘who ever ‘was,! ‘says- his mother,’
who ‘has, come 2,600 miles, to‘live-
dear hin. ‘You; would, never ‘hurt!
fanyone; says: his’ new‘ girl* friend.:
«You have ‘been: deprived. of - your,
rights, say his attorneys. +)..."

f ‘John. Arthur Spenkelink, 29, ‘be
lieves them.“

“nim: pug ‘becoming: Florida’ first?

‘death by execution a: 15. years, (Des ry
fron Rage 11A. ye

THAT IT DOES t sé eceantad thei!

Ss Johnny” of -his'friénds and family: :: ie

“the ‘gentle: but. gullible , guy? who,

“smet trouble’ asa boy’ and‘ let it lead ne

‘hin through time.: ».. aarely,’
Look: at: ‘the: ‘record, says’. Tony:

|Guarisco,-“chief. ';présecutor | in.. the...

“murder trial: John Spénkelink i is the’
‘most:-heinous Of killers. He has’ ‘com~
‘mitted. crimes from the’ time he was
‘14;" resists‘, rehabilitation; was |a:
iprison escapee.when he battéred his :
‘victim’s head with’ the blunt end of 4:
‘and’ ip Price Jat
‘close! ratiges rs Ha hee
= John, ‘Spenkelink,?.

* says,’ wiis:.the . classic, _seath- *penalt

Supreme Court does'not agree. That" ¢abe.” a!
it.affirmed Monday that Spenkelink?
Sis neither good,: harmless: nor: ‘judizs,5 bs
BS deprived.. That it refused for».

\ ‘So it.embitters him. “that. the U.S."

the third. and: possibly last‘ time. to!
construct” an deger: ‘barrier- to" "keep =

“sak if

‘bape mi

We tea ey Ea

Seg URRY SLL / Miami Herald Statt:

; eck ii Nothing But the T eal Now? Says John Spenkelink -
on rm nit P. e-10A:Col. seins cate Supreme Core: has ‘declined to hear appeals. that could’ save him’ from electric chair:


10-10-78

The eee States LAW WEE |

in fact immune to a damage suit.” Un--
fortunately, practice under Fed.R.Civ.P.
56 is otherwise. When a motion for sum-
mary judgment is made and supported as
provided for in this rule, an adverse
party may not rest upon mere allegations
or denials, but his response, by affidavits
or otherwise, must set forth specific facts
showing Sr there is ernuine issue for
trial. -

Aidhough summary S iilvnent should
not be too quickly awarded where factual
issues turn on questions of intent,
motive, or state of mind, the only legal
claim stated against the vice chairman is
that he promulgated the final decision,
reversing the hearing examiner and nam-
ing the employee as a discriminating of-
ficial, without first affording him a hear-
ing. In this regard, however, the vice
chairman clearly did exactly what is
mandated by applicable regulations and
what is every day practice in hundreds of
federal agencies.—Sirica, J.. 2 . > +:

Pinna bea sporhae od v. . Claytor,
aacad bai + i 8

“RS oy aie

Ly Landlord age Tenant,

LEASES— 1 a ae ee 8
Florida statute that Siohibite shenle
tion clauses in condominium leases when
~’ such clauses are keyed to national com-
modity or consumer price indexes i is con-
stitutional.- 25 :
The. sole issue * presented is wiinther
” the statute denies lessors due process or.
equal protection in violation of the Four-

aire So. Pm

teenth Amendment. The trial court con-:
sidered both the substantive due process ~'
and equal protection theories and found-

each without merit. In so doing, it relied
on no factual assumptions, but tested the
statute on its face. It found that the
statute was rational as a matter of logical
deduction, not as a factual conclusion
capable of being demonstrated by evi-
dence. Facts sometimes belie what is
evidently logical. Here, however, those
challenging the statute offered no facts
to demonstrate a paradox..

When a party makes a factual meofter
of evidence that would demonstrate an

apparently rational statute to be in op-

eration irrational and arbitrary, it is en-

_ Money and Finance a)

g aaren oe Sc

TRUTH IN LEN DING—

Federal Reserve Board's Regulati
provision, 12 CFR §226.6(d),
quires seller in credit sale transacti,’
make

on

disclose credit items
knowledge and within purview a-

relationship with customer. ie - re)
The bank moves to dismiss the*-.-.

plaint alleging violations of the Bi

Consumer Credit Protection Act:~ >:

known as the Truth-in-Lending
U.S.C. §1601 et seq. It contends t
exempted from the disclosure r
ments of §1638 by the Federal
Board’s Regulation Z, in particul
CFR §226.6(d). The first sentence:
section provides that each credit
multi-creditor transaction is only ¢
sible -for making. those re
disclosures that are witht.
knowledge and the purview of Ff;
tionship with the customer. Tk},
and last sentences provide thi\'
disclosures required under pari.
(b) and (c) of §226.8 shall be made
seller if he extends or arranges!
extension of credit. Oth}:
disclosures shall be made as ri
under paragraphs (b) and (d) of §:
paragraph (b) of §226.15.” Ass
this section places sole responsi, 2»
the discosure ati issue here on th
Sellers.” 3227 'as7 pees £ La

As the’ Third Circuit pointe?”
Manning ‘v. Princeton Consu
count Co., Inc., 533 F.2d 102,
429 US. 865, rehearing denied}. =-
933 (1976), paragraph (c) of §22 :
is referred to in the third sef -
§226.6(d), corresponds to the
requirements of 15 U.S.C. $16:
deals with credit sales. That co:
mined that the third sentence o} ~
puts the disclosure burden nee
alone, and that the last mantey
section puts the burden on the’-,
tender only if the transactiof °.
credit sale but a loan. mae Te :

“Although the Third Cirev «

titled to an opportunity to prove what it

_Suggests. But, absent such an offer, the:

Mere existence of the issue does not com-

mand a trial. The U.S. Supreme Court’

has recently declared statutes and or-
dinances constitutional in cases arising
on motion for summary judgment with-

out ever sienunaig the necessity for et

tual proof. . :

Stating a acing deduction, pnd not a
proved fact, the trial court observed:
“The classification at least furthers the
legitimate objectives of curbing inflation
and controlling abuses in the con-

Inium trade.”
ment is affirmed.—Rubin, J.
; pt 8 5; zi 8s Schlytter v. Baker 9/2278.

The trialcourt's ‘Kad

pretation is plausible, it is inj:
note that the third sentence di -:.
that the seller is “solely” resp.
deed, as that court noted, sug -
pretation is somewhat in We
the first sentence. It would by «
sistent to interpret the es:
spelling out the circumstanoa + a
the seller is required to makt‘
regardless of the responsi i
credit extender. The last sen’ .. : -
then apply to situations if
seller is not considered a £
would not relieve the credi % :
responsibility where the :

5, ereditor. ; 3b

0148- 2139/78/50] He
EL

i
l.
t

whicf-.

certain Truth-in-Lending }. ,
disclosures if he arranges for exter -:*
of credit, does not relieve credi{ Nenee
tender in such transaction of duf;.*-
within: -+

eg ably described all of them’

a . SPared, but if

: “no ) way I want to be put in that

de “companion, . Joseph £Svzmankiewiez,

: "ham of Cocoa,
: to ae U. S. Supreme ¢ ear

ie" came wi

days of going to the electric’¢ Haig
S% Spenkelink; 29 29545" expected to’ Be
‘the first. executed of 115 ‘death’ row:
“inmates -if the® State _Tesumes execu-
tions after'a lapse § Since 1964, ;
-) ph&'l’ve not had mu
* lately’ to think about apa ane
ee) + demned man told‘a ne

“A lot of beautiful

4, 3-
aL

He estimated he has |
received - ‘at.
. east 1,000 letters in ‘the past year and ©
ue er as many as he can, -7-* a,
ime any way they, can,? iM
Said.‘ ‘And I correspond: with ‘my law: -
re & yers, " Brofessors7 and” “others” who’ ve

»'

any Ways.” she Sh

ithe. con: >
WS “conference, :

people out there’. om
_ Heep me busy with correspondence. re Be

> prep
£77 .'A lot of those people. want to help -..
-. Spenkelink Ge

= "
eer -

ws
5 =):
ee AL wn

pata!
I fy Rie)

‘ Spenkel

1 don’ t think I'm eran Aree
“people” who’ ve" “done” the * ‘samée* ices, 6
“and never even been’ arrested for its
‘Mostly because their family ‘back:

ae TRS Re
gD od)

we

8tourid and” whather § organizations * 4% 3

they belonged to,”.""
- He said the’ men on death
ail trom the poorer classes,‘ Y
j And I never saw one “of them act~ 4:
_ like_a ‘monster back there,” Spenke.-:

_ Jink said. “The district attorneys Prob-
as ‘mon- ity ;

‘Tow are.

aes

“Sters, Law

He ‘said the death penalty IS sense.> aH h

ere and he hopes" his” life “will” be-
not he would

, death by i injection... bepten
“Burning a guy up “until” his eyes.

Pop out or his body ‘burns up is -
_f Barbarc,” Spenkelink said: “A body ©
ike that is no good for scientific’ pur- - :
Sede prherens, if a guy was put to
ea yy begice docto :
eek ; sungecens use |:
“And I guess, too, it’s fear.’

There ar

chair.”

es Spenkelink was convicted of the
73 Shooting death ofa traveling

43, of Detroit, ~ Few te

= ate en Lys

oe eda Andrés. Gra.’
said it will be odes


Sarasota Herald-Tribune 10-12-78

ae Inmate‘Relaxed, Hopeful

- California botore: heh cone
-victed ‘of first degree murder

al fe bane eer

-&4s-a lot more optimistic. than?

oT

2° By Fy MacFEELY >
~STARKE (AP) — John
tA Spenkelink said Wednesday *

"at the Florida state prison is;
¥ more relaxed and hopeful. *
© than: a year ago when. he:
“came within three + ‘days of.
© going ‘to the electric chaiky 3,

e Spenkelink, 29, is “expected...

ito be the first executed . of 3;

7115 death row inmates ‘if the’:

* state _ resumes executions °
E after a lapse since 1964.

hie “T’'ve not had much ; extrac

time lately to think about t,t?

mm

fi the condemned:,man, told a.)

news conference.- AS lot 0
R beautiful; people * out.’ there;
| keep me nar with 5
x, Fespondence."’ ,: - i. LA

7 He eitinaied: the has:
3 ‘reccived at least 1,000 Sif

that life for him on death’ row’;

i)

‘at Tallahassee. - :

“Background has ra lot to
‘do with being on-death row,”
 Spenkelink: ‘said. <I - ‘don’t

‘think I’m different than other”

* people. who've done. the same
s' thing and. hever -even been

background.

-and’*"
‘At

: classes,

eather. act like ‘a. monster. back’

there,’’ Spenkelink | Said,- “The
district. attorneys... probably

* “described : call, of them as.
¢;monsters.". 8.2 95

‘arrested *for ~-it,’ ‘mostly: be-:
cause, ‘theirs ‘family.

«c He -said- ‘the. ‘death. emul:

a

he would preter death by Ins!
jection.

“Burning a guy up until his §

.eyeballs pop out or his body’

burns up is barbaric,’’

 Spenkelink said. “A body like :
that is no good‘for scientific '
‘purposes, whereas if a guy”
«was put ta. death by. injection: ;
‘doctors could use his body.

‘And I guess, too, it’s fear.

“SThere’s no way.I want to bes
put in‘that chair.” a
“ Spenkelink was convicted of |

1 the. 1973 shooting death of ‘a:
Tow, aré all from: the’ poorer.

traveling companion, Joseph

5 symmanklewler, 43, of Detroit.
-* A new ‘round of appeals, :
high stayed his execution
“from its original date of Sep-

‘tember .1977,: has been’ re- :
: jected by the 5th U.S. Circuit
: Court of Appeals. His attor- |

“<ney;; Andres Graham of Co-')

De re Ree oe tnt rer

“Sarasota Herald: Tribune >

, Oct.

A re rie ne

12, 1978—3-E

* others ‘Who've eyed: ‘educat

i in’ ‘the :past year: and answers
*, as many as he can. :

ib

“As senseless ‘and-he hopes: his ;,coa, said it. will.be appealed : |

so. “A lot of those people” wat: jill w will be spared,: but if: not: ‘to,, , the U.S. Supreme Court..

t

to. help me ‘any™ way: -they”4
Scan, “ Spenkelink- sald. -And ‘
KI, correspond with 2m yg
i lawyers, .): - professors: andy

© me in many ways. -
"It would take: me ‘a ‘oupte
eiffetimes’ *t 0%? repay?
peverynody, he Said. “My: lite !

(At’has been’ in'the ‘past.

b> shes

He sald ‘he: came: Out. OF

ae

“society, * which - had. ‘a lot ; t
; do. with..minor : brushes. with:

“thé law in “hiss youth’ ‘and: two:
By armed | nobbery: convictions dn’

vi
ie

eye

2 a

Tee

Feo ae Se

PPS Ee See ee


Joe Dump goes |

for 30th tonight
See story Page 11

~ STARKE, Fla. (AP) — Convicted murderer John

A. Spenkelink was put to death in Florida’s electric ©

chair today, becoming the first prisoner executed
against his will in the United States in more than 12
years:

‘_ Spenkelink, 30, was pronounced dead at 10:18
a.m. (EDT) at-the Florida State Prison. He
received the first jolt of electricity at 10:13 a.m.

_ After the first surge, which singed the skin on his
. Tight calf, sending smoke into the death chamber,

iy Spenkelink received another jolt of electricity.

A doctor was then called to check his heart at

- 10:14 a.m. The doctor looked at prison superin-.

» tendent David Brierton, stepped back and waited
two. more. minutes, when he again checked:

Spenkelink’s heart with a ae and again 3

he J ‘uscaloosa Ne ews

3 Sections 40 pages

stepped back. Finally at 10:18, he made a thir
check, lifted the death hood to look at Spenkelink’s
eyes, and checked his pulse.

Spenkelink was dead.

The condemned man had lost his last hope of
reprieve four minutes before the scheduled 10 a.m.
execution when the Supreme Court in Washington
voted 6-2 to deny a stay. Lawyers for Spenkelink had
presented a petition for a stay to the court clerk at 7
a.m.

Spenkelink was the first man executed in the
United States since Gary Mark Gilmore willingly
faced a firing squad in Utah on January, 17, 1977.
Before that, no executions had been carried out in
this country since 1967.

Spenkelink was fastened so securely in the head

Friday, May 25, 1979

Tuscaloosa-Northport, Alabama -

-Spenkelink dies in the chair”

a ee that he could not open his mouth and stared
impassively at the 32 persons who witnessed the
execution on the other side of the glass partition.
About a minute after the blinds were drawn, a black
hood was lowered over Spenkelink’s face. Several

| attendants inside the death room stepped back from

the death chair and the first jolt of electricity was
delivered.

When the jolt surged through his body, Spenkelink
clenched his left fist:

In the hours before his death, Spenkelink received
final visits by his family and his minister.

The 10 a.m. execution deadline was set early
today after a panel of three judges from the 5th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans removed a
stay imposed by an Atlanta member of the ap-

pellate court, effective at 9:30 a.m.

“It looks like they’re determined to kill him,” said

Spenkelink attorney Margie Pitts Hames.

“‘The overwhelming power of the state is coming

down on everybody’s head,”’ she said.

The U.S. Supreme Court, which four times!

previously had rejected Spenkelink’s appeals, on
Thursday set aside a stay ordered earlier this week
by Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Marshall is one of two court seonateee morally

opposed to the death penalty.’ He and Justice

. William J. Brennan Jr. both dissented /from:
b Thursday’ $ full court decision to deny a stay.

1k -25¢

~

6L6L Se Kew ‘epraoTy peqnoosyzoeTe Patan S


EE, lexander Sims Pays
Death Penalty.

| the

a

i BY STRANGULATI

Weck Not Brokes bu the Six Foot
| Fall.

ve

sm Pas THE TRAP

1 Twenty Minutes’ Life Had
Fied.

yal We

to Roses Wabbled:
BS VETS MOTHER PRESENT

wy
wih

a ane

lor Gaze Was Always Steadfast.

“He Wii Never Shoot An-
te > other,” Baia She. /

mi

‘es

Be
ee oh

His es “Tottexeg..and « His

‘ t Alexander ‘Bims was executed yesterday

g in the jaf yard for the murder

; ‘at: Policeman Ed. Minor, At 11:21 Sheriff

Bowden, with his own hahd, sprung the
in full view of all, the body dropped

six. feet with a “chéog.", there “was a
‘phadder through the frame of the negro,
on ubdrawing of the knees and a

tve clinching of the hands. A few
moments jater the updrawmg of the eeee

“gregvalty hecame less frequent. . The
three physicians—Drs, Maxwell, Living
ton and BtoNenwertk— felt Bims’ pulse.

Fourteen minutes after the drop there
waa a slight pulsation. Itjwas almost tm.

perceptible. Bix minutes later there was
nene at all. Undertaker Clark then placed
_a-plain_pine coffin_beneath. the body, the.
rope waa cut and the corpse was driven
te the undertaking shop to be prepared
for burial.

- free aid not go to the scaffold x game .
‘man, As he walked from hia cell, through
thé corridor and yaril to the place of exe-
eution, hia face was ashen. He needed
‘the support of both Father Kenny. and
‘Serif Howden, one ‘on etttrer side. His

head Was upternet—to “he sky and
wabbled on hie neck from side to side.
Hite lips uttered inaudible prayers.

Hin Kmecen Trembied.

hia knees trembled

oki himself upright
with perfect cool-
rocked his rae hia khireee rl

“fale hands behind his back.

Woe he daomed’ man.made a short address
to the thron nt, His veice, wever,
was 4 wea thrat $i could not b& heard

tan Toet: distant, He. aakd:

1 SE RMiky Tea Teste Rta Sec a

janswer. A fustlade followed between the

OMerr and: Sims, which was joined in by:

pinyin Minor’s hrother. After Pollee- |
nor

man had emptied hia pistol he
went outside of the bar to reload ft and
returned, He handed his pistol to his
brother, the Heutenant, saying:
“Brother, I'm shot, lam going out and
lay down. You satay here and wet hin.”
A few more shots were exchanged be-
tween the Heutenunt and Sims, Guring
which “Rag Jim’ and a negro bootblack
were shot. Finally Sims promised taRiNe
himeelf up to Lieutengnt Minor if he
would guarantees him protection. Lieuten-
ant Minor promised, and Simao threw
down hig revolver. The Heutenant took
his man in charge and, on guih

had a hard time from. keeping some of his
brother officers from Ki iline Sims, but
he succeeded in taking him to the city jail
where he was afterwards turned over to
Sheriff—Howden, Who took hig). to Sr.
Auguatine for safe keeping, fab iine. thai
a mob would-be formed to lyner him
Sims was kept in 8t. Augustine until a
short time before his trial, when he was
brought back and put In the county ja‘l.

The Death Sentence.

The grand jury indicted Sima on May 7.
both for the murder of Pokeeman Minor
and Stucks, On May & he was arralbgned
and pleaded not guilty. Judge Call ap
b pointed J. i. Doggett and T. Al Ledwith

21, when he was tri for the murder of
Policeman Minor. A vonvirtion berng. se.
cured tu that case, Mates Atiorney Flatt.
ridge nol, prosaed the other case, The
death sentence was passed on Sains b)
Judge Call on May 7.

Shortly after his convicthon he pro-
finned the Catholic ‘faith, but previous
to that time he had no knowledze what-
evar of hia creator, Father. Renny and
Sister Mary Ann have been dally visitors
to him since he was received tnhto the

held up so well until the taste. -

‘Tuesday night Sims made a statement
to Police Commissioner Burbridge to the
effect that Lieutenent ATinor dad not

rvolirnteered to give up. The Heutenant,
he said, pail no attention to him ott be-

gan the shooting first.

—

Out oT:

to defend him. The trial came up on Mas.

ehureh, and it is due to them that Sims

called on him to surrender, but he had}

° “My friends; You all see what drinking
‘ BA fast Hving brings a man to. Whisky
bfings & man to dixcrace. Take warning
“from ma Hut I'm golnge to God, 1 die dn
the love of God. Get: Uiges me and be
‘With me and,austain me. I'm xaing to the

white throne. Pray. for Tre, my
Riicas pray for me and the Bhert?f.’

The aang of the man took several
molnutes. Pat

Many of the sainia, whish had been be,
ee. on the way to the scaffold. After
adjustment of the ‘Diack cap, the
MAgony": and the Lord's Prayer were rv
:elted, The sheriff put the black cap over
the man’s ‘head, rv hends with him
Bh e.

od The Trap Sypeiag, ‘ ~
or AM ke ready," paid the sheriff. ,
“qghhete. was a hush among ali. _Many

oi away their heads,

aes ced himself, the-sherifr pressed

ns sor the trap flew down
hrough. it.

“When the was cut down and the
@eectore declared the Man dead, a jury of
‘twelve men viewed the romaine. “hh ave

on :
me ne, L. FF, sdale, E. &. Moore, 8.
Av Rawle, BE. S. Rowand, J. A. Relter,
‘ Mt Joho ¥F, ¥Y, Goprge 1.
awe i, d. XK. Kuchler. and SO A.

oe took wise precautions |
ge ana weep the crowd
tng the jail yard by storm. A
. L. 1, in command of
iL poten hand be er
x ° yonets, e
Keefe wae also Present with e
en,
urd was a crowd of
sardines between

ecurtoatty, “One, more { niovs
othera, bad a voi) of mewaloge.

ak Cher Tene care fa

- the number who,
if the

had babies
me from m@


low humming tone and then follow with
prayer. J. J. daniel, one of thé P faba obs
apent uch of ‘the time with Sims dur-
ing the et week and has assisted him
in his religious exercises, When Sims

became nervous, he would ask | el
ta join him in prayer. and together the
two men would reel and pray. -

Dreams of His Boy.

At 3 o'clock : Stine awoke with a start
and said to @ Times-Union man and Dep-
uty Sheriff Thames who was on ‘watcn,
that his eldest boy, -Alzo, aged 9 yearr,
had come to him in his sleep. “I saw
him just as plain as | ever saw him.”’
Bime was asked how him boy appeared’
to him, and Pay repiled: ~
bie e to

bedside and shook me,

> e a e
to Kor I answered that 1 was, and then

awoke. ;
‘Bims laid down and went to sicep again
brag and took a bath and dressed in!
the new clothes furnished by Bister sary |

Ann. Fes

Sheriff Bowden and Deputy Thames
both kept watch until 1:39 o'clock yesterday
morning when the latter laid down and
slept until 3 o'clock. Sheriff Bowden then
awoke him and the deputy took up the
watch, Sheriff Bowden took a short nap
until 5 o'clock when he arose,

Visihiy Affected,

He called on Sims, who was found nay-
ing the rosary. He got up. however, when
the sheryf put in an appearance and,
coming forward, shook hands with those
about him. He said that jhe was all ready
to go. H ‘
“T may be a Iittle weak,” he said, “but
with the hetp of Godt 1 wii! hold up.” The
sheriff and those atout him were visibly
affected by there last words of Bima. He
asked them again, t9 pray for him..

Breakfast Wan served to thé ‘sheriff, hie
deputy and a Times- Union man at 5:0),
after which Sheriff Bowueh “began to tin-
lah the Httle detalla nevesnary for ethe
execution, The crona-piece af the aca ftold
being a litte old, the sheriff, to make
sure, sent for a carpenter to put another
plese on top of it. An extra weight was
pur on the apring, and the rope WHB
assed through a hole in the cross piece
and hung at the ‘proper distance, |

Father Renny arrived-at the jall at acl
yesterday morning and went immediately
to finda’ coll and administered the sacra-
ment to the. doomed man. Sima greeted
the priest with “Well, Tam here and am,
ready to «o., | shall bo brave and go to
the seaffold without any truuble, J sball
uvon be with my dhol,”

After administering the sagrament and

§ prayer

‘wather Kenny left the jaih At 8 o'clock
goad Bister Mary Ann and Slater Frances
arrived, bearing Bim breakfast, which
consisted of broiled chicken, valix, coffre,
ete. Bins‘ ate a small part of the break-
fast and then spent some time in pray-
ing with the two sistera., <
| The sisters remaines} h Sima until
lhe was taken out to the ffolda. Father
Kenny returned to the jail at 1g o'clock
when he had a short covversation with
Bherif! Bowden es td the details in con-
nection with the march to the racaffold

and then wert to Rima, Father Kenny andj

the cool alzters remained with Sims pray-
Ing until 11:10 when Bheriff Bowden an-
nounced that he was ready.

_. rom Cell ta Seafbldy

Bima walked out of his cell leaning ob
the arm of Father Kenny to the case
door, where he bade Mister Mary Ain nnd
Sister Frances “good-bye” He then
walked duwn the @tnics with Father Ren
ny. folowing Bherifl Howden out the cor
ridor, to ‘the dyer leading to the jaller’s
residence.

eee

’ There they went faside wnd were forbaversd
bg Fathers Hennessey, of Vrunswick, and
Henediet, of Bt. Leo, Btms thers wrikes
out into the jall yard, supported: by sher-
iff Rowden on the left and Father Renny
on the right. Behind Sims, Father Kenny
and Sheriff Rowden came Fathers Hennes-
ney outed Benediet. Next eame Deputy
Sheriffs Thames and McMillan, Nolan anid
Canova. ig siping

The fallowing vietting xheriffa and depu-
tien fell in behind: Sheriff Johna and
Deputies Johns, Austiu and Andrews, cf
Bradford county; Bherif Mixgginbotham,
of Naseav county; Bheriff Odell, of Pasco
county; Sheriff Joe Perry, of Bt. Johns
county; Sherif? Hawkins,. of Suwannee
county: Sheriff Weeks. of Clay county,
and Deputy Sheriff Clark, of Putnam.

Miner's Mother Saw tt All.

« The only white women present at the
execution were Mrs. Minor. mother of
Ka y Bims killed, Mies
Minor, Mra, Moore and «# lady comfpanton,
They ‘occupied » part of the seat as-
signed to the press, pris

e mother of the dead, policeman was
much’ interested in every detall of the
execution, and never for a moment loat
her nerve or turned away her head, Bhe
told her companions that a neighber had i
axpreesed surprise-that she intended to

go,

“Why shouldn't I go?’ she exclaimed
Did he not ki) my , i
another? y ) wt and try to kill

‘hile the sheriff was binding th
Mra. Moore atood up and said: —

Bee him. Of course IN see him. PN
raise my vell to gee him better.”

When the drop fell she gave a alxh of
relief a said: “He'll never’ shoot an-/
other.” ‘ "4
: Colored Women Walled.

n the jail yard there were abo -
ty colored women, When the “ieee
man entcred the yard, between the
sheriff? and Father Kenny, with two other
penets following, the priaonér praying
and the priests chanting, these women
FN re et Uanertaker Ci

rdertaker Clark
Sima’ body e hie ._undertaki Bese
for burial, and af

cemetery. . -

ae . . , Suse”? Crime, 7
crime fo?. which Sims gare up hi

Hea ¢ piace the gmornt corti

4 ng..of April

er eee

ef wood and went en « carousa Mylecwent

lee oF gree and bought a piAt of

nawed, whieh he drank himeelf. Fle then

west the Rabbit Foot satoon, where ho

one of two more drinks, while fF
Grinke fer bimae if and fe

Ming Stycke’ in the heck and

‘The officers. were huging f

bt and nite tuek
dines "Rag Jim,”

»

H,


oe

MURDERER OF
DR. SPENCER
PAID PENALTY,

———— nel

|

TOM SMITH DISPLAYED WON.
DERFUL NERVE ON THE GAL-
LOWS —- DECLARED “THE
DHYIL GOT ME INTO THIS,

| BUT GOD WILL GET ME OUT.

Sainesviile, dune —. Tom mith, the
pAf-confesned murderer of br moe,
Npancer, pald the Aeath penalty fram |
) the xallowe in tha Alachna county yal
thie morning

People were attracted here from mine
pointe dn the atate and @ eran oat be
(ween Ff wre) 2 prmpeteine wawary lifer
atthe jail ta wliness The mearnsii, bert
wih few nerantiana hey eote iivaty
painted ae only om Untied number ware

adenitted ter the old fall in whieh torte.
tira the a afrold fa lee ated |
the death march began at 14,10 a elack,
Rintih Waving tha call In tha new fart:
bandeuffed ta Mherttt Nameey, (im the
atege of thts atructire Smith wae per
mitted Vo ivabke a talk, In’ whieh he afd
montshed hia tearera to Wve right and
sald that he hoped hia mistake would
serve as a lesson to others. “The devil
cot me into this trouble, but God will
wet tne out,” declared smith, whe eX.
plained that he nad heen converted Ife
;man paptized In the Jail on last Sunday:
Those whe hbetteved that the negro weld
make a atatetinent at thin thine that
“would threw there HWent on the murier
belt Aeeagepartivtedd, as Sintth etmoply stat:
ed i substance that he would Ale for!
tris awn etn aed that be sould ey noth
too that would save anyone else

Hivvith eabitettest wonderful mets and
stood unaralated  wivtle the mtrape and
black cap were being adjusted Ihe tank
hie pesition on the gallows at JU and
the drop war made at 1. The wee)
aro'a rlhaht hand slipped from the etrap
just after the “rop and as his form
writhed in the alr he xratbhed the rape
above hin head It required the cate
bined atrenkth of two nen to jerk the
hand away and readjust (he strap.
Hmith'a neck waa not broken. Umut ne;
wast pronounced dead at VWslIN | New
body waa cut down at 1.01 and turned |
over to the Thomas Undertaking Com-
pany for burlal |

The crime for when Mmitb was "put to]
death was one of the most horrible ever
committed ins the state Dr Spenser. |
who was one of Gaineaville’s moat be |
loved clitizans, war called from ble home |
on North Bvana,atrget on the night of |
Felruary %. 112% by A party who sald |
that hia wife was critically Ito mear @ |
turpentine etill tnree miles away The!
physician Jeft his home in hie auto andy
after reaching the atitl the phyatctan
wan decoyed through the woos over A
mile, being shet down in & secluded |
spot,
A number of detectives worked oa the |
cane, but without result In October
lant a pocket ledger that wae taken |
from the haly of Dr. Spencer was found |
by a whites woman in a house tout,
Smith occuplet at the time of the mure |

s

der. Smith hal left the elty, but Mar-
ahal Pinkoson, to whom the book War
delivered, arrented the necro when he
returned here ta spend Christmas with
his family. The negro -made a number
of. confessigns. At first he implicated
a white man, who has since died, but «a
week after his arrent ¥mith disavoT™=
thie aonfernion, declaring that he inure

of anyone and that: he murdered ‘th
physician for the purpore of robbery. I
dled without changing this version of
the crime.

Kmith was about 2% years old and wal
bern. in Duval’ county. lle. was above
the average negro in Intellixence and
bore a Kood reputation up ta the time
he committed the atrocious feed.

dered Dr. Kpencer without the feet th
e

e—

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF TRIAL:

MEDIA ACCOUNT.

OF EXECUTION:

EXECUTION
METHOD: Hanging

STAYS OF
EXECUTION:

EXECUTIONER:
WITNESSES:

RITUALS:

LAST WORDS:

OTHER INFORMATION:

TIME OF All
EXECUTION: Pi

SMITH,

eras

hi Om, m,

MURDERER OF
_DR.- SPENCER
PAID PENALTY:

TOM SMITIT DISPLAYED WON.
DERFUL NERVE ON THY GAL-
LOWS ~- DECLARED TUE
DHYIL GOT ME INTO THIS,

“w auale)

put GoD WILL GET ME OUT.

- Tom Xmith, {Ne
ay en |
fram

Sa inesviile, Sunes Ses
PAL-cotfleaned murderer of |
Xpancer, pald the Aeath penalty
the gallowe in the Alachua county
thie moarning ;

Denple were atirme todd ‘Pore frevrn penne
pevinnte fn the at{atr and & errand of

Awan VU eed 2M prod otrnnm Mewar lfor
AL Glee Fadl Gon WIN ewe Ow meme entierey, Henge
Wilh few werantlona they wera clivat
Delrtod ma omnty mw Uintled mumhear were
ailenvtttaodd Cen Che cell Fall tm whtedy tothe.
Inu the ecnMold fe fae ated ,

The death march began at 190 a'clack,

gail

lea

Rinlth Waving (he call tn tha now full
bandeated ta Nherth Ranaay, Cin the
Satege of this atruecture Senin wae pee

mitted to make a talk, In whtel he ad.
montshed his Mearera to Mwve rlatt and
anid that he hoped hia mistake would
aorve an a lesson tn others. “The devil
cot me inte thin troulle, but Cod will
Ket tne out.” declared Smith, whe ex.
plained that he nad heen converted. Ie
wan Daptized In the Jall on Jast Sunday:
Those who belleved that the necra woauld
maha a atatement at thin tive, thst
throw inore Meht on the murder
were ehinagypatntocd, as Sentth elnopl, stat.

ed Uy eubetanen (hat he. would dle for
Wie avivey eft eeved that be euuld eav math
te that, would save anyone else
Mivith eabtbitest wanderfal netve
etand tnarealated while the trae
black cap were being adjusted Ile
hia position on the gailoawe at 1 and
the drop war made at 11.08. ‘The ne.
aro’e rlaht hand slipped from the eirag
Just after the drop and as hie form
writhed in the ale he grabbed the rape
abova hin head. Tt required the coat.
bined alrenkili of two inen tH jerk the
han) away and raadjust (he strap.
Kinith'a neck waa not’ broken. ul ne
wat pronounced daad at Moos Je
body wae cut down at 12:01 and turned
over ta the Thomas Undertaking Com.
pany for burlal

andl
ana
tnak

y3

Wow

bigok, 28, ue _ Ed

|

_—<— =~

_-~—-esr cs aw @- ~~ @

\ nis family.

6/27/1913

[The crima for wh{eh: Mmlib was pul to |

committed in’ the state Der. Kpenever,
who was one of Uaingpaville’s moat te
loved cltigana, waa called from hie home
on North fvanacatreet on the night of j
Feljruary %, w913, by a party
that hia wife waa critically Ml near a
turpentine still tnree miles away The
physician left his home in hia auto and
after reaching tha altll the phvatctan
wan decoyed through the wonle over a
mile, being shat down In a eechudedn |
spat, |
A number of, detectives worked on thes
cane, but without result In October
lant @ pocket ledger that wat taken
from the holy of Dr. Spencer was found
by a whites, woman In a house tout |
Smith ocecuplel at the time of the mur.

death was one of the most: horrible |
i
!

who sald

—

der, Kmtth hat tert the city, but Alar.
ahal Iinkoson, ta whom tha book waar
delivered, arrested the necro when he

returned here ta spend Chriatmas with
The negro -made a number
of. confessions, At first ha Implicated
a white man, who has since died, bute
week aller his arrest Nmith disavoT=
thie eonfenaion, declaring that he minute
Aered Dr. Apencer without the rp ce A
ef anyone and that: he murdered °
physician for the purpose of robbery. hia
Aled without changing this Version of
the erime,

 Bmith wae about 2 years old and was
born. in. Duval’ county. Ile. wat above
the average negro jn Intellixence and
bore a good reputation up ta the time
he committed the atrocious deed,

e__—"


Fle. de

STATE INVENTORY #

OFFENDER: : SOURCE OF DOCUNENTATION
NE ke Ja ite (TITLE, DATE & PAGE#)> 7

RACE: [> Ne Cheerlt's Tre. oe

SEX:  *’
OFFENSE :

DATE EXECUTED: }
COUNTY: 674 (4*5 oll * Ala ch UA ( 0.

AGE:

.

i
t

AGE:

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

DAY OF WEEK
EXECUTED:

OFFENDER
RESIDENCY:

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF CRIME:

Florida: Times-Union - May 20,1979

Wn ete ae re ery nee *

iv anette Spry eyes oo ee Deeeetent car aie ts aimee. radia talker nateeertn ee ener sleet on yt OE, mee age pee yet 9 gota manors al 2 at enn entant sede LO eo ey
vi gar shy desig wy a

-@ Ae
pictures on T Pages” these other developments Saturday! y,

Waray tite ps Sei ens 8 44,
‘tions. to continue, Spenkelink would
ed : cod with Cra. wale about 7 a.m., with Darden follow-
ee © The civ i rae id ; Ati de oda ae:
MGS Vey aia © Bete te. hon spent Saluriays mina on wes ‘Ing him to the chair within the hour.
From News Services ? °°": mansion Steps in a candlelight. vigil... ... “I’ could not: find ‘a, reason’ in.
: Se hs bene ee Se a ate king. They said they would remain until.a ; these instances to conclude clemency
on TALLAHASSEE wee rane “scheduled prayer service today.' 4, vs’ Was the appropriate response,” Gra-
Softly and intently. with. eight death hy aie Alasgohtam’, told” the anti-death penalty
penally protesters who had chained..!' @ A group of Jacksonville clergy!’"group, ‘ ere 7 :
-themselves to an iron gate at the gov- . began mobilizing for anti-death penal: ee es ane ya
“ernor’s mansion, Gov. Bob Graham ty demonstrations Tuesday night at mS en bade of ew ‘
Said Saturday that he believed ex- ‘>the State prison where: the*executions .”. re oi : rhea a: pk : ta
eculing. John Spenkelink, and Willie + .are ‘scheduled Wednesday: ‘A ‘candle: “ahh ryt cde et daikiatean ee:
-'asper Darden - would. deter other's light vigil is planned. >... vide gt, S180 Two death warrants and still pro- y
sin urderers. Pay REE Subse g TO Here <i 38- fess to be a Christian: \
mein 2 a hi oR © Jacksonville Citizens Against , <I do not consider responsibly. | p% -
Death Penalty urged the clergy to'’i'carrying out'a duty which is mine to
send telegrams of protest to Goy; Bob:

é

er Th ee

See related stories,

2k

hess

) are 2S

wee ges

-"y- He also said that the two men de-,; the :
-Served to die for taking the lives of. * be: inconsistent’*with Christian’ val- f
others. Graham's meeting with the .,Graham and to attend the candlelight’: ués,";:Graham said; “And ‘there are
> anti-death penalty group marked his vigil on execution eve, Pil Syuldet ot other.values ‘of. life involve

“first public statements on the SlebCue ee kai sa PPR TOTO ASAT TS WII ew

“lions since he signed the death war: |) |‘ ® Florida's Supreme ‘Court’ ‘Will
‘Fants Fridaye' 6 tains yrs :

a Os 38
-

’ “ Bi
area Ses |

= $hy 1 st y5e04 rei vy
<-> ;.One of thé demonstrators,: Larry

“to discuss this matler With an

persons who ate under. consi

aiseh
“ity
“ers? and. then 's
~hdfidse Fk

nt hour.aterwhen Graham, walked’
tothe, gate." Unchainirig themselves;
hey. went’ with-him::to-a ‘small park }

= fat hs cays Bh
#fSj4T Gint shake your han
nore It's got blood ‘all over i

Cox... deaths, 195 person

| cross the street where ‘they talked,’ 2s
‘Sal Wy “2 fed in Flor ida» 1 Jacksonville, the planned ex. Parone Tote ae, Tae .
a “The ‘planned exec ions brought thee Mf the court; aioe See EXECUTIONS “Page AB) 3 Gov. Bob Graham, right, greets Rey. Edwacd Loring
ee testes se we yay ee te, pat ite. ee You Sy ‘ $ ty Danae 3 ‘ dont, seas ce ee ‘ : s é
SWAT 4a ew ye € ae 4 e Sie ee or try ° eh P<

-vs

MErSILT  aieioaron © meen, Nadie Bet trary HY

If you are moved by these accounts of the killing of
John Spenkelink to join in the fight against legalized murder,
we welcome you.

Tennesseans Against the Death Penalty (TADP) is a statewide
coalition of individuals and organizations. We engage in public
education, political activity, support activities for the people
On Death Row in Tennessee, and back-up work for lawyers defending
clients against the death penalty. We hold regular monthly
meetings in Nashville, and local groups in various Tennessee
cities have their own schedules. To learn our meeting schedule
and become involved in this work, please just fill out and return
to us the form at the bottom of this page, or call us at
615/383-9610.

If you live in another state, there is probably a death
penalty law on the books and a state organization fighting
executions. For a name and address to contact, write the
Southern Coalition on Jails and Prisons, PO Box 120044,

Nashville TN 37212.

VF A Le UN NE CD ENS ND GEER SD AES GEER SOND ON CRD GON GeO GN Ge GED GUNN CONN MEER GER) SEED GRD SAND MECH GD GHEY AEN Gel GUE GES eens GAN GER GNI ND cee GED Geey GOMD GOND GN cam OED GD GON GmND GED came GAN emis COND game =D cum Gum orn

TO: Tennesseans Against the Death Penalty
PO Box 120552 Nashville TN 37212

Name __Please send me more informa-
tion about TADP and the death
Address penalty.

__My $5 annual membershinv fee
is enclosed. Please add me
Phone | to the mailing list for the
TADP newsletter and keep me
posted about TADP events.

17

SH dee lig,

on)
ee

Seo pris

> Spenkelink and Willie Darden. +,

- Fort Lauderdale to denounce the gov-'. |
; €rnor, and anti-death penalty groups
from around the country held news ~

4 Dt

———

Florida:
May oA.

<ywaedny

q eee FM Bz
nti-ex

; 7 estimated 560 telegrams Opposed the

ti -Capitol

BEE EM as} ‘he
ted story on Page B-2*
CI SBAY OBE TES Se Seale we
: Times-Union News Services

Rockers at,

; Demonstrators also gathered in. thal injection. } <. =

‘conferences and flooded Tallahassee -

dsand*the governor’s ‘office with tele- ~
_; grams and telephone calls. | é ;

+ Press Secretary ‘Steve Hull said

“about 200 of the estimated 225 calls

“fielded by his office supported Gra-

;}ham’s signing of the two death war-

rants last Friday, but that 360 of an’

governor’s action. 3

SeTh

th
were the same people who

e eight protesters. at the

“chained themselves to a fence outside

_ the Governor’s Mansi
| They . moved inside:
, Shortly after 1 p.m. as
} - was. lunching in the cafeteria

i -and sang “

on Saturday.
the. - Capitol
the governor
down-

“They quoted: Biblical’ passages
We Shall Not Be Moved”
as‘they knelt and locked arms to pre-

2 vent anyone from entering or leaving

-by the double doors that lead into a

». ‘visitor’s reception area.

=" “We cannot — we will not —al-

low you to make killing a routine af-

fair of government. There can be no

business as usual as long as you

‘refuse to stay the executions of these

two men,” said a letter signed by the
men who call themselves PAX —
People Against Executions,

Graham avoided a confrontation
by using another entrance to his of-

t fice.

“A group of 12 protesters showed

ih Fed

Cer bm,

REIT ON eit:
ecution

ae “In Jacksonville, R

see

eee NE: FRE TUG a's

_on Death Row, for murders they -

, ae Se z. a iM be
Meme megs se ee te Ae cep ee mtew gee we Bae

Times -Union
1979

Nb ne te cant lg Ol a dl

ep Biba ae aa i

’s downtown
ae t Roe ber: |

apy $e S35. sey iy t¢

ev. J oe Ingle of ;

Graham ‘signed

‘ecutions by the electric ch

“S"A'St. Petersburg group said it

‘a couple of additions
“work days.” ~~ : Ne

Graham, who during his cam-
paign and after worked at different
jobs, should spend today as a guard
on Death Row at Florida State Pris-
on, the St. Petersburg Council on Hu-

to his list of

~

man Relations told Graham in a tele-

gram Monday. . i
~The group said if a day on Death
‘Row doesn’t change Graham’s mind,

he then should spend the next day
Serving as the state's executioner.

*., ‘The group said the death penalty
has killed many innocent people and
cited the case of Freddie Pitts and
Wilbert Lee, two Florida blacks who-
Spent 12 years in prison, most of them .

were pardoned for in 1975.

at

wares mo

: |
{

- death warrants for Spenkelink. and ~
Darden to force the Legislature to.

:; act on a bill that would replace ex-

: air with le-:

would like to see the governor make -

“Most of the calls have been

from the general public in the state of
Florida and most have been propo-
nents of the death penalty,” Hull said.
Calls to The Times-Union have also
weighed heavily in favor of the death
penalty.

The protests are expected to
continue today as former U.S. Attor-
ney General Ramsey Clark and anti-
death penalty defense lawyer Millard
Farmer arrive in Tallahassee to lead
a rally. Lise

“And at Starke, several hundred
protesters are expected to gather out-
Side the Florida State Prison today
for an all-night Vigil.

BS OOOO rte a8 e anne een


Florida: Times -Union
May 22 A979

. “ Me ne
6 eh Al (ehalelh > I OLS Ng A_D wee

(Capital panishment support
in Starke area

ej
pre te

"ge

oe By RICK SPRATLING {= put to death, but I wouldn’t want to

2 The Assoclated Press .., ne See the victims put to death either.’ 8

STARKE. — “If ‘the Bible gays $27 _At'St.; Mark's Episcopal Church,

it’s justified, then. it is,” said the:

young businessman. “The Old Testa-:

ment goes along with capital punish:.
ment.” : ; Sesh

"Bruce. Scott.” the | 26-year-old “Many. in his" Congregation’ work
ussistant manager of .a hardware? cat one’ of the prisons. “Their fathers:
Store, explained Monday why he saw: worked « there, . ‘Their grandfathers
no reason to delay . Wednesday's“ Me
scheduled execution of John A. Spen--7y:
kelink and Willie Darden in Florida’s:;

stir

Ypr,

) right answer hasn't come forward,”

“that answer is. That’s the only answer

the Rev. John M.' Flynn said ae per--\".to give if you
Sonally. opposes . capital punishment..;;
He said he’s far outnumbered by his
‘ parishioners.» and

44

man life.” is
Bradford County Sheriff Dolph
Reddish said execution is an efficient «
preventive measure, “In 20 years of
‘law enforcement I can give you sev-.
, eral examples where the death penal-
ty was imposed and not carried out,” “
: he said, “and those people have gone
On to kill other people. To me, that’s
-What it’s all about.” “ ve?
ups At, the Confederate: Gun Shop, .:
o-manager. William Dowling said he
$y doesn't. believe in executing a. mur-
‘derer. | “Just - killing him, that’s too
easy,” said Dowling, who'd prefer a
‘Sentence of life plus one day. “If they "
kept him in hell and tormented him

Pie

“ even * other

clergymen here, |

electric:chair. |: gas lg

A Starke, a town of 6,000, is 11. mile:

se: capital
st impossi-

ys
ae

S.- else." |

* Dowling said most of his custom-
ers disagree. “The majority of people.’
;) that come in here work for the pris- *:
© on,” he said. “They say, ‘Burn the:
SOBs, ” e horde

SIGINT ERE Bilal 8S eG $

“there was a,

* ment to the alternative
he mayor said. “I don’t know what |:

place any value on hw- ii:

‘year and all of a next year

contraception from all courses except those

».o¢ the rest of his life, that’s something “y

Brentwood Sixth Grade Center,

fodehs
at

“VOUMg agaist UNE CxPUSDIT Were Nis Donna Lucas” ~
and Holmes. Voting for it were Nooney, William Carter,

Joseph Cullen, George Sessions and Corwin, ;
. + Qutside the board room after the vote, the boy's fa-
ther said-he thought the Process had taken too long. be-
Cause it had kept his son out of school. Ile
fered three alternatives to expulsion in April — reassign-
school at Darnell-Cookman,
‘enrollment in a privale school or to move out of Duval
County, «+.

“After I. visited the alternative
against it. I did not want to put my son in a private school
and I did nol want to move out of the county,” he said.

The board also expelled for the remainder of this
a Ribault Senior High School
Pistol in his possession at school. Nei-
any representative attended the meet-

student who had a
ther the youth nor
ngs:

The board-rejected a proposal from the
tion to exclude information related to birth control and
specifically
designated as human growth and development courses

‘which would be electives but it approved the placing the °
New courses in grades seven and eight and all senior high

grades. . :
. : 4

' The board honored eight retiring principals — Sidney

Friend, Fletcher Senior | ligh School; Walter Waencr, the

last principal of Technical High School; Isdwin Brown,

Whitehouse Elementary; Janet Gordon,. Parkwood

Heights Elementary; Veima Scheible, Timucuan Elemen- ’

tary; : Harold. Gordon, Mayport Elementary; William
Kent, Baldwin Junior-Senior High and William Henderson,

* ’ ‘ ‘
AS Raa ie a Ig oie ‘ “ . r

school, IJ decided ‘

administra: —

Said he was of-’


FLorina Times-Union

Aprit 15, 1979

‘chair: They have a half- (hour.

: Spenikelink! ise tee ‘oa “there is tid rat 7
“want to be put in'that chair,” wants Lo live: Hist 4 h
“legal battle beget Six: ‘years: ago ‘after he? was;

ae troit..

alas has* refused: to hearg, his “appeals.: The
“court's s ast: refusal. came, jon March 26. In Sep.

ree et oe ee GA LESS tig I Eas Dae

pater tte oe wT og wen oe a RR ORE ae
Pri nee

e

For Spenkelink, a final appeal

TAL, LAHASSEE (AP) - iFlorida : Death: i ‘tember 1977, he came within three days of ex-

:* Row inmate John’A. Spenkelink has 30 minutes”:
‘ to convince the state he should live. j 2

>" “Later this week, Spenkelink’s attornéys will :
“appear before Gov. Bob Graham and the Cabi*’ '

net to argue ,for‘a- reprieve. from the: sleclticg

af they fail, “Spenkelink could he erected

~< within a matter: of weeks, becoming the firsts: “
_<* person to be electrocuted in Florida since 1964.,.%.!
‘ There are 129 men and one woman awaiting ex:t”
) ecution in Florida —. the largest Death Row.

pdpulation of ally state bt) the’ nation.; eres

dince: eas the U.S. Sipremné™ Gaitt:

Rik

ns Nias Gana ae Ce:

ecution, ‘but his execution was stayed.

6 _ Spenkelink: now has two slim bsp laae ori
escape, the electric chair.

“Phe first, and most probable, would be that:
ith Supreme ‘Court would grant a petition for a.
“rehearing. His attorneys have filed that petition,

-but te court rarely grants euch motions.

} A The sécorid, and almost as unlikely, chance
for’a reprieve rests with Graham-and the six-

§;member Cabinet, which will sit as the Board of

Executive Clemency on F riday to hear Spen-

chance that in its upcoming review the board
‘will agree to do what it refused to do two years

hago. ‘In. 1977, ‘her Gov. Reubin Askew ane ns

id Kendall, who will present Spenkelink’s case
lo the Caer ‘T ‘m pat soto for the oppor-’

ti punished with life in prison instead of the death

kelink’s case, Lowever, there appears Hille penalty.”

_ optimistic, according to persons who have been
- in contact with him,

gets ‘Wowldh’t- want’ to speculate on. oa
“vy, chances,” said Washington, D.C., attorney Da- .

Florida’ Citizens ; ‘Against the Death Penalty.

», tunity to speak before them.”

Although Kendall refused to be specific
about ‘what arguments he would use in his ap-
peal, he said he would try to convince the Cabi-
net that there are good reasons why Spenke aig
should serve a life sentence instead of being ex
ecuted.

; : ~
“We're going to try to focus on the reasons
. Why clemency should be extended in this ease,”

he said. “We're not going to re-argue the legal
proceedings.

“There are reasons why John should be

te

Despite the Soniins Court’s refusal to
hear his appeal, Spenkelink remains generally

“He took it as good as could be expected,”
said Scharlette Holdman, executive director of

oy was 5 agra .

’
' :

Lente yen yee ty 5 ae cs ey Sed, Heaps “

sa aiaaueastneenann han cLanade 4 he egeeet etme ee Belge rate ge hae commerce emp 3 ane


Deez: 09%, Cae
4 it :

S§

Pein kt |

Florida: limes -Union
May 3, 12 79

Fo > 38 2 bap REDE a P.0 es
>

g 4% & 10.

|.” By FRANKLIN YOUNG”
ai Times-Union Staff Writer

ray John A: Spenkelink waits: _

fe

: 'Gov;. Bob Graham ,and the State's
. peeing: OE GF Conds ae

ae Lt * erie

sige bs * His may ‘be the first execution i in
| [Florida in 19 years.* +: :

“The US. Saree Court | tinted
afk “his last appeal April a0, 25 =

Ee

ee

2 lis: giving: clemency pleas by “Spen-
',; Kelink and others serious study and
baie “has: no timetable for a decision.

(ae “i/$hould Graham. sign the death
warrant, setting an ‘execution date
will be litue more than a formality.

Sy
a4

12 Tf the governor | recommends the
{death sentence. be commuted to life.
t imprisonment, he must have the con-*
5 di currence of at least three other mem-

+, tbers of the six-man Clemency Board

Sat \ that heard a 5 panaags geneney ap

a

{peal on April 20.

; a ‘Florida has not executed anyone
‘; Since 1964. Only one other person in
; the nation has been executed since:
tee * SS, A . 8 “+4
ae

> s ae ‘ FREE, Eee 4
fry: FAA ices Nth ecdnod pp B28

epee ¥ 3 es

His fate is in the hands of Florida - <8
_ Grifter,
“=. claiming he killed a traveling com-
~ panion, Joseph Szymakiewicz, 43, of
- Detroit, in a Tallahassee motel. room a
in 1973.in self defense.

oer struck in the head with a hatchet.
? Graham said a few days later he--.

ere) ees we
be (er
oe

PS Re Re |

cee ay e » The: Florida Times- valor, Jacksonville, Weanestay, May: 9, 1979

Spenkelink waits and hopes |
‘for a ‘stay’ of his ae

1967 ~ Gary Gilmore, wha asked to

be shot by a firing a in Utah in
,.

Unlike Gilmore, however, Spen-
~ kelink,; a 30-year-old -~ California
has fought . for. his. : life,

‘Szymakiewicz was shot . tad:

Punishment Project of the American

+" Civil Liberties Union and director of
“the National Coalition Against the
Death Penalty, said possibly as many:
_as 20 men, mostly in Florida, Georgia, -’
. Alabama and Texas, are close to ex: _
* ecution, but none as pumisently close
as Rpenkenak, : “iter ft HA

ra

‘ Early in April, John Louis ‘Evans

III was within six hours of execution’

in Holman Prison in Alabama for the

_murder of a Mobile pawnshop owner

when he was granted a stay by US.
Supreme Court Justice William Rehn-
quist. The stay set into motion a
course of be acreage

~ draftsman in Wisconsin. :
cf Henry. \cehecaos chil a: “of. “New VEE Former Florida ie Reubin As!
York City, director °of the Capital .

™ TRAN. AYE ote - 3 aed

eee AS en Sa SP is

Spenkelink, an escapee Misi a
California prison, had been traveling

“with Szymankiewicz, who also- had a

~- ¢riminal record, after picking him up

as a hitchhiker in 1973. Szyman-
kiewicz was murdered on Feb. 4 of
that year, and Spenkelink sentenced
‘to death on wan 20, 1973. Best

“A Sodefendant’ in the: case, se. Frank.
* Brunn, 25, was ino and now is a

et

kew and the Cabinet, sitting as the
‘Clemency Board, denied clemency
_ for Spenkelink in 1977, and the gover-
“nor signed a death warrant. A stay of
execution was raket ea another

wie Ay

. Gratiaal said ° during his cam-
“paign for governor that he would sign
death warrants. But he and the Cle-
mency Board have yet to consider
Spenkelink’s plea. —

~t 2 Stes eb

s

So Spenkelink, with his dubious |

notoriety as the one nearest death,
paces his cell at the Florida state
prison near Raiford.

And waits.

secs = at Beas opt

Sout os

Re > RE Y-eaey

perenne

ew we

Seats ee ee eee

ee

oe ee nee Perey ene

ro . *

a EE yee Pag: * eae 2 tw pte ten Be a redayeer *

Snenkelitsl tries again

: TALLAHASSEE — John Spenielink, considered
_the most likely candidate for Florida's first execution
_in 15 years, filed papers in the state Supreme Court [
Thursday seeking to have his death sentence vacated. -

The sentence, for the 1973 murder of a traveling }
companion in a Tallahassee motel, has been upheld by [
state and federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court
has three times seg his challenges of the death-

ete statute.
ad ieee,

amd foe Saab er ee Anko eh he Pg

+ joa:

cata 3


iv

FLORIDA! Times -UNION
APRit 21, 1979
Der Jown SPENKELINK

vs sy. + By MIKE ANDERSON
i ey --Times-Union Staff beer m,
fet “TALLAHASSEE - * Convicted
.) murderer «John Spenkelin has re-.
-formed and his life should be spared,
~ his lawyer told Gov. ~_ Graham and :

sane. Cabinet Eriday. ee
vis Teste 35

S The: awy er, David ‘Kendall: told.

se “the State officials, who were Sitting as

». the Executive Clemency Board, that
_they are the last remaining Some! for;

penkelini. je Bt Ba

: “If the death sentence i is ‘hot com. 2 ee

-;:Muted,° Spenkelink ‘would. be. put to. Ss
“death.as- ordered, by the courts and:,.

Ak £2

“-.“upheld by the previous Sovernor and

scabinet.:

hatte

FLORIDA! limes-UNIoN
Apri 20,1979

The board, however: gave-r no in-
ication on ae it would make aS de-

Der: Joun SPENKELINK

as Sp ventte rte ties rare ‘During’ Friday’s session, Spen: a
eA eo HT 3 4 “'Kelink’s' mother, “Mrs: Lois Spen-
“ i 4 kelink, a. ‘heavy. woman:, who. .walks _~
> 5 ‘
ot State Bi ek 4 ‘\! “with a‘cane; sat quietly: in the front -
es death for: "Tow of the. audience.:~ sag te
ye : an hehe “Afterwards, she was asked how!) h
; _ |” she thought the governor might vote bad. childhood - —.no father. Scatalibe
Spenkelink: f | on. the clemency plea es “economic surroundings * and “bad ,
Sek: siete friénds "5
TALLAHASSEE (UPI) give ante ae him and - “If you want to execute a bad
” whe ged th f wie : “kid, then this is the case,” Kendall
( “Creed eee teisean ]'. “Kendall, presented: the board said. “But he- has evolved, he has
i yg xt oned bis rd \ with several letters from ministers, .changed.”.. -, H
: “death. row inmate John { prison officials and Rep. Arnett--. Kendall utged: the governor aie
~/Spenkelink. t Girardeau, D-Jacksonville, all urging cabinet to “assess the progress he .
Soy * ‘ { that Spenkelink not be put todeath. has made, the transformation of his j
ed ~~ Morrison made Tees | . Girardeau, chairman of - the character at age 30. ,
-| ‘randum ‘delivered to the -Houre Corrections, Probation and Pa- A letter from former superinten-
OMA sie recite central office ‘in . role Committee, wrote to the gover- dent of the Florida State Prison, B.J.
Ke). ‘preparation for a clemency -. nor and cabinet members: ..;.> Leverette, said Spenkelink was “a
: ; : itive leader” in prison.
(2+ “hearing today for Spenk-, Jeg SP have personally met with this es a ie a eo : :
{ ./ -elink. and — Leo a ; young. man several times and have- ‘feel that John could serve a
eee aetna Seen the regret and hope that he ex. le sentence in prison in 2 productive
Sines so : led Be T oe
4 Se _ Neither _Spenketink nor _ ii ie 2 Scenes 9 . lives of others,” Leverette said.
Their estes will pean .| . pear to me to be mitigating and that * Former Gov. Reubin Askew and
their pleas * for com- _, this young man should not die but live his Cabinet denied clemency for
‘mutation, Alford on the to be able to dedicate his life to help- Spenkelink in 1977 and Askew singled
> ground of innocence, Spen- ing others who might make the same out his case 18 months ago in Signing
“kelink on the claim of self j Or similar mistakes in their lives.” the state’s first death warrant in 13

years.

( .
defense. { . ~ » Spenkelink was convicted of the ~ .
ey Fe RE will be made | { Feb. 4, -1973,. murder of. Joseph In another case, the lawyer for
r
i
‘

ae ee Samir eveyone re Con oe
-which begins at 8:30° a.m. ion in a Tallahassee motel. Kendall hench air intl The sdebnene saa
“One hour — 30 minutes a said the victim, a much stronger man aay « af imaiaa _ y in
side — has been alloted to than Spenkelink, had taken $8,000 of at he had new evidence that cou

“hear the case. ? ! his money and forced Spenkelink to ni ead Jer te ees eae
i : i commit homosexual acts and to play Pe Wi ekg seiaplrwp aren ntl Joe alate
» If Gov. Bob Graham de- - a frightening game of Russian 1 rou preme Court in the near future re-
‘cides to withhold clemency i -lette “with 4 pistol, * - questing a new trial for Alford.
nd sign the death warrant, > hoes ;
it's all over except for the " p_paucation Commissioner Ralph ‘ciate Ona entecee soak
‘carrying out of the execu- . . Turlington said if there is anything in imprisonment a ie aun to give him
tion. But, if Graham recom- | { the Spenkelink case that distinguishes time to get his client a new trial.
imends commutation to life it from other clemency pleas it would
‘in prison, he must get thé - be comments made by former Flor- ° An Alabama Death Row prison-
‘concurrence of at least |] . ida Supreme Court Justice Richard er, John Louis Evans III, Friday was
‘three ‘of the six board _ .Ervin-in a dissenting opinion when granted a stay of execution by U.S.
/ -members to make it stick. may the high court oat nae the death penal: Beats, Vets Judge Williams B.
, tyes See . *
; If Graham signs the war- ere : eh
fat for Sponecink who | = metered tort aye a al ey a ap
has exhausted his court ap- . pear to me that in this situation there ta his ly | eal ae J te ie deaih:::
peals, he could be the first ." was sufficient . certainty © of aoa rab tedon wit — riage all
person to die in the Florida " "premeditated guilt and heinousness wext Thursday _ send Guaak ‘om '
electric chair since 1964. tO Warrants Se Se his scheduled execution — if he with- ;
hi Ae hore 2 Se 129 in- Kendall said Spenkelink had a draws his appeal.


May 1, 1979
PNsoeeey Ris noe Re pereoreny TS,

‘Killer’s

5, a
2 >

:

fate up to :
|
i
|

Graham
. » TALLAHASSEE (AP) — It is
‘now up to Florida Gov. Bob Graham
-,,whether Death ‘Row inmate John
., Spenkelink will be executed or
~ granted. clemency, but Graham re- ‘
- fused to.comment Monday on when °:
he would make his decision, —~ Lee ees
“Seo HA decision by the U.S. Supreme ‘
Court .earlier: Monday removed the -
ealast: judicial obstacle between Spen-
»«:Kelink: and -Florida’s: electric chair, _.'
which has not been used since 1964.00 23
PMR ES ANI OS yp Paketiole ee 4

om ee

oe Gate
» aut

Seanad oe foe ee

a gree. before Spen-' .
“+; kelink’s sentence could be changed. If
Graham refuses, then Spenkelink
“could not be spared through the cle- :

Ra MENCY: Process Pom. ees a

oo) Theé governor will not comment. ~
~ on the time frame in which the deci-
sion on Mr. Spenkelink will be made,”

 ~ Steve Hull, Graham's news secretary, -

*='said Monday. he Kiegivs weet

245 Graham, when asked. about thes:
+: decision, said Monday he has not de:
;,Cided_on signing death warrants on
“any Capital cases before him. He said
‘~~ he: will continue to give the Spen- -
_ kelink and other cases serious study.
-, and has no timetable for the decision.

~

SS During the 1978 gubernatorial
“campaign, Graham said he supported
«; the death penalty and’ would sign
~ death warrants when it became nec-
- essary. The governor also has said he
=, intended to dispose - of clemency. -
“eases as quickly and judiciously as

v

a

A POSBIDLG. oe has
fos Tf: Graham refuses to. recom-
‘ mend clemency, the death warrant
< would specify the week of execution
- and the warden at the Florida State
- - Prison in Stark would set the day and
’ time. - ~ set or

» Spenkelink, a 30-year-old drifter
“from Buena Park, Calif., was convict-
ed in Tallahassee for the murder of
Joseph Szymakiewicz, 43, of Detroit,
who had been traveling with Spen-
kelink. Nut

Scharlette Holdman, the director -

' of Florida Citizens Against the Death }
‘Penalty, said that group and other

_ 8roups opposed to the death penalty,.

such as the American Civil Liberties

' Union, now will concentrate their ef. Aya

’ forts on fighting for Spenkelink’s life. )

; “Our priorities have got to

: change,” she said. “What we've been
talking about, the specter of death as

punishment, has arrived.”

Florida has _ 132 inmates °
‘scheduled for execution, the largest

Death Row population in any state in
“the nation.

eat ea = Se re TO


28: SSK
ea

*,

ie Lene si ee
fw

Opponents of the death
penalty held signs and
Sang protest songs
(above) after chaining
themselves (left) to the
gate of the governor's
mansion.

f
2

Ee Faas

UPI

BYIHOMAS E. SLAUGHTER

Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE — Eight opponents of the death:
penalty chained themselves to the gate of the governor's”
mansion Saturday, refusing to leave until they spoke to
Gov. Bob Graham.

Two hours later, Graham met with them in an emo-.
tionally charged confrontation during which they begged
him to spare the lives of two death row inmates.

“IN THE NAME of God, isn’t there some way we
can at least open your mind and ask you to reconsider?”
begged Larry Cox, of Brooklyn, N.Y. “How can you distin- .
guish what you're doing between Pontius Pilate?”

Graham replied: “In the cases we're currently discuss-
ing, we have two individuals who have committed Very se-
rious offenses, individuals who have had all their rights |
afforded them.

“I believe my role to be one of considering this from a’
different standard. I’ve determined that in their cases
there is not a basis to grant clemency.”

Graham signed death warrants on Friday for John es
Spenkelink and Willie Jasper Darden. Their executions
are set for Wednesday. :

Graham spoke in hushed and somber tones and re-
peatedly defended his decision to sign the death
warrants. ?

“I DO NOT CONSIDER exercising the responsibil- :
ity which is mine (to be) inconsistent with Christian
values,” the governor said. ‘There are other values of life
that must be considered — life that has been taken.”

Graham made no promises, but before walking away
from the group, he said: “I respect the values that you
stand for and the depth of your commitment and I hope
God will be with all of us.” °

The eight protesters identified themselves as: Rev.
H. L. Dempsey, Fort Mill, S.C.; John N. Lozier, Nashville,
Tenn.; Cox; Rev. Edward Loring, Atlanta; Andy Hall,
Atlanta; Doug Magee, New York; Mike Jendrzejczyk,
Nyack, N.Y.; Harmon Wray, Nashville. All eight said they.
are members of People Against Executions,

.


Standing their-ground

Robin Gibson, legal counsel to Gov. Bob Gratam’s executive suite. Graham

the death

steadfast opponents of

ducked the protestors by using another penalty vowed to stay until Graham

Graham, fields a question from reporters

route inside. Gibson told the protestors

while members of People Against
Execution block the entrance to

stays the execution of John Spenkelink

and Willie Darden.

they could stay all-night, and. the

Tuesday
‘May 22, 1979

Governor’:
office

by steve watkins
flambeau editor

**Many of you are waiting out there for
someone to take us away — that’s the big
news for the day,” the sitting protestor, one
of eight, told the media entourage. “‘We're
wondering how John and Willie must be
feeling, waitng for someone to take them
away to state-ordered murder.”’

John and Willie are, of course, John
Spenkelink and Willie Darden — two
convicted murderers set to die tomorrow
morning in the electric chair, the first in
Florida since 1964 and the first in the nation
since Gary Gilmore was executed by a Utah
firing squad in 1976.

The eight protestors, linked tightly arm in
arm, were barring the front entrance to
the Capitol offices of Gov. Bob Graham, who
signed the death warrants last Friday; they
had held an anti-death vigil at the front gates
of the Governor’s Mansion since Saturday
afternoon.

They never were hauled away.

After an -anxious hour, beginning at 1
p-m., Robin Gibson, Graham's. legal
counsel, confronted the group and asked
that they move from the entrance and ‘‘not
deny others their First Amendment rights.""

“‘We’re unable to allow this office to
continue functioning normally until- the
governor stays the execution of these two
men,’’ responded Mike Jendrzejczyk, one of.
the eight, who earlier had assured media
and other onlookers that oe will not resist
arrest if that comes to pass.”’

Gibson told the men the governor’s : allies
would continue to function through the use
of other entrances to the expansive executive
suite on the first floor of the Capitol. .

‘‘There’s going to be nobody here who'll
lay a hand on you,"’ Gibson said. ‘‘There will
be no removal. . . no scenes.”

_The media departed within moments.

The protestors vowed to remain until
Graham stays the executions or until Darden
and Spenkelink are actually executed, at
which time they said they would hold a
memorial service there at the entrance to
Graham's plush offices.

Throughout the afternoon, the siete men
— who hail from all around the country,
— drawn together by a common opposition
to capital punishment — read aloud
passages from the Bible, sang songs of
gospel and of protest and answered
questions from anyone curious enough to
ask. d

They stéadfastly refused to move to allow
security personnel and office workers
through the entrance. Media representatives
literally climbed over the men on a few:
occasions, dragging camera cords and
microphones to more strategic locations.

Graham had left his office half. an hour
prior to the surprise visit, and said through a
spokesperson that he would not meet with
the men. The governor has repeatedly
refused to discuss his execution decision
which apparently was sealed for good
yesterday afternoon late when the State
Supreme Court turned down last-ditch stay
requests by mney for eee and
Darden. ”


ot Rie te Sear ayrmereaten nace mee

2 aN
4

ed

sassy
pes

<

pee ae

c 0.
4g

“4 a R'E a

eas ci ine: ete aE

Lz Biles Ee

"Xa

Let te,
ae he caste ‘
4 Je

‘Give us a vision of aland where
compassion, dignity and rehabilitation
of the fallen might prevail.’

— From protest prayer sheet

t

Ree

: John Spenkelink’s mother, Lois, speaks to rally at Capitol Sunday, where protesters against two executions scheduled for Wednesday read prayers q
re) ©


¢

i =5-19
“AY ‘ SMITH, Herman, white,electroctued Florida (Orange County) on -5-1935

frase gp Horace ST

Dear Mr. Espy:

Nov. 19, 1976

Well I finally got limited access to those files. Alice said they had been put
on microfilm and should have been destroyed, but had not. Without her help, I
don't suppose -I ever would have gotten through the red tape.

She hed made a run down on the black man, Cherlie Henderson - so that is all I
got on that. She phoned me and said she had the files for two hours, and could

I come right down and lock at them? Well I covld, of course, drop everything

and go down. Eut part of the two hours were consumed in getting dressed, getting
down there, parking end walking. You can never find any parking, of course.

So I barreled into the Herman Smith file. Docket 2, p- 173, #959. Murder.
(also pencilled File #21. ?)

The Death Warrant signed 25 Merch, 1935, Spring term of the Ci cuit Court for
Crance County 16 April, 193i. Convicted of murder in lst degree, and to suffer
the pains of death. Davicd Sidlitz, Governor, commands the Sheriff not less than
5 days vrior to lst of April, 1935, deliver Herman Smith to the Supt. of Prison.

Well there was a co-defendant in the matter, which was finally separated. The
co-defendant was Betty Casteel, wife of the murdered man.

The murdered man was Jeneral M. Casteel of Clarcona. It was not brought out
whether he owned the property there or rented it. Eut it did come out in the
testimony that he and his family had lived in Florida off and on for seven
years and ceme from Georgia. Georgia locale not named.

There is so much filth in this case that it is sickening to reed about it.
Jeneral, at the time of his death, was Sl: years old. The sheriff testified
thet he took two deputies and rent out there after he had been called. Jeneral
wes lying against the front coor, so they could not get in, end entered through
a side door. General had a bun barrel embedded in his head close to the breech.
Flood and brains on the floor. A knife handle and blade (broken) we-e found,
the blade under the feet and the handle under the left side. The back of the
neck wes cut up, one ear cut off, upper lip cut off, nase cut off, lower
limb neerly severed, part of the tongue cut out, two fingers cut off - lst and
énd on rt. hand. Juglar vein cut. Several deep geshes in the face. Lying
on left side - the right side of his head crushed. A gun shot wound in left

4 leg. Eird shot from a shotgun.

Cherlie Wonsettler was subpoened for the trial called for July 9, 1934. He
said he owned a filling station and grocery, and Jeneral lived "near my

place, about 3/) mile ba k up ecross the woods. He was in my place to buy
proceries the night of Feb. 10. Thet night he wes playing the radio, when his
‘wife told him to cut it off because somebody was yelling help, murder." They
turned off the lights and looked out. They saw Herman Smith running down

the road to the reer of their place.

Herman told them he was out at the toilet and heard a gunshot, so he ran in and

Juith while —blittic teh $F1h ae


3.

Alice testified that in the afternoon of the 10th Henry Hall and his brother
and Todd came over to the house and Herman went with them to the filling station
and got some groceries. She said she heard Herman say to Henry Hell he was
going beck and he would have to kill old man Casteel. She said that morning
daddy told Herman to leeve, and her mother told daddy if anyone at all was to
leave it would be hisself, because she said she was runnint the place.

One previous occasion Herman got mad with mother end told mamma he was gonna

get the gun and go kill old man Casteel and he run anc got the gun. Alice told
him to turn the gun loose when she grabbed it, and he did, end she put it back
in her room and locked it up. ‘That was about two weeks before Jen-ral(s death.

Alice said one time she came home from Apopka and found Eerman and her mother
in bed together, and this was when Jeneral was ovt at the barn and was on
crutches, so he could not come in very fast. Herman said to Alice, "Get the
hell out of here," and she did. (She cid not say whether she told her father
Herman was in bed with her mother or not. Nothing further on this point).

Witness Faul Shirley said he worked with Smith asa. W. A. worker. Smith
came enc asked for a job as water boy. He said he was unable to handle a
shovel because he had served seven years - - Objection by the defense. So
it didn't say any more, but I would judge he served seven years in prison.
Herman worked off and on. Herman talked about having a fight with old man
Casteel, and he also talked about a girl friend who bought him clothes and
thines, but did not neme the girl friend.

A witness, Mable Riddle, formerly Mable Crozier testified. She seid Herman Smith
had a room in Otlando at Mery Haig Apartments on test Church Street. She

said she saw Eettie Cesteel there at night and again in the morning, but she
couldn't say she had seen her in bed with Herman. Fut she sew her drunk down
there one day. She had seen them together at the erocery store, and Fettie

had bought Herman some socks, a tie and some hanckerchiefs.

Alice beck to the stand. She seid Casteel had said or Seturday that on Sunday
he was going to take the baby end go beck to his daughter in Ra Apopka on
Sunday. He was killed Saturday nicht. She seid the first time he was going

to kill her daddy, her mother just stood there.

Fy this time I was being urged to leave. So I wrote thet the jury found Herman
guilty on May 16, 1934. A motion for a new trial filed May 17, 193).

Amended 2 July, 1934. Tenied 12 July, 193k.

Bettie Cesteel was tried in July and found not guilty July 10, 193k. (Jury).

These people seemed to show no emotion whatever. They didn't seem to care if
their daddy was killed or not. Like they were used to the idea that he was
going to be killed. They all sound like a bunch of tramps. I don't know what
Secame of any of them, but it looks like those who were left would go on living
trashy lives. Sounds like Tobacco Road. The vietim seems to have worked and
had a little greenhouse, but in the depression you couldn't sell much out of

a greenhovsei Ee did try to get rid of Herman. Imagine the guts of a man who
wovld just go live with people and not pay board end expect to sleep with the
man's wife anc take her to ris "diggins" where they got drunk and Gawd knows
what, and a husband is supposed to put up with that? Eut it is Herman who

gets mace at the lecal husband. Such people don't deserve living and the world
got ric of one scum in the electric chair. A stupid ass too - bragged before:

hand he wovld kill the husband, and picked a time when he was observed. Well - paper's

out. - Sincerely - Mary Jane Knisely.

PRPS 8 hc amen 7° F-87990 0 AEN Nie ene ne ener men"


Man in Chair

_ For Murder

Herman Smith Electrocuted’

at Raiford After Last-
Minute Confession.

“eae aumemepearrememetie we °

RAIFORD, April 5, ()—Accepting
full responsibility for the crime in
.& last-minute confession, Herman
Smith died in the electric chair here
for the brutal slaying of Jen-

era) Casteel.
Sheriff Harry Hand of Orange
County pulled the switch, sending

the fata] current coursing through
Smith’s bedy, at 10:14 A. M., and
he was prénounced dead seven min-
utes later. .

As he sat in the chair, Smith
calmly made a statement repudiat-
ing his trial testimony that Mrs.
Bessie Casteel had aided him in

‘Takes Blame

*7, abed ‘ce6T Ttadv 9 ‘Aepanqes ‘NOINN-SAWIL WaINOld dHL

P

2%

x

found Mr. Casteel on the floor and the old man told him 3 or men ceme in and
near beat him to death. Herman Smith's face and hair was all wet with blood,
and in fact he was covered with blood.

Mr. Wonsettler got in his car and went to get the law. The sheriff testified

that when he got out there he was met at the cross roads (Clercona cross roads #12,
between here end Apopka, where the road comes from Lockhart to Clarcona. He

took Lee and Proctor, devuties, with him. At the crossroads was Herman Smith,

Lee (it says Judy, but apparently it means Judge) and someone else.

(It doesn't say whether Smith had cleaned off any of the blood or not.)

A lot of testimony time was taken up with Della May Casteel, a 10 year old
daughter who had been put in the Parental Home. J hed to wade through a-lot of
stuff about telling lies and not going to heaven, and trying to determine for
the defense whether or not she was a credable witness. She finally told that
she was living at Clercona Road at the A. & W. Fernery. (I assume the Cesteels
were running a little nursery. There have always been and still are, many

such places, called ferneries, in the environs.)

She seid she was in the second grade, and lived with her mother, father, sisters
and three brothers. % brothers and sisters and a little sister! She seid her
mother had told her to go lie down with the little children and keep them quiet.
They had gone to bed without any supper. She went to sleep, but woke up and
heard a gun fire. She "ran in there" and Herman Smith end daddy were in there.
"I ran and told him he wes killing daddy." He slapped me. Father hollered

"Oh Lordy help me." Hermen said he'd help hin.

I went and sot the little children and took them to another house right
down a little piece from our house. (Anrarently in later testimony, this was
a barn.) She tooka blanket for the little ones to lay on.

She said when she went to bed Herman Smith and mamma and daddy and Horece and
Alice were in the room, but when she woke un her mother vas not in the room.
Herman had been there all day, end was living at their house and had lived at
their house off and on a long time - thjs time abovt 2 weeks.

There was a daughter Alice who said she wes 22 years old. I don't know if
Horace was her husband or not. She had a baby, because she said she went in
and laid the baby on the bed, in her testimony. Anyway she had been out with
three men all night. In the morning when they brought her home, she didn't
know "about it" and stepped in the blood.

Alice said Herman drank, anc other people said he drank, but nobody would say
he was drunk. Alice said Herman had been living there right around a year, and
as far as she knew, he never paid any board. Her father worked for the C.™.A.
(I vondered if this meant P. W. A. or some government project, which they had
in the depression after Roosevelt wes elected. Several times it wes called

C. W. A., but never explained). Her father had gotten his leg broke a few

Gays before his death while working there, end was on crutches. The dheriff
testified the crutches were leaning ageinst the fire place.


After John Spenkelink was strapped into the electric chair and the chin
strap was applied, Superintendent Brierton asked him if he had any last state-
ment. At that time, John Spenkelink said something to the effect of "I can't
talk, the strap is too tight.'' Superintendent Brierton said he interpreted
John's last statement as being a declination of his right to make a last state-
ment. All of the facts and circumstances leading up to the execution, John
Spenkelink's statement in the cell immediately preceding his execution, wanting
to know who denied him his press interview and all of his prior actions belie
this interpretation. Whether deliberately or merely because of the nervousness
and excitement, John Spenkelink was denied his right to make his last statement.

COMPLAINT 13

The witnesses were not permitted to see the condemned
man brought into the death chamber and strapped into
the electric chair.

FINDING 13

The witnesses in the witness room were, in fact, not permitted to see
the condemned man brought into the death chamber and strapped into the electric
chair. They were permitted to see him for only seconds prior to his execution.
This was a decision of Superintendent Brierton and does not appear to be in
violation of any rule or regulation. Although Superintendent Brierton has stated
that his purpose was to keep secret the identity of the persons strapping Spenke-
link into the electric chair and to prevent John Spenkelink the embarrassment
of having people watch him being strapped into the electric chair, it appears
to be more an attempt to hide and sanitize the electrocution of a human being.

COMPLAINT 14

A medical technician was not present during the execution.

FINDING 14

Florida State Prison Policy Memorandum No. 34 - Execution Procedures
provides, in Section 34-9:

I. Medical Personnel.
1. One medical doctor and a medical technician
will be present during the execution.

No medical technician was present during the execution.

COMPLAINT 15

After John Spenkelink's electrocution, his body was
purportedly dragged back into Q Wing where his cloth-
ing was removed and his body scrubbed to remove the

feces.

FINDING 15

On the basis of the sworn testimony received, John Spenkelink's body
remained in the electric chair after his execution. The straps were removed

-13-

except for one that was used to restrain him in the chair. The employees of
the funeral home were already present waiting for the body. They entered the
death chamber, undid the remaining strap and, with the assistance of a prison
guard, lifted John Spenkelink on to a stretcher. He was taken directly from
the death chamber to a hearse and removed to the funeral home, where his body
was prepared for transportation and burial.

John Spenkelink's body was not dragged back into Q Wing after his eiec-
trocution, his clothing was not removed and his body was not scrubbed to remove
the feces.

COMPLAINT 16

The Medical Examiner for the Eighth Judicial Circuit
did not conduct an autopsy in violation of Florida
Statute 406.11.

FINDING i6

The Medical Examiner did not conduct an autopsy. Notwithstanding the
provision in Florida Statute 406.11, which seems to require an autopsy of all
persons who die in a penal institution, the Medical Examiner opined that the
law gives him the discretion as to whether or not to conduct an autopsy. This
discretion is permitted by Section 2 of the statute, which states:

The district medical examiner shall have the authority
in any case coming under any of the above categories to
perform, or have performed, whatever autopsies or lab-
oratory examinations he deems necessary in the public
interest.

He opined that, in his opinion, an autopsy was unnecessary. The main reason

for arriving at this opinion was the cost of the autopsy. Under present law,

the county where the death occurred must bear the expense of the autopsy. Ap-
parently, Bradford County, the seat of all electrocutions, does not want to

bear the economic responsibility of the cost of autopsies. It was his opinion
that, if an autopsy had been performed, the allegations concerning the violations
of John Spenkelink's body would have been laid to rest.

CONCLUSION

The activities surrounding the execution of John Spenkelink, after
Reverend Feamster left his presence at approximately 8:00 A.M. to 8:30 A.M.
on May 25, 1979, were not as sterile and placid as the prison officials would
want us to believe, even though there is no evidence of direct physical abuse.
The condemned man was apparently taunted verbally. There were loud exchanges be-
tween John Spenkelink and his guards. So many people crowded in that the people
present cannot even remember everyone who was present at the time. Several of
those present have each individually taken credit for saying "John, its time to
go."

This report should not be considered as suggesting any changes to the
procedures involved in the electrocution of human beings. Irwin Block accepted
this assignment solely to investigate the circumstances surrounding the elec-
trocution of John Spenkelink. He will not be a part of the implementation of
any rules or regulations designed to impose capital punishment.

=[4=

We wish to thank Gene Whitworth, the State Attorney for the Eighth
Judicial Circuit, and his staff for their complete assistance and cooperation
in all our efforts and also to thank Lanny Larson of the Inspector General's
office for his invaluable assistance.

(Signed )

Irwin J. Block, ESQ.

Richard E. Williams,
Inspector General

a1 5-

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Sarasota Herald-Tribune 9-21-79

So EVE FOE EE Peet Greer ere cst bP SAI ce ae sa SR ares reg sas

enkelink Said Ta

h We

+h

aA Sra “ < Sry sYIgtew
aA x a pe Brg conan Seca ee — RB Py ME OT BS poli tik als

e s ot

Not Abused Before D

“ Hag. Lire
7 nm noah oe pa NER hb? Eo ,

7
abt Se se

SD £

told Gov. Bob Graham Thursda d : ee TL SRCAIAL Pein ee ee ee Glo a ta Sal ae gaan |
“Investigators, however, recommended that the state attorney _ the life of an individual. Williams said specific recommendations ©
Bet to the bottom of conflicting statements concerning the _ Should be held off until Corrections Secretary Louie Wainwright /
whereabouts on execution day of former prison medical techni- e, Teviews the report} (2; ..%: eres cosad wee oe oe 3s
cian Gerald F. Greene, who allegedly told a death row inmate: 3; The most serious charges, which lnvestigators said they could j
Spenkelink: was held down by guards while a’hospital aide ; ; Rot substantiate by evidence or testimony, were that Spenkelink |
Stuffed cotton up his rectum to keep his bowels from vacating , Was gagged, silenced and held down by guards while a hospital
‘when the bolts of electricity were shot through his body. 2: aide stuffed cotton up his rectum Just before he was strapped |
Greene denies telling the: story or being at the prison that : into the chair. Vee ree Geeks Sos: renee ee,
‘day; despite records and testimony of others to the contrary, ; Also unsubstantiated, the report said,” ‘as a charge that his
“the. report said": 2 “pasty Speryiaraet arts totes, ed ; 7 body was thrown in a shower to wash off feces after. death. fg
# John Lohman, spokesman for the Florida Clearinghouse on _ Testimony from the funeral directors involved in preparation.
evinitial: Sostion open opposes the death penalty, called the _.0f. the body for interment confirm that no evidence of any

- , Feport ‘a’ whitewash’? pial th abit Biiwfad ay i Licthee| “Cotton was found in the bowels,” the investigators said. “They
“+ He said the investigators were unwilling to “point the finger”! ~ , did, however, find evidence of vacation of bowels and urine
- of blame at Florida State Prison Superintendent David Brierton, ~ that generally accompany a traumatic death.” renee Slew Se
‘who earlier. this week was promoted to a top position in the. +The report said the-inmates had no first-hand. knowledge |
“Corrections Department where he will: be in-charge of ~ OF these alleged incidents but were relating stories they swear
investigating inmate grievances. presen «| Were told them by a prison guard and a former medical techni-.
“Activities surrounding the execution were not as sterile and hin ag a dae eg Be anaes RPS BS Rot fia nes ti
Placid as the prison officials would want us to believe, even 4 "The technician denies the incident ‘and claims he was not
though there is no evidence of direct physical abuse,” said ; €ven on-duty the day of the execution. Prison records, the
"the 20-page report, signed by Miami attorney Irwin Block and “Maus supervisor and a co-worker dispute his claim, the report
Dick Williams, Graham’s inspector general. ° ~ ae ‘Said, and the state attorney should find out who is lying. « za!

. “The condemned man was apparently taunted verbally,” the > “Another inmate perportedly heard a similar story from a
report said. “There were loud exchanges between Jobn. __Prison guard, the report said, except that the inmate Said ,
Spenkelink and his guards. So many people crowded in that :
the people present cannot even remember everyone who was
present at the time. -_ 7 ‘, “3
_. “Several of those present have each individually taken credit : Bee TEM soe: , wes TOP pT N ae ~
for saying, ‘John, it’s time to go’,” it added, afi ae : afler Spenkelink resisted, the attempt to put cotton in his |
The investigators said Spenkelink, only person executed against - f rectum. was, abandoned epee Cy Sgt ie!

his will in the United States in 15 years, was denied access The. inmate refused to give the guard’s name for fear of

: at ; ; a4; « Yetaliation against the guard, the report said. The former techni-

» Clan said personnel records show him on duty because it was
‘: @ practice to sign in for days not worked if an employee |

DEAR eter remews cece - : : .Was due-time off for overtime work. AE he Fa Oey

>" to the news media durin y+ His supervisor and a co-worker said he was on duty. at
: :, the time of the execution, but-left in the afternoon for a
. doctor’s appointment. NLL OS Oy PR RAMs. S
«.. The report said it could find nothing fo substantiate allegations
. Spenkelink’s mouth was taped prior to his entering the death
‘chamber to keep him from making a statement.” -

« ~, He was denied the Tight to make a final statement, the
_, Feport said, either deliberately or because of the nervousness |
and excitement of the'event, » 9. sit ¢ |
.| -Brierton said Spenkelink was asked if he wanted to speak |
pone SHA : and Said something that sounded like, “I can’t talk, the strap |
8 was based solely on testimony 1S too tight.” DeFeet es. i
mployee, present outside Spenkelink’s death ‘~ The report said when Spenkelink was Prepared for electrocu- {

“row cell shortly before the May 25 execution, that “guards - tion, a strap — placed across his chin to restrain his head |
.. Were taunting Spenkelink and he was hollering back.” against the chair so it would not jerk when the current was +
Block, outspoken death penalty foe, said the employee said Shot through his body — slipped and covered all or part of :

the exchange upset him so that he would not repeat them. his mouth. - : : ‘ i :
“He said, ‘even though I favor capital punishment, I couldn’t “That made some think his mouth was taped, the report said. ..
listen. I had to get out’,” Block related. SP OT OLS IE AO CO Rasa Sa a cate Bane we
Graham appointed the investigating team after allegations
by inmates and death penalty foes that Spenkelink’s rights |
- were violated. agi |
The report made no recommendations for changes in death |
penalty procedures. : |
Block said he'd take no part in any recommendation to take |

——

ON EMI ten Ome me tam eee beiap deactellaahcs


Eari Warren

‘Rabbi Stanley Garfein, the Rev. Joe Ingle, the Rev. C.K. Steele join hands Sunday to sing ‘We Shall Overcome’

Execution foes Vow to keep fighting

"Coy reren earn) S/o

CD
ia 2 Democrat stat writer

About 120 persons joined John Spenkelink’s
amily at the First Presbyterian Church in Talla-
assee Sunday to remember Spenkelink and to
ow to continue their fight against executions.

_ “It’s only a matter of time (before executions
nd), although that time may be longer than we
tish it would be,” said David Kendall, one of the
ttorneys who defended Spenkelink, at the memo-
ial service.

- “Our children will look back on it with incom-
rehension, the way we look back on racial segre-
ation and the burning of witches.”

. Spenkelink also was remembered by inmates
t Florida State Prison, where he was executed
‘riday morning, and Alabama Death Row in-
nates, who sent a bouquet of pink gladiolas.

In front of the church altar, next toa picture of
»penkelink, stood a wreath from inmates at Flori-
ia State Prison.

‘“Death Row,” read the red ribbon on the
wreath. “Deep regrets,” read the card.

* Kendall and others told the audience to heed
Spenkelink’ s advice to ‘not be turned around” by
yes death.

i'l want everyone to know how thankful we are

oh TE,

to be here in a church ‘packed so full of people who’
F cared for John,” said Spenkelink’s mother, Lois,
who spoke briefly to reporters after the service.

“John and I always said, ‘Be strong, patient,
have love and keep the faith.’ He even said that at
6:30 Friday morning when we parted, and he never
shed a tear,” Mrs. Spenkelink, 67, said.

She withheld most of her tears during the one-
hour ceremony, but emotions flooded her face
when it was over.

Other mourners broke down when the congre-

gation stood to sing “We Shall Overcome.”

“We were able to overcome Tuesday,” said .
Kendall, referring to court orders that had delayed —
Spenkelink’ s death, which had been scheduled orig-
inally for Wednesday morning.

“We weren't able to overcome on Friday” af-
ter the original stays of execution had been lifted,
Kendall said.

Spenkelink was convicted in 1973 of murdering
— with a gun and a hatchet — a traveling compan-
jon in a Tallahassee motel.

Kendall said Spenkelink was “a good man. He |

was a decent man to whom something very inde-
cent happened.”

Mrs. Spenkelink wore a red corsage and cra-
dled her wooden cane in her left arm. She sat in the

front row between her daughter, Carol Myers, and
Mrs. Myers’ husband, Tim.

The Rev. Joe Ingle, director of the Southern
Coalition on Jails and Prisons, told the audience to
recall Spenkelink’s commitment to the anti-death

_ penalty battle.

“He would want us to say, ‘This is just the
beginning of our struggle. Don’t let these clowns
turn you around.”

Ingle said Gov. Bob Graham's decision to sign
Spenkelink’s death warrant had been a political
move. He said he was appalled by the statement of
a state official that executions soon would be rou-
tine in Florida.

“We ain't gonna let no governor turn us
around,” Ingle said, intoning a spiritual that had
been sung in civil rights marches. “We ain't gonna
let no death penalty turn us around... We ain’t

gonna let no death penalty become routine in the |

state of Florida.”
“Amen!” cried members of the congregation.

Mrs. Spenkelink greeted sobbing sympathizers
». after the service.

“T appreciate everything you folks have done,”

“she told One man. “There's a lot of good people in

the world left.”

Services -
here today.

Oomocrat stati and wire report

The family of John Spenkelink, the
convicted killer who died in the elec-
tric chair Friday, will be joined by
prominent area clergymen and others
at a memorial service, scheduled at 3
p.m. today at the First Presbyterian

* Church of Tallahassee.

Saturday’s Democrat incorrectly
reported that the services were sched-
uled for Saturday.

The Rev. Joe Ingle of Atlanta’s
United Church of Christ, acting as the
family’s spokesman, said the Spenke-
link family would attend the memori-
al service and answer questions from
reporters.

The family has refused to reveal
burial arrangements for Spenkelink.

His body was taken to the Dewitt C.
Jones Funeral Home in Starke.

“There's not going to be any infor-
mation given out on the funeral ar-
rangements at the family’s request,”
said the funeral home owner, Dewitt
C. Jones. :

Craig Bernard, a public defender,
said Saturday that a memorial service
for Spenkclink planned at West Palm
Beach for today had beencanccled. He
said many of those who had indicated
interest in the service would attend
the Tallahassee service instead.

The Rev. Bruce Robertson, pastor
of the church in Tallahassee, will offi-
ciate at the memorial service.

“We plan to sing some of John’s
favorite hymns and read some of his
final statements. It will be dedicated
to Bs campaign for justice,” Ingle
sai

He said the Spenkelink family had
made no decision on burial arrange-
ments. Spenkelink once had expressed
the wish that he be buried at either
LeMars, Iowa, where he was born, or

(Please see SERVICES, page 2C)

2C—Sunday, May 27, 1974

services—

(Continued from page 1C)

it Buena Park, Calif., where he was
raised.

David Kendall, a Washington law-
yer who represented Spenkelink, and
Sharlette Holdman, from the Florida
Clearing House on Criminal Justice, ;
will be among those present at the
services.

Others planning to attend are:

The Rev. Avery B. Post, president
of the national United Church of
Christ; Rabbi Stanley Garfein, presi-
dent of the Tallahassee Ministerial
Association; the Rev. William Kerr,
pastor of the Co-cathedral St. Thomas
More; the Rev. Wellford Hobbie,
chairman of the Mission Board of the
National Presbyterian Church; the
Rev. C.K. Steele, vice president of the
Southern Christian Leadership Con-
ference; John Carey of the Depart-
ment of Religion, Florida State
University; the Rev. Wendell Phillips
Jr., First Presbyterian Church, Talla-
hassee; Michael Corzine, organist; and
the Rev. Steve Meisburg, folk singer
of the Meisburg and Walters singing
duo.


ee

* siiasaligtin 0S, PTs SS Sa

HAEL ANDERSON
ab Py eswrntinrctens Staff Writer -. Sb
Fy acksonville state Rep.
Arnett Girardeau said Fri-
‘day. that he. has: definitely
“decided to :seek‘ a: federal
investigation into the cir-
cumstances preceeding the}
execution last’ May, of con-
victed murderer; John|
Spenkelink: . Es:
s<::.Girardeau,
the House.’ Corrections, ‘

Probation and. Parole Com- |

mittee,: said. he is con-
cerned ‘that Spenkelink’s
constitutional rights may
have been violated and
state. rules regarding ex-
ecutions ignored. ~~: i

A: death, penalty- oppo-:

nent; Girardeau said he has
‘received numerous Calls
from Duval County resi-
-dents, including “10‘to 12
-within the last couple of
‘days,”: asking for an. inde-
pendent. investigation of
‘Spenkelink’s. electrocution

at:.Florida State. ] Prison

near Starke.
- An.investigation’ scleral
by Gov. Bob Graham in Au-
‘gust. concluded prison offi-
cials violated some execu-
‘tion procedures, but said al-
t legations’ Spenkelink was

-Physically abused, as |

“charged by some death

row inmates, were Peary’

‘founded. --=. =:
““T’ve talked with iaverat

“persons. from time to.

time,” Girardeau said,
“and they recognized that I
was not at all pleased with
the extent to-which the
state looked into the ele-

“minor things.”

“taunted moments before
-his execution, that he. was

. final statement and that a
“not present Guring the (OX:

‘ecution,/ San 4

‘post of..inspector general -

IV“T-am disturbed about? .

ments preceeding the ex-

ecution.” es ke ees or)

Florida Times-Union 1-5-30

He" said it” bothers him 1
‘the: State investigation ré-
vealed “that “rules were
disobeyed, but that. nothing
_WaS wrong.” 224-22":
; The investigation, “he:
said, turned up some issues:
that deserve. ato oa atten==
tiort. “3 “ON FS St r
“I want. to: “ask the -Jus-
tice ‘Department that ques-.
tion’ [if constitutional rights
‘were: violated], ” “he. said.
“If; for example, the’
deceased's: constitutional,
Tights were not violated by :
‘cruel ‘and’ unusual - punish-
ment: prior. to’ the execu-
tion, such as being taunted
‘and the failure [of the state
‘to allow the condemned] to
Say.a-last word to.the
‘world, and one or two other

~The state investigation
found, among other things,
that Spenkelink was

denied his right to make a:

medical ‘technician — re-
quired by Florida State
Prison Policy rules — was

: Girardeau xl questions -
the promotion of former:
Prison: Superintendent Da--
vid Brierton to the new

for the Department of Cor-
rections on Sept. 18, two :
days before the findings of |
the investigation were’ Te-
leased. CTS Yaa j

that [Brierton’s promo-.
tion], ” Girardeau said, add-3 ij
ing that Brierton “appar- =
ently ignored rules of the:
{corrections} department.” S|

Fo eer aE eer eR ETeS |


pins std

-John
ghts were
violated: before he Was ex-"

ecuted. May 25, an. aide to-
Gov; -Bob~ Graham. ‘Said.

Tuesday: a ras ey oo oy
Graham. asked _ Dick
Williams, inspector general of
‘his administration; and Miami
( Criminal: Jawyer- Irwin J.
~ Block.".to- handle-..the
investigation after a surge of
-Tumors-about alleged in-

Gguities: suffered: = by
‘Speukelink prior to his death:
Ante electric chairs.» ois)
¢-Block:said he’ told Graham
" jwhen héasked him.-to~par-

B
«the
been

up a schedule: He:
sald. Block;-who" accepted the:

"assignment ‘on ‘Short inotice
_ last Friday, is ti
~ this weeks 25! 33

——~

-inhumane treatment
bis May 25 electrocution.
‘s. The meetings with Death

.By LORRAINE CICHOWSKI

TALLAHASSEE (AP)
— Inspector-General Dick
Williams and a special attor-

ney appointed by the governor’

went to Death Row Tuesday

‘to investigate allegations that

John A. Spenkelink received
before

Row.-inmates,. correctional

Officers and a Starke un-:
dertaker signalled the begin-
ning of a probe: ordered by, ~
into.
_ allegations of irregularities in 4
}Florida’s first execution in 15:

SoA v public :

Gov. Bob Graham

Speers

BRE IR ae ae
ste welts 2 BASES:

a en eee

par
Pres Fey

Tallahassee was scheduled for

today. ry

“Graham “even arranged for
the special attorney — Miami
criminal lawyer Irwin Block

'—— to be sworn in as an assis-’

tant state attorney for the
length of the investigation in
case he needs to subpoena

- Witnesses to testify.

_ “It was my feeling that this
is important to set the

public’s mind at ease,’?®

Graham told a: capitol news
“If there are.
problems, we'll: take ap

conference.

Prcpriate action.” - ra
_- But the governor «said. he
Was confident there were no

ae
sv
fa

: Williams and Bloc

Graham ordered the probe
Aug. 10 after Rep. Bill Sa-.
dowski, D-Miami, demanded
an. imvestigation into reports
that Spenkelink’s rectum was
foreifuly stuffed with cotton
befare he was executed’ at
Floriiia State Prison. ;

Tihe day before, the Florida .
Flammbe2u had published an
unsigmed Jetter from a Death ©
Row inmate. The letter:
Clainned Spenkelink was‘ sub: °

‘jected’ to “inhumane- treat: :

ment” by having. his rectum.

Stuffed to prevent his bowels

from_woiding. once his’ body-
was: jolted by: 2,500 volts. of -
el spitter KD

148 slag Te Raa

aeerie)
RE wht ie

- irregularities

appointed Aug.’ 10 by. Gov..
Bob Graham to look into
allegations .' of - STOSS °
that preceded’

the first execution in Florida

in 15 years...

_.“The truth is what we hope

to come. out with,” Block said

.. after two : Tallahassee - resi. .
; dents ‘testified. “It ‘is: our in-"
‘tention to t

“all

Prisals, said Irwin Block, “a. -:

Miami criminal lawyer.
Block and Inspector

viewed three persons in’ less
than. an: hour, jotting down.

‘names of ethers who could

Steer them closer. to learning -

.- exactly. what happened °-to
‘*Spenkelink in his final hours, “"

- The team also was told
Prison officials. were unduly «
harsh about restrictions on
family visits Spenkelink could

, have.

Scharlette Holdman, direc.

“tor of the Florida Clear-

inghouse on Criminat Justice,
Said the handcuffed murderer

~ should ‘have been allowed to

embrace his mother without
‘Suards refereeing.

Tea Chas 8


eae

Farmeron
. 5 aha Fa OG

:
a:

’ e

By DEAN GRANT

Democrat stat writer “ ‘

Nathaniel Holiday, a former Florida State
University student, thought it was great.

Glenda F. Swearingen, a 29-year-old law
student at FSU, thought it was a disappoint-
ment.

The reaction to news that convicted mur-
derers John A. Spenkelink and Willie J. Dar-
den had won stays of execution ranged from
approval to anger, but few people questioned
in Tallahassee Wednesday were neutral.

“TI felt the death penalty should have been

oot
pei Mn thad ntehinn) th deed cidade ene Tt he ae teblnauiretine ink Mee er eee ae eae

granted,” said Miss Swearingen, who couldn't
understand why Spenkelink had been granted
so many delays anyway, ;

But the news of the reprieves didn’t sur-
prise people like Ken Collier, a 27-year-old
businessman. .

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren't
executed,” he said, “There are too many loop-
holes in our judicial system. °

“The hardest thing for someone to do is
make a decision about someone else’s life,” he
said.

Seventy-year-old Ruth Besseche said, “I

ris.

he Ai th Seeernycs

shins Maiti inl db vabedadliti af a di Asond ated heated a,

5m Ban! BND. da OY

Caen 2h A

wish they had gone through with it.”

“We have to show that we mean business,”
she said. “People are afraid to die, but if they
murder, they deserve to,”

Mrs. Besseche said she hoped the death
sentences would be carried out.

“We'd straighten out all generations if
they did,” she said.

One 66-year-old man who did not want his
name printed said he wouldn’t have favored
executions a long time ago — but he does
now.

“T’m a Christian man, but something has

_.ocal people angry, elated after execution halted

to be done to stop this crime,” he said.

The news was welcomed warmly by some
Leon County residents.

“I was happy for the repricves,” said FSU
student Elizabeth Fisher, 2

She said she wasn’t sure if she wanted to
support prisoners serving life sentences, but
“two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Ms. Fisher said she still was afraid the
men might be executed. But the matter will
be tied up awhile in politics, not the judicial
system, she said.

An alternative to the death penalty may

ree

be the best solution, said James Overstreet
35, a university instructor,

“Maybe we could send prisoners to a pris-
on island, like in the old days,” he said.

Overstreet said he didn’t think Spenkelink
and Darden deserved the death penalty. But
they should spend the rest of their lives in
prison, he said.

“If someone were put in prison for life,
that would be equivalent to execution,” Over-
Street said. “I don’t believe in prison rehabili-
tation for first-degree murder.”

By SETH EFFRON

- Democrat staff writer

Tuesday morning John Spenkcelink wrote that as soonas
a U.S. Supreme Court justice turned down his appeal for a
stay of execution, Millard Farmer and Margie Pitts Hames
could join his defense team.

Tuesday evening, soon after Justice William Rehnquist
refused to grant a stay, Farmer and his associate — both of
whom handle only capital-punishment cases — were
searching for a plane.

Then, having enlisted the aid of former U.S, Attorney
General Ramsey Clark — and staring at a7 a.m. execution
deadline — they took off. ‘

“We knew we had to get to a Fifth Circuit (Court of
Appeals) judge. And there was no plane from Tallahassee
to New Orleans,” said Farmer, who had spent most of the
day with Ms. Hames and others in Tallahassee protesting
the impending execution. :

Clark had been outside Florida State Prison in Raiford,
where Spenkelink awaited death. Farmer said Ms. Hames
had arranged the impromptu partnership with Clark, an
avid foe of the death penalty, Tuesday afternoon.

"They got as far as they could go in the time they had —

to Atlanta. And there they found Judge Elbert P. Tuttle.

sp ee ene oe Oe

the run withS
SPs 4

Tuttle, senior judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of Ap--
peals, granted the lawyers’ request for a stay of Spenke-
link’s execution. Spenkelink was convicted of murdering
Joseph Szymankiewicz in Tallahassee in 1973.

In an interview Wednesday, Farmer explained how the
lawyers came to take on Spenkelink’s case, gain a delay in
the execution and possibly pave the way for federal court
hearings that — they hope — will spare Spenkelink’s life.

Tuttle granted the stay slightly more than seven hours
before Spenkelink was to die. pepe a :

Several minutes later, Supreme Court Justice Thur-
good Marshall — the third Supreme Court justice Spenke-
link’s lawyers contacted’— also granted a delay in the

_ execution.

Gov. Bob Graham signed a death warrant for Spenke-
link six days ago. It is in effect until Friday noon.

Farmer said he was surprised that Marshall had been
located to hear the request for a stay. no

“We didn’t even think Marshall was in the country,” he
said. “We didn’t know where he was and we couldn’t get to
Washington.” ‘

If Tuttle’s stay withstands a challenge from Florida
Attorney General Jim Smith, Spenkelink’s attorneys said,
they will show that their client had ineffective legal repre-
sentation when he was tried for murder.

penkelink case

“The ineffectiveness of counsel in raising, in presenting
the things that anyone should present to a court before a
person is killed” — that is what the lawyers will stress,
Farmer said.

There were “very obvious things that counsel should
have done” and didn’t do, he said. For example, Farmer
noted, counsel had failed to ask the court to consider the
effect on Spenkelink of his father’s death.

“Anybody who has any behavorial experience should be
presented,” Farmer said. ‘Now, hopefully, it will proceed
as a normal hearing for a case.”

No date has been set for a hearing in the appeals court.
Tuttle said he would take no action until the U.S. Supreme
Court reviews Spenkelink’s appeal there. The high court is
expected to decide today whether it will hear Spenkelink’s
appeal.

Tuttle, 82, has been an appeals court judge for 25 years.
He has been described as a political liberal and was the
chief judge on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1961
to 1967.

Though he refused to discuss any details of the case, he
did say the petition for a hearing was based on an allegation
that Spenkelink’s lawyers had been inadequate and incom-
petent.

ne anes Ae

mer accepts case

Millard Fa

... he helped get stay from Judge Tuttle


Ae
a
a.
,
:
;

Florida Times-Union §-21-78

ee NEW ¢ ORLEANS: (Pl _. A ‘federal ap
peais. court Monday upheld the ‘death sen-:

ye
i tence: *of John Spenkelink of Florida, in-;'

. creasing the possibility he could be the first.
«prisoner to be executed in the igus since .,
y, Gary: Gilmore.. a, 5 $4,

De Attorney Generat Robert Shevin predict-

i ‘ed ne would be ese in ahont two!
te a

.

bs ext'CO ouple of months, and if if they a are, we wil,
oi oe. ABATE

6 RE LS ae

* for — Democratic yok ee as veer.

¢ : yen 3 ‘
“see the law of Florida faye carried out, ” "he
said. ie

“We have won a IDS Fe victory” a
cause all groups around the nation fighting
. the death penalty raised all possible objec- *’
tions in the appeal to the — oe in New.
Orleans, Shevin added. s:3- 02 sj; us,

* Tallahassee office while he was campaigning ./

“by the end oe the year,” said Assistant Attor-.:7
yf Bey General tas Marky. le Ss ds ahh out of

‘He was informed yA the ‘dselsioit by. he uf

Serkiibecd to die, no one 5 has been executed in
Sa aid since 1967. aS ‘

The Supreme Court Siriick down capital-
“punishment laws across the country in 1972 E
“because of the arbitrary way they chose who

. Would die and who would get life prison terms

instead. Then, in 1976, it held the death penal-:
“ty to. be constitutionally permissible under:
“).certain circumstances and upheld new laws
adopted by Florida, Georgia and Texas. More :‘
:,,7, than 30 states now have capital-punishment
“laws, and more than 400 aicarswonk are on death

TOW, across the country.

ederal courts has so far staved off all execu-_

“tence, Jerry Lane Jurek of Texas,
~reached the federal appeals court level. But
..,Jurek’s case has not yet been argued and it
A long appeals process through Sate and « a

there.

Spenkelink,’ sentenced to die in the elec-
tric chair, is the first to have lost his case at

‘the advanced federal appeals court level. A

Florida pardon board already has turned

~’ down his request for relief. Now he is expect-
..@d to appeal to the Supreme Court, which for

him may well be the court of last resort.
Only one other person under death sen-
has

could be a year or more before ‘it is decided

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Cir-

Tai Gem

- more, who declined to appeal his death penal-
“ty and faced a Utah firing squad in January
_ 1977.

cuit Court of Appeals Monday unanimously
rejected arguments in Spenkelink’s case that
the Florida Supreme Court's review of:
capital-punishment cases is arbitrary and in-
consistent and the death penalty is unconsti-
tutional.

Spenkelink, 29, was convicted of the 1973
killing of Joseph Szymankiewicz in a Talla-
hassee motel room when a fight broke out be-
tween the two hard-drinking drifters. He had
escaped from a California prison and began
traveling with Szymankiewicz, who had. a
long criminal record, after he picked him up
as a hitchhiker.

Florida, where 115 etcalt are sentenced
to die, has the biggest death row of any state
in the nation,

~ Yee

Jerse Sse eee


ee he te

ey aetna ae

Sad dea

Gevernor’s

office flooded

with protests

Times-Union News Services

- AS protesters trickled into
Starke Tuesday awaiting the
scheduled execution of John A. Spen-
kelink this morning, Gov. Bob Gra-
ham's office was flooded with phone

‘calls and telegrams criticizing and

praising the governor's signing of two
death warrants last Friday.

“Murder is murder, whether
committed with a gun in the hands of
a criminal or a pen in the hands of a
governor,” wrote Leona Benoit of
Boynton Beach.

“You will never know,” wrote
Edith Loveland, “the relief I felt
when you had signed the death war-

rant for Willie Jasper Darden.”

She testified against Darden dur-
ing his trial for the 1973 murder of a

‘ Lakeland, Fia., furniture store owner.

“I have been walking in fear

here in Lakeland for six years not

knowing if he was going to escape or

% ‘be let out again on probation.”

The governor has received more

‘than 1,000 telegrams denouncing the

death sentence as murder. Another
600 praised him for signing the war-
rants. Phone calls have been running
heavily in favor of the governor's ac-
tion, it was reported.

Meanwhile, 87 of the 120 mem:

_ bers of the Florida House sent a let-
- ter to Graham praising him for sign-

ing the Spenkelink and Darden death
warrants.

San Francisco City Supervisor

"Harry Britt wrote Graham, calling

the signing of the death warrants
“political violence which will reflect

. OM you and the state of Florida and

we urge you, as a human being and a
leader, to reconsider this action be- .
. (See PROTESTS, Page B-3)

OR,
yee

*
he

a wa

;
‘
Baw: ss

Melots Se se.

bik F sath Fe:
ead 6 % Pt athe Phe + yee ag
Py Piha ts he eS Heke Rin

ye
Ong

Protesters hold news conference outside of Florida

“a
:

ey

DS RR eee Aad eh

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mote

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;

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Storie
2

. & WEA TPS
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e is 5S
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VQD
Se Seep bids BP we HALE a Kado: :
i ed San *
pest Geseeivan Reh antic a PISS seca cee a ee
are Fee RTT AP TN “gee ae
af e.: # igs soe 4 eee ove “A
ion fa reds =

eT ites

—BILL CRANFORD/Staff

State Prison Tuesday afternoon

‘Time.to go,’ signals the condemned’s last walk

By RICK SPRATLING
The Associated Press

STARKE — “It's time to go.”

Such is the head guard’s order
that signals the beginning of the end
for those condemned to die in the
oaken chair known as “Sparky”.

And, barring a last-minute re-
prieve, those words are likely to be
among the last uttered to John A.
Spenkelink, 30. He was condemned to
become, this morning, the mat ie

in Florida — and the first in 15 years
— to end his life strapped in the elec-
tric chair.

In advance of the execution, D.H.
Brierton, the prison superintendent,
would disclose almost nothing about

‘the actual procedure. He said he

wanted to avoid a circus atmosphere
and allow the condemned to “go with
dignity.”

But, in the past, the procedure
has varied liltic from execulion to ex-
ecution. On the next to last day, the

T

electrician, an important player in

-the drama, goes to the drab Death

House.

He prepares a strange death im-
plement, a fine-grained sponge, im-
ported’ from Greece years ayo. The
sponge is sewn to a piece of heavy
copper wire mesh and a metal screw
is welded to the middle.

He mixes water and salt togeth-

- er in a bucket and dips the sponge in-

to the water.
The sponge fits snugly atop a

man’s head; Saline solution is an effi-
cient conductor of electricity. A

The prisoner is granted requests
for special food — and all the soft
drinks he wants. The more water in
the system, the more quickly electro-
cution can occur.

On the morning of the execution,
the prisoner showers and is given a
cheap suit to wear.

The top of his head and a spot

(Sce TIME TO GO, Page B-3)

Prosecutor’s -

comments win
Darden stay ©

!

Times-Union News Services

In 1974, assistant state attorney
Ray McDaniel allegedly told a jury
Willie Jasper Darden Jr., should have
“blown his (own) face off, cut his
(own) throat or been killed in an autd
accident.”

‘

Those arguments will be chal-
lenged in federal court after a federal]
judge stayed Darden's execution
Tuesday afternoon. Darden had been
Scheduled to die this morning at Flor:
ida State Prison near Starke.

Darden insisted that inflamma:
tory arguments led to his 1974 murder
conviction for the shooting death of a
Lakeland furniture store owner.

After a two-hour hearing, U.S.
District Judge Wiliam T. Hodges
blocked the execution so he could
hear arguments of misconduct by
McDaniel

“It’s apparently conceded as‘ it
should be these arguments (by the
prosecutor) were surprisingly ill-
appropriate and improper. They ap-
pealed to the passions of the jury,”
the judge said.

The arguments will be heard
sometime next month by U.S. District
Judge Ben Krentzman, who is on va-
cation this month, a spokesman for
Hodges office said.

Defense attorney Robert Harper
argued that Darden, 45, never got a
fair trial because “the prosecutor
tried to incite the prejudice of the
jury.”

Out of 35 pages in closing argu-
ments, Harper maintained, there
were 19 pages of “what are almost
clearly on the face prejudicial argu-
ments. And taken as a whole the ar-
gument was a deliberate attempt to

(See DARDEN, Page B-3)

PR i


Protests —
ver (From Page B-1)
fore May 23."

- A telegram from Paul Harris,
president of the National Lawyers
Guild, said, “Capital punishment is
the ultimate admission of society’s
failure. The blood stains us all.”

H.E. Huttig, president of an im-
port/export business in Miami, urged
the governor to “continue and clean
out Death Row. I begrudge my tax
money going to feed and house these
criminals.”

As Graham's workers were sift-
ing through the mail, protesters
staged a mock execution Tuesday in
the hallway outside the white double
doors that lead to his office.

Screams of “NO, NO, NO,”
pierced the office complex as the

fi
v

demonstrators — who have blocked ‘

the entrance since early Monday af-
ternoon — played out a death ritual to

protest the scheduled executions.

It was not known‘whether Gra-
ham heard the protesters, but Capitol
visitors and workers gathered outside
the hallway as seven members of
PAX — People Against Executions —
put on the play.

They placed a folding chair out

front and dragged one of their mem-
bers — kicking, screaming and wear-
ing a blatk hood — into the “death
chamber.” They restrained him, or-
dered the executioner to throw the
switch and stood by solemnly as the
“condemned” man shuddered and
then went limp. ‘

The group then dragged him
away and resumed the protest that
began after lunch Monday and has
forced visitors and staff members to
enter the governor's office complex
by a side door.

The group, joined periodically by

local activists, asked those entering

Ua perm ing, Temi Wratten Blest7 92%

‘the office to “please tell the governor

not to kill” and began a countdown to.
death by marking off the hours until

-7 a.m. Wednesday.

The protesters said they would
continue their blockade until that
time.

A Jacksonville minister — who
was among those standing vigil Tues-
day night outside the prison — said he
watched an execution 17 years ago in
California so that he could tell others
about it.

“I wanted to be there so I could
tell others of that experience,” said
the Rev. Richard Weston-Jones, of
the Unitarian Universalist Church.
“And I have told about it; I told my
congregation about it during a ser-
vice on the death penalty.”

With him at Raiford are the Rev.
William F. Schulz, director of social
responsibility for the Unitarian Uni-

Darden
“(From Page B-1)

prejudice the jury.”

In the trial itself, before guilt or
innocence was even established,
Harper maintained, the prosecutor
repeatedly referred to his intention to
ask for the death penalty.

While opposing attorneys argued,

chants of “no death” rang through ©

the courtroom from a small group of

protesters outside the federal
building three foors below.
Assistant Attorney General

Richard Prospect claimed the de-
fense didn’t need to resort to an 11th-
hour appeal.

“The same case was presented
to the U.S. vi ya Court and argued
in March 1977,” Prospect said. “Now
two years later it’s being presented
on the federal level in Florida after

state avenues had been exhausted.
“I cannot see what took so long

here, to file what was filed in Wash-

ington, if this is a bonafide claim. The
people did not take the time to update
it... There is no federal question
raised.”

Prospect did admit that the clos-
ing trial arguments were improper,
but he dismissed them as rantings
and ravings, stupid remarks. “It was
wrong, he did get emotional, he did
get personal, he did get irrelevant.”

But Prospect insisted that the
defense at that time had the opportu-
nity to move for a mistrial.

Darden was condemned for the
murder six years ago of Lakeland

furniture store owner James Carl

Turman, shot to death by a robber.
Basically, his federal petition

raised two challenges: It claimed co-
prosecutor McDaniel was blatantly
biased in his summation and
proceeded unchecked with inflamma-
tory remarks beyond the limits of
permissible argument; and it claimed
that the victim’s widow, whose cye-

witness testimony was crucial to the ©

case, identified Darden when he was

the only black man to choose from.

Darden said McDaniel tainted
his credibility by telling jurors that
were he in the defendant's shoes, he
would also “lie until my teeth fall out
... 1am convinced, as convinced as
I know I am standing before you to-
day, that Willie Jasper Darden (Jr.)
is a murderer. I will be convinced 0
that the rest of my life.” é

‘The state Supreme Court af-
firmed the conviction 5-2 in 1976.

’

“If we would be consistent with
the principle of retribution contained
in the notion of capital punishment,
then all kidnappers. would be kid-
napped in turn as penalty and all
rats would be stolen from,” Schulz
said.

“We are in Florida to stand wit-
ness to this backward step in
American civilization,” he said.

Late Tuesday, a telegram from
Atlanta bearing some 500 signatures,
including that of Mayor Maynard
Jackson and defense attorney Millard
Farmer, arrived in Graham's office.

The telegram said simply, “We
call upon you to stop all executions in
the state of Florida.”

+ gl ERED
Darden

Willie

versalist. Association from Boston, *
and Robert Z. Alpern, director of the ..
denomination’s Washington office,, |,

‘Lime to g0’-
4 (From Page B-1)

‘above one ankle are shaved, exposing
bare skin. A clear ointment is
gmeared on the bare scalp. Its pur-
pose is to help conduct electricity and
reduce the burning of flesh.

oe pe

A clergyman is Eeerers praying

‘or reading from the Bible.

Outside, a member of the pris-

‘on's ‘Death Committee goes to the

main gate, brings in the witnesses
‘and reporters and seats them on
heart-shaped chairs behind a glass -

panel

They are instructed to act with

‘dignity. “It’s instant death,” a deputy
‘warden tells them. “It’s painless.”

“ ** He points to a hospital attendant
who will assist any witnesses who
become sick. The deputy warden

leaves the room.

A prison official telephones the

governor.

“Do we stay or go ahead?” ~

“Go ahead.”
The line remains open to the gov-
ernor, just in case.

Now events move swiftly. A del-
egation of guards with “iron claw”
manacles is sent for the prisoner.

By now the executioner has cn-
tered the chamber. Sometimes wit-
nesses gasp at the blackhooded ap-
parition from another age. He stands
in a booth four steps from the chair.

A doctor stands by to check for a
heartbeat. If the first cycle does not
stop the man’s heart, the system
must be started again.

With the executioner and his kill-
ing system ready, the final stage be-
gins.

The prisoner is seated in the oak
chair. A strap is buckled across his

chest, another over his lap. Then each
arm and each leg.

The electrician or an assistant
buckles a metal-lined strap to the
prisoner's leg. A screw protrudes

‘ from the metal; a heavy wire is bolt-

ed to the screw.

The electrician takes the special
sponge from his salty solution. The
sponge is inserted beneath the death
cap, a homemade leather and
sheepskin affair.

A heavy wire is bolted to the
screw that protrudes from the
sponge. The circuit is complete.

The strap of the death cap is

‘tightened against the chin. Another
Strap pulls the prisoner’s head back

against the wood of the chair’s verti-
cal headrest. The prisoner cannot
move.

Part of the death cap is a mask
of soft black leather. It reaches to the

chest, completely hiding the prison-

er’s face. Almost every time, when
the mask is removed, the man’s eyes

are found to be open.

A deputy warden prepares to
pull the mask into place. He asks the
prisoner if he has any last words.
Then he reaches out to pull down the
mask.

The last thing the condemned
man sees is the hand of another hu-
man being.

Before the executioner is a panel

‘of switches and dials, a system that is

automated so that he need only flip a
swilch. Then the system runs through -
a series of surges, from a high of 2,250
Volts and 12 amps down to a low of
600 volts.

It is enough power to cause a
prisoner to lurch against the straps in
violent convulsions, then sag as the
current subsides. Steam and smoke
may rise. The smell of burnt flesh
may be present. The cycle lasts about
two minutes.


STATE EXEGUTES TERRY SIMS.

Injection
kills first
inm:

m Barring a successful last-minute
appeal, Anthony Bryan will be put to
death with the deadly cocktail today.

By LISE FISHER

Sun staff writer

STARKE — After months of debate over how the
state should carry out the death penalty, Florida’s first
execution by lethal injection ended in minutes early
Wednesday in what state officials described as. a “text-
book” procedure.

Until the end, Terry Melvin Sims asserted his inno-
cence in the fatal shooting of a volunteer sheriff’s dep-
uty in Seminole County more than 20 years ago.
George Pfiel died while trying to stop a drugstore rob-
bery in the Central Florida town of Longwood in
December 1977,

“I am not guilty of the charge of murder,” said Sims,
58, as he lay strapped to a gurney inside Florida State
Prison’s execution chamber, “I stand before God.”

After finishing a prayer in Hebrew, he said, “Peace,
hope and love to all,”

Without a suecessful last-minute appeal, Sims’ death
will be followed this norning by the execution of
Anthony Bryan,

Sims ate a last meal of grouper, french fries, chef’s
salad with tomato and blue cheese dressing, Coca-Cola
and Boston cream pie. He shared the pie with Bryan,
40, who has a cell next to him, and with correctional
officers,

Bryan faces death by lethal injection for the 1983
kidnapping and murder of an elderly watchman.

EXECUTION continued on Page 6A


ae?

{

{

S| [B75 Auara Mareda

Go 9-146

:,52 SOUTHERN REPORTER. |, |: la.

plaintiff, it cannot be fairly said there is no
evidence whatever tending to show negligence
in the fireman that contributed proximately
to..the injury, and therefore the evidence
should have been submitted to the jury for
their finding as contemplated by the atats
utes above quoted.

The judgment is reversed; and the cause
is remanded for further proceedings.

SHACKLEFORD and COCKRELL, JJ.,
concur,

TAYLOR, HOCKER, and FARSHILE, JJ,
concur in the opinion.

——

(69 Fla. 38)
SIMS v. STATD.
(Supreme Court of Florida, Division A. ‘April
12, 1910. Rehearing Denied May 3, 1910.)

(Syllabus by the Court.)

1. CrimInaL Law (§ 698*)-—-OBJECTIONS TO
EVIDENCE—WAIVER.

Where evidence is admitted without objec-

tion, it is regarded as having been received by

. consent,

[Ed. Note.—For ‘other oneat see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. § 1651; Dec. Dig. § 698,*]

2. CRIMINAL LAW (§. 695*)-—TRBIAL—OBJEC-
TIONS TO EVIDENCE.

The grounds of objection ‘to testimony
should be specifically: stated in the'objection,
and general grounds that the proffered testi-
mony is irrelevant or immaterial will not avail,

‘if the evidence is admissible for any purpose.

{Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig: § 1634; Dec. Dig. § 695.*]

8. CRIMINAL LAW (§§ 693, 696*)—EvIDENCE—
FAILURE TO OBgECT—MOTION TO. STRIKE.

If evidence is admitted without objection,
or if a question propounded to a witness is not
objected to on proper grounds before ' it is an-
swered, it is then too late to merely object on
any ground to the evidence, or to the answer
to the question. In such cases a motion may
be made to strike the evidence, if the motion is
based upon some ground ‘of irrelevancy, im-
materiality, or legal inadmissibility.

{Ed. Note——For other cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. §§ 1630, 1639; Dec. Dig. §§
6938, 696.*]

4. CrimInaL Law (§ 451*)—Evipence—Or1n-
ION EVIDENCE.

The physical or mental condition or appear-
ance of a person, or his manner, habit, or con-
duct, may be proved by the opinion of an ordi-
nary witness, founded on observation. There-
fore in a criminal prosecution it is not error
to permit a witness to testify that upon ob-
servation the defendant appeared like he was a
pretty mad man.’

[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. § 1041; Dec. Dig. § 451.*]

5. CrRimMInAL Law (§ 696*)—DvipENcE—Mo-
TION TO STRIKE.

A motion: to strike all the testimony of a
witness is properly denied, when some ‘of the
testimony was admissible.

[Ed. . Note.—For other cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. § 1643; Dec. Dig. § 696.*]

6. CRIMINAL Law (§ 696*)—HivipENcE—Mo-
TION TO STRIKE—GROUNDS.

A motion to strike out testimony that had
been admitted must be predicated upon some
feature of irrelevancy, incompetency, legal in-
admissibility, or impertinency in the evidence
itself, and not upon the ground that it is not
sufficient.

{Ed. Note—For other cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. § 1639; Dec. Dig. § 696.*]

7 CRIMINAL LAW (§ 383*) — BvIDENCE — AD-
MISSIBILITY.
The aduinissibility of testimony does not
depend upon its sufficiency to prove the issue.
[Ed. Note.—For. other cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. § 849; Dee. Dig, § 383.*]

8. HomicrpEe (§ 174*) — EvIDENCE — ADMISSI-
BILITY,.

In a prosecution for homicide, testimony
that, after the defendant ran off from the scene
of the homicide, he called to a companion who
was present to “come on,” is not, wholly irrele-
vant,

[Iad., Note,—For other cases, see Homicide,
Cent. Dig. § 859; Dec. Dig. §.174.*]

9. CriminaL Law (§° 517*)—~lvpence—Con-
FESSION,
In a prosecution for murder, a confession
freely and voluntarily made by the defendant
is admissible, as in other criminal cases.

[Ed. Note.—For' other':cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. § 1146;: Dec. Dig. § 517.*]

10. CriminaL LAw (§ 517*)—Evipence—Con-
FESSIONS. :

Where'a homicide is shown,’ testimony as

to a voluntary confession made by the accused

is admissible to show the defendant's connec-

tion with the crime.

[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Criminal
Law, Dee. Dig. § 517.*]

11. CrruinaL Law (§ 519*)—Conresston—Ap-
_MISS1LILITY,

Before a confession is admitted in evidence,
it should appear that it was freely and volun-
tarily made, uninfluenced by any threat, promise,
hope, or other inducement.

[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Criminal Law,
Cent, Dig. §§ 1163, 1164; Dec. Dig. § 519. *]

12. CrimInaAL Law (§ 519*)—-CoNFESSIONS—
ADMISSIBILITY.
If a confession comes from a mere sense of
guilt, it is admissible as evidence of the guilt.

{Ed. Note—For other cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. § 1163; Dec. Dig. § 519.*}

13. CRIMINAL Law (§ 531*)—CoNnrFEssION—
BURDEN OF PROOF.

When it appears prima facie that a confes-
sion was freely and voluntarily made, the bur-
den is upon the defendant to show that it was
in fact not a voluntary confession.

[Ed. Note—For other cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. § 1212; Dec. Dig. § 531.*]

14. Criminan Law. (§ 519*)—Conressions—
ADMISSIBILITY.

Whether a confession was voluntary or not
may be shown by circumstances. A confession
made while under arrest or in custody is ad-
missible, if it was. voluntarily made and was
not influenced by any inducement,

[Ed. Note—For other cases, see Criminal
Law, Cent. Dig. § 1167; Dec. Dig. § 519.*]

*For other cases see same topic and section NUMBER in Dec. & Am. Digs. 1907 to date, & Reporter Indexes

t2

wv Als les ‘ ‘ 4 4d gitine


(Ma,

‘ENCE—MO-

‘y that had
upon some
*, legal in-
1e evidence
t it is not

» Criminal
§ 696.*] |

NCE — Ap-

does not
‘he issue,
‘Criminal
383.*] 0.3
-~ ADMISSI-

testimony
1 the scene
ynion who
olly irrele-

Homicide,

vor—Con-

confession
defendant
ses. ie
Criminal
> 5LT.*)

*—Con-

ony as
‘e accused
Ss connec-

Criminal

‘TON—AD-

' evidence,
nd volun-
+, Dromise,

inal Law,
§ 519.*],

 cSSIONS—
‘ 9i4

> sense of

1e guilt.

Criminal
519.*]}

‘-ESSION—

a confes-
the bur-
at it was

Criminal
Dol.*]

‘SSIONS—

~y or not
onfession
ly is ad-
and was

Criminal
aah ad
re’
Indexes

t

18. Crmmnar, Law (§ 736*)—Conresstons—
ADMISSIBILITY.

The ddmissibility of a confession is for the
ort to determine. When it appears that a
leral foundation was laid for admitting a con-
fession as having been freely and- voluntarily
made, uninfluenced by. the. attending circum-
stances or by inducements, the confession is ad-
missible in evidence; its probative force being
for the jury to determine in the first instance.

. (Ed. Note—For other cases, see Criminal
py ent Dig. $§ 1219, 1702; Dec. Dig. §

10 Crminan- Law (§ 1045*)—Aprrar—OB
vECTIONS TO CrosS-ICXAMINATION. :
A mere objection to the manner of conduct-
tng the cross-examination, with no ruling and
exception, cannot be considered by the appellate
court... ' ny

{Ed. Note.—For - other cases, see’ Criminal
law, Cent. Dig. § 2652; Dec. Dig. § 1045.*]

1, Homtcrpe (§ 307*) — Instructions — Dr-
_ GREE OF CRIME.

A requested instruction that “the court
Instructs the jury under the evidence the only
olfense which you can convict the defendant of
in this case is that of manslaughter, if you
should find him guilty of any offense,” is prop-
etly refused, when there is evidence upon which
the jury could predicate a verdict of murder.

(Ed. Note—For other cases, see Homicide,
Deo. Dig. § 307.4],

Error to Circuit Court, Polk County; J. B.
Wall, Judge. cE 1.

| Edward. Sims was convicted of murder,
and brings error. Affirmed. .

H. K. Olliphant, M. A. Wilson, and D. B.
Summers, for plaintiff in error. Park Tram-
mell, Atty: Gen., for the State. .

WHITFIELD, C. J.. This writ of error
was taken to a judgment of conviction for
murder in the first degree. Most of the as-
tigaments of error are upon the admissibility
of evidence.

_ Where evidence is admitted without objec-
thon, it is regarded as having been received
by consent. The grounds of objection to tes-
timony should be specifically stated in the ob-
jection, and géneral grounds that the proffer-
fd testimony is irrelevant or immaterial will
‘hot avail, if the evidence is admissible for any
purpose. If evidence is admitted without
objection, or if a question propounded to a
witness is not objected to on proper grounds
before it is answered, it is then too late to
merely object on any ground to the evidence
to the answer ‘to the question. In such
eaees € motion may be made to strike the
evidence, if the motion is based upon some
ground of irrelevancy, immateriality, or legal
londmissibility. Sims ‘v. State, 54 Fla. 100,
4 South. 737.
Tt appears that about 5 or 6 o’clock in the
afternoon the defendant met the deveased on
the railroad track and cut him with a knife.
Death resulted some days later
_ Awitness for the state testified that about

SIMS v. STATE. (6 eo

199.

9.or 10 o’cléck:in the morning, before the
fatal. cutting in‘the afternoon, the defendant
came to the house where witness was board-
ing and. dsked for Mr. Doak; that defendant
had his hand in his right pocket, and kept
it there all the time, and said: “There is a
hell of a disturbance over here at No. 5.
Mr. Redd has fired me, and I want to see
Mr. Doak.” The witness, referring to the
defendant, testified that: “He appeared like
he was a pretty mad man. He looked like
a.mad man to me” Objection was made
by the defendant to the last-quoted testimo-
ny, after it was given, “on the ground that
it is. immaterial and irrelevant and highly
improper.” In reply to a question from the
court, the witness said: ‘He appeared to be
an angry man to me. He had his hand in
his pocket, and kept it there all the time.”
The objection was overruled, an exception
was noted, and error is assigned thereon.
As it appears from the bill of exceptions
that the testimony was in before it was ob-
jected to, such testimony was not then sub-
ject to a mere objection. Williams v. State,
58 Fla. 138, 50 South. 749; Dickens v. State,
50 Fla. 17, 38 South. 909.

The physical’ or mental condition or ap-
pearance of a person, or his manner, habit,

or conduct, may be proved by the opinion

of an ordinary witness, founded on observa-
tion. Therefore it was not error to pérmit
the witness ‘to testify that upon observation
the defendant “appeared like he was a pretty
‘mad man.” Higginbotham y. State, 42 Fla.
573, 29 South.. 410, 89 Am. St. Rep. 237;
Fields v. State, 46 Fla. 84, 35 South. 185;
Mitchell v. State, 43 Fla. 584, 31 South. 242.
The witness’ did not state that the defend-
ant’s ‘apparent anger was directed against
the deceased; but this did not affect the
admissibility of the testimony as to the de-
fendant’s appearance at a stated time on the
day of the homicide, when the defendant re-
ferred to his discharge by the deceased.

A motion was nade to strike “all of the
testimony of this witness, for the simple rea-
son that the evidence of the witness shows
no conduct or acts sufficient to show that the
defendant in this case had ‘any ill will or
intention to hurt ‘or murder the deceased.”
At least some of the testimony of the wit-
ness was clearly admissible, and the motion
to strike all of it was therefore not well
taken. Lewis v. State, 55 Fla. 54, 45 South.
998; Platt v. Rowland, 54 Fla. 237, 45 South.
32; Baldwin v. State, 46 Fla. 115, 35 South.
220; VWields v. State, 46 Pla. 84, 35 South. 185.
|. A motion:to strike out testimony that had
been admitted must be predicated upon some
feature of irrelevancy, incompetency, legal
inadmissibility, or impertinency in the evi-
dence itself, .and not upon the ground that

Fer other cases see same topic and section NUMBER in Dec. & Am. Digs. 1907 to date, & Reporter Indexes

PIMP NC cels 4

Wook,


Ps Sia ar CAPRRNG LR coe ae eee

200 52 SOUTHERN: REPORTHR. (Ala.

it is not sufficient. Lewis v. State, supra;
Maloy v. State, 52 Fla. 101, 41 South. 791.

The admissibility of testimony does not
Aepend upon its sufficiency to prove the issue.
Bass v. O’Berry (decided. at this term) 51
South. 597,

A witness testified that, after the defend-
ant ran off from the scene of the homicide,
he called to a companion who was present
to “come on.” This was objected to after
its admission, but no motion was made to
strike it, If this was not properly a part of
the res geste, it is admissible as one of the
circumstances attending the homicide, that
cannot be said to be wholly irrelevant.

Testimony as to an alleged confession of
the defendant was received without. objec-
tion. After its admission as evidence the
defendant moved “to strike out the alleged
confession as narrated by the witness. * * *
on the: ground that, admitting the whole
statement or testimony of the said witness,
it does not show that.the alleged confession
was made freely and voluntarily.”

In a prosecution for murder,:a confession
freely and voluntarily made by the defendant
is admissible as in other criminal Cases.
Where a homicide is shown, testimony as to
a voluntary confession made by the accused
is admissible to show the defendant’s con-
nection with the crime. Before a confession
is admitted in evidence, it should appear that
it was freely and voluntarily made, unin-
fluenced by any threat, promise, hope, or
other inducement. If a confession comes
from a mere sense of guilt, it is admissible
as evidence of the guilt. When it appears
prima facie that a confession was freely and
voluntarily made, the burden is upon the de-
fendant to show that it was in fact not a
voluntary confession. Whether a confession

‘was voluntary or not may be shown by cir- |:

cumstances, A confession made while under
arrest or in custody is admissible, if it was
voluntarily made and was not influenced by
any inducement. McNish v. State, 47 Fla.
69, 36 South. 176; Daniels v. State, 57 Fla,
1, 48 South, 747. :

The ruling of the court on the motion to
strike the alleged confession is as follows:
“The witness * * * having testified af-
firmatively that the statement made by the
defendant was made not only freely and
voluntarily, but was made after he had told
the witness that he need not make uny state-
ment unless he desired, or that it was with
him whether he made any statemenr, the mo-
tion is denied.” As the confession was clear-
ly not immaterial or irrelevant to the issue
being tried, the motion to strike it was prop-
erly denied, unless the confession was legally
inadmissible. There’ is evidence to support
the statement and ruling of:the court, and
the evidence is not contradicted. The admis-

sibility of the evidence was forthe court to
determine. It appears that a legal foundation
was laid for admitting the confession as bhay-
ing been freely. and voluntarily made, unin-
fluenced by the attending circumstances. or
by inducements. Gantling v. State, 40 Fla,
237, 23 South. 857; Green vy. State, 40 Fla.
474, 24 South, 587; McNish v, State, 47 Fla.
69, 86 South. 176. Whether the confession
was damaging to the defendant, or whether
it “simply created an impression on the part
of the jury that the alleged confession was
that of murder,” as urged by the defendant,
is not a consideration in determining. the
legal admissibility of the confession.

A mere objection to the manner of con-
ducting the cross-examination, with no ruling
and exception, cannot be considered by the
appellate court.

The requested instruction that “the court
instructs the jury under the evidence the
only offense which you can convict the de
fendant of in this case is that of manslaugh-
ter, if you should find him guilty of any-.of-
fense,” was properly refused, since there
was evidence upon which the jury could
predicate a verdict of murder. — ;
‘There is evidence to sustain the verdict,
and it does not appear that the jury were

not governed by the evidence in rendering the

verdict. Wear
The judgment is affirmed.

SHACKLEFORD and COCKRELL, JJ,

concur.

TAYLOR, HOCKER, and PARKHILL, JJ.
concur in the opinion.

: (166 Ala. 353)
RICHARD et al. v. STEINER BROS.

(Supreme Court of Alabama: Feb. 3, 1910.
Rehearing Denied Feb. 26, 1910.)

1. JupGMENT (§ 788*)—LIEN—PRIORITIES,
Under Code 1907, § 3383, making all con-
veyances of real property void as to judgment
creditors without notice, unless recorded before
the accrual of the right of such judgment credit-

ors, a deed of land executed prior to the obtain-'

ing of a judgment against the grantor, but
which was not recorded until after a judgment
was obtained, is void as to the judgment, un-
less it is shown that the judgment creditor had

notice of the deed; and the burden is upon the’

grantee to show notice. ;
{[d. Note.—For other cases, see Judgment,
Cent. Dig. §§ 1868, 1869; Dec. Dig. § 788.*]

2, JUDGMENT (§ 787*) — LIEN — PRIORITIES —
PRESUMPTION OF SATISFATCION FROM Lapss

oF TIME.
Code 1907, § 8383, makes all conveyances of

real property void as to judgment creditors.

without notice, unless recorded before the ac
crual of the judgment creditors’ right. Section
4154 provides that “if ten years have elapsed

*For other cases see same topic and section NUMBER in Dec. & Am. Digs. 1907 to date, & Reporter Indexes

Ala.)

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6A

THE GAINESVILLE SUN NEWS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2000

EXECUTION: Florida uses lethal injection for first time

Continued from 1A

FSP Warden James Crosby
spoke briefly by telephone with
Gov. Jeb Bush early Wednesday
before nodding to an executioner,
hidden behind a one-way mirror. A
prison doctor pronounced Sims
dead at 7:10 a.m., about 9 minutes
after the lethal dose began flowing

‘through an intravenous line in
Sims’ arm.

“It was just like watching some-
one fall asleep,” said C.J. Drake,
Department of Corrections spokes-
man. Drake, who witnessed Sims’
death, described Wednesday’s exe-
cution as “almost clinical.”

Some witnesses said Sims, who
was wearing his glasses, continued
talking after making his final state-
ments, but couldn’t be heard
because a microphone in the
chamber had been turned off. Sud-
denly, his eyes glazed and his lips
opened.

Drake said DOC will review pro-
tocol regarding a condemned
inmate’s final statements.

Sims died after receiving one
cycle of the fatal cocktail: two
syringes of the anesthetic sodium
pentothal followed by two syringes
of a muscle relaxant called pancu-
ronium bromide and finally two
syringes filled with potassium
chloride, a salt that will stop the
heart at high doses.

It took the injection of all three
chemicals before Sims’ heart moni-
tor registered a flat line, Drake said.

Across the street from the prison,
about 50 people gathered in the
chilly morning to quietly pray for
Sims and to protest Florida’s death
penalty. Most said they would
return today for Bryan’s execution.

Among them were Bryan’s fam-
ily and friends, a sister, his girl-
friend and his 16-year-old son.

“We’re here for Terry today.
Tomorrow I guess I'll be here for
my brother,” said Bryan’s sister,
Cynthia Henry of Salt Springs.
Crying, Henry held up a poster with
the Bible verse, “Lord, lay not this
sin to their charge for they know
not what they do.”

FYI: Sims execution

m Terry Sims’ execution is the first
time in 76 years that anyone in Flor-
ida has been executed by means
other than electrocution.

m Florida now joins 34 other states
that also use lethal injection.

ma Sims-was the 45th Florida inmate
executed since the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled in 1976 that Florida’s
death penalty law was constitutional.

m Texas leads the nation in the num-
ber of executions since 1976 with
206.

m Sims’ execution was the first
since the July 8, 1999, electrocution
of Allen Lee “Tiny” Davis. Blood
poured from his nose and stained
his white shirt.

w Unless there is a successful
appeal, Anthony Bryan will be exe-
cuted by lethal injection today for
the 1983 kidnapping and murder of
an elderly watchman. George Wil-
son, 60, was hit in the back of the
head and then shot in the face in
Santa Rose County. .

Henry and her family planned to
visit with Bryan several times
Wednesday, still hoping for a last-
minute reprieve.

Bryan’s attorneys have argued
that his first attorney was an
admitted alcoholic.

“Every Death Row inmate
deserves a fair trial and that’s one
thing my brother didn’t get,” Henry
said. .

While other protesters held
lighted candles or posters, a group
of 10 people from the Jewish Con-
gregation B’Nai Israel of Gaines-
ville read scripture in Hebrew and
English. Rafi Lehmann, a senior at
Buchholz High School, said they
came to pray for Sims more than to
protest the execution.

“We’re not here to question his
guilt, but to pray for him,” Leh-
mann said.

Sims, who was Jewish, met with
a rabbi before his execution, Drake
said.

KIM BAULDREE/The Gainesville Sun

David Pawliger, from left, Rabbi Allan Lehmann of B’Nai Israel and Rabbi Andy Koren of the Hillel Foundation
say prayers for Terry Melvin Sims during his execution by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on .

Wednesday morning.

‘

Michelle Agans of St. Augustine
was the first to arrive to protest the
execution.

“They think doing it this way
takes away the guilt, but it’s just
state-sanctioned killing,” she said.
Agans has “a loved one” on Death
Row, but would not identify the
person.

Marcus Warwell, a University of
Florida student, stood in silent pro-
test with his back toward a mock
electric chair and a gurney bearing
a life-size needle. Both were
brought by execution opponents
and had signs propped against
them saying, “Thou Shall Not Kill.”

Warwell, a forestry graduate stu-
dent, was one of several university
students who stood vigil Wednes-
day as part of the university chapter
of Amnesty International.

“I don’t think it’s any more
humane,” Warwell said about lethal

injection vs. the electric chair. “It’s
still murder.”

Some opponents said they are
worried that the sterile nature of
lethal injection will desensitize the
public, making it easier to accept
executions.

An actor, dressed in a Hawaiian
shirt and a Gator cap, also milled
among the opponents.

Staff for filmmaker Michael
Moore’s television show “The
Awful Truth” said the man and
scenes from the protest will be used
in an upcoming episode of the pro-
gram, which will probably air in
May.

The actor, described by the
show’s staff as a Florida sports fan,
grilled sausages on a portable grill
and passed out popcorn, calling his
antics “a tailgate party.” The seg-
ment will show how Florida is
“back in the game” of executions,

to - At E da

staff said.

After leaving the prison, Semi-
nole County Sheriff Don Eslinger,
who was a witness at the execution,
described it as “rather simple” and
“sterile” and said the procedure’s
efficiency should eliminate many
Death Row appeals. Speeding up
the appellate process will re-
establish the death penalty’s
capacity to deter crime, he said.

Eslinger also spoke to Pfiel’s
widow, Florence, by phone after the
execution.

She didn’t want to attend,
Eslinger said, but he said she feels a
“sense of closure” now that the case
is over.

Lise Fisher can be reached at 374-
5092 or fisherl@gvillesun.com. Sun
staff writer George Hutchens and
The Associated Press contributed to
this report.

tr 4A RNA D IIE O

GRAMMY AWARDS

Partial list of 42nd Annual Grammy Award
winners presented Wednesday in Los Ange-
les:

m Female Country Vocal Performance:
“Man! | Feel Like a Woman!” Shania Twain.
@ Female R&B Vocal Performance: “It’s Not
Right But It’s Okay,” Whitney Houston.

@ Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Brand
New Day,” Sting.

m= Country Album: “Fly,” Dixie Chicks.
@ R&B Album: “Fanmail,” TLC.

m Female Pop Vocal Performance: “! Will
Remember You,” Sarah McLachlan.

@ Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with
Vocal: “Maria Maria,” Santana.
@ Pop Collaboration with Vocals: “Smooth,”
Santana featuring Rob Thomas.

@ Pop Instrumental Performance: “E!
Farol,” Santana.

m Dance Recording: “Believe,” Cher.

m Pop Album: “Brand New Day,” Sting.

@ Traditional Pop Vocal Performance:
“Bennett Sings Ellington — Hot and Cool,”
Tony Bennett.

m Female Rock Vocal Performance: “Sweet
Child 0’ Mine,” Sheryl Crow.

@ Male Rock Vocal Performance: “American
Woman,” Lenny Kravitz.

@ Rock Performance by a Duo or Group
with Vocal: “Put Your Lights On,” Santana
featuring Everlast.

@ Hard Rock Performance: “Whiskey in the
Jar,” Metallica.

& Metal Performance: “Iron Man,” Black
Sabbath.

@ Rock instrumental Performance: “The
Calling,” Santana featuring Eric Clapton.

w Rock Song: “Scar Tissue,” Flea, John
Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith
(Red Hot Chili Peppers).

m@ Rock Album: “Supernatural,” Santana.

@ Alternative Music Performance:
“Mutations,” Beck.

& Male R&B Vocal Performance: “Staying
Power,” Barry White.

@ R&B Performance by a Duo or Group
with Vocal: “No Scrubs,” TLC.

@ R&B Song: “No Scrubs,” Kevin
“Shekspere” Briggs, Kandi Burrus and
Tameka Cottle, (TLC).

8 Traditional R&B Vocal Performance:
“Staying Power,” Barry White.

@ Rap Solo Performance: “My Name Is,”
Eminem.

m Rap Album: “The Slim Shady LP,”
Eminem.

m Male Country Vocal Performance:
“Choices,” George Jones.

w Country Performance by a Duo or Group
with Vocal: “Ready to Run,” Dixie Chicks.

@ Country Collaboration with Vocals: “After
the Gold Rush,” Emmylou Harris, Linda Rons-
tadi and Dolly Parton.

@ Country Instrumental Performance:
“Bob's Breakdowns,” Asleep at the Wheel fea
turing Tommy Allsup, Floyd Domino, Larry
Franklin, Vince Gill and Steve Wariner.

RB Cnimten- &


CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DATA SHEET

Floewe

STATE INVENTORY #
OFFENDER: , SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION
NAME: HARRY Siagletow (TITLE, DATE AND PAGE#)
RACE: BLACIC, Time [Ar bare
SEX: MALG 2

spun /S0? F

DATE EXEGUTED: 1/7 [1897 an fa ign
county: ills boeovg), fef= (E97 I:
AGE: 3O
VICTIM:

NAME: ARCK co mm 1d

RACE: COATS
SEX: WALG
AGE:

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION: POUCAWD

DATE CRIME |
COMMITTED: SETS, EGS

DATE OF
SENTENCING;

DAY OF THE
WEEK EXECUTED: Fda

OFFENDER
RESIDENCY:

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF CRIME? SyxywGTDWD ORIGCHEA TD TAS Anuett OF ELLA CGA, WH WAL Enq

AS Swnwew5S wLM6D AMS Rods AFIENT Gres WMA H6 shot
AUN EHLGA THO OF icon,

MEDIA ACCOUNT Ma> WAC FESS “MEX ALK Each TIME CODICES

OF TRIAL:
OF MIAGA.

t
"6A! ¢ AD AMS
MEDIA ACCOUNT SHO. KS Gu6D ARSISTES W FASTOVIDD MS PriSrnrers LGb !
OF EXECUTION: 404 TAS pornss WAS ASTUSTES WITH THE Kot Uh 6 TG CALL, SHELL
CROITEUA SUPRPEA THO Bude, CAN U6 Si SGLETWAIS HEAD WON REFDUE THE
Qtawh KnG0 (TTHS SHEE Rusr TNS L6ECL ALA Tro BuDy ol SI 6uUSTOW

METHOD: AAWGED TIME: /2//7 Gb PronPes GONT 6é7,
{

STAYS OF
EXECUTION:

EXECUTIONER: SHO NIC Gi. SPO YE

WITNESSES: Soo

RITUALS: LAST 4rd

LAST worps: GS mmvT6 ARDMESS SAt>/ Prayer |
“RIENNED MEET MC, MEET ME D> HELYE, BECAEE TA Coit

OD TO BARD AVLY FA YOISIMP EDL WALCAS MEET ME / HEATED,
TAMA @wo Pp GO AWS 04 SIPS NAVE GEEr> FOL EWEr>  GRPBYS, GPBINE,

OTHER INFORMATION: f7¢<j7 LeeAL HAYans IM 4D SEAMS,


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teks Heard asking | Sheri

ask id

he voice came from it
red, Sheriff Kpencer t |

jpd ana !

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Lyeeston Y Nery Angle ta at Taeupa on 9/98
lithe Wisk MAtint 07 wi pla | i pre Letchs ves,


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meron t Hanged whiney,- Plorida, Dec. 54 1919

reproduced by BLO en
: ATE ty ag “No
” "DEPARTMENT OF S74 SHERIFF | | y o
Tallahassee, FL a ed GADSDEN COUNTY ; q é
Series acsaiic Carton : se i Z
4 QUINCY, Nov I8th I9I9
Lie Hon Sidney J.Catts, Governor;

eT Tallahassee Fla?

fe Dear Sar:-

i your lette# of the I7 Inst to hand and I beg to say that
5 Joy Smallwood is Negro Man, and he has made to move in the way o

signe oting: “his“case to the Surpreme Court, if you rember Governor he is.
: the same man that you talked to while you were up to see Charlie Davis
the Negro that killed Sheriff Forehand, if you rember he told you end
Gen Swaingto that he struck his wife twist with a ax, and you told hin
if he aia not minde he would go the same way that Sharlie Davis was goi
from the everdence in the trial, hecame home one mornning about seven
oclock and he told his wife to get up and cook him some breakfast, and
she begain to fuss at him for beaing out all night, and did not get up ¢
fix his breakfast, so he took a ax and struck her twist in the head wit
the ax and then closed up the house, and left eben he told this him se
She woman piven a Lev neve but never was ,conciers or did she ever speak

ae after: she was ‘found in the house, which we was’ gount'e about thirty minnet
: | after, vas seen closing the tindows and lozes of the house and left for
x Tallahassee, it Seames to me that it was a Bruttle Murder;

| with Kindest Regards,

I am yours Very .Truley

_ Obs Pgry snerse


MEW ofS €
3 CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DATA SHEET
Flo D4
STATE INVENTORY #
OFFENDER: ; SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION
NAME: ALBERT Su /T# (TITLE, DATE AND PAGE#)
SEX: M

OFFENSE: MURDER

DATE EXECUTED: Av 4s! 10, 1797

county: O@ls MARtow Co

AGE:

VICTIM:

NAME: pa RsSov bretT
RACE: &

SEX: mM

AGE:

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION :

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

DAY OF THE 4
WEEK EXECUTED: ussdry
OFFENDER

RESIDENCY:

MEDIA ACCOUNT .
OF CRIME: Lilled wi

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Sheriff Spencer has
everything ready for the execution and
is confident that there will be no
hitch in the proceedings unless a
reprive should be received from the
governor but such action on the part
of the executive is not expected.

The gallows upon which
Singleton is to be hung has been ready
for more than a week. It has been
tested and the rove to be used has been
Oiled and also tested. No one but the
sheriff and his trusted deputies know the
exact time the hanging will take place
but it is generally believed that it
will be about 11 o'clock this morning.

After the hanging the body
will be viewed by the jury selected for
that purpose and will then be turned
over to his relatives if they so
desire. If they do not wish to take
charge of the body it will be buried
at the expense of the county.

Ever since the death
warrant was read to Singleton he has
been constantly under the surveilance
of the death watch. Every movement
of the condemned man has been watched
and he has had no opportunity to end
his life even if he had so desired.

A remarkable feature about
the hanging of Singleton is the fact
that this will be the first legal
hanging in this county for forty years,
and that the last man hanged was
executed by the father of the present
sheriff, who was at that time sheriff
of the county.


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| a BE aut || TKE TAMPA TRIBUNE, Friday,
| Ye | He Mar January 7, 1398, page 1.
HS Fit mi | xi Tent
a Ot fi a a ag. |

Harry Singleton, the murderer of
policeman Jack McCormick, has spent his
last night on earth for today, between
the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., he will
be executed in the yard of the county
jail in due form prescribed by law.

The condemmed man passed his last day
much as he has each day since he has been
confined in the county jail. His |
spiritual advisers were with him for a
greater part of the day and joined him in
prayer. He realizes fully that he is to
die today and has frequently declared that
he is ready to meet his God. He has
professed religion and been baptized
and received into membership by the
A.M.E. Church.


THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville)

Saturday,

13 May 1939, page 8.

Negro Sent to
Electric Chair.

RAIFORD, May 12, :—Jonnny
Smith, negro. was put to death in
the electric chair at the State Pris-
on Farm today for the holdup slay- ,
ing several months ago of Sam.
Jones, another négro, near Vero
Beach.

Sheriff W. W. Frick of Indian.
River County threw the switch at:
8:44 A. M and Smith, who wag in
his early twenties, was pronounced

‘dead four minutes later

The execution originally was set
‘for Monday but was postponed un-,
til today by Superintendent L. F.

Chapman to permit the Pardon,

Board to pass on a plea for a stay
of execution. The board denied a.

_gtay the following day.

Gov. Fred P. Come, a member of

‘the board, commentéd, “That was,
‘one of the most cold-blooded mur- |

ders in the State of Florida. That |
okd negro was waylald and killed

for his money.”

T. T. Oughterson, Stuart attor-—
ney, sought a stay on the grounds:
that another negro was implicated. |

Chapman said Smith was “per-:
fectly calm” as he walked to the
chair, attended by the Rev. Leslie,
Shepard. prison chaplain. l

i


48 SOUTHERN 7) .
SMITH, Otis Durrell, 32-year-old white man, hanged, Jacksonville, Florida, on June 11, 1909,

"Jacksonville, Fla., June ll, 1909-Maintaining his innocence to the very last and mount ing |
the scaffold bravely, Otis Durrell Smith, 32=years-ob, formerly of Atlanta, was executed
in the Duval County jail this morning, expiating upon the gallows the murder of his sis-
ter, Cora Belle Smith, whom the law says he shot and killed in a rooming house on West
Adams Street, a little over a year ago.

"Shortly after 10 o'clock Smith was brought from his cell, where he has lived since

the crime was committed except for a few hours at the police headquarters, after his
arrest, With him were the Rev. J. T. Boone, of the First Christian Church, and the Rev,

O, K. Cull, an evangelist, now holding a revival meeting in this city,

"Besides these two gentlemen, acting as spiritual advisers, were several women who have
assisted the ministers singing 'Jesus, Lover of My Soul,' These persons, with the news-
paper men, Sheriff Bowden and Deputies Frank and Ben Jones, Jailer Argo and the physici-
ans required were the only ones on the floor level of the gallows, Below ere the mem-

bers of the jury. ;

"As the straps were adjusted, the singing was continued and Smith look upward, During |
the time the straps were being fastened the Rev, Mr, Boone offered a prayer for the FEPHSBE
repose of Smith s soul, At 10:06 Sheriff Bowden asked Smith if he had any statement to
make, Looking about at the small assembly, Smith spoke in a firm voice’ 'Now that you
gentlemen are all together, I wish to state that it is not through bravery that I come

out here upon the gallows, but by the help of Jesus Christ. I feel that I have a home

in heaven, and have no fear or dréad to go,!

"The cap was adjusted and the noose fitted upon his neck, Sheriff Bowden asked Smith if

he was ready, then, without faltering, Smith said in a firm tone: "Yes, I am ready to

meet my God,' As the last word left his kips the grap was sprung and he shot downward

into the room below, The execution was perfect, Smith s neck being broken by the fall,
and although he was allowed to hang until 11:17 the physicians declared that death was
instantaneous, Only a faint heart beatconfinuted for a few minutes,

"Before he was taken to the gallows, Smith talked with his spiritual advisers and en-

gared in prayer and a short religious service, He talked with newspaper men in a calm

voice, the main topic being an religious subjects, He declared his innocence of the crime
for which he died and handed SheriBB Bowden a letter, the publication of which he request’
ed. ~

"Smith did not sleep last night, but spent the whole night in reading the Bible and
prayer, ‘He até only a light breakfast. He will"be buried beside the sister he killed,"
JOURNAL, Atlanta, Ga., June 11,°1909 (102) Photograph on this page.

"Jacksonville, July 17, 1908-Languishing in a cell at the county jail, trembling at
every footsbeph heard in the corridor and on the verge of a nervous collapse, Otis
Smith, formerly of Atlanta, awaits the death sentence for the murder of his own sis-
ter, Cora Belle Smith, Only one ray of hope gleams through the narrow slits in the
dark cell inwhich Smith daily brool#s over his wayward life. His attorney, Gordon
Broome, provided for by the state, for he had no funds, no friends and‘no kinsmen to
aid him in his fight for life, may yet succeed in having the case snet to the gene
court, shou#f the move for a new trial fade, The trial of Smith during the week pas
only served to intensify the feeling against him and a punishment even more severe
than hanging could not expiate the crime of which he was charged. '
"On May By weakened in health by hard labor sometimes late into the night, ae e
Smith, compelled to give her every penny,heyond a mere existence, toa et Se ner
brother, left the furnished rooms in which they had been Living together at 2 : a A
son Street, and went to a rooming house at 321 Bridge Ste, thinking to escape rig am
who had been to her a demon. For dne brief day, 2) hours of peace, she Lived at ne
new auarters and heped that,as he promiséd, Smith wuld leave the city. Instead : .
vulture-Like Smith had sought out his sister's new home and beset her as she starte P
for her wrk. Frightened, as she always was, she cowed before his demands and cane
to meet him on the evening of the 6th, She kept the appointment and went with him to
his new room at 631 West Adams St., not far from her own boarding house, as she
thought tos ecure some few articles that were left in his t funk, aoe waniea oie
went, and what happened there no one know or ever will, Ina few s - m = :
tol shots rang our upon the quiet air of the efening and the scream of : ge -
the first inkling that murder was beyond the closed door of the room, o Wet :

De

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DATA SHEET

ys is

STATE

OFFENDER:

RACE: W
sEX: M
OFFENSE: MUsDER

DATE EXECUTED: Jue (|) /70%
COUNTY:
AGE: 32

VICTIM:

» Ger bell bell 5.1%

AGE:

RELATIONSHIP (7s7E
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

70S

INVENTORY #

SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION

Tackrouy; le - Duva t bo.

(TITLE, DATE AND PAGE?)

Jap Te bav€
S-7- (79 7 f-6.

wall tsP4 Fale
HisToeg of Facksewnlle , FL p ISS
Bye miny ban Jaws 62/7 -7207
bate ouwHt 7.17 (eog til
Athle Fouel 6.41 -/202 1032

oe Mag HEP EAOS :
DATE CRIME gia ee ee

COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING;

DAY OF THE
WEEK EXECUTED:

OFFENDER
RESIDENCY:

Juct 7) (To7

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF CRIME:

killed ducrag A @useel

Can - g A Poot ing house aleee SE

|

whose house the shooting occurred, was the first to enter the room and to his questiih:
‘My God, what has ahppened,! Smith's only reply was 'I killed my sister.' Lying upon
he floor, gasping: in the last feeble expressions‘ of life was the form of the wounded ©
girl, Smith, mimself, was bleeding from a wound in the left ear, while the girl's
clothing was saturated with her ownlife's blood, Physicians were cal led’ and Shaking
their heads that all hope was gone, placed the body* upon the bed, Four’ wounds were
found upon her body, One bullet had pierced her left breast, éntering the lung, Ano-
her plowed through the fore part of her skull, while poweder burns and wounds on her
left hand showed the path of a third leaden deatedealer, while the fourth struck her
left forearm, piercing it and cutting in twain her gold bracelet. In a few short se-
conds she breathed:her last and the heavy hand of the law clothed in the blue coasts
of two policement, took away from the scene of the tragedy’ the blood-covered brothers
t the police headquarters, a physician removed from the base of Smith's lef} ear a
bullet which had flattened itself: against the skull, Crying, out that he had not mur-
dered his sister, but that she was shot in a tussle for the revolver, with whcih she
had tried to kill him, Smith evinced no sorrow at the death of one of his own blood,
but se@med to think only of how he might gain liberty, A coroner's jury found him
responsible for the death of his sister and heard for the first time his revolting
story accusing*his sister of a life of shame and connecting her’ with a prominent At-
lantian, whose name he would not divulge, Then, follwoed two months in the county jail
where he waitad for a hearing WBXSKAXAKRBUREXHRXAUAHXESY before a couPt of justice.
"Qh Monday the trial began, with Attorney Gordon Broome defending Smith on a plea of
insanity. More like the acts of an insane man was the curelty of‘Smith toward his
sister, of which witness after witness told upon the stand, He had beaten her into
insensibility on many occasions and had compelled*her to give to him her harnings which
she secured for her hard daily work’as a press feeder at a local print shop, Then to
add to the horrible story and make it still more revolting came the story‘of Smith
upon the stand, There under oathrto tell the truth, he testified that he was thé bro-
ther‘of Cora Belle Smiths; that he had lived in Jacksonville | years and was a pressman
by trade, Then he himself argued that he was insane, mentally unbalanced, Hie suffered,
he pleaded with the jury; with some trouble in his head, 'I can't tell just how I felt,!
he whimpered, 'I felt just like a man that didn't have any sense,' He had made the
statement himself that no other witness had made for him, Then, thurning his attention
to his sister again, he announced that he had been worried about her and her life,
making the statement though her very blood had been calling out of the ground to be
avenged of the wrongs he had heaped upon herg ‘Have you any recollection of the shoot-
ing oB Belle Smith?! Asked Attorney Broome, 'I have some recollection of it, Mrse
Brooks told me not to let my sistkr come back there arly more, I told her I was going”
St. Augustine to get a position over there, I thought I would get a réém at Mr, Hicks's
for a short time. I got the room, carried my trunk there, and we went up to Belle's
to get hbr things and I was shotin the ear, I didn't remember anything more until I |
was arrested, While we were in the room, Belle said to me: 'I understand you have been
taling aboub me.! I said: 'Yes, I have made some remarks about you,' and I was then
shot in the ear, and we grappled for the pistol and I didn't remember anything more um=
til I was arrested,' On cross examination of Smith, the st -te's attorney asked: '° >
‘Didn't you testify in the prelimanary trial before Judge Willard that your sister
had made an affidavit that you were the cause of her ruin?!‘ 'I testified that she told
me she did,! said Smith, The charge to the jury was given by Judge Call on Wednesday
evening and through the whole night following the jury ballotted, On the following
morning a terdict of guilty was rendered, Smith, when the verdict wasread, betrayed no
embhtione 2 Tet
"Smith came to Jacksonville from Atlanta bout 3 years ago, He is a pressman by tzaade
and has borne an unsavory repution with the police during a part of his residence -in this
city. The sister came from Atlanta only last December, Friends of the girl and
fellow-workers say she was of a quiet disposition and had often noted the fact that she
feared some violence from her brother, There is nothing in the evidence in regard to
her actions since she hasbeem in Yacksonville to show that the charges made by her
brother are true; on the otherhand, she seemed to be a hard-working young woman who did |
oll in her power to liye quietly and respectably. Her body was laid to rest in the local
cemetery, the Pressman s upion fraying the mxpenses, No relative shed a thar for her
Bees LAD no one of her blood attendéd the funeral," JOURNAL, Atlanta, Ga. July 17,
o


404 | The Nation.

October 27, 1979

Court had been battered by successive days of debate on a
stay for him. On Thursday, it had denied two petitions in his
case. It was hard to be optimistic now.

Bill Hames was already in the clerk’s office when I arrived
shortly after 6 A.M. I read the pleadings, we filed them and
then waited for the clerk, Michael Rodak, to arrive.

Rodak came in about 7 A.M. He refused to see me. For
more than an hour Court officials would not say whether
any Justice was in the building. We were to take it on faith
that the Justices would actually see our pleading, a little
painful when an execution is possible within hours. The pro-
cedure at that stage renders effective assistance of counsel
meaningless. How can any lawyer be effective when he can-
not know whether the judges receive his papers? The prac-
tice results from the Court’s excessive desire for secrecy.
Eventually, reporters told us who had been seen entering the
building. Rodak continued to send word that he was ‘‘too
busy’’ to see me. I could not find out whether the Court had
notified the State of Florida that it was considering our
petition.

Shortly after 10 A.M., I was handed an order. ‘‘The
application for stay of execution, presented to Mr. Justice
Powell and by him referred to the Court, is denied. Mr. Jus-
tice Brennan and Mr. Justice Marshall would grant the stay.
Mr. Justice Blackmun took no part. . . .”’ At the bottom of
the order were the initials W.E.B., apparently written by the
Chief Justice of the United States. I wondered whether they
were written larger, smaller, or the same as usual.

ohn Spenkelink was dead within half an hour. We
are told he was denied the chance to make a last
statement, verbally abused by the guards, fought
removal from his cell, was gagged and forced to the
chair. Three successive bolts of electricity were sent through
his body. Parts of his body were burned. His fingers curled
backward. An investigation of the methods of his execu-
tion has been made. There are still those who believe, like
Dr. Guillotine, that there is a humane method
As a lawyer I have no doubt that Judge James P. Cole-
man, joined by Judge Peter T. Fay, who did not see the
papers we filed or hear arguments, violated John Spenke-
link’s constitutional right to due process of law. There can
be only one explanation. Coleman wanted the man executed
quickly, regardless of the law. Why the rush to execution?
Why would he take the unprecedented action of reviewing
the State’s petition late at night without requiring it to be
submitted first to Judge Tuttle? There is no greater expert
on the very issues of jurisdiction the State raised than Elbert
Tuttle. He is chairman of the Advisory Committee on Civil
Rules and vastly experienced in the subject matter.
The issues raised in the conference call were technical but
very important.* Why did Coleman proceed after years of

* Judge Coleman based jurisdiction on an appellate rule even though no ap-
peal had been taken, so the case was not even properly before his court.
He ignored the habeas corpus statute, which denies the Court of Appeals
jurisdiction over original petitions for habeas corpus. He considered a
stay order a “‘final order”’ in violation of a statute that required a certifi-
cate of probable cause—a stay order that was clearly made in order to
preserve jurisdiction.

careful, painstaking litigation to compel exhausted lawyers
and the court to discuss a life-and-death case late at night,
over the phone, without exchanging papers, without giving
time for review or study, without allowing time for support-
ing affidavits? Why did he not wait until Judge Fay could
hear the argument? Why did he cite four irrelevant cases
never mentioned in the papers or the discussion in an order
written at home and dictated over the phone to a clerk?

How could he decide the matter without having facts to
judge whether there had been effective assistance of coun-
sel? Since Judge Fay did not hear argument and should not
have voted, and because Judge Rubin ultimately dissented,
how could he decide to vacate Judge Tuttle’s order? And
why had he not given his reasons? Judges deciding death
cases ought to give reasons.

Having waited several weeks for the formal opinion he
had promised, I called the clerk and inquired about it. I was
called back and asked to send a letter. I did. No answer. I
wrote again. Finally, on July 23, two months after John
Spenkelink’s execution, the clerk’s office wrote ‘‘that in
review of the action taken by the United States Supreme
Court subsequent to that taken by the Court in the stay for
Spenkelink, the majority of the panel does not intend to
write anything further with reference to this case.’’ Attached
was a memo dated July 18 from Judge Rubin. ‘‘i reserved
the right to dissent from the order issued by the panel in
this case, and I now confirm that I do dissent, on proce-
dural grounds, from that action.’’ He too declined to give
reasons.

I wrote the court on July 28, asked for reconsideration of
the decision not to write an opinion and inquired: ‘‘Are we
to believe a formal opinion has not been written because a
formal opinion which justified the court’s action which led
immediately to Mr. Spenkelink’s execution cannot be writ-
ten?’’ There has been no reply. The courts must require a
full review of the effectiveness of trial counsel and the ade-
quacy of funds for investigation and expert witnesses in
every capital case if Sixth Amendment rights are to be ful-
filled. They should initiate procedures now to alleviate a
pervasive problem.

Worse than Justice Rehnquist’s hostility and Judge Cole-
man’s abuse of: power is the direction their petulance over
delays takes. Courts may well resent the absurdity of years
of appeals with hundreds on death row. It holds the judici-
ary up to ridicule. But that is no reason to kill a man.

The reason death cases drone on in our courts is that
America no longer has the will for capital punishment. If we
executed one person each working day it would be years
before we would catch up with the backlog. We will not do
it. And as the anguish increases it will become clear that
equal protection of the laws is not possible with the death
penalty. We will not even afford the accused, nearly always
impoverished, the price of an adequate defense. It will be
the capricious cases, Gary Gilmore with a desire to die,
John Spenkelink denied due process, that result in death.

Eventually we will declare capital punishment uncon-
stitutional. Someday we may even proclaim life the first
human right. C

Al Lee, the former Information Director of the Department of Corrections,
notified Superintendent Brierton of the rule requiring the Wednesday interview.
It was the position of Superintendent Brierton that since the execution was
originally to be carried out on a Wednesday, it was not necessary to afford the
condemned man the Wednesday interview. It appears that the Superintendent did
not want John Spenkelink to make any statements, during the week of his execu-
tion, to the news media. The rule cited above appears to give to the Superin-
tendent the right, to promulgate guidelines for interviews with prisoners during
the week prior to the execution. We were unable to find any guidelines pro-

viding for interviews. The right to make a statement on the Wednesday prior to
the execution was denied to John Spenkelink.

COMPLAINT 2

A policy of silence was imposed on all persons concerned
with the duties and responsibilities of the execution
to prevent discussions with the news media.

FINDING 2

Special Post Order No. 100, revised May 15, 1979, provides, in Section 4,
as follows:

Do not discuss these duties and responsibilities with
anyone without specific authorization from the Assistant
Superintendent for Operations or Superintendent.

A policy of silence was, in fact, imposed on all persons concerned with the
duties and responsibilities of the execution.

COMPLAINT 3

John Spenkelink was denied adequate chaplaincy services,
communion by the minister of his choice and the solace of
having the minister walk with him to the death chamber and
be present with him at the time of his electrocution.

FINDING 3
Florida Statute 922.11(2) provides, in part, as follows:

Counsel for the convicted person and ministers of religion
requested by the convicted person may be present (at the
execution).

Florida State Prison Policy Memorandum No. 34, revised May 1, 1979,
provides, in Section 34-9:

Gc. Chaplains
1. Offer increased chaplaincy services to the
condemned inmate and his family.
2. Accompany the condemned inmate to the execution
chamber.

Superintendent Brierton has interpreted the statute and his own policy
memorandum to apply only to the resident prison chaplain. The personal minister

=-B—

October 27, 1979

The Nation. 403

effective counsel. Justice Rehnquist found it hard to believe
that the defendant had suddenly determined this after six
years of trial: “Either he does not believe the claim himself
or he had held the claim in reserve, an insurance policy of
sorts, to spring on a Federal judge of his choice if all else
fails. ’’ Clark’s response to this charge is: ‘‘To presume that
aman whose life is at stake does not believe a claim made in
his behalf with no evidence to support the presumption is a
cavalier treatment of life and constitutional rights. To pre-
sume, as the exclusive alternative, that the claim was deliber-
ately held in reserve as ‘an insurance policy of sorts’ is con-
trary to reason and the entire appellate history of the case
which was vigorously presented. Mr. Justice Rehnquist
decides issues of fact without the evidence when a man’s life
is at stake. ’’

The State had another card to play. At7 P.M. on Thurs-
day, as Clark was about to go home, he received a call from
the clerk of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans, who
told Clark that he was setting up a conference call between
three judges of the Court of Appeals—Judges James P.
Coleman, Peter T. Fay and Alvin B. Rubin, who were to
rule on a request from the State of Florida that Judge Tut-
tle’s stay of execution be set aside—Florida A ttornéy General
Smith, and Millard Farmer, Margie Hames and Clark. The
call began (Judge Fay was unavailable), and the parties
wrangled heatedly and inconclusively over technical ques-
tions of jurisdiction for an hour.

The telephone conference was a nightmare. We were told
at the beginning not to record what was said. The court did
not have our papers. We had not seen the State’s papers.
Some factual statements in the State’s papers were in error,
but we could not know this until we saw them some days
later. We were asked whether we had gone to Spenkelink
and urged him to attack his trial lawyers, to which we
replied, if so, discipline us, do not kill him without deter-
mining his rights. There was loose, unstudied, uninformed
discussion about whether Judge Tuttle had jurisdiction,
whether he entered a fina! order, whether the Court of Ap-
peals had power to review his order.
~ It soon became clear that the bizarre late-night argument
over long-distance phone among lawyers and judges who
had not seen the papers in the case nor been briefed on the
issues Was worse than meaningless; it was dangerous. I com-
plained and Judge Coleman replied that he was not legally
required to give us the opportunity to discuss the matter
over the telephone. We asked for time to file affidavits and
a response to the State’s motion. The merits of our petition
for a writ of habeas corpus had been barely discussed. A
representative of the Attorney General’s office, Margie,
Millard and | made some emotional! conclusory statements
and the call was over shortly after 8 P.M.

I returned home to wait. As the hour grew late, I became
worried about how I would get to Washington and the
Supreme Court if the Court of Appeals acted that evening. I
phoned Judge Coleman, told him it was raining in New
York, there could be delays in transportation, the last flights
and trains were imminent, and that I must know whether I

had to seek action by the Supreme Court. He said he didn’t
know, they were having trouble agreeing, but he assured me
I would have time to obtain review if it became necessary. |
replied that Florida could march Spenkelink to the electric
chair the minute Judge Tuttle’s stay was vacated. He said
that as a former Attorney General, he knew this and assured
me any order his court might enter would not be effective
until I had time to seek review by the Supreme Court.

In view of the extraordinary procedure that had been
followed, I had no confidence what this meant. I called
Attorney General Smith to urge him to agree to time for
briefing the issues before the Fifth Circuit. I told him we had
done the court a disservice in the telephone discussion
because no one had studied the issues or unusual procedures
used. His public duty to fairness required study to be sure
justice was done. He said he had been in the room in Talla-
hassee during the discussion, but decided not to speak. To
my request, he answered only, ‘‘I couldn’t do that.’’

About 11:50 P.M. the phone rang. It was the clerk of the
Court of Appeals calling from New Orleans. He had an
order to read. It was a page and a half. It cited four cases
that had nothing to do with any issue before the Court of
Appeals, and had not been mentioned before. It concluded,
‘“‘We are convinced, for reasons which will hereafter be
stated in a formal opinion, that the aforesaid stay should be
vacated.”’

The order added, ‘‘The motions of Spenkelink for time in
which to file supporting affidavits, etc., is denied. However,
counsel on both sides have been given the benefit of an
extensive discussion of the matter by conference telephone
with a quorum of the court. Further ordered that this order
vacating the stay of execution granted by Judge Tuttle shall
become fully and formally effective at the hour of 9:30
o’clock Eastern daylight savings time, Friday, May 25,
1979. .. . Judge Rubin reserves the right to dissent for
reasons to be assigned.”’

When I called Atlanta to tell Millard and Margie of the
order, only nine and a half hours remained in which to pre-
sent the matter to the Supreme Court. As a precaution, Wil-
liam M. Hames, Margie’s husband and a senior partner ina
distinguished Atlanta firm, had flown to Washington sev-
eral hours earlier with a draft petition to the Supreme Court.
We reworked it over the phone to conform to what we now
knew of the actual order. Margie would call the changes to
Bill in Washington. I would join him there. He would have
the papers ready when I arrived.

The next commercial flight to Washington was at 7:00
A.M. Too late. The next train at 3:30 A.M. was due in
Washington at 7:30. Too late. Joel Berger of the Legal
Defense Fund helped me call charter flight companies but
we could find nothing. So Jack Boger at the Legal Defense
Fund picked me up shortly before 2 A.M. and we drove
through heavy rain to Washington.

We could only seek a discretionary writ from the Supreme
Court. It had denied such writs generally in death penalty
cases since 1976. Indeed, although John Spenkelink, iad
tried four times to obtain Supreme Court review, the Court
had never considered his case on the merits. The Supreme

SPENKELINK SPECIAL INVESTIGATION REPORT

On August 10, 1979, Governor Bob Graham appointed Irwin J. Block, a
Miami attorney, and Inspector General Dick Williams to inquire into the facts,
circumstances and procedures of the electrocution of John Spenkelink. Irwin
Block was requested to participate by the Governor, notwithstanding his public
opposition to capital punishment.

The statutes, rules and regulations in effect at the time of the execu-
tion were immediately reviewed. Sworn testimony was taken and all persons in-
terested in the subject were invited to appear and testify.

The major complaints and allegations investigated and the findings
thereon are as follows.

COMPLAINT lL

John Spenkelink was denied all press interviews during the
week of his execution. Rule 33-15.02 of the Rules of The
Department of Offender Rehabilitation providing for a final
interview on the Wednesday preceding the execution date was
violated.

FINDING 1

John Spenkelink was, in fact, denied any press interviews during the week
of his execution. He was furthermore denied the right of a final interview as
permitted by Rule 33-15.02 of the Rules of The Department of Offender Rehabili-
tation - Execution Procedures. Rule 33-15.02 states:

Interviews with prisoners sentenced to death shall be con-
ducted pursuant to administrative guidelines of the De-
partment of Offender Rehabilitation, with final interviews
permitted on the Wednesday preceding the execution date.

It is questionable as to whether Superintendent Brierton was even aware of the
Department's rules and procedures or even took the time to make himself fully
aware of these rules of procedure when they were brought to his attention during
the week preceding the execution. The Superintendent claims that he asked John
Spenkelink if he wished to make any statement to the press after reading him the
Death Warrant on May 18, 1979, and was told by Spenkelink that any statements

he would make would be through his lawyer. Yet, on the morning of the execution
and immediately prior to the execution, Superintendent Brierton concedes that
John Spenkelink asked him who had denied him the opportunity of talking to the
press. This would seem to belie the statement that John Spenkelink did not wish
any press interviews. The family of John Spenkelink has suggested that Spenke-
link had information about the prison officials which was deliberately suppressed
by this failure to permit him access to the news media.! There is no way that
we can evaluate the credibility of these allegations with the death of John
Spenkelink.

1 They claim that John Spenkelink's notes of this information were contained
in an address book that has disappeared from John Spenkelink's personal belongings.

-7]-

SC rr Neem ee Thee epee AOR Ee ame py Me Fae Sel fb }

“ie! “T HOPE that after this experience sat ;
e ‘testing all of the various facets of the law
. relating to capital punishment that we
will ‘eventually reach a certainty of the ‘
33. @pplication of punishment if such punish-
‘ment is deserved, and perhaps we can
: “reach a point at which (when) a person is
. sentenced to be executed and he has his
eh Op carey the only advice his lawyer can give’ ion 8
oath is just, ‘Don’t sit down.’ rag be
__ “Ihave a friend who is a public defend- *":
“or who represented a man on death row: *!
He said he. had-a perfect defense. His | - }
client was trying to escape because they’.~
were trying to kill him in Sent ” The au-
‘dience laughed.

The Supreme Court justice Coen:

. prison officials for preventing any riots

‘and seemed to extend his praise to the
» execution itself. “Now you people who --
fcppoinient, had gotten poor old sludge * “work in the Department of Corrections, I
Tuttle who is 85 years of age’-- out of *'’ Want to tell you that I think it was: the:
i bed and‘ convinced him: that he’ should 4a) most outstanding exhibition of good gov- cd
4 sign a stay for Spenkelink ; a asernment, good supervision and good) ;
“ms! proud’: cof -the: stata: ‘judiciary, ” 5 » corrections that I have ever seen. I,was *

P Adkins said. “T-only. wish ‘that Cipkrosei “proud of the Department of Corrections -.

fn ! tcould look upon.the state of Florida and ,, 40d the way they, handled it. The thing

St, Petersburgh Times
June 3,1979

" ae raeis Fat

‘Pain a:

tat least’ educate ‘the federal judiciary to.’ .. that disappointed me was that no one said «
t ‘keep their cotton-picking ‘fingers off. us” «1a word about the fine manner in which
. when wo get ready to do our business «. .,our duty was carried out.” - .
fe; . tint eee The Supreme Court justice heaped*s
i; aera ee +7£" most praise on'State Attorney General ‘
fa. 12 Jim Smith. Adkins described this scene at® /

«> the Supreme Court on the morning of the .

execution;

»<! “As 9 o'clock sonenabar we were still:
hearing arguments on the motion to stay.
The execution was set for 10 o’clock. At:
'.torney General Smith, stopped the argu: ,
, ments long enough to announce that for ,
«our information the preparations for the
- * execution began at 9 o’clock. One of the

* justices said, ‘Would you like. for us. 3 to :
/) Grant a stay?” :

- “Smith said, ‘Naw, just go thead and:

do something’... At about 9:20 the seven °
of _us unarimoualy decided to deny the:
“| Stay...
% ; Ke . nae os SEN capita, a el catic Aho a RS
2s calesaialscasasibitascaredesacnpte ; ~ tn dat. sine a ee it tele t ante teursror- Tamale” “alto feel that ifidividual progress goes hand

Kee vernor’s jet didn’t wear out,” said the Su- ’
&preme Court: justice in praise of the fast- .
‘flying vattorney general, ; “because acy

“nally upheld the atatutory arid ease law of thos
“>2"gtate of Florida and improved the integrity, I 13

“‘phank | goodness ‘that ‘the’ bolt’ in = abate

F (Smith and his helper) jetted from lawyer to’
lawyer and from court to court until they fi-" > i

“and the couniy. In ae over half (55 per- in hand with national deterioration. It is
boasted proudly, “we got the U.S. Supreme :: CODY tell they were making progress person- — quite logical.
ourt he the . Cireuit Court of pacaale cally. Slightly more (57. percent) felt they
to, bite the bullet so that the people know: would continue to do better. bring the personal hopes into line with na-
there is some finality i in the system.” . * WHEN INDIVIDUAL conditions were __ tional expectations. But not the least of the
Is ‘some finality” Florida’s goal forthe re- rated on a scale of 10, the past is ranked at 5.7 ~ evils of inflation is that it keeps postponing
: Pad Ss :
maining 131 persons on death row? i percent, the present at 6.7 percent, and the the day of reckoning — moving ahead the
: p p p ’ i
:; How about some mercy? - “-! y\. future at 7.7 percent — a clear trend of | time when Americans finally come off the
How about some humanity? aay: upbeat expectations. trip so many of us have been taking. :

bw ST PETES THM, are ee

‘| first” time in 15 ‘years,’ ’ the attorney SEY:

“think, of the entire ‘judicial system) They did
‘a tremendous jobi.’There was. ‘oné guy wh
~ydidn’t give up and that was serra Gennes
‘dim Smith.” 6 ta yc
: Smith ‘spoke to the sdme Bernese? ‘He
’caaid executions will restoré the public’s beli
in-the system: Mes reall believe” that’for the

‘(oO oe é

In the long run, to be sure, debacle will

Aap % pers 9S
Ba £0) Bic) bi
eS

=


112A Gainesville Sun

Saturday, June2,1979 *

Newspaper Says Spenkelink

A group spokesman said the all- ~

TALLAHASSEE (AP) — Inmates
at Florida State Prison at Starke say
convicted murderer John A. Spenke-
link put up a fight before his execution
last Friday, The St. Petersburg Times
reported in a copyright article. .

“This is murder. This is murder,”
Spenkelink reportedly screamed at his
guards. In its Friday editions, the
newspaper quoted inmates who were
housed in cells near the area in which
the 30-year-old Spenkelink spent his
last hours. Rating

Meanwhile, death penalty oppo-
nents were planning a weekend protest
at Florida’s northern border, where
they said they would tell motorists
they were entering the “‘state of legal
killing.”

A group opposed to state-sanc-
tioned executions, Florida Citizens
Against the Death Penalty, is organiz
ing the Saturday protest at the Geor-
gia-Florida border on U.S. 319, which
links Tallahassee and Thomasville,
Ga.

O° ema ons =

day protest is intended to “‘let tourists

and visitors know they are no longer |
entering what was known as the ‘Sun- .
shine State,’ but ‘the state of legal kill- -

ing.’ ”

chair. Those preparations included

shaving his head and right calf to in-
crease the conductivity of electrodes |

ought Guards Before Execution

attached to his skull and leg. *

The inmates told The Times the
struggle went on for about 15 minutes.
The newspaper also reported inmates
Said they believe they heard a prison
Official order that Spenkelink’s mouth
be taped. vs : ‘

David Brierton, state prison super-
intendent, refused to discuss with The
Times the events preceding Spenke
link’s execution and he was not avail-
able for comment Friday. .,

When a Venetian blind on a large

_picture window Separating the

ae.
ey

death
chamber from a Witness room was
raised immediately Prior to Spenke-
link’s May 25 execution, the inmate
already was Strapped in the death
chair. He had been brought into the
room out of sight of the witnesses.
Brierton denied that this was done
to compress the event and minimize
its impact on the witnesses, which
included several state legislators.
“That was not at all the intent,” Brier-

ton told The Times. “The intent was to

Be. eek

fulfill the law the way it is written.”

In the past, witnesses were Seated
with an unobstructed view of the chair
and then the inmate was brought into
the death chamber and Strapped into
the electric chair. Brierton would not
Say why the procedure was changed at
Spenkelink’s execution. “I don’t want
to talk about the execution.

“It has to stand the way it is, It
has already been reported in the press
and I don’t want to talk about it.”

7 9ste .

‘The St. Petersburg newspaper .
quoted the inmates as saying Spenke- é
link fought prison guards who were :
trying to prepare him for the electric :

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Florida: limes- Union
June 3,1979

oo et ere

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ve" ‘

‘Spimies: ‘Union and Journal, Jacksonville, Sunday; Faiie 5; 1979 ; Re a BS

‘

plonkeliliees services are held

“BUENA PARK, Calif: (UPI): =; of the California Coalition against the

+ é Soin Spenkelink, the first criminal to: -, Death Penalty stood silently, carry- the ‘A memorial leaflet handed out at

--He executed against his will in the na- ing signs, some of which read, “Make af hoes

tion in 12 years, was buried Saturday sy: Spenkelink. the Last,” and “Abolish ey seme) —— af John A. ape .

# ina cemetery near his home, the Death Penalty.” Kelink. Bote: e

ask “About 130 persons, including’ 25 - “A few teen-age girls wept as they - “Born Le ened Iowa, March 8,
-family members, gathered at the “left the chapel, but most of the family . 149. - .
- Renaker- -Klockgether ‘Mortuary | for ss vn ik meenibers appeared composed. ;
memorial services, which were of. js
-fielated by pastor Steve Mays of the“ ‘
.;, Calvary Chapel of Bellflower, Calif.’

¥* Among the mourners were Spen-“:
; ‘Kelink's mother, Lois Spenkelink, 67, ;
this. sister, carck and her. husband, ‘

- Burial followed at Rose Hills wey pa away Starke, Florida,

xy Cenietery in Whittier. ..

On the back, it uoted several
co enkelink, 30, was executed in “favorite lines - John ged se ty
» Flori a’s electric chair May 25 forthe _ including: . a “s,
ee and beating death of Joseph,

: Szymankiewicz, 43, a traveling com: . “Man is wr te
i panion, ina Tallahassee motel room — on is what be. chynaes be
Outside the chapel six members vidn 1973. - rae “Ife chooses that for himself.”

< “T3), es
é xi shag . : Saya
‘ aa

: i 3 ake
; Leis. Spenkelink (left) ‘watche etilea
Me ath

8. son *s casket} leave’

sonapeeenesieneantiiaimedinaiedildammemibimenaiaaleall RSE WHT TENA SA REIS NOE LIMIT TTS SOR ERE TE SRE


a

oo
f By The Associated Press

Then the news of John A. Spenkelink’s execution
lay morming came across the pocket-sized radio,
ce Wolfe, tears suddenly streaming down her face,
ed apart a cardboard sign she had been carrying
six hours in a solitary demonstration at_a Miami
{,
hen she and other death penalty opponents around
state ended their emotional vigils with cries of
‘age and anguish and vows to continue to fight
tal punishment. ‘
don't represent any particular group. Just say |
-esent life,” said Ms. Wolfe, a mother of two in her
20s, as she left Bayfront Park’s Torch of
‘ndship. Her now-shredded sign had said, “Instead
lood on your hands, put life in your heart.”
ttorneys for Spenkelink complained they had been
bed,” and complained about the determination to
cute Spenkelink shown by the state.
ttorney General Jim Smith had jetted around the
ntry in the governor’s private plane to challenge
eals for stays of execution filed in courts from
n County Circuit Court in Tallahassee to the U.S.
»reme Court in Washington.

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TJOVES OF EXEC

C Lt En
“I'm incensed over the treatment we got from the
courts,” said a sobbing Margle Pitt f Atlanta.
“We have no airplane, or secretary or typewriter to fly
around the country and gun down things.”

Fellow Atlanta attomey Millard Farmer, also in
tears, said, “All this has done is just reaffirm our
commitment if we ever had any doubt about what we
should be doing.”

About 100 Tallahassee protestors filed out of Gov.
Bob Graham's reception area when they received
word of the execution at about 10:30 a.m., 12 minutes
after the electrocution was completed.

They had earlier sang, “All we are saying, Is give
life a chance,” and “All we are saying, is give John a
chance,” paraphrasing of Beatle John Lennon's 1970

~ protest song, “Give Peace a Chance.” :

As the scheduled execution grew nearer, the
protest songs gave way to Bible readings, prayers, and
a mournful rendition of "Amazing Grace.”

The group rose to its feet when news of the
executions came. There were only scattered shouts,
but many tears.

“We took one more step backwards toward barba-
rism today,” said John Buckley, 33, of Tallahassee.

ye,

UTION FroresTers

.

LOST In 1@Qrs |

5(26./74

“But you had help from people in the House of Repre-
sentatives, Senate and people in the state of Florida.”

His comments were unheard by Graham, who
remained behind guarded, locked doors in his offices
on the first floor of the state Capito! building.

Death penalty opponent LeRoy Collins, who as Flor-
ida's governor opposed the death penalty but signed
29 death warrants from 1955 through 1960, expressed
his sympathy for Graham and Attorney General Jim
Smith, who headed off legal attempts to block the
execution by Spenkelink’s attorneys.

Collins, now a Tallahassee attorney, said he felt
Graham and Smith were “only doing what was neces-
sary to perform their official responsibility.”

Unlike Graham, Collins has expressed opposition to
the death penalty throughout his political career. He
said, though, that the governor could not put himself
above the law by refusing to enforce death sentences.

"I was saddened today,” Collins said. “I felt it
shouldn’t have been. I still hope the day will come
when Florida will join other states that will not allow
this kind of barbaric punishment.”

Collins said he will continue spe
the death penalty.

aking out against y: ie

Attn
Protesters React to News that Execution Was Carried Out

— Associated F

PER. 289 Duly o*

. v2. 4 =e 1 et ' nt fee es ‘: ‘ .

Pe
4

© Reaction. . . Page 9-A

“<°. By RICHARD CARELLI. ‘
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida death row. Inmate. or es
~ may become the nation’s ‘first prisoner put to death against: '

his will since 1967 lost his “last opportunity”? for epakrae ah

Cowt help Monday.

The court, for the third time, -refused to hear John A.
Spenkelink’s attempt to stave off execution in Aerie
electric chair.

ie Now, the convicted murderer’s only hope {s that. he will

~ be granted clemency. State officials are restudying -his case
after refusing last year to spare his life.

Spenkelink’s case has been watched closely by a national.

alliance of lawyers who oppose capital punishment. ‘The

lawyers fear. Spenkelink’s execution could spark a revival

of such state-imposed deaths.

Currently, nearly 500 men and women are death’ row:
"inmates in 32 states. ;

‘In other matters Monday, the high court:

~The justices agreed, on an appeal by Secretary of State. *
“ Cyrus Vance, to review a lower court decision which struck

down a 1961 law that presumes a person who renounces ‘: :
U.S. citizenship’ does so voluntarily. The government wants’:
‘the 1961 law reinstated over the lower court’s guideline:

a that the government must prove. with “clear, convincing
and unequivocal evidence” that the renunciation was volun: ;
tary.’ .

igh | Court tie ects

cpa. officers who obtain. a warrant: to search a public *.

16 ‘Z ‘iimed at. forcing the publisher of two Milwaukee,  Wis., ‘prere’

- baak in Nebraska from charging interest rates allowed in ns

- JTold a federal court. to announce “yithout further delay”
‘. & New ‘plan, for ° electing members os the eines cae

before he {s electrocuted.”

pS ;
ee: “ordered that. ‘the’ ‘state's, Parole and Probation Com-
‘mission restudy. the request. °

~~ —The court agreed to decide, in case from Illinols, whether ;.

= place. may search, all persons: who. happen :to be. there...
“Laws” in: “Illinois, ‘and Arizona, Kansas,: Georgia: and the’
: Distriet of Columbia allow such searches... - (tye tae

—The' justices refused to hear a newspaper union’ s: appeal

tion’ 'S highest, court,’ contended that electrocution’ js an “un:

tion.”

new, spapers to submit a contract dispute to arbitration. Two
“condition, 4:00 3.0 ok

. clause in the new contract, violated federal labor law. ment: law, as’ well‘ag:laws-in.Georgla and Texas, to rule

—The high court set aside a ruling that prohibited a national. oe punishment for convicted murderers. :

_ Nebraska on ‘Joans to customers’ in: Jowa, which allows .

conviction’ for murdering-a Utah motel clerk asked authori-
ties. to Kill recat . was Shot. by. a firlng ‘Squad in January
2 0977,

f

~ Court to reconsider’ its ‘ruling in light ofa recent Supreme.”
Court decision allowing such credit’ card charges.

, his death sentence. | ern

Evans, ‘a 29-year-old ; “native Of Beaumont, Texas, {s
scheduled. to die April’ be Re

© The: last execution. of a: prisoner who did not want to

‘-, Legislature, °°." eet
f Spenkelink's lawyers called hls eee a! “last: opportunity
o' be -heard:on several ‘substantial constitutlonal. contentions

died Jn Colorado’s gas chamber.
» Flor Ida has not.executed a i Isonér since ee

‘Former Gov. Reuben ‘Askew had.turned rom Spenkelink’s es
» Tequest eid Hegenry; Loe penly oe sie Gov. Bo: va i

“Spenke ae. | \ppeal

» Spenkelink’s appeal, rejected ‘without’ cotineat byt the na-" :

.- The Supreme’ Court: din to76. jane. Florida’ 8 cupital punish,”

‘that the death-penalty:may be a constitutionally permissible.

“:°Sinee then, : however,’ only one’ U.S. prisoner has been ,
~ executed, Gary ‘Mark Gilmore, who rather than appeal his
*. a lower ‘interest rate. The justices told the Iowa Supreme: us ;

on pinta: convicted murderer John Evans lI has asked
» lawyers. ‘trying to Rep him alive to drop all appeals of .

< die was 12>years ago,:.when murderer Lus. Jose Monge

nécessarily. ‘torturous’ and ee cruel means ‘ot aac 5 *

J Ity argued; | Falsose ‘that Florida's: ‘death penalty laws: ares.
ie : unfairly iste on. the: basis of race, sex and economic

- lower ‘courts had ruled in favor of the publisher’s position 2. :

that the union move, centering on retention of an arbitration: t:

eS Fr

Ty -sany Valor

ea

'N


/ Tuesday, May 22, 1979 FLORIDA FLAS

Ce re ek eek an aie wR Sh TTS SES

rh Slit °F

by clare raulerson
assistant news editor

“"Cyclically, like locusts, reform movements
come... I would caution-against the idea of
reforming prisons. The concept is false, and
it’s awfully important that we recognize it —
prisons don't work.’* — Ramsey Clark

Scharlette Holdman doesn’t believe in
prisons at all, much less in reforming them.

‘*There has to be a redistribution of wealth
and power in this country,’’ said Holdman,
who works at the Florida Clearinghouse on
Criminal Justice. **That is the alternative to
crime in the long run, and the alternative to
prisons.”’

The Clearinghouse is actually the Florida
office of the Southern Coalition on Jails and
Prisons, a coalition with ten member states
in the South that began in 1975.

“The genesis of the Coalition came when
people active in the civil rights movement
and the anti-war movement suddenly saw
the crisis in southern prisons,’’ Holdman
said, ‘‘and that crisis was a result of the war
in Vietnam.

**When there isn’t a war, the people who
are usually drafted into service — young
people, poor people, and minorities —
become the unemployed,’” she said. **And
unemployment is one of the main variables
in prison population.”

The prison population swelled after the
Vietnam war, Holdman said, with the
number of people in prison in Florida
tripling in the last ten years.

Concern about prison conditions escalated
after the Vietnam war, a phenomenon
attributable in part to the firsthand
experiences of middle class people, she
said.

**A lot of middle class people in the South
saw the insides of jails for the first time
when they were busted for demonstrating
during the ‘60s and ‘70s.

So people came together from across the

South, socially concerned and politically -

committed people, and formed the Southern
Coalition on Jails and Prisons.

The goals of the Coalition are: the
abolition of the death penalty, a moratorium
on prison construction, enforcement of basic
civil and human rights inside prisons, and

VIBEAU
arama:

Scharlette Holdman,
Florida Clearinghouse
on Criminal Justice

decreasing dependency on prisons as a
response to cnme.

‘*There’s no central party line in the
Coalition,’’ Holdman said. *‘A lot of people
operate from a Christian point of view, a lot
of people are humanists. Most of us believe
there needs to be a redistribution of wealth
and power.”

The Florida Clearinghouse began in 1975,
largely as a result of Andy Hall’s hard work.
Hall is one of the People Against Executions
— eight men who chained themselves to the
gates of the Governor’s Mansion to protest
the death penalty and who are now holding a
vigil in Gov. Graham's office in the Capitol.

Holdman, who has been an American Civil
Liberties Director in three states, said that
she has never seen anything to match the
public response and support generated by
the impending executions.

“I've never seen that many people from
across the country who can produce such a
high caliber of work like the work these folks
turn out,’’ she said. “All of them are
competent. skilled and committed. They
think beyond the job they're doing to the
consequences.

The Clearinghouse is busy finalizing plans

for a bus and car caravan to Raiford Prison |}

for a demonstration, rally and all-night vigil
at the site of the executions.

“Everything we're doing now is to
diminish the ease Graham has in killing
these people. If we don’t stop him, then
surely he will not be able to kill any more
people.” she said.

**We live in a brutal society. It's not just
thé death of a human being that’s so
horrible; people die every day.”

**It’s that it’s legalized murder,”’ she said.

***We'll kill you.” That’s what peopte are
saying. ‘We hate you so much we'll kill you
— and we don't even know you.” *"

a ee

A bus and car caravan to Raiford Prison
will leave from the Florida Clearinghouse on
Criminal Justice parking lot, 222 W.
Pensacola St., today at 5 p.m. The bus will
seat 50 people. and donations will be
accepted, but are not mandatory, to defray
the cost of the bus. For more information call
the Clearinghouse at 222-4820.

.

Millard Farmer joins

by howard libin
flambeau staff writer
Controversial Atlanta attorney Millard
Farmer will host a teach-in on the front lawn
of the Governor's Mansion today at 3 p.m.
According to a spokesperson for the
Florida Clearinghouse on Criminal Justice,
Farmer and members of Team Defense, a
group of attorneys who only take on capital
ctime Cases, are coming to Tallahassee in
response to what they say is the governor's
obvious misunderstanding of what the death

SALT RCT RTE IE A TOIT TIER, NN ARI

protest today

penalty is.

“The governor needs to be educated,”
said Scharlette Holdman, director of the
Clearinghouse, *‘so we’re going to try and
educate him.”’

This visit marks Farmer's third trip to
Tallahassee this year - first in February
when Judge Edward Cowart denied him the
right to represent accused murderer
Theodore Bundy and then last month when
he came to speak at the FSU Law School law
week celebration.

David Hinkley,
Amnnesty
International

by jeff mangum
filambeay statt writer

It’s there as a reminder. Jt will be there if
Spenkelink and Darden live. It will be there
if they die.

‘Ir’ is Amnesty International, a
worldwide organization that monitors human
rights violations and won the Nobel Peace
Prize last year for its work.

Unlike the American Civil Liberties Union

and other organizations, Amnesty Inter-
national does not go inte court to fight the
legal battle.

Instead, it watches. And records. And
tells the public of breaches of human
dignity, be it in South America, Jron—or the
United States. .

“We don’t align ourselves with the .
policies of any nation. We bring to the
attention of the international community
those governments which exccute their
people,"* said David Hinkley, Chairperson of
the Board of Amnesty International's U.S. _
branch,

“Worldwide. there is an epidemic of
execution. We're very concerned about the
ramifications involved in capital punishment
because people around the world look to the
U.S. as a human rights leader,”” Hinkley

said.

Hinkley came to Florida after he heard
Gov. Bob Graham signed death warrants for
John Spenkelink and Willie Darden, both
scheduled to be electrocuted tomorrow
morning.

Hinkley says he will stay in Florida until
the end—be it execution or stay of
execution.

A former New York schoolteacher,
Hinkley said in an interview yesterday that
America will create a double standard by
resuming execution.

On the one hand, Hinkley said, the U.S.
advocates humane treatment of prisoners.
And yet if Florida goes ahead with the
executions of Spenkelink and Darden, it will
be guilty of the same human rights crime the
country speaks out against.

Hinkley said he has asked Amnesty’s 170
chapters across the nation to begin a letter
writing and telegram campaign on behalf of
the two condemned men. ;

**The focus must be on the governor. The
attention of international opinion must be on
the governor and the state house.””

“It is our feeling that public opinion is the
Jast hope that John Spenkelink has.”

SS DASEV Er NY ne ned ee ere

Death Protest

TtPAy S&S ef 2
TALLAHASSEE (UPI) — en unidentified House
members asked for his resignation “And scrawled obscenities

; On a Statement opposing the death penalty handed out Fri-

; day by Rep. William Sadowski,

Sadowski said he issued the statement after the execu-

- tion of killer John Spenkelink instead of rising ‘to speak on

the House floor because he did not want to stir up an emo-
tional debate.

“I'm offended, I’m really offended,” the Miami Demo-
crat said afterward, saying he was especially angry san de-
tractors didn’t have the guts to sign their names.

The respondents appeared angry at a paragraph in the
one-page statement that indicated lawmakers should feel

3 _ Some responsibility for the execution of Spenkelink.

“As an Official of this government, I regret that this
state has put itself in the position of national leadership in

regard to this most questionable course of conduct,” the

., protest letter said.

“Tam particularly troubled by the fact that as a citizen
and as a public official I must share Resp ngeny. for these
actions, which are offensive to me.”

Two of the seven called for the usually well- eegaried
. Sadowski to step down.

“Why don’t you resign?” asked one response, while an-
other said.*You make me sick.”

A third was marked ‘return to sender.” Two others

' simply had obscenities scrawled over the front of the state-

* ment.

‘t

7)

{

Rep. Steve Pajcic, D-Jacksonville, sharply critized the -

secretive seven for failing to sign their messages.
“I’m shocked that there are members of the House who
would have these irrational emotional feelings about such a

sensitive moral issue and respond in a very childish way,”
' Pajcic said.

“This is like a grunt .
‘kill,’ "’ Pajcic said. “It shows why we still haven’t risen
- above the apes.”

Meanwhile, a pack of about 300 demonstrators attacked

-the door to Gov. Bob Graham's private office before the ex-

ecution, jamming the governor's reception room and the

hallway.

if The death penalty protesters chanted, ‘“‘Death row must: -
» 30... No death penalty.” Graham refused to meet them..

i Outside the office of state Attorney General Jim Smith, who’

-

aad flown to New Orleans and Washington Wednesday and
Thursday to press federal judges to lift stays of execution
on Spenkelink, a few protesters shouted, ‘‘blood suckers.”

. It’s like when somebody says. .

He Stared a at the 24 Witnesses

S/2&/2 4

bus
Just Boar ore Gelling Black Hood

By J. PAUL WYATT
United Presa international
RAIFORD, Fla. — John Spenkel-
ink was executed In Florida's elec-
tric chair with such businesslike ef-
ficiency that it took a moment to
comprehend the magnitude of the
event.
The impact came when a prison
doctor lifted the black death mask.
The lower part of Spenkelink’s
face was swollen and blackened by
the three, 2,500-volt surges that
ended his life.
Twenty-four persons witnessed

’ Spenkelink’s execution for a 1973

murder he claimed was self-de-
fense. The witnesses were asscm-

' bled by 9:50 a.m. in a cream-colored

room with windows looking into
the 12-by-15-foot death chamber.

Venctian blinds had been drawn
over the windows. Four guards and
four civillan prison employes stood
silently near the door. They were
stony-faced and silent.

THE NINE news media witness-

_ es, told not to interview the other ,

witnesses, began recording their
personal impressions on notepads.
The media witnesses included a
woman, Kris Rebillot, a television
reporter. Also present was Andrew
Johnson, a freshman legislator.
Spenkelink’s minister, the Rev.
Tom Feamster, and the convict’s
longtime Washington

:

attorney, |

David Kendall, ei. and took
Seats in the back row.

“Tom, he can see us from here,”
Kendall whispered to the tall, mus-
tachioed clergyman.

“We're still trying to get a Su-
preme Court justice to stop it — 1
can’t tell you which one,” Kendall
told a reporter.

Then the door leading outside
was shut and paper was taped over
the windows.

At 9:57 a.m., the rumbling sound

. of prisoners banging on the doors of

their Florida State Prison cells
reached the death chamber.

Jangling sounds came from the
closed venetian blinds. A reporter
on the end of the row managed to
peer through an open slat of the ve-
netian blinds.

“They're putting the cap on his
head now," he whispered. ‘Now

they're putting a strap around his

head. It’s 10:07.

“NOW A belt across .his chest.
The cable has becn bolted on to the
cap and it's being screwed down.”

Suddenly the blinds opened, re-
vealing Spenkelink strapped in the
solid oak chair. A leather strap cov-
ered his mouth. :

Spenkelink stared for a moment
at the witnesses. Then his eyes
moved to the right and downward.
They were devoid of hope.

The black flaplike hood
strapped over his face.

was

Prison Superintendent David Bri-

_-erton stood to the right of the chair,

At 10:13 a.m., he nodded.

The unidentified executioner,
robed and hooded in black, threw
the unseen switch inside a control-
panel alcove. There were three cur-
rent surges.

Spenkelink’s fists clenched on the
arms of the oaken chair. One hand
relaxed. The grip of his left hand
loosened and his index finger point-
ed inward toward his body.

The current was turned off at
10:14 a.m.

A PRISON official unbuckled the
strap around Spenkelink’s chest and
a physician unbuttoned his white
shirt, lifted his T-shirt and placed a
stethoscope on his heart at 10:14
a.m., nodded to Brierton and step-
ped back. The doctor listened again
at 10:16 and nodded to the superin-
tendent.

At 10:18 a.m., the doctor made
his final examination. He placed the
stethoscope on Spenkelink’s heart,
checked his pulse and lifted the
hood to check his eyes. Then he
nodded a final time to Brierton.

The lower part of Spenkelink’s
face was black and he looked swol-
len. A fetid odor wafted from the
execution chamber.

Rev. Feamster broke the silence:

“Gentlemen,” he said, “I hope

- that you pray that this is a just and

merciful punishment in the name of
God — for our souls’ sake.”

Andrew fohnsen
‘ legislator

Kris

Rebillot

re ioe pe ne reporter

L772 2IVGAS

“i


Protesters |

By DONNA NEWSOME
Tribune Staff Writer

A group protesting the death pen- |

alty Monday morning challenged Gov.
Robert Graham to use one of his work
days today as a guard on Raiford’s
death row and to work again Wednes-
day as the executioner who pulls the
switch on condemned prisoners John
Spenkelink and Willié J. Darden.

Represéntatives of several church
and human rights groups, supported by
about 10 sympathizers, made the chal-
lenge during a press conference at St.
Petersburg's Bethel Lutheran Church in
which they protested the scheduled ex-
ecution of the two death row inmates
and urged Graham to rescind the death
warrants,

It was one of several similar gather-
ings around the state. One group of
eight gathered in the governor's office
in the Capitol at Tallahassee,

Sitting at a long table in a Sunday
school room at the St. Petersburg
church surrounded by felt banners

Lhatlenge Gran
By gee SEES

Robert Gemmer, president of the Greater St. Petersburg Council on
Human Relations, reading a statement directed to Gov. Graham, said:
“If you can’t kill them yourself, how can you order them killed?”

‘

tors one by one read from prepared
statements that criticized Graham for
ordering the executions.

“If you can't kill them yourself, how
can you order them killed?” read Rob-
ert Gemmer, president of the Greater
St. Petersburg Councit on Human Rela-
tions.

Gerald Hefte, representing the Fran-
cis Davis Unitarian Universalist Fellow-
ship, ‘called the scheduled executions
"the ultimate in vulgarity. I feel
strongly it’s people who kill people and
it's not this figment of the state.

“Robert Graham made’ a big deal
about his 100 jobs, does he consider

However, Graham had said earlier
through his press secretary that he does
not intend to witness Spenkclink's and
Darden’s executions.

In addition to those who gathered at
Graham's Tallahassee office, others pa-
thered in Fort Lauderdale to denounce
the governor, and anti-death penalty
groups from around the country began
calling Tallahassee and sending tel-
egrams to the governor's office.

Press Secretary Steve Hull said

‘about 200 of the estimated 225 calls

fielded by his office supported Gra-
ham’s signing of the two death warrants
last Friday.

The cight protesters at the Capitol

Git LO FULL SWECHE

themselves to a fence outside the

Governor's Mansion Saturday.

A group of 12 protesters showed up
in Fort Lauderdale's downtown park.
Richard Tice, chairman. pro-tem of the
Broward County Chapter of the Ameri-
can Civil Liberties Union, said the:
death penalty was counter-productive,

The political group Amnesty Inter-
national also pleaded with Graham and °
the courts to stop the executions.

Margo Yazell, representing the Flor-
ida Citizens Against the Death Penalty,

‘urged sympathizers to go to the state

prison in Starke tonight for an all-night
vigil outside the prison gates.

vigil outside the prison gates.

Yazell said Tampa Bay area citizens
would be organizing a caravan to
Starke today to participate in the all-
night vigil. It will begin at 9 p.m., if
Graham does not commute the death
sentences.

In addition to the all-night vigil in
Starke, Yazell said a prayer vigil is
scheduled for 6:30 tonight ‘at the First
Presbyterian Church, 701 Beach Drive

St. Petersburg Times
all. of state and Pinellas

innia Foster and Yaz

this his 201st?,” the young, bearded

Protester urges Graham
to sub for executioner

By JHERESAWHITE

St(Patersburg Timo
De en
Opponents of the death penalty sharp-
ly criticized Gov. Bob Graham at a St. Pe-
tersburg press conference Monday, as one
speaker called for the governor to “work”
as executioner Wednesday morning.

Robert Gemmer, president of the St..--

Petersburg Council of Human Relations,
said Graham should “spend Tuesday
night working as a guard on death row, as
his 101st workday.” (Graham captured na-
tional attention and the governor's seat
last fall with his 100 workdays, in which
he worked alongside Floridians at various

‘jobs and has, since his inauguration, ~

worked several additional days, so that he
is already beyond his 102nd.)

GEMMER SAID that if Graham
had not changed his mind by Wednesday
morning, then “his 102nd workday should
1

ee Se et eee ny errr ff eae ne

wie (22/7 7.

them yourself, how can you ask someone
else to kill them?” :
Gemmer’s comments came during a
press conference sponsored by the Ameri-
can Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). It was
one of several such conferences around
the state held by persons opposed to capi-
tal punishment. Reading from a telegram

his group voted to send to the governor, -

he was one of several speakers who blast-

. ed Graham's signing of the death

warrants for convicted murderers John A.
Spenkelink and Willie J. Darden.

. Winhie Foster, state ACLU president, —

said the signing was “an unconstitutional
step backwards.”
She and several others expressed dis-

appointment in Graham saying they sup- |

ported him in last fall’s gubernatorial race
rather than Robert Shevin, because
Shevin was a staunch supporter of the
death penalty. ;

swarm tha came people who chained

North, St. Petersburg.

A.l.'s Richard Byrd

EIT. =z

ACLU tom 1-2

MS. FOSTER told reporters that
groups like hers are turning to “legislative
action and education” in hopes that “the
democratic process will prevail.” She said,

‘ “we will keep on working to see that the

right to life is a constitutional right.”

Rev. Terry Kenney, minister of Bethel
Lutheran Church, the site of the press
conference, read a statement passed by
the church council Sunday night. The
statement said in part: “murder for any
reason is wrong” and “the agony and pain
of victims cannot be made right by killing
someone,” but “merely restarts a vicious
cycle.

“By stopping the killing of criminals
we share a loud message to our society. Vi-
olence and killing are to be no longer our
way of life.”

Echoing that same view were Ray
Yazell, representing the Pinellas County

I eo

ACLU and his wife Margo Yazell, repre-
senting Florida Citizens Against the
Death Penalty.

YAZELL CALLED capital punish-
ment a “barbaric survival from a less civi-
lized time” and called for Graham to halt
the executions. He also said that capital
punishment is used discriminately and its
victims were usually the “poverty-
stricken, minorities and the friendless.”

. Mrs. Yazell is organizing a group of cit-
izens to travel to Starke, for an all-night
vigil outside of the Florida State Prison,
where the executions are scheduled for
Wednesday morning. The vigil will begin
at 9 p.m. if the executions are not stayed,
according to Mrs. Yazell.

Later in the day, Mrs. Yazel] urged cit-
izens opposed to the death penalty to call
904-488-3121 in Tallahassee and give their
support to the Florida Citizens Against
mm: Death Penalty. (It is a long-distance
call.)


The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville), Wednesday, July 10, 1895.

2

—

.

Sey mw 7H yen

"in ae «ye
<

ae b

Fhe-Marderer-of- Mie:
Expiate His Crime.

HIS LAST HOURS IN PRISON

‘Eats a. Watermelon and Talks
tothe Death Watch. |

‘TRE DOOMED MAN: TALKS FREELY

Tho Beene at the JaikLast Night—
The Execution at li O'Clock To-
day~A Reporters Vigil. . —

fl SHG

a

While the majority of the people of
Jacksonville slumbered = peacefully lant
night and jn happy anticipation of fu-
ture -events, a negro, Alexander Sims,
restlesaly slopt in the caunty jall and with
him, only the fron grating between, was
& reporter of the Times-Union, serving
the public, whose curlosity demands ‘the
dethils of the last moments of a doomed
mah. The Times-Union gives the public

what {t wants, but at the game time In|

not a defender of morbid curiorlty that
loves the growaome, the uncanny and the
Wloody,

Hime will, no doubt, (le game on the
acaffolad this morning. Ife displays no
feollug whatever as one might expect
from a man who Har #0 faw hourn to live,

Bhoritt Bowden, Lovet pada hot, prepared the
rope which will be use)d In the oxocution
today, At the county juil thare werd prin-
ont Bheriftt Dowden, Deputy  "Chamer,
Pollee Commisnioner George V. Kurbridie
and a Times-Union man, besides Jutler

Vallon and hie assistants. ,
The preparing of the noorno was very If-

wand: dala: "Yr have: had plenty. © have

torenting to those who witnonsed the

wherlff porrdrming (Hat duty. The rope ts
of hemp, 3-4-Ineh In ‘thickness,’ and about

12 foot tony, The sheriff? made the usual!
hatc-man’s Knot, ‘and made an: turk's
head knot on the end, which cama
‘(thPollgh the-end of ‘the noone, After: pre-
paring the noose, the sheriff tried {¢ on
George Gromer, the prison guard, The
ropo was purchased at. tho. eatabiishment
of tho Miorida. Hardware Co,, a week ago
yeanlorday, Since that timo It has bean un-
derrolng the stretching operation, Thin
was done by attaching a flour. barrel,
filled with sand, and-wolgnifige about 300
pounds, -, = *: |
A afngujar colneidence 18. that the
famd uptights and cross bar for, the
noaffold and’ strape for binding the pris-
Onor, will be deed as were uned at the ex-
écution of Hill Wadtmoreland tn 18K,

It was 10 o'clock last night when. Sheriff
Bowden, accompanied by Deputy Thames,
Polfde. Commissioner Wurbridge, Jallor
Tallon and his. assistants and a Timer.
Union man,..’went. into the troh cage
to see Bime, Sheriff. Howden carrind a
helf of’ a’ watermeton, Aime seemed to
‘be very: cheerful and’ shaok Hands with
the kherif{‘and his. companions and said
ha wae giad: to “see them. He thanked |
the ‘sheriff; for’ the: ‘melon. “Sherif! Bow-
den’ cut tt fi: two and’ Simme proceeded
to eat it. ‘While he whe eating he sald:
chOTn i ied mwedt. malon. Tt te omy last
and J will anjoy tt, It ian't: many min-
uted fonger now, Pil try ‘ahd: hold out,
‘and at 11 o'clock tomotrow: it will: be
all over and If will go over and meét my
BOGE, hee De
K He’ hatted ‘pleakantly. with the sheriff.
and: his -compantons;: und: ‘after outing
Beartiy, of thé melon, left's part of tt

eaten more today -than { have in’ the]

Feaidh

STATE
OFFENDER:

NAME : Al tearose Lion 5

RACE :
SEX: ™M

OFFENSE :

DATE EXECUTED:
couty: Devel Co.
AGE :

VICTIIi:
NAME :
RACE :
SEX:
AGE :

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

DAY OF WEEK
EXECUTED:

OFFENDER
RESTBENCY :

iIEDIA ACCOUNT
OF CRINE:

INVENTORY #

SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION

(TITLE, DATE & PAGE#)

Ne Shotts S7ne
em 1987 WP 5-7


/ Se chatted pleasantly with the aheriff:
and his companions, und after outing
heartily of the melon, left m part of It
and éald: “I havo hat plonty. I have
eaten more -today ‘than { have in the
past two weeks and have enjoyed It. q
am all ready how to meet my Cod. J
‘Know {t soame utrange for “a-man to
‘talk thie Way when ho ta golng to moet
such # death, but L'am all ready.”
Ite apoke of the reading of the death
warrant and sald that he had always had

a fear.of the pheriff, but whet tho-latter |.

caine to him aud shook hana with lfm it
Heted a #tedt Todd from his heart and he
wnow that the sherift was doing no more
than his uty, ; . " _ aT {
,Poputy sherift Thames remarked te
Sims that ho looked ‘petter since he had
been shaved, and, Sims replied: ¢
“Yen it te the last’ I will have on earth.”
, Jrequently during & laps tn the cons
vorsation Bimd would dreak forth.in ang:
‘Jag acreligious sOnm. |

After talking with the duomed man ton |)

‘orfiftesh minutsesee sheriff and his com:
paniins retired and as they. were going
out Bins requested that ‘they. would all

pray, for him, He’ atid that he might give

‘weny on his way

to” the weatfon,” but “he

thought that the, £004) een would: hold |
him*up., He exponted to, bald out’ an ma
sThe

‘upon ate scaffold with a firm tread.

“gxeckition .will take place: at 3 o'clock. A’

_Jarse crowd will: be present. The Nmoer-

Tinton will. publiet «full account of, thet}

_ hana, inthe afternoon edition:


MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF TRIAL:

MEDIA ACCOUNT —
OF EXECUTION:

EXECUTION .
METHOD: Haeg$r~<

STAYS OF
EXECUTION:

EXECUTIONER:
WITNESSES;

RITUALS:

LAST WORDS:

OTHER INFORMATION:

TIME OF
EXECUTION:

Ail
Pi


{| The execution ef Smith wae witnessed by
snagged the smaliest number that has ever

reanty. Om the main fvor,. the floor in

which the trap i# located, onty-Sbherifm? Bow. “

@em, his deputy, Jailer Arg the spirit-

ual advisors, yeiciauns and representa-| 7: know that my time is short, and that; for his kindness to me, und 7 want t&
I

Uves of the sa, were allowed. It was bave not beng to live, but one thing | say that he sure is a good man, an.

only this little party that beard Smith’s|/y want to say {ts that, God being my; may God bess nim and alu the member:
last remarks on the gallows. witness, I arp not ity of the crime|of his church, and | hope c they wil
On the jiower floor the jal abeve which / that I am charged th. 1 wae not abte all hula ug to Jesus is my wish.

the form dangied afiee belng sent through | to prove {ft to man. but Ged in heaven , “OTM D. SMITH.”

the trap was the Jury, whose presence was kaows I am not, and I have made  Agal “I want to thank the ved Ipie oO

required by luw. with Him, eased death does nut trouble me;this city for te work that thev hav:

TO HAVE DRCENT BURIAL at al. They oan take !tfe, but they can’t done -ur me and for their kindnes:

; tes tuke t soul, fur thrxt belongs to God, and I want to thank one, and that on.
Ne a Ban sation. ne mda éptveres <o and I Tare no fear of deaUy for if God! helped me in money inatters. Now,

willis t is must be done, but it {is rest, ; went to say Ll hope God will reward then
Ree ast ov ed te tee eegent | aweet rest, when we can say truthfully | ail. There is one little lady, Mrs, W. ©
taking establishment wher wl re- | Urat God has fo our eaina, and that; Kell, that has worked fur me, and don

pared for burial. ° ” te the way I “al fective all men, 66 for Be when, she was not able to do to |

, reely as ven ao \oreelf, &n ope in kis meroy w!! |

arene, Wubabe sontetes trem Meal | hope He’ changes thecr tind anti hearts |rewerd ber with good health, and™e 0a,
t 2 o'cleck, icea to read by | Defore te toe late, and that some day | and happy life, and may His Dbiessing
; v. Roune and wf! be in| they will see that 5 5 eg ver has been | Qiways rest on her, and her loved oner
. :  cbraetar. me pty done wrong, and ope and trust no | 2nd eae He give her er and guid
rer ~— Loma tS one will ever suffer as I have, but tt | her in all her ways that she will save nan

Papuseinite to oe ent. {es better to suffer for mething God souls for Josus.

th fact that nt his execu- | Xnows I am not guilty of to suffer ‘There has been lots of people help
tio "wre ly was ing to all c¢ for somehing ad dome, and I want | img ma, but she has left her little babie
potatns os 3 A teetiner hia’ Gall whe i to thank all the people for the kindness / at home tu help me and there is no word
versed with 8h Bowden 38 sitbet they bave showp me, and words} that can express my thanks for what eh
that official and Jerry fuer they caneot tell a mush TI reciate it, | has rt me; npw I don't want p
dene for him, he had tried te | ond I know reward for tt. |] one to feel like { don’t appreciate whx
cause as litte @ to the effloers as ha yd this will ted, as f is | they have done for me, because they don’
ble aad both rif and jailer the ng thes I asked for, see their name, but what you have don
formed cet ke ba ene of , OTIS D. BMITH. for me te recorded in the Book of Life
best prisoners thet ever was Continued Witnessed by God in ven. and God says you will have to give an ac
within the walls of the jail. HOW SMITH FELT py Fd deeds that ere done tn your bods
a n @ays as much us you have don
BLAMED NO ONE. ' Mow I would ifke to say a few words to one of ide you have done unto me

Smith told the shertff that he blamed ne{ #bout the death sentence. No truman | and I feet that Iam one of His, and whe

One for bie end He eaid pe well under- bettas 4 cana fh what that means Dbut/ you have done for me you have done fo
ne that has one paseed upor htm. tim.
mood that Shert® B wes doing hig/fi> human being can tell the feeling’ THANKS LAWYERS.

duty, Binfth letters | and uffering th the hea hr ‘Now for a word of thanks to the law
a tap re = d. f a human could | yers, Scarborough & Scarborough. I knov

te
saoery, * requested that =~ eo toch. th could not make | they have done as much for me as huma:
bi igh letters, he sai any worse, but I want to say I never wer could and they have wurke
ae — could have stood whet I have if it had{ for me just as hard as if they had bee:

week,
Sa denn will leag be remembered not for the help of Jesus Christ, | paid for ft, and [ wish them success |
| a He gtve me the power | al] their undertaking, and I wish them an
°

te the a ead bboy te stand all things, for He their loved ones a
aia
foe

ng and life.

ma that the world| “Now for a few words oes tha
me, ang something that moey'' have done all they could to hurt me an
yf oy rf any one, I lived have got others to do the same. 1 wan

wewld and ali the fun I eould get to say I hope that not one of them or on

eccurred
on a nae Adams street, > shaggy tata ante rad navn a can aay suitor wont . ve to putters and
@ was convicted a ie want to any tha eely forgive them
semtepoed to death. shor th bave in 6 world or ini all that ‘they have dune, and I ho

tiod will pardon them, and that the da
will come when they will forsake thre!
ways of sin and cume to Jasus, for ft!
has something that this worl{ can’t giv:

that gone pany, oy -onee kept. God knows
eth ag a yt ger Moers peeing bua t* speaking the truth, and I want to
aarti ence een aay. tp those batie Bi gy Bs serving Jesus i

of the murder thet you ef commence at,

Getafis were intre- woos, for the death sentence is ed on jj and, thank God, [ have got something thea

ur time is set by One that gives men can't take from me. They can tak
gor 2 and it ig | B® More time and makes po changen. fla this life, but when they have done th«
t® the

ry te talls and tel] | '@ calling to u come and accept life they have dime all that they can do. Nv
them 6 Faith went to the everiasti He ie ;

n @ room of | Cut ft, but thank God, I ha dt their {rienods or loved ones will eve
)

ne. wiltmMg and walting I want to sar, ace and good will
that he wes ie at te forgive you fer all your sing. Now! all munkind. for ana ckoing to @ place ¢
oone @oting. Me did not deny that | te those who ave not serving God, Ionak i peace vn rest and Co hope € will mee
f eieter But he stuck te hie | You to try thia for a whfle, Serve Him: them on the other shore, where there wi
ent that the shots were fred during | °"® week. Tell Him all your troubles and ba ono death oor parting. out) everlastin
for the revelver. However, Otis, cave all things te Mim Now, & you do! happiness. and | say God be with you w
the for the orime | this you wil) find peace, foy and happineces, | till wo meet again.
ike, and case is now ene} an4 hy wi one week that vou in “T Know that yeu all wll want a gtat:
. nave iment, Lt hud tut ane fo make, anit
LETTERS FOR PREAS. Now, deng readers, this wan written have made at. and inciosad ft In Chis far.
wy oo. who hae served the devil andj weil letter ff hope vou wll tw se gn
gett gs were the letters left by | these he working ror him, and Liand kind as to pent this fur me, and me
a with the request that knew Jesus will gtve you the same pence: (rod teess sou fur tt.
and happiness that He has given me if OTIR fy SMITIE

~- tm doth the afternoon
ag pepers:

‘ ou put your trust In Him. I oclome now = Flesidee this, Smith tuelowed lettre
& & last statement, and saying, peace and good will to an tn reward to an Af‘anta tuan whom 7
‘ eat 8 pr Ohne ee eather. Would tTaankisA, and T sore God will wet tnto charged with) ceadina Mia osteter wate
mMatement ws: th. The inte. hearts before It tn everiastingly tao bt oylog fe the eerioua chackes and ¢?

J al ate. PLbedand mature OC Chim pert of die star

county Jan = Pevetn, ec] fox 7 0 D. SMirtit pruent tt ts fot publ shed.
3 ay . a : we > oe
few words, whieh I hope wit THANKA REV. MR DOONK.

ee the public may see them. “T,want to thank Brother J. T. Boone

oe ”
ro vance en MNO A Oe ee es


| mer 1s HT Aw 4 - }
" o\e 4 : s "woOW rar j lrannw4 lie L . Lé a 1 190
Di dike te Ld g WU deg Wid 4 Gu CKSONV | sane WP he alin Sih \4 a > °

PAGE FOUR

OTIS SMITH PAID
* FULL PENALTY

Was Hanged In Duval County Jail
Yesterday Morning for the
Marder of His Sister.

WAS BRAVE TO LAST.

Did Not Refer to His Crime While on
Gallews But Said That He Was
Prepared for the End.

Ott D. Srofth, convicted murderer of
‘his oisten, Cora Beile Smith, yesterday
sperning peid the death penalty within the
> walls of the Duval cousty jail. His body
shot through the trap at 10.07 o'clock and at
“30:39 he was pronounved dead by the attend-

fug phystcuns.
The exevstien yesterday morning was
im detail, t the slightest hitch
| soba: tag It off qutetiy aud the
mned nan faveiy unt!

u bd
@ laet and left foe the worid with
ht but worde of kindness for pis [ei-
men.

earth, friends reuuned with hlitrm. fle
not wish to sicep, saying ‘that he
“wanted to spend the fast night on eaith
fm prayer and there wese several of his
epiritual advisers who were willin to
the = with him. COfficisis of the

{ji remal) Clue@ to the ceil during the
ht.

; Sterday morning @® woman who lIivea

ir the jail sent in sume ho waffies

th partook of these for his break-

. @ ate very little, however.
riff Bowden wae at the jail earty this
— having remained there unt!! mid-
he, he ni it befors. Kev. James T.
of the First Christian church of this
and Rev. ©. K. Cull, of Land on,
Ky. @lao arrived at the Jail oar ¥- em-
of the (Dristian church, only a few
them, were admitted and one reypresenta-
from each. of the news rs. Oni

eee peopie conversed with Smit
Suring hie fast hour on earth.

— ee

‘TALKED FOR PRESS.
Shortly before 10 o'clock the representa ,

ives of the presse viniled Smith’s cell an dto |

. reportefa Bmith stated that he was
weling i good spirits. Fle wae clad in |

2 pase of dark blue serge trousers, a
hite soft mtiurt, black tle and black shoes.
@ had dreseed for the execttion and tn
is attire he marched bravely te the souf-
old.

- In speakinx to representatives of the

aa

cameras 22: ae

Plegya Sinitti spoke kindiv of everyone.
When | leave here.” he said, ‘‘f expect to
Teap my) harvest in heeween.’ Surith de- :
Seared that he tad lived a ofa of vice add
pb for twenty odd years but further
eda that Le Nad found more happiness |
dusting the six momtha durtng which j
be had a (hristian life than atl any i
othgr time during his /ife. 4 {
T , 80 he stated. :uade his peace with |
Gea and he wouid gladly graxe the hand |
of hia bitterest enemy. & @xpressed @ |
Lope fig Ager UArV es — hold out to the -
last as ) nat te stew ugna of |
 weaxneas on t scafterd. Simnith was then |
ialt with his minister and other spirtiual
advisers that he wight spend hts last few

Tiate@ On earth ip prayer,

MARCHED TO SOAFPOLD

Tt was exactly four

ocleck when Sherif Bewden 5
Argo went te Mudth’s eel a isformed
hima that elf wae seedy. “all right, sfr,”
wig Some, mt the masch to Gis etalls

s cu
The which i# Incated tn the

front part of t jull and eniy a short @is-
tamce from the cell im whieh Bemtth o2

spent his last year on earth, was reachef
ig ss pe ce the trap door an ie
ether and stood tra

door !lics a soldier. on »

The mtaute the condemned mas stepped

om the trap Bowden and Jailer
atarted otra bis
on arms and legs. beaten made

iia iad, toe" par sao nes
uest was py Fens ot with, _—
hile this duty wag ‘ormed

by the grt ath a jailer, Rev. Boone
oir in the ging of the hymna,
a Boul, Four

with “Rizy until the ‘ena TodMpfaes ame

singing of the hymna ‘Th
oo few present at the thee the” trap io wae

r
His BRIEF STAPEMENT.
In response to a Question from Sherter |
Bowden to whether or mot he
te make & statement, Smith sald, “Yes, sir, \
now that you have all of them t ether |
}

I just want to say a few words. want
to gay that ft {is not through bravery |
that [ have walked to this scaffold bot ft ;
‘se with the help of Jesus Christ. 1 bave
mo {ll feeling toward anyone and have a |
ee heme in heaven and am ready toe

The mem was pale and his face shewed
the signs of him having spent a restiess
ae wre eyes were ——- and his
none toe stron { was probe.
bly hest that he aid mex to wake a
eagthy statement on the gallews, as he
may v@ weakene’t and the execution
would not have! passed off so 8 y.
With the si ng of hymns by his epirit-
ual advisers, neriff owden p the
black cap over the head of the raned
man, the cap that forever shut out the!
light ef the worid in which he had iived.
“Are you ready, Mr. 7 gsalid the
shertf? and Smtth repli! me | ready to
meet my God,” and the trap wag eprang
that sent ‘the convicted murderer into the
worla@ beyond.

BROKE HI8 NECK.

It was 1007 oclock when the trap was
rang and at 10:19 the attendin prry-
Siclans pronounced Smith dead S25 of
the physicians stated, however, that the
second Bmith’s body reached the end of
the one Big neck was broken and his
fe ended. There was very little heart
action after the trap was sprung hue the
bedy busg fer twelve mimutes before the

++ eae flually pronounced the maa

‘y o8eg ‘6061 eunr ZT ‘Aepanqes
(@[TTTAuosyper) NOINN-SHWLL VOIYO1A


| The execution ef Smith wae witnessed by
eer the smaliest number that has ever

present at an execution in Duval
ceanty. Om the main fivor,- the floor in
whieh the trap ig located, unty- Sherif Bew.
@em, his deputy, Jailer Arg the spirit-
ual advisors, physicians and represente-
suly’ this' itile Mer? «Bax eed ane

s little p *

ars Yi ge ee ou Che ge tyt ne 7

the iower floor abdeve w
the form dangied after being sent theumen
the trap was the jury, whose presence was
required by law.

TO HAVE DRCENT BURIAL

The bouily wae cut down and delivered to
Neal & Srotherton, the unde orm
whioh consented to give Smith a decent
burial. The body was moved the under-
taking establishment was pre

pared for burial.
Re funeral w
& Brotnerton’s c
at 2 o'cleck,

vy. Roone and

cemetary,

ormabis t

> ?

he fact that’ batt nt
tion bravely was tag
cerned. Before having his eel! rs
versed with Sh Bowden t arioed
that official and Jerry t, they

dene for him,

cause as lit

le aad
formed hig that

best
within the

Mga Pike in daring
ji wever, Otis
Sor the orime
tes now ene

letters left by
the request that
RA the afternoon

etatement, and
they would
- The

‘about

I know that my time is short, and that

I bave not teng to live, but one thing
Y want to say its that, God being my
wftness, I arn not ity of the crime

that I am charged th, | wae not abie
to prove it to man. but Gid tn
kaows I am not, and I have made pence
with Him, ead death does nvt troudle me
at all They can take !t!'e, but they can’t
tuke me eoul, fur thxt be'ongs to God
and I have no fear of death, for if God
wilis t is must be done, but it {1s rest,
sweet rest, when we can say truthfully
that Ged has fo Y oe oe ae that
te the way [ forgive all men as
reely as bas forgive re and I
He changes thelr and hearts
before ts toe late, and that some day
they will see that poer boy has been
done wrong, and and trust no
one will ever suffer as I hav bat ft
1s better to sumer for ng God
snows <a wes guy to surfer
for something ad dome, and want
to thank ali the people for the Kindness
that they bave parted 5 me and words
ecaneot tell ay m b 4 reciate it,
reward ft.

ng will ted, as NR is
the ng thac I asked for,
OTIS D, SMITH.
Wituessed by God in ven.

HOW SMITH LT.
Now I would lifke to say a few words
the rruma

Geath sentence. No a
tongue can fh what that means Ddut
ene that has one uporg htm.

o human being can tell the feeling
and f ee th the hea ha
to stags hever fho a human cou!

d so tmach. th could not make

worse, but want to say I naver

one have Recs et I have if it had
a

the help of Jesus Christ,
gtve me the power
etaad all things, for He

ething that moey

werld eli fotin tT beak ane

e fun ge
ou ft, but thank Goa, T he found
sorasthing ten better, gives

ao aay

- GBCe God knews
he trath, an@ 1 want to
not serviric Jesus

er eommence at

makes no changer. fla
u 9 come and accent life
ng. 8 1 and
ve you fer
te those who ave not serving God, I srk
you to try thia for a whfhe. Serve Him
one week. Tell Him all your troubles an}

ve all thin te Aim.
nd peace, foy and happinees,

One week that vou wil!

ow, eng readers, this was written
wy om who hae served the devi! and
these he working for him, and If
e+ tah Jesus will gtve you t
and happiness that He has
on put your trust in Him.
saying, pence and good will to an
mankia€g, and 7 hope God will wet tntn
rue hearts before {a everiastingly too
ate.
1 remain, ene for
SMITIT

ray D.
THANKS REV. MR. Nh
“T,want to thank Brother J. T. Boone

given me if
Y close now

heaven .

that the world |

tound tn the, world vor in |

sentence is ed on
eet by One Pat gives |
waiting |

your sing. Now!

Now, tf you do!

® RAME Peice |

i fur his kindness to me, und !' want to
lway that he sure is a good man, ant
(Inay Goud bless nim wad ali the members
|of hig church, and 1 hope ct they wil)
all huld oa to Jesus is my wish.
“OTIS D. SMITH.”
“Il want to thank the gvod pre of
this city for tie work that thev have
done .ur me and fer their kindnese
Sand I want to thank one, and that one
(helped te in money inattersa. Now. !
went to say | hope God will reward therr
ali, There is one little lady, Mrs. W. C
Kell, that has worked fur me, and donif
for me whem she was not able to do for
herself, and I hope God in his meroy wil
reward her with good he and a long,
and happy life, and may His biessingy
always rest on her, and her loved ones
and or He give her er and guide
her in all her ways that she wil! save tnaa)
souls tor Josus.
has been lots of people help
ing me, but she has left her little babie
at home tu help me and there is no word:
Can express my thanks for what ah:
has or me; npw I don't want m
one to feel like { don't appreciate wha
they have done for me, becatse they aon’
eee their name, but what you have dom
for me ie recorded in the Book of Life
and God says you will have to give an ac
count of deeds that are done in your body
and He says as much use you have done
to one of mine you have done unto ine
and I feet that I am one of His, and wha
Toe have done for me you have done fo
m.

THANKS LAWYERS.

‘Now for e word of thanks to the law
yers, Scarborough & Scarborough. [ naw
they have done as much for me as ) !

wer could and they have vw 4
or me just as hard as if they had —..1
paid for ft, and I wish them svccese 1:
all their undertanne. and I wish them am
their loved ones a long and GevRy lite.

“Now for a few words t tha
‘Rave done all they could to hurt me an:
i have got others to do the same. 1 wan
‘to say I ho that not one of them or on:
of their frieaods or toved ones will eve
suffer what I nave had to suffer, and
want to any that I freely forgive them f
all that ‘they have dune, and I ho
(tod will pardon them, and that the day
will come when they will forsake thet:
i wave of sin and cume to Jesus, for ff.
i has something that this worl can’t give
and, (hank God, [I have got something tha
They can tak:
done tha
Nut

‘men can't take from me.
_thia life, bue when they have
thev have dome all that they can do.

IT want (o sav, peace and good will ¢
all mankind, for lam going to @ place ¢
P peace ond rest and fF hope UC wth mee
then: on the other ahore, where there wi
be no death oor parting. out everlastin

happiness, an say God be with you a
till We meet again.
“T Know that vou all wll want a gtate

|
| ment. 1 had but ene to make. ant
j have mae at. kad Ipeiosed it In Ctrte fare
poweil letter [ hope seu wiih be so gins
Peat Kind as toa premt this fur me, and ma
trod tess sou fur tt
MrTing fy SMITH
Besides this, Smith tnelomed  lette
In regard to an Attanta foan whorl ¢
charged with: cemdtma tita ostster aston
Pot owloy fe the Berio Charges and tt
Pibedonw mature OC thin geart of die stat:
| ruent it ts trot oiublighed.
et tic, ~ ca eS ee a

»

THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville)
Saturday , 5 June 1909, Page 7.

~

OTIS D. SMITH MUST

DIE ON THE GALLOWS

PARDON BOARD REFUSED TO
COMMUTE HIS SENTENCE.

Was Notified By Sheriff Bowden
Yesterday Morning But Had
Nothing to Say.

The state rdon board, which met in
Tallah igre refused to commute
the sen enee of dea} a eb Otfa DP. Smith,
esenten to hang for tte render of his

- oy Smith, on May 6, 1988.
y morning the @ prispner will
y

deh re count
a ine durtug the excitement

Lueoution® att Iter Ledbetter,
— was confined in a cell near the

ie Lee

i nek he wae atiil ws hopes of

in en mut
 M ak Hotiieg of the board’@ action
tter, when
yrel gt é Ean nion repre-
ted hig cel] and informed him.
rea] but the unawel-
tq worry him,

ae Se
a hard. teh to save
m naring Secured oa wh “any ‘Rik une

a
7
executed,
b -~-< Topradonanounasfioen


ere

as we're very Strongly behind it”.

Florida: Times -Unton

May 24,19

»

AZ

x

ene te

19

4

ink and Wil-
lie Darden. =. "* A ANAS

“Tt Was quite surprised,” said R p
Robert Crawford, D-Winter Haven. ;
Crawford, as chairman of the House

» 0°" Criminal Justice: Committee, said that-
‘:. {+based on what he knows about both the : 0
Y Spenkelink and Darden murder cases, both ~ witness ‘the execution Was Rep. Tom

men deserve to die for their crimes.

must have been based on “startling new
events I’m not aware of,” Crawford said. -

~ . “Or, Justice Marshall abused judicial dis-
} cretion”. ~~ 2tiy-4.5 site Mri 3 APE

“.”~*"Crawford Said-he does not sense’ a”.
': growing tendency in the Legislature to fa- |

vor abolition of the death penalty, ~ es

-“Not at all,” he said. “If anything,

On the other hand, Rep. Andy John-.
son, D-Jacksonville, says the death penalty
Should be abolished and said he believes it
will one. day... $001. 3 ;

-Johnson, who. was scheduled to be a
witness to the 7 a.m. execution, heard
about the postponement about 2 a.m. “just
as I was getting into my car to go to
Starke.”

Although he said he was “very happy

s executions.ci. 2"

Vw gy

eee pera: Hy a pe Pees f re .
and reliew.d” about th “I still fully
ution within

‘ thin
_figh

year by Rep. Arnett
Girardeau, : D-Jacksonville, and Rep. Bill
- Sadowski, D-Miami, but was bottled up in
Crawford’s committee. -- . ities 2s
Another legislator who volunteered to

Woodruff, R-St. Petersburg. Woodruff, an

en TRON. GR ht. he acte pee . 2.4 attorney, was disappointed over the post-
; «US. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood : tS ES ead
, , Marshall's stay of execution for Spenkelink

_-ponement, -=: -#.+- < +

nie eT Was proud that our (judicial) pro-

cess was working,” Woodruff said, “but I

was unhappy at the last-minute appeal

that could interfere with the State’s ac-

SORT 5 sere ait cigetseh Pity oath
‘Rep. Frank Williams, D-Starke, a for-

. Mer Correctional officer at Florida State
» Prison, was also scheduled to witness the

3 =

‘wc*” Of the stay, he said, “I was a little u
Set. I think it was time we go about our
business.” fit gin tas 5

“That guy (Spenkelink) has had all
~ Kinds of appeals. No matter how dis-
tasteful it is, we need to show that they
will pay with their lives,” Williams said.
“If the federal courts keep meddling we
are going to have a revolution of people to
elect federal judges instead of appointing
them for life.”


Chicago Tribune
May 27, 1979

NI OO

j °

to

‘e-

iy ope
7

f , es 4s nee
ae e mt bs | A . zB ,
Xe “Qs. Perhaps the best-known advocate is
Clark, the only U.S. attorney general

ath penalty

¥

ae STARKE, Fla.—They are guerrilla lawyers,
y aiming to block and parry, court order by court’:
szorder, ‘the steady course of American criminal’
ilaw that led last week to the electrocution -of i
* John: A. Spenkelfnk; who killed another man‘:

“for the abolition of capital punishment.

~\CLARK,. NOW in private: practice
“York, drove through the 5 a.m. mist
‘New York and Washington Friday ,to
‘another, futile—and .final—appeal to
‘v. preme Court to save Spenkelink’s life. »

“Two days: earlier, standing in, the

‘and paid for it dearly...» meyer
Fi ‘Attorneys who challenge the death’ laws. now *

dings .current“in 34 states came together herein a‘:
rac). peprison cow pasture under a makeshift shed ona aM
- g. white-hot afternoon, ‘drawn:by the inevitability»
of Spenkelink’s silent walk to the electric’ chair’:
pe Although Spenkelink’s death ‘at'age 30 was a’
.Major failure for them, these men and women us

betes Sy
OEE

ve know.” .;

“children. of the Sixties”. who_ argued

3

vow renewed fi:

«\Many of these persons here and a score of -appointed counsel faci -blood-thirst
persons active against the death penalty are” Go ee me . si: sae

- Chicago Tribune: Sunday, May 27, 1979 — Scction 1 5

ht

Ramsey : ' cent of the region’s population.
{in the *

| Florida by the Southern Poverty Law Center
; also show, they believed, that the color of the

in New .: Victim is an important consideration.

between ! - Only 5 ‘per cent of all these inmates, both
deliver , ‘black and white, were sentenced to death for

the Su-" killing black persons. Opponents of the death '
("oF penalty contend that the chances of dying for

: “séarce killing a black are much less than for killing a+ :
“Shade: in that cow pasture, Clark- said: “We White... ‘
shave to love each ‘other and live gently togeth-

“The death pénalty is applied in an arbitrary '
and discriminatory manner,” Ingle said. He

ce)

“He added, in: speaking against the forthtom. & added an economic factor, saying that Spenkel-
‘ing execution:. ‘Life is an end in itself.

It’s all ink would die for the 1973 murder of his com-
: ® panion,’. Joseph ' Szymankiewicz, 43, because
.%, Spenkelink .was:a “poor white man with a

acahoat {district attorney.”

the” Viet Nam’; War and ‘for -the civil rights +... MANY: OF THE advocates who try to over-

Peron a SR ge ae “saat! is movement, ; it: ~ turn’ death sentences do ‘so for philosophical”
é 22, ome 900 men‘and § women aré now-on death ** bsa%p ¥ : eR a as PEE wha ts now, -both leeal and moral 2 reasons. ‘“I-don't bleed for them,” said
 TOWS. in thé U.S; Who: may die next is impossl- ‘) we % ; Rigas apse all - eel. y Hg “’ Schwarzschild. “My concern is in a free society
; ble to know heeaaes appeals and stays of e STS SM ee sige UPS ress pensine including sigeatihden Sacnece’ the i to be skeptical of the powers of government . .
g ution are constantly won and lost. .:+.°°2 57 rat Pe ees ane oe “i , # Pee

cules are Henry'Schwarzschild of the ‘American :! bate it oN all condemned inmates in the country
~Clvil' Liberties “Union: [ACLU] in New York}: “Their \nuthbers,: though’ éniall® ¢ross ‘a’ wide"? Southern states, including Texas,
‘Millard Farmer of the. Team Defeise office in. ‘ spectrum of politleal and religious. thought". “THEY ALSO at

i region of the U.S, Approximately 80 per
a

7Inglexof the ‘Prison. Reform %

¢.

‘, ti
Pao ta

isthti

Yet, they, make up-only

=

;South punishes more severly than’ any other

*'. and -the ultimate power of a government to

cent of -invade the lives of its citizens is to kill,”

are in: Saying that the ability to punish by death ts
"not @ “tolerable or gufferable notion,” Schward:

schild declared that the arguments against cap-

glied and failed to sway the © ital punishment will go on not, only in the courts
Circuit Court. of Appeals. in “2 but in:society; The most immediate reason, he

, the race of a defendant in az “cited, is that there are 15 to 20. persons whose
punishment case is’ dnother prime. fac-$.

Blacks represent more than 40 per.

« dates ‘of execution are’ “ominously close” and

,cent of::2 whose’ appeals aid'stays will expire within the

20 per7-next several months. ;
a s rae 5 aS ‘

“Johnson administration] to call while in office’... Study of death rows in Texas, Georgia, and

Oi! sea tassgsine oie < dia

et ON Ne ee nin dat a


r son-in- law, Mrs. Spenkelink, 67, sat on‘ throughout 4 -the service, d< although

waster a oe oe 4 eee. te

ae = * £ ,,
Ty whe se sphetogt! Aare

Florida: Times - Union
May 28,1979

re 5: -28- 79

® 5 “TALLANASSEE:- (AP “Two ther torn ines at Florida State
‘ days after her only son died in’ Flor. Prison,“where :Spenkelink ‘died for: a'#

« ida’s. electri¢ chair, Lois: Spenkelink’“1973 murder after an: unprecedented

* attended an emotional church Service ?-legal | battle.

| Sunday, where. she joined -about’-150

“-mourners in song and prayer for the*:

z end, of capital punishment: ‘

as John Spenkelink’s lawyer, but as} ; Spenkelink shared with all of us.was
‘his: friend,” said Kendall, who last; ‘his sense of love,” Kendall said. “He

week fought for Spenkelink’s ate in! ~was not a hater. As we continue the
the nation’ s highest courts.:: :

2 “He wasn't a saint. He was a de:
; cent man to whom something very in-
“Mrs. Spenkelink, i in nee first pub- gwar? said, the: Rev C.K , a-=-decent happened,” Kendall said. “Ife
“i appearance since the execution. Fs :

Kendall and others assured the
“mourners that the death penalty
was a goed man because he ats "Would be abolished.

The ‘day will: ‘when there
ill’; be: no“ death’: penalty,”. ‘Steele
preached, ‘“The day will.come wher
brotherhood will prevail. The day Will
Serie when human life ‘will be consid

He was.a religious man... . . He Re
was a brave man. He was a Hee :

was reticent. He didn't make excuses, . .:,\. At the close of the service, une
He! didn't . bl ame. society,” Kendall :Rev. John Carey, a Florida State Uni-
yf: each er Pa ee ‘ _«2:versity religion professor, asked God

as ' She jeft ‘ater the "service. “and
: i gave no public’ statement. : *s

‘*Flanked by her’ daughter and 2

MS th first pele to be Pee tine: _ (Spenkelink) did not die in vain .

Mrs S penkelink: es cote 3
en ee in the United Slates since ':

the front bench at the First Presbyte: 4. -many mourners behind her dabbed a ci
+ rian Church.In front of her. were two}:
¥ flower arrangements ; — ,one from; a
: i Alabama Death Row inmates and an*

Suess oot ae = a
h

f John Spenkelink. Welcome him in-
0. that fellowship that knows no dis-

ee tn Sra i Sromae cmumabeieeemedakeaben - ne ier TNE Leb T EY ow Stee mena As ed Te

24 ‘an speaking to you Noday not oe iy think ‘the important thing John

‘struggle against the death penalty, .
At S$ important to bear that in mind.”

inction . . between saints and former ‘4
: mC

aL It's only a matier ‘of time Nea

“to grant all of us the hope that he ee

"+ "Receive now, oh Lord, the spirit Ales


St, Pete Times 6-I-79

my
‘ ett

en tn ete cee:

nL ct a eae aaa On EER
; Was Spenkelink wrestled eee
‘into the and gagged? = =):

SP ok BENET GE He Tyr ad ye NE EER as ene |
'. traditional that there be no last state-
. ments to the press, that such statements
-.-were made only to the prison staff in the
* execution room behind the window.
“= But there is now information which
d . gives substance to the suspicion. - -
There is a report among the death row ~
_.inmates that the prisoners in the cells
= next to the death house heard Spenkelink
* fighting the prison guards who were
~~ trying to prepare him for the chair, that °
; sae . he was shouting, “This is murder! This is
., murder!”, that the sounds -of struggle
=- went on for an extended period, perhapsa -
» quarter-hour, and that a prison official
=<; was heard giving the order that Spenke-
- link’s mouth be taped. ieee
gee 3 ‘ye0That would explain why Spenkelink’s .
_-Most of the human drama from the eyes “. mouth was bound in the execution room,
(jand ears of the waiting witnesses, six of - ~ but it would not be in accordance with the “
\. whom were state legislators, nine of whom pO Th Mnktiiee onthe Ree ee ET a Ske,
A -~“\When the blinds were raised; the as-’™’

‘Were reporters whose job it was to tell the 2: Chapter 33-15.02 of the Rules of the.”
Lest of the world what happened. °°) +4. sembled- witnesses saw Spenkelink ‘al- «

& Fee ~ Department of Offender. Rehabilitation, -”
“£"2 As a result, they did not get to tell all - AR cn ten la sr gc ase: 0

the chair
‘so 1979, AG atinnds shad ie aa :
secFLORIDASTATEPRISON—Tenow BYLINE
Florida executed John Spenteiat ae,” DUDLEY
: oligos pater with pas ‘acon world © * : :
-edor not _— inesinslatgt aehtor ape ‘ ME Hi Oi e i

100% wo!

i

foreshortened the public’s view of what

actually took place and denied John

Spenkelink his last rights under law.

“7 It seems that a ‘fighting, shouting
. Spenkelink-was gagged and silenced in
_ Violation of prison system rules and that
«the event itself was sanitized to conceal

Nt ache

pets chia Bie ‘geen: ready strapped and tied at the-ankles,:]  - adopted in 1977, says in part: 2025: eit
t what had happened and the public still : legs, lap, waist, chest, wrists, arms, neck, ~ "cM Interviews: with prisoners ‘sentenced ~
jidoesn’t know- i Peery mele “mouth-and- head. A’ padded black:oval_ : ito death shall be conducted pursuant to «
(aceon iu - the administrative guidelines of the De-

cloth was tightly drawn across his mouth.
He could: say nothing, make ‘no: facial
‘expression, move nothing but his hands
‘and eyes,.which stared, some said, in ter-. .
Tore) POR SA ets ASEH tes
>... «There was a period of about 30 seconds _ Sie
peeing whieh spec ai deen ba yee Psy interview with him 10 days before he died, °*3
‘electrocution, presumably, began. The id ce eee Loe oe ay geste}
only indication to the witnesses that. it vee 6g 20

: .. viewed should his death warrant: be ~
Suede Leong ener! |" gma It Brio fb segue
‘prison physician appeared in the wind- ety: newt sini PNR OY am oe SO a
owspace three times to check for vital - m eee nd rik aie nga a
signs, and the third time,:he raised the BE SUT TWICE, :

ight i - view with the press — if necessary, with
hood to flash a light in the condemned _ view with t y
man’s eyes. His skin seemed blued. The: just one reporter. The requests, said Da-
doctor made some motions which seemed vid Kendall, one. of Spenkelink’s attor-

pea hbek ; j de to Brierton and were
to indicate that Spenkelink was dead. The ee eer ene » :
blinds were closaeh and that was that. ust Hatly rethsed.;/ Mendel said De wes

Since then, there has been a growing unaware of the department rules— which .

suspicion among the press that the event Brierton should have known. s
was compressed, perhaps purposely, to : So on May 22, the Tuesday before he
minimize its impact. I raised that suspi- » * was executed, Spenkelink wrote a. short ;
cion with David Brierton on Wednesday , Statement for his lawyers to relay. “My -
morning. Teg Eee at dee eee Wis request for an interview with the news
* “That was not at all the intent,” he media today has been denied,” it began, :
said. “The intent was to fulfill the law the “and I am therefore making this state-
way it is written.” ee rere eee ‘ment as -my only means of communica-°
: - tion.” he sone Soph Pasha tag toy
.. No friend or representative was with °
- John Spenkelink in the last two hours to -
report whether he wanted to make a final
_ statement when he reached the chair, but
he never had the chance, which was his |
‘right, by law. =. *: ; ;
“My impression strongly is that he
would have wanted to make such a state-
_ ment,” Kendall said. “Knowing John the -
way I do, it is absolutely inconceivable to !
"me that he would not have wanted to: -
make a final statement.” : :
The prison system’s rules say this, too: : !
“Final statements by the condemned of- ;
1

rise THERE. HAD «not. bee ;
‘iwitnessed, involuntary execution in this

{country in a dozen years. All the opinion.
{polls have shown that a large majority of -
» the population of this state and nation fa-.

i:vors executions, but a large proportion of -
: those people do not know the exact nature -

ST tel hcg a Re PB se
of that event. Did not know, before John ;
> ,Spenkelink died last Friday at 10:18, and:
.: Btill'do not. They were not permitted to ;
5 OOG OF Dear *2F ire ety. ees pat KOE
: “Florida State: Prison Supt. David
~ Brierton, who directed the execution, and
~ who has been generally credited as a pro-:'
gressive administrator who handled it
with a spare dignity and dispatch, will not
discuss ‘it.:-Days before the execution;
Brierton had given orders that no one but
him should speak to the press. But he has
not been available for comment since the
execution was carried out, and he refused
_ in an interview Wednesday to discuss it
:further. or to allow the attending physi--
. cian, the prison doctor, to comment ei-
thers! $75 ypeeiis 5 CORR ak ag fi
*.:~ Brierton, who had never before seen
an execution and who was still visibly”

#°partment of Offender Rehabilitation,
' with final interviews: permitted on the .-
‘Wednesday preceding ‘thé. execution ~

Se tags yp 3s Wyte awa a
44 ASER SYS

_agitated by the one just past; was ada-
- mant about not setting the record straight
—‘even.though there has been confusion
about such- matters as whether it had
: taken three repetitions of the electric cy-
cle to kill Spenkelink, or only one, and.
even though Brierton himself said there
had been some discrepancies in the re-
porting of the press.. - rh Paste Seay
Asked if he had any objection to Dr.
Vinh Phuong being interviewed, he-said,
“Yeah, about that,I do.” 6‘\ . e
Would he order Dr. Phuong not to dis-
cuss it, then? . .
“Yeah,” he said. ite

IN THE LAST 196 executions con-
ducted by the state, the witnesses general-
ly, if not always, have been seated with an
unobstructed view of the chair, and then Ce NGS sgl tar
the condemned man was brought in: un-

THEN WHY the change in what the
witnesses were allowed to witness? Some. 2
‘one had to give the order-to make this i
execution different fromthe pattern in
the past. TOPE GS gO nr

“Tt was not always done that way,” he .
began, and then stopped and shook his
head as if this was distasteful. “I don’t
want to talk about the execution. It has to
Stance the way it is. It has already been re-
ported in the press, and I don’t want to
talk about it.” ey9 : :

A prison system spokesman told The
St. Petersburg Times on Monday that he
understood from officials in the prison
that Spenkelink had walked voluntarily,
if unsteadily, to the chair, and that it was -

}

fender immediately prior to execution
will be authorized (italics mine) at the
offender’s option.” - oa
If John Spenkelink wanted to have a
final interview with the press before that :

der his own power if he would walk,
dragged if he would not. He was seated,
strapped in, the electrodes placed on his
head and leg. If he wanted to say some-
thing, he did. Then the hood was dropped
over his face, and he was electrocuted, all
in plain view. That was the entirety of the
event. ne ee

But not last Friday. Last Friday the
event was abbreviated, shortened, dimin-
ished, stilled. ‘x6 ;

The more than 12 official witnesses
required by state law, and the nine mem- -
bers of the press, were seated last Friday
morning facing a large picture window
covered by venetian blinds. i Wey

execution, he had the right by law. And if
he wanted to sit in the electric chair and
scream, in his final moments, to the as-
sembled witnesses that this was murder,
he had the right by law. : ve
But he couldn’t. His mouth wa
‘bound. — a
And I am left to feel that the execution
was purposefully conducted in a way that
violated the department’s own rules and
Spenkelink’s rights and robbed the public

_of information. Which may have been the .

point. But we don’t know. We couldn’t
tele ue of ee -
. NEXT: What the inmates next to.
the death house heard.


Related stories on pages B-1 and D-9

By PERCY HAMILTON -
Times-Union Staff Writer

STARKE — The call came from
her son’s lawyer early Friday. There
is bad news, he told her. The death
warrant has been signed.

And Mrs. Lois Spenkelink, the
condemned man’s mother, started to
cry.

“I was stunned because I figured

Gov. Graham would feel differently

and that he would consider clemen-

“2y,” she said. She was interviewed at

th:2 home of a friend in Starke where.

she ?s Staying.

Mrs. Spenkelink said she plans to
visit hér-son this afternoon and as of-
ten as possible between now and 7
a.m. Wednesday, when the execution
is scheduled.

Up to now, she has Bye able to

talk to him only through “the wall,” a
glass-and-block structure in the pris-

on where security-risk prisoners and —

visitors Can speak only with micro-

phones. ; With the warrant signed, she

said, s¥e hopes she will be able to be
2 / |

‘with him alone again.

ue ys

Her daughter and son-in-law,
Carol and Kim Meyers, were to ar-
rive this morning from their home in
Buena Park, Calif. And if there is no
stay of execution, they will stay in
Starke, about 12 miles from the pris-
on, until Wednesday has passed.

Mrs. Spenkelink, who is 67, is in
poor health with phlebitis, emphyse-
ma and a weak heart. She is a woman
of deep religious convictions, and she
is relying on her faith for strength in
the days ahead. ;

“Iam not only going to pray for
my son, I am going to pray for Gov.
Graham and his Cabinet and these of-
ficials who are against me at the pris-
on,” she said.

a lena eal

“We are society. Society wants
to get rid of these boys. We are soci-
ety. And anybody in society who is for
the death penalty, they are just as}
guilty as the man We sae he
switch.”

“And she spoke of her son, vals
she saw last: Saturday, and the re- oh
strictions that have been put o on their;
visits together. =

4

pata thease inks

mete

" “He was in good spirits. He usu- F

*ally is. John is very strong. He has

faith, and patience,” she said. “And
« why he is so vicious, I don’t know. He
isn’t as vicious as some of the offi-
cials of the prison. He means business
: but is not vicious. I feel that they
mave never given gory a fair trial”

* She received the news of the’
"death. warrant in a telephone call ;

_ from David Kendall, one of several of
~her..son’s lawyers, in Washington.
~ Kendall is trying for shoei stay. ~

During the ext eit days, Mrs.

Spenkelink ' said, she plans to mail out

_ forms to people.so they can sign and

‘'mail thern to Graham. -The ‘forms,

*. which were prepared by a group op-

posed to capital punishment, state, “I

i)

believe that John Spenikelink should’
not be executed.”

x

}

\

“I am going to send them just as{

far as I can,” she said. And she:

.

‘started to cry again. \

‘

AS she talked the mail arrived.
“In addition to the flyers with Spen-
“ kelink’s picture on them, .Mrs. Spen-j
<kelink received a thick envelope from}
her son. It held letters from friends |
“and a gummed decal with the word:
‘ “Jesus” inside the fish symbol

$-" Mrs, Spenkelink said John wrote,

3 hy sun shines on it.”

“She said she’d visit her son at the

!
}
“Please put this on the porrigerates. 08 |

shite prison Saturday. “I hope we can’t

fhave a contact visit, not through | the |
glass like we've had to do lately.”

a
,

J


S- 2oO- U4]

Florida: Times-Union — May 20, 1979

dee? ee nen ei, Peer Net etece oy eg 6 aps en ag eat Cage a
se Nae eee oo eae He ha didn’t eat all the dinner they,
> brought him lodity,”’ she. said. “But *
: tO Mr. Fesmster (‘om Fesmster,: Key- 5)
“}°°. stone Heights Episcopal priest :
*_. he didn't blame him. Mre F

y, didn’t think much of the food.”

SST ey lat Sh

RT ase teen dy M

- j  fvstlon »was scheduled but. stayed by a
EF bouie Wainwright, * court) is any indication, We will re: 4
:+ Of Corrections secretary, Was at the /4/:spéct' their feelings ‘and work with ¥
“prison”. to. discuss Security, . jar yey them." robes yh ANUP eas, oe
- Fangements ‘ for anti-death “penalty fj Peco i he OE bat BN Peet eet

demonstrators and’ Visitors in, thel {hi “ crowd gathered around Mrs,
aa ee : ulions,.. ° ,'7” SPenkelink. when she arrived at the.
. “fy days preceding the executions. PL i i ae
~: Times-Union Staff Writer \.°° } x fy) Br a main Bale: with five relatives f"
2) ae a ef We said he knew no reason Way bef and friends)". ik ee ee aii
5 ot STARKE — Angry — Mrs.,Lois .4- the executions of Spenkelink and Wile. 1 ae : Oe Be ae Ce ay ‘y
: Spenkelink wanted ‘to’ kiss -her’ con-, } le Jasper Darden should not be held ‘4s.:.. AMong them were her daughter,
“ demnéd son who is scheduled to die a. Play ery

af

t

2s.
xX

rt

* Wednesday, » bfh : Carol, and her ‘Son-in-law, Tim Myers!
ye: minutes = affer». sunrise: 1 In his opinion all'the ourl ren pie att, Call ark :
‘ Mednesday.... ear aT es ee ‘i J édies already have been exhausted, ype ee She handed out a large number
‘She talked: with him: Saturday ; Soars i

through a glass security wall, steady-°! i Saige 30, ie rappel 10,

ing herself on-a cane. She suggested >. S Susie ete murder «of « Joseph |
that'Gov. Bob Graham, who signed ; : Syzmenkiewicz,. 43, in a Tallahassee *
her son’s:death warrant’ should be at va Motel in 1973. Darden, 45, would be.
the scheduled execution; . _. te executed an hour later forthe mur:
‘ es : - ; i

9 Signed death ‘war- fk
nk and Darden Fri:

ol. prepared forms addressed to Gov. EF
i r
come

piers : +, 4" der -of James Turman, a: Lakeland
4) Confused — “People are happy,” it, furniture owner ‘who Surprised Dure 9%
Mrs, Spekelink said. “They enjoy this t den during a 1973. robbery, °° 4 i vo

cape Je oe ae ARS

a
a

ay ie)” : : : ‘ , Pe Set WAS E Bee |
(her Jon Seput fe ClO h ant ae tite TE ic*Attoney Gen, Jit Smith feels
:* ».\Hopefuly ‘John. Spenkelink}: 30,0445 that all-reasonab!
her’ Sdn, who ‘shot ‘and: Killed a man, 8470+ = ove suk, os
believes‘: that <: he may.‘ not” die

4

h
ie
"

aus ea eee

o eps “ae $4: Scr 1 t'>
ves" that \ Mt exhausted,”; Wainwri ; :
Wednesday, ese Sik etait wn by the federal’ f-.
‘She said he still had hope, The ‘ Courts several. times and it appears rion, said that, both, Darden an
‘Florida Supreme Court begins consid- 4 that this time the executions will take; rt ved: hart
-ering Monday another in a long line. +: place. : esc eduleg Ee

te en: *
jose eae ba’ § eb ws :

+28 pgs

,

“As Mrs. ‘Spenkelink

2 ah

Ce Poe
son

Pe etic betas sith i tare si
Ny ae eet On “Dea ay” security,: aln- qr Ore
.would be buried either with his father 7% \i h-sheriffs John ot

\ rw - Wright: conferred wit
in San Diego; Calif.. or: with her gig Whitehead | of , Unio

. {Dolph Redd
PCapt: IB. L

Florida State Prison 1

She! found <him looking ting Jin’
good ‘spirits ‘and’ still taking his ap- } &3%
proaching execution calmly, she said, {=
But he'did not eat his dinner Satur. ‘
ORV ds ne wee, bets

oe Rae ,


’
ar)
4?
' ‘
’

Pe

t mn ais.
Paced. |...
it thn 8 spose Fg ss

SPP Ae oh’ 6, BP, i +d oaek 4 :
. | }* RATFORD (UPI) "As boy, of
712 ‘in 1961, John Spenkelink followed |’.
- .: his pet dog into the family garage in”
Buena Park, Calif, and found thé’:
‘tbody vi his father, Bernard, .and -a |’:
“hose running from the, exhaust into ,;
‘the car, ets ‘

erect ti teed et tee e+

mS

‘ THE Eye

“t.° “T think it’ affected John: more’
. :+than one thinks,”~said‘ his mother,’
: “Lois Spenkelink,'a former school:
: teacher who has a-bad heart: “Some.”
F"-« thing scemed to snap inside him after’
e th . «jagery ih
t

Ae Re ete ne oe

bayv hs ae | ery

SF 4 ref ¢

: ‘When the boys got into mischief, Johns.

Bue.

*

S$ IN oa

3 geles for resisting arrest and disturb. ¢ ae

; ing the peace and fined $100, ©. 0 8. vae
Pigpe ac UR Rr Ray oT SPa re (PTO

i Three «months ! later: he. ;wasi3)" {¢

@

3

es ee
eS
~¥
oO
s
a
v
ad
Co
=
Q
~_—
=.
=
oa
S
=
=—.
ol
oO
re)
=

“f
af
i led to a 60-day Sentence... gyi j

Shey oan

x

0 SP te oS pa aes Gee to play Russian roulette with pistol.
3. On July 3, 1968, in Santa:Ana, CaPA 1 bn

ae if lif, Spenkelink was arrested for rob: ne

~ Ki bery and auto theft, He pleaded guilty ‘i’

r

{

4

‘but no sentence was imposed, hess #

“*.2 months after that he was convicted! Motel, where they were staying.

‘for armed robbery and sentenced to :
“igfive years to life in prison, 4;

§ It was while he was serving that
sentence al the Slack Canyon Conser="%

“s,.Brumm,,? whose. testimony: con-

g.‘-1gVation Camp in California that Spen-; + went into’ the motel'room ‘on Feb.-4:°:
Fes, ,Kelink escaped and made his way 10; and first’ Glubbed Szyniankiewicz and 4
E * <Elllinois, where he picked up Joseph J “+4 then shot him twice in the back of the

gS" Szymankiewicz, 43, an, Ohio parole "head.: Brumm was acquilled,.»

«~ Violator,’ with theft and forgery con- Be eee Sa aga

¥o covietlongie oc ese ey Feeberee “t°" © Spenkelink, now 30, was arrested

cheduled to die Wednesday

‘three days later in California and ex:.:
tradited to Florida.

Willie Jasper Darden, 45, was
Sentenced to die-for the September:
1973 shooting of a Lakeland furniture:
“store owner. Darden shot James. Tur: !
Te Eee rr een mcr «man while atLempting to rob the vie: °
“.-¢Frank Brumm,a hitchhiker Pick-; tim'’s wife of $15 at the furniture
led up by Spenkelink, testified that the
two.-of them, planned. to . murder: « «’ aS Se
Szymankiewicz at the Ponce de Leon »". _ Besides killing Turman, he shot

} and wounded a 16-year-old bo
came to the aid of Mrs. Turma
5 : : + boy survived.
demned. Spenkelink; ;said Spenkelink ~ - Sonat EOE: pete Fhe!

Darden, who maintained he was :
innocent, was on furlough from the. «
Avon Park Correctional Institution at
‘ieee Lee . tried to foree Mrs. Turman to commit

of altempted rape.

offered, him» $1,000 .to kill Szyman- .
# kiewiez,” but it: was :Spenkelink who ::

as a long criminal record .

) — FRANK SMITII/Staff >

‘and pleaded guilty to attempted rape

and shooting a Lakeland woman in a

laundromat where she worked Aug.

18, 1973 — again while he was on fur-

Jough from Avon Park. He forced the
_woman to strip, then tried to force

her to have sex before shooting her in

. the back-and mouth.

When the jury returned the
guilly verdict with the recommenda-
tion of death, Darden told the jurors,
“You have found an-innocent man
guilty of murder. You've not only
damaged me, you've damaged my
family.”

~ At his trial, however, prosecutor
Raymond McDaniel said Darden

a sex act with him “while -her
bleeding husband lay in a rainstorm
at the door,”

FHP: Fes

]

“IYI. SryvrGdS&

SES aby:

SY SN 2 ar wots ae oY “+s, wtp A ge he

Execution ‘Ss

_ for. Spenkelink, Darden

pa Satya 7 OWES Spaeth ne SS in pf ae rhe Sa ne Fi cat € ai

(Editor's note: The following

ar Story was compiled. from reports

‘from Tallahassee by Mike Anderson

> of The Times-Union and from Starke

“by FT. ‘gr bagh of The Associated

Raiserinidiufent D.H. Brierton walked

vé-y-to the row:-of cells at Raiford where

.Florida’s condemned men wait daily — :

‘Spenkelink "ual Gig weunesdej

morning, the warden told the Jean in-

mate with. wavy black hair: The gov-: =:
ernor: had Sapte his deere warrant

that. morning... pode cals

nie =73..28
ts

... had heard such news before. He was

>

3]
~¥

® store owner who: surprised | Darden

“ous chances to appeal and avoid he- |

’

only three days from. execution be-
hier being saved by a Stay in 1977...

in the electric chair.”

ee They reacted rather meutrally
‘Brierton ‘said. aan both thanked

‘ me.”

o his. lawyer. :

‘for ..murdering Joseph Syzman-,

_ kiewicz, 43, in a Tallahassee motel in’

19731 and. Darden for the murder of
James Turman, a Lakeland furniture

ie Suring a 1973 robbery.

z = Spenkelink is 30 and white; : Dar.

"den 45 and black. . p ,
Lawyers say Darden has numer-

‘ing strapped into the electric chair

’ Wednesday morning. For Spenkelink,

«. the appeals seem almost over.

. Brierton set Spenkelink’s death

- first — at 7 a.m. Darden is to die less
than an hour later.

The day and time were Brier-
ton’s choice. He said he didn’t want to
discuss his personal feelings.

‘After informing the two men,
Brierton ordered them moved to the
prison’s “Q Wing” — three cells locat-

- ed a few steps ‘from the room where

the electric chair is located. There,
Spenkelink and Darden are to be

* watched 24 hours a day.

_ No reporters will be allowed to
see them, but relatives and attorneys

can visit freely. The condemned men - -

have television, radio and legal mate-
rials in their cells and will be granted
special requests for food. >

2o“We'll try to accommodate any -

reasonable request,” said the warden.
-Brierton declined to discuss how

“. the two men would be prepared for
* death or whether the electric chair —

*" deavour. to fulfill their Pris hes
-.” “Brierton moved along: At 9:08 he : ae ‘

S aanoed before Willie Jasper Darden. ~-
“; Darden, too, had been ordered to die ei

<in. the United States, since January’
v i+. fused to fight his execution by a Utah -
“firing squad: Spenkelink and Darden
. would be the first prisoners to be ex-

‘since 1967. :Florida’s last <n
~ Was in 1964. : ‘ 5

. has been upheld and the U.S. Su-

2

Pic eames fo

Pyne ant be Dyn

n't

*:
7s

2.

|
il
Me
1M
!
|
o
me

9
‘

known as s “Old pao “and first (used 4

2 ".¢ in 1924 — has been. tested. recently. +e
oe Spenkelink. “took it “quietly. “He vi 2

PES s >

a

-“At Some point, we will ascertain * =
what the family of each man wants to's “aS,
do as far as burial‘and we-will en-%

“2

S"Spenkelink hil ‘said “4 a, to
be buried at his birthplace in Lemars,

--lowa, or in the town where he was
«raised, Buena Park, Calif. eae

Brierton said the news brought

7 Sno ‘noticeable change to Death Row.
mat ‘Bach man was allowed. to “call

The other inmates were quiet. But for

“.$penkelink and Darden, things were

s i a Y
a Pa ate ne that’ Apenig clearly different. The countdown wi Pi

; Ga Bob Graham. had: signed the
.- Warrants, Saying, Spenkelink “must die ~

started. Beas! i.
“Death pete pppotientic imme: °

*“diately promised to mount demon-

strations and vigils to protest the.ex- -}
ecutions, which ‘they fear will trigger 4
additional executions in the nation. a

> The executions would be the first.

1977, when Gary Mark Gilmore re:

-ecuted unwillingly in this country

,

Bishan ref ise > meet with
reporters and an aide said: “There
will be no statement either written or
‘oral about the gov ernor’ s thought Pro-
cesses.”

Attorneys for Spenkelink imme-
diately announced plans to ask the
Florida Supreme Court to stay his ex-
ecution until the court rules on an }
earlier petition to vacate Spenkelink’s
death sentence. But Assistant Attor- ;
ney General Ken Tucker said it was
“highly unlikely” Spenkelink will win
a stay because the U.S. Supreme
Court has upheld his conyfetion: three
times. ’ 4

‘An attorney for Darden filed a
motion for a stay of execution Friday
afternoon. Darden’s conviction also

preme Court refused to hear his ap-
_peal. Since he has filed only routine
appeals, attorneys believe the courts
may look more favorably on any ex- ‘
traordinary case cited by Darden in
any appeal.

yee

set er

“th ‘ct saet Sige > bis bes

Florida thimes-Union
May 9; (379


. kes SEE >

Tarte NRRL

‘Executions Are:
: S[20/24

j Just, Graham
'Tells Protestors

Capital Punishment Debale .cissssciccaclE

From Herald Wire Services

| TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Bob Graham Saturday

said the executions of convicted killers John Spen-*
kelink and Willie Jasper Darden are Proper atone.

-ment for their crimes and may deter other murders.
‘ _Grgham met with cight death-penalty protestors
who chained themselves to a gate at the Governor's
Mansion. It was the first time the governor has Spo-
<en publicly about-his decision Friday to sign the
death warrants. '

“T could not find a reason in these Instances to
onclude clemency was the appropriate response,”
sraham said. : :

John Lozier, director of the Southern Prison
Ministry in Nashville, Tenn., demanded to know
aow Graham could order two executions and still

- rofess to be a Christian.
», “I do not consider the responsibility of carrying
gut a duty which is mine to be inconsistent with
hristian. values," Graham said. “And there are
ther values of life involved here, including the
falues of the lives which were taken,”
. The execution of Spenkelink and Darden “will

Turn to Page 3AA Col. 1°

8] society,”

Spenkelink and Darden on Death
Florida State
Starke, saying he would be unable
to go through with the executions
after having done so.

“Before you kill someone, you
Ought to at least go and
are killing,” Cox said.

“T respect very deeply the values
you share and the de
feclings. I hope G

sce who you

pth of your

od will look out

are for all of us," Graham

qd told the protestors, the
shake their hands.

“T can't shake your hand, Gover-

nor. It's got blood all

Over it,’ Cox

The protesters, who unchained

_ ™ Associated Presy -

Spenkelink Files Appeal

For a Stay of Execution

Continued From Pape lAA
Tesult in the least brutalization of
he said. He is convinced
“s Capital punishment is a deterrent
“7: and, in the long run, “the total loss
“of life will be less.”

Ms Larry Cox of Brooklyn, N.Y., de-

themselves when Graham came out,
decided to spend the night on the
mansion steps and hold a candlelight
Vigil. They vowed to stay until -a
prayer service scheduled for Sun-
day.

Meanwhile, Spenkelink, grasp-
ing at what could be his last legal
straw, asked the Florida Supreme
Court to stay his execution sched-
uled for Wednesday morning.

Assistant Attorney General Ray
Marky branded the latest appeal as
“absolutely and utterly frivolous”

and predicted it will be turned
down.

“A man has a right to his day in
court, but he doesn't have a right to
65,000 day's in court," Marky said

No action can be taken on Spen-
kelink's appeal until Monday, when
a hearing is also scheduled on a sim-
ilar motion by Darden, who is sen-
tenced to be executed an hour after
Spenkclink. Jasper appealed to the |
high court Friday,

Protestor Larry Cox Refuses to Shake Hands With Gov. Bo
eee LE can’t shake your hand, Governor. It?

b Graham
$ got blood all over it,


ie. said it was self-defense. He
reflised to let his attorneys try to
‘sbafgalrfor a’second-degree murder
“ plea.

he on the stand he told a blurred
“yefsion of What he now'says he re"
_j eafied. Nervously, he told a story of

Hood. He d give the money to other
people. 1 know one time when he
stole a car he took It to Long Beach.
_to take my mother and father to a.
BT OCeLy store.’

Though “his “good- looks; and ‘soft:
‘manner ‘apparently.attracted many:

3 i. mgmory lapse. while Brumm,,a’man ¥ girls, only one was a steady .com-

hetsaid he had met the.day.of the ..
shgoting, stayed mute, ~>-.~.

& : ea don't know, how he |Szymank: ,
ies ca got. shot, ine the’ baok,*; vsaid
ae iKelink, ‘= .

-knbw the gun went off. 'That’s all I’
~ “know. The gun went off.” ?
ae he. jury, of. three women and
“t nine -men deliberated three hours’

““* kelink, acquitted Brumm, °
ss i * a = * 2 oe an . %,

HEY: ‘CALLED him “Johnny. nm
“Hel was ‘just 12 when he found his”:
We veh lying dead across the front..'
“© seat of the family’ s’53 Chevy panel”:
» trck.: ’
t; The whining of Skippy, the fami- ; f
‘ly’ puppy, drew young Spenkelink “;
oward the garage of the Spenkel- *
nk’s tract home. in Buena Park,
Calif. : Inside, a plastic vacuum -

: firemen tried. resuscitation: Finally, “* ‘
“#* someone . from.the coroner’s office:
“ es He told the firemen they.*’
aa ans: been foolish: They should have*

3s : known from the cherry-red color of’.

Bernard Spenkelink’s feet and chest

‘'thgt carbon monoxide had mceeey
“claimed him. .” ;

Jowa,;: Bernard Spenkelink ‘had
moved his family to Buena Park in’
533967. He expected a gee sate of «:
and honey... = ;
“A= But he did not prosper. in South-
‘s“erh °.California’s expansion. '.He_
‘drank,:* stumbled between’ “jobs, ;
“watched his investments — includ-
z-ing his own eee business —
:snare him in debt.
-3 n_ May 3, '1961,. he ‘penptied: re
s- six-pack. Then: he went “out | to the
v8 Age. yore = A

vk
8 J fi

Pay
Bd Nis

oR “sigter, Carol Meyers, 27.
© mne@ghbors pushed Johnny into trou-

“ cblb. Instead of comforting him, they

yion't know Where [shot him. 0%

cleaner hose ran from the. truck’s +

or eas an v hour, Buena bit’ e

milkman in: rural. Le: Mars, *,j

vA ce Se

- panion.: Since:they were 13,.John
“dated Jenny Jones, a petite blonde:
ee attended. Catholic schools..' Ait.

‘AT 18, a year before John diay a

‘bery, they bani Se in a short mar-

._Tiage.

“All people ever do is look at’
«John’s record,” says Jenny, .who |

Ray ween and their two chil-*
idren.

*,. “John is the ‘gentlest person there.

“ever was. I loved htm. because he-
‘was'so kind. ‘Nobody who knew
‘him ever disliked him.” . :
Not so. He got into fights: He was}
Sa troublemaker at school, a truant.
And the law didn’t like him.’ Po-
‘ice received continuous complaints
‘that teenage John Spenkelink: was: '

‘into mischief — breaking windows, °.;°

us jumping on parked cars. They say °
ae sniffed glue, gobbled pills,

mt

pe was a BS dyarcanbe paperboy.

he eet A yee eS
“Dear Jenny; « j

- Here's something "7 want to’ eX+:

“plain about.the Bible. There :are

many. things written which can only *

-be ‘inderstood by the person read-
ing it. Us human-beings are all indi-
i “viduals and are so much different, in’,
“our : understanding, sometimes...
* There's so much I still do not under:

°“stand., And as’ the months go: by I.

see different meanings ofthe same.
chapters after-rereading them. But I«

d look
try to keep an open mind an ct, The grapevine told him he had no™

for the truth of everything ..

‘, — from a May 25, 1977, letter to.
« Virginia Genny) Richards, his exes /:

“wife |.
ROP AL IURS Fei ie ee eae al

HOLDING ‘hands’ “with |! Jenny, ¥

‘VE HELD back about ‘this for : Spenkelink stood before his dad's;
yaprs,” says Spenkelink's younger”. grave. Bernard. Spenkelink - always'),
“But the had said -hisison: would marry .a+;
blonde with blue eyes. John was; °

presenting just such a bride.

#3

“fye-to- life sentence for armed robes

ei

i: ph bake oie
weit Sia

4 . aes
8 ealtod it. They say’ that etwebi
June 30 and July 2, Spenkelink rob- ; ‘
‘bed: five’ gas’stations,“a grocery, a
Jack-in-the-Box hamburger: stands
‘and a young couple — all at gun-
«point with, a .357 magnum. The
take! $902.51 and a 1964 Pontiac.
According to the robbery victims, .

an@ 28 minutes. It convicted Spen- now lives in Anaheim with husband -’ others participated. But only Spen-' }

“gkelink was brought to ;trial. He”
" pleaded - guilty’ to :one armed: rob-
-bery. An Orange County judge gave.

HY him five-to-life.

. In’ November,” soon’: after he:.

: ‘f ‘Began his: jail term,, the annulment

4+, papers arrived.

“T"never. even discussed it’ ‘with
him,” ’” Jenny: says: ‘He found out
j When he was served.’ va hs

r
‘ ne’ oe se

bie <t
a : 4

4 songs that remind i me ts you so very’
ae) often: T'll lusts ‘smile and feat happy

Rags

ON’, OCT.’ .15,: 1972, Spenkelink »
i “just walked away” from’a_ mini-
““mum- security prison in Slack Can-
“yon, Calif. He had been: disciplined *
~14 times —'for trying to engineer .
7 “escapes, for loitering, for throwing
“! cups,: for.-making tattoos. A date -.
4 had been set for his parole hearing.

 chance:¢;--";-
He ran. -:
<}- Seared and. ‘lonely, he ‘steered a‘
i blue Camaro. across::America. -He

¢:made his way to friends in Canada,
e then to‘Iowa.: A‘ few’ months later,:°
‘“ewhilé driving back to California, he:
picked up hitchhiker Joe Surman:
dewicz in Nebraska... «<:,
‘ “I thought it looked’ ‘kind of”
funny, him hitchhiking in the snow,

from Las Vegus to Rone He says he

intended to use it to start a new life

in Holland-or Denmark.

But the journey also held its ter-.

rors. Spenkelink claims Szymank-

-iewicz made him play Russian Rou-
..lette, performed fellatio upon him

at gunpoint, stole his money. He
says thé powerful, 230-pound Szy- .
mankiewicz threatened to turn’ him

‘in, and he didn’t know whether to
‘flee or fight.

On Feb. 3, 1973, they. checked

into the Ponce de Leon Motel, one
:of many lodges along Tallahassee’s « °

West Tennessee Avenue. That night.

they drained a quart of Jack Danizis

and a six-pack of beer.
The ‘next -morning, Speitkelink

‘says, he'left the room, telling Szy-

mankiewicz he was going to get the

:. car washed. Once outside, he began
“to scheme. He picked up hitchhiker
Frank Brumm, then a self-described

“desolate hippie” and draft dodger

from Wisconsin. The two made
plans, even tried to rig Spenkclink’s
gun with a makeshift silencer of.

: ‘cotton and a toilet paper spool.

BUT’FROM this point the stories |
© split. teat
Brumm, who didn’t tell his side

publicly until 1977, says it was pre-°,
.-meditated murder. He claims Spen- *:

kelink was after revenge, that he

offered him $1,000 for help with :

,» the homicide.

But Spenkelink says his intent -
was merely to recover his money .'
and his suitcases. The gun was a.
last resort against attack.

“I said,’‘Joe, I want my, money;
‘I’m leaving,’ Spenkelink told The’
Herald, giving his’ most-detailed .
“public account of the incident. “Joe
said, “You’re not going nowhere.’ I
told him to ‘stick all the money up :
your a--. I’m still getting my lug-,’

“page and leaving .

“I started to grab for my bags’

_ and he slammed me- into the wall, I.
turned around and he came at me,

and grabbed me by. the throat. I
broke him off, then he came at me:
‘again, grabbed me by the throat.
That's when he felt I had the gun

7 URRY sil / Miata Hor ald Staff

: Spenkelink’s Girl Friend, orks Key, Calls Him ‘Siweet and Kind’
a ne 2 ves her children eniey: his Death Row letters and call him ‘Dad?

in Racine, Wis., married and a “true
Christian,” says Spenkelink remem-
bers plenty. He says they concocted
the self-defense story-while await-
Ing extradition. He says Spenkelink

“ even demanded that he pay him $20

a week to keep him out of it.
~ “You've got ‘to understand,”
Brumm says. “John was crazy. He

‘may ‘have been provoked. But it

turned him into a cold-blooded mur-
derer.”

ode. te oe

Dear Frank,
This letter will be snuck out to

“you, so only you and I will know its

content ... I have given him {atlor-
ney David Ke ndall| your address
and he will be writing you soon.

»..Frank,, you must be very careful

what you say. Do not say anything
to him like you did to my other at-
torneys’... The main things {hat

Mr. Kendall should know from you

are:

__ 1) To. your knowledge I did not
plan on shooting that guy. 2) You
did not witness the first gun shot
but you know that the first gun shot
was to the guy’s spine or ‘that the
guy was dead when yor came into
the -motel room, Frank,
‘going to tell anyone \v what you did.
3), When you came into the motel
. room, you seen me sitting in chair
‘that was under the TV set ‘and that I
“was ‘breathing ‘hard. That guy
‘choked me. You noticed me later on
spit{tling’ up. small amounts of

_ blood, but neither one said anything

to one:,another about’ me being

» choked. You and I did not say much, -

to each other on the way to Califor-

‘nia because you noticed that it hurt

for me to speak..
' — froma Nov. 6, 1976, letter to
Frank Brumm obtained by The Her-

eld..<-

{

ray * * *
\- JOHN Spenkelink says he has trl-

I am nol.

Ssecllion OF svaChsoli Ce avabo. OPT
kelink and Key try to visit Spenkel-
ink once a weck.-Rene, 10, ex-
changes arithmetic problems with
him. Ragan, 13, has agreed to stay

in school at Spenkelink’s insistence. . 0,

The children call him Dad.

_ “Dad says we're gonna all move re
to a farm and pet deers and every

thing,” Rene says.

They wait for his) daily letters,
joyous phrases written in a meticu-
lous hand. Spenkelink decorates his
stationery with sketches — hands
clasped in prayer, cartoons that
teach theology. On each envelope
he writes, ‘Capital _ punishment
means those without the capital get
the punishment.”

HE DOES not scem to anticipate

his death,

Some of his loved ones do.

They say they resent justice.
They say justice stuck young John
Spenkelink in jails full of evil, then
complained when he didn’t grow
into goodness.

“If they had to kill him, why
didn't they do it sbefore all these
years went by?" beseeches his sis-
ter Carol. ‘Now he’s rehabilitated.
He’s had time to change.”

Carla Key weeps, “I just don’t
know what will happen. If it came
right down to it, I think he'd com-
itis

She stalls in despondence, con-

tinues only at insistence.

“John ‘says. he'll never let the
State of Florida get the satisfac-
tion,” she says.

And then she breaks down.

* xk *

Ili Love,

It sure would be nice to just be
able to go to some island with just
you and our kids ‘without a radio or
TV or newspapers. We could amuse
each other, sing our own songs and
give a daily account of our own
happiness. Dreaming, aren't I? We
could teach ourselves and be able to
enjoy every minute of the day.
What could we name our island?
TIME would never be noticed ex-
cept to watch a beautiful sun rise
and sun down, Our day will come as
sure as the sun does rise and set.

With all my love and more, John.

ee

URC’)

—-

Pd


aa “

Sie aries marsh 9 ° tg BSL aN, HERS Cage ne atte aS
-wie THE MIAMI HERALD. Tuesday, March 27, 1979 -

6, Suet
‘ ‘

‘ vy Ae em

FON PAGEL.

a

~ godted 17 exhibits and 22 witnesses,

“av thg November 1973 trial lasted but

“s=" gcqne.

RS

& 4

5 vat
| bed 7!

2p, Ba

zeth

+ §, 4973, In Room 4 of the Ponce de

“8
or
bd

uy ©
s.wdunds on Szymankiewic2’s bald-

vi which was used to muffle at least”.

2 9n of the shots.
; :

oy firing the guns...

v/o days. ‘

Most of the testimony was brief,
untontested, ; circumstantial. .It
marely placed John Spenkelink and .
coldefendant Frank Brumm at the

et the basic facts seemed shock-

;. ing, indisputable.

fa 4

oe Szymankiewicz, a parole vio-

Jator who had been‘driving around » -
country..with Spenkelink . for’

several weeks, was found dead Feb.’

-Lebn Motel in Tallahassee.

is maid discovered him face-up
ona blood-stained bed, the covers i
pulled up around. his waist. The *

‘fatal bullet, according to the autop-

. ¥4 entered hig sback..and ruptured ,
aorta, the artery which -carries «

\dod from the heart. * °°

» Another, ».38-caliber slug »pene-

trated behind the left ear and trav-

along the skull. It left two

“ing head, tiny holes next to the
hes cut. by the hatchet. There»
e:powder burns‘on a pillow, -

ND JOHN Spenkelink admitted.

fe sald it was self-defense. He
reflised to Iet-his attorneys try to
‘Dabgain for a second-degree murder

eLon the stand he told a blurred

ROMOT-WNat Ne Now Says he res “Though=hi: art) sa Tooks and? sof
‘Neryously, he.told a story of: NO EO racted ea

lapse!while Brumm,.a°man %

gOting, stayed mute,“ .,
*1 don't know how he |Szymank-

a sald: he had. met-the.day-of thee een only ree

enkelink’s

?

* <-softens. ‘People ‘said they: would:
‘= take John fishin’. But
“did.” :

they ‘never...

- On paper, it’s convenient psy=
chology. The boy: didn’t cross the”
law until after the suicide. 8)”.
But a probation officer wrote ine:
1968, “Apparently, the father’s sui-
cide was trauamtic to this defend- ~

ant. However, I would suggest the ; ie

defendant used up that excuse a:
7 ;

tong time ago.” | ia

JOHN Spenkelink's criminal rec- ©
ord began shaping in his teens. At *

stolen car and petty theft: At 15,::

‘burglary. At 17, burglary. At.18, he

was convicted of disturbing the

peace and willful reckless driving.’ ”
“At 19, armed robbery. He'spent two «

terms in reform schools, was even.

shipped to stern relatives in Iowa

for'21 months. «3 oe ‘
But, friends say, the record mis-

- leads. It relates facts, not substance; re

it lists armed robberies and says:

that ‘Spenkelink’s . gun was fired i:

twice, but doesn’t explain that shots ~
were never aimed at anyone, it calls

“John a career criminal, but fails to
reveal the soul of a, gentle, popular..4':
- kid — game, notevile oc ue pri

“Sure, he stole,’? says Lura Dar
rah, an elderly Buena Park ‘neigh-.

‘por. “He was a mixed-up Robin):

Hood. He'd give’ the money to other:
people. I know. one time when he;
stole a car he took it to Long Beach.’
to take my mother‘and father to a,
grocery store:”.: " rei Matas

manner ‘apparently ‘attracted many)"
panion. Since: they were 13, John,

dated Jenny Jones, a petite blonde:
wha attended Catholic schools, ::

,
14, he was arrested for driving a >,

as a:steady .com-*#

aD

ae call

cd it. They

*
ptf) 9

sa
’

4 : dees

y that

) clink roh-

MOY RLS * MRT, FORTS

Y

‘ve her children enjoy his Death

between from Las Vegas to Reno. He says he
Intended to use it to start a new life

\'Friend, Carla Key, Calls Him ‘Sweet and Kind’
Row letters and call him ‘Dad?

in Racine, Wis., married and a “true
Christian,” says Spenkelink remem-
* ian .° Wal

eye try

umphed In the tug-of-war for his
soul.

“I'm seeking nothing but the
truth now," he says. “I've gotten,
over being too biyshearted to the
wrong people and letting them
mess-me around, I've only got time
now for the people I Jove, And time
for finding the truta.”

A wry smile spreads across his
mouth, a gesture of some bizarre
confidence, like he — locked away
— has discovered some peace. My
truth, John Spenkellnk says, Is in
the Bible, my Innocence and love
for my family.

In that family he now includes
Carla Key, a 43-year-old Iowa
woman he met in July 1977 through
mutual friends. She had run away
from her husband with three of her
children. She came to be with her
sister in Jacksonville. She visited
Spenkelink because she heard he
was “special.” She fell in love.

“THE FIRST time I really knew I
loved John,” Carla says, “was when
Verna, my six-year-old, told him, 4
wish you were my daddy.’ John
said, ‘Why?’ Verna said, ‘Because
you're so beauti‘ul.’ And John said,
Tl] be your daday.’

“He is just so sweet and kind. He
makes us all so happy.”

Spenkelink’s mother, Carla and
the children share a house ina slum
section of Jacksonville. Mrs. Spen-
kelink and Key try to visit Spenkel-
ink once a week. Rene, 10,° ex-
changes arithmetle problems with
him. Rapan, 13, has aprecd to stay’
in schoul ot Sporkelink’s {nafatunce. .,
“he children cali him Dud, geet

“Dad says we're gonna ail move
to 4 farm and ,at deers and every,
thing,” Rene says. :

‘They wait for his daily letters,
joyous phrases written in a meticu-

n Coepkatinis decorates his

erage eh

e hey


‘aly said, DOL. Worry. YOU 1 Gay, OC. 15, L907, Jui Pte ot =
‘ “Wwhs nothins, vat an alcoholic any: and Jenny ‘were married. They = ‘Spenkelink testified at Os murder just kneed him in the nuts. ThenI |... COSA WA Bee A 4 : i)
: ee as - «were under age. But they ~ sane sere ; TA eae grabbed him on the shoulder and} ’ «4 sd { B thon @ waa fs i
: e “renembers, “Mom .: was ° “ings. After all, these two, it seeme s outlaws, the two had much in pulled him down. I aimed, though I ah : ‘é

dsy-going. Ve needed money, and” had been in love forever. ~~ . °*~~ common, Szymankiewicz, 43 when. remember aiming at his ee. jad Rasa For the Home Convalescent”

aS ~tJdhnny came: and went as he “« “It was incredible, most say, how  Spenkelink killed him, had spent at - tried to shoot him in the back of the
“>ipleased.” . quickly things blew apart. least 16 years in prison, The head.” URINALS BEDPANS
“quested; entored’the room after he. |). %:: -, Bon are contour cormfort, molded. in, poly,

Left to sctamble for income, Mrs. vy, “It was my fault,” Jenny says. “Is charges: forgery, auto theft, burgla-" er

enkelink worked.as a substitute.” Was too jealous -and, possessive.....ry,., allowing prostitution on the BRUMM, AS Spenkelink had re-
heard a shat. He adds this tothe |.) Ute. “ethylene to provide pleasant, warm touch,
story: ; are Easy to*clean — resist stains and ‘odors,’ * <*

cher;.Her mother contributed So-",. couldn’t stand: sharing him: with. his «° premises, disorderly . drunkenness. .”
ipl Security checks. Daughters friends and his family.” "He was ah Ohio parole violator.
rol and Marianne became baby- ~ -;She holds to that version. “Others, |: , “J ai twine § ey ‘
i i “ndwever, whisper of Spenkelink's BOTH: NEEDED money, craved Oo tas Iyfag fopetp on the ped
z dalliance with ’a 15-year-old. They, ."whisky. They drove west to Nevada A igh tngt aepai’. bBo gend paar
~ ‘d@pendent aided Telegram. peg say he strayed. “and California, then. back east to a was super grass. John was over
:+- {Lois Spenkalink, now 67, an ail-°s _ Jenny, heard the rumors. She eft. Detroit, Baltimore and Tallahassce,  ° oe the gun.
300-pound,. white-haired - Sahn in ‘June 1968. For a time, the all cities... where ‘‘Szymankiewicz:." _ ,, < John handed me the hatch-
man who walks ‘with a cane, © couple talked of reconciliation. But «, said he could raise cash. .” = Medea: Rg riggs He —
“="says, “I blame so much of what's ’ the chance of that ¢ ended abruptly in ': For Spenkelink, ° the “highway ‘Hit me sp fien : vig “a 4
ct h ppened on his father’s death. We. July. | ass held some charms. He says he was, J - wi es rane ee ave 8 Wa cid en reas
“Chad a pretty si.m chance to get by.” in ot 0°. 4* “able to get.$8,000 from friends. for’ oo d, es Phard. ike I ng hi bod AL PAN pat pe Urinal Bedpan
-¥Then. tears swell and her tone «A “ROBBERY Gc! pole, transporting a” little: something” Rees of granite. ike I was hitting a re ae
Be eg aes. ha og eR PLES Be, cobs ic Fae Pe »"" “Then he started breathing again Ji" 5
: : — r SoS gee Stati." about 10-15 seconds later and John [iss CRUTCH ES CANES 3
Ne SNaee retorts Sy ES Pare TD gi CS fete tesco said, ‘Hit him again.’ I said, ‘No, I |, 5... Underarm > Variety
oe : ; Soups eiae: [Pasar yg BT A ‘can’t.’ Then John took the hatchet | Je). 0. | ~~ of styles

ree brag Petree ae eet 2 ee er een ie

‘and hit him about four more times:
:on the temple.

“John said, ‘F--- with me, will
: : : weit Fi "_you?’ He’s talking to Joe. Joe's lying:
Tei ERC are lik ot 67: co, there dead and he’s talking to him.”
“Por: Snen . ,. Yet, Brumm’ says,’ Spenkelink’ | *-

oo oe Spenke ete » NOW: is - still feared a resurrection. After"|\ 000 0es J! Mf S
an ailing .300- pound, ° ‘white- they guzzled a bottle of sloe ging fo. ff | Ie.
‘ ~ . Spenkelink picked up the ee ak Weg ‘ :
haired: ‘woman spe’ walks: more. pees : Y Complete selection in

Ai ee ' _ | select woods or tubular
‘aoith- a cane. IT WAS my idea to use the pil: oe “ : Sturdy wood and alumi- aluminum
‘low as a silencer,” Brumm says. “It :] (9°30 -\... } num underarm crutches, :

es ihe 7 “worked real good. John shot‘him in | *"* (le". all adjustable f -
what's s hay pened ‘the head, and that’s when I saw the}. 20... fortable mg aged pss
death,’ ; she: “blood splatter on the wall. That's [20%
j ae when things got messy.’

ae We had. a. “pretty, ‘slimy ® The two paid for another day's . -- | WALKERS

Ba

‘rent, told ‘the motel clerk their | 4%. 40": :
by.” ‘Then. friend was “sleeping one off,” and | 374.0 °: Folding Model
eid left for California. A maid discov- pee i a ke :
tone: ered the body the next morning. . |. 20. > i pea shicties sabapieseted
‘Six days later, Buena Park police:|)3:s".°, J. @@S¥ handling plus double
“caught Spenkelink in © another :|f¢e.0.- bar strength for exceptional
armed robbery. He was traced’ to}] °° - » Stability. Folds easily for
»the Tallahassee’ murder. Brumm | > oe convenient storage or travel.
‘was arrested in.an Anaheim apart- | ™
“ment the next day- The gun was in’
a kitchen drawer.
“If I was tried again, I’d speak up
. for myself more fully,’” Spenkelink
says now, adding that Brumm’s a
-jiar.. “I was too quiet during the
‘trial.’
He says he never used the hatch-
» et. He says he doesn’t t remember a
, Second shot, ;

_ BUT BRUMM, now a draftsman :

b

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or

SIMON, slave, executed Alachua County, Florida, Oct. Hl pegs
: in - onda }
Vachue lottily :
: lint ABCC. .
wo Je te of lon Ah Afrae I4 th ilct C J0OLL , ttwnd
Uf ) hese, Ire Gorte E00 thug |
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lad, Rudile huucysd der ues C.tltrh
urtw bw A Qa paety f @ Gretel, tefocae

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cd eophuch show, lhe LAT uy
Cnn WMetce ax 6 Av OT AL IFSO, adv AG

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AP NaS MaMa +

COMPTROLLER VOUCHERS, 186-1862; Series 565; box 1, Falder 1,
Florida State “rchives, Tallahassee,

FLORIDA —_— Not on Sinyb la 5 Lts#

Alexander Stmpes executed at Jacltsonville.
on 7-10-1895 tor rmurder of /olicenman fener

the previdus April.

Noha. PH-9E PF

TWO REPORTS ON
THE EXECUTION OF
JOHN = SPENKELINK

"SPENKELINKS LAST APPEAL
by Ramsey Clark

Ramsey Clark, the distinguished former Attorney General of the United
States, was an important participant in the legal battle to prevent
the first involuntary execution in the United States since 1967. In
this article he recalls the last-ditch efforts of a team of lawyers
representing John Spenkelink, and recounts the frightening story of
the response to those efforts by the State of Florida and by the Fifth
United States Circuit Court of Appeals. His article is reprinted from
The Nation, Volume 229, Number 13, October 27, 1979.

"SPENKELINK SPECIAL
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

Allegations about cruelty and irregularities in the treatment of John
Spenkelink and his family prior to his electrocution resulted in
Florida Governor Bob Graham appointing a special team to investigate
the execution procedures. This is the text of the investigators’
Report to the Governor.

TENNESSEANS AGAINST
THE DEATH PENALTY

Box 120552 Nashville. Tennessee 37212

(Ala.

registration
may be in-
is the prop-
yrance.””
by the Su-
apposite in
t with the
‘e to quote
> any doubt
; of equity
side instru-
un their pro-
the nature
existence of
nded source
arty whom
ed to affect.
» of the ac-
ve found in
rat the evt-
always at-
’ fraud may
uw. If the
the title to
ction for its
e the cloud
tle. Story’s
ton y.'Cum-
v. Shep-
- *  &
‘of this eq:
he cancella
nt, that the
nt from con-
rough which
‘hat based’ on
The pow-
proceedings
eC, ig a neces-
1 a court of
ble of com-
mn Inj. ec 2,

. Bureka Co.,,

(m. St. Repi
here decide,

rruled.

iotion to dis-

nurrer to the

» the injune-

irrer and the

}

° rit
aring. a

ation of thé
ord, we have
» bill is with!

atter invoked
' equitable
vailable = to’
vi ejectment?
the court in
to cancel the
relies for a

sfints, Tom, hanged Marianna, FL, 10/27/1905,

Bin) -/° SPIRES v. STATE. °° 181

recovery asa cloud upon complainant’s title.
But. that court. has. jurisdiction, and is in
the legitimate exercise of it, to determine
the validity of that deed, and to adjudge
the matter of controversy respecting the
title to the Jand. And on the question of
title the plaintiffs in that action, who are
respondents to the bill, are entitled to a
trial by jury, and cannot be deprived of it,
where the defendant’s defenses are cogniza-
ble in a court of law, as here, by preventing
the exercise of the jurisdiction first obtained
and transferring the adjudication of that
question to the chancery court, as is attempt-
ed to be done.’ Should the complainant suc-
cessfully defend the action of ejection, he
may then invoke the powers of the chancery
court to cancel the deed as a cloud upon his
title, or, if no action had been instituted
against -him ‘to test his title, he would be
entitled, to maintain such a bill. But after
the action has been begun, his defenses be-
ing legal; in ‘contradistinction to being eq-
ultable, he: will not be’ permitted to oust
the jurisdiction of ‘the law court or to pre-
vent itsiexercise.. °
The ¢ase:of: Lehman v.. Shook, 69 Ala.
492, is not an authority’ against this view.
It is true that in that case Chief Justice
Brickell expressed the opinion broadly, with-
out regard to' the question of. jurisdiction on
the ground of fraud, that‘a bill, such as this,
was maintainable; but neither of the judges
agreed with:him.: It is also true that in that
case'the equity of the bill) was sustained.
But Justice Sommerville, adhering to the
views expressed by him‘in his dissenting
opinion in Smith’s Ex’r v. Cockrell, 66 Ala.:
64, concurred in the conclusion, solely on the
grotind that the court had jurisdiction on ac
count of the fraud alleged. Justice Stone, in
an able dissenting opinion, held that the bill
was wanting in equity. We think’ he was
tight, and refer to what he there said as
satisfactorily expressing our views, and we
adopt his opinion as a correct exposition of
the law. See, also, Normant v.' Eureka Com-
pany, 98 Ala. 181, 12 South. 454, 39 Am. St.
Rep..'45;, Womack’ v.’ Powers, 50 Ala. 5;
8 Brick. Dig. § 223, p. 346; Holt v. Pickett,
111 Ala, 862, 20 South. 432.
‘The decree must’ be reversed and the Dil!
dismissed. A er re oy
Reversed and rendered. - mo a

McCLELLAN, ©. :'J., and DOWDELL,
SIMPSON, ANDERSON, and DENSON, JJ.,
concur, HARALSON, J., adheres to his opin-
fon, = > , ‘ > ‘

1h ee | ——

(0 Fla, 121). or
_ SPIRES v. STATDR.. er
(Supreme Court of Florida, Division A. July
stp ... 26, 1905.)
1, CrnomnaL . LAW—EVIDENCE—EXPERIMENTS.
Evidence of an experiment whereby to test

the truth of testimony that a certain thing oc-
curred is not: admissible, where the ‘conditions

y

attending the alleged occurrence and the ex-
periment are not shown to be similar. :

[Ed. Note.—For cases in point, see vol. 14,
Cent. Dig. Criminal Law, § 854.]

2. SAME—QUESTION FoR CouRT.

Whether or not evidence of experiments is
admissible is, under the circumstances of each
case, a preliminary question for the determina-
tion of the court.

8. SAME—EXPERIMENTS BEFORE JURY.

It is within the judicial discretion of the
trial court whether to permit experiments rele-
vant to the issue to be made before the jury
during the trial, or to refuse to permit them,
such court having first to determine whether
or not such similarity of circumstances and
conditions has been made to appear to render
said evidence competent; and an appellate
court should decline to interfere. with the rul-
ing, unless an abuse of this judicial discretion
is clearly made to appear.

[Ed.. Note.—For cases in point, see vol. 14,
Cent, Dig. Criminal Law, § 1457.]

4. SAME, ” fo tes .

The making of experiments by or in the
presence of the jury. is not favored by the
courts. Evidence of this kind should be re
ceived ‘with caution, and only be admitted where
it-is obvious to the court, from the nature of the
experiments, that the jury will be enlightened,
rather than confused. 3

[Ed. Note.—For cases in point, see vol. 14,
Cent. Dig. Criminal Law, -§ 1457.] me
5. Same — APPEAL — REVIEW — OBJECTIONS

—FAILURE TO ARGUE.

. Where one of the errors assigned is based
upon the overruling of .the motion for a new
trial, and said motion consists of a number of
frounds,' an appellate court will consider only
such grounds as are argued.:: .

[Ed. NoteFor cases in point, see vol. 15,
Cent, Dig. Criminal, Law, § 3012.] f

6. SAME~+WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE. + ny

Where there is evidence to support the ver-
dict, it will not be disturbed or set aside by an
appellate court, ‘as being against the evidence,
where itS propriety depends entirely upon the
credibility of conflicting witnesses.

[Ed. Note.—IFor cases in point, see vol. 15,
Cent. Dig. Criminal Law, § 3077.]

(Syllabus by the. Court.)

Error to Circuit Court, Jackson County;
Charles B. Parkhill, Judge.

.Tom Spires was convicted of crime, and
brings error, Affirmed.

BK. L. Graves and Ellis F. Davis, for plain-
tiff in error. W. H. Ellis, Atty. Gen., for
the State. :

"SHACKLEFORD, ©. J. The plaintiff in
error was indicted, tried, and convicted for

‘the crime of rape, at'a special term of the

circuit court for Jackson county held in the
month of April, 1905. He was sentenced to
death, ‘and from this judgment and sentence
seeks relief here by writ of error.

Three errors are assigned, but the second
is expressly abandoned, which leaves for con-
sideration only the first and third.

The first assignment is based upon the de-
nial of the motion of the defendant for a
new trial. We shall’ first consider the: third
assignment, which is as follows: “The court
erred in refusing to grant motion of defend-
ant to try experiment in. the presence of the
jury ina dark’ room with the gun offered in


182 89 SOUTHERN REPORTER, (Bila.

evidence, to see whether the flash of the
gun would make sufficient light to permit a
person to recognize, as testified to by the
prosecutrix.”

The bill of exceptions discloses’ that both
the prosecuting witness and.her mother tes-
tified that the crime wus committed in the
bedroom occupied by them, about 11 o’clock
at night, after both witnesses had gone to
bed; that the person committing the crime
fired a.gun while in the room, which sounded
like a pistol. The ‘prosecutrix testified that
by the flash made by the firing of the gun
she saw the features of the man in the room,
and recognized him. as the defendant, while
the mother testified that the flash made suffi-
cient light for her to tell a black man from
a white man, but she was not looking. at
him at the time the gun fired, ‘and did not
see his face, though she heard his voice, and
from that recognized him as the defendant.
Both witnesses testified that it was a dark
night; that the moon was not shining, and
there were no stars; and that there was no
light burning in the room. A gun was also
introduced in evidence and identified as hav-
ing been found in the defendant's house, the
morning after the crime was committed,
The counsel for the defendant requested
“that the jury here be taken into a dark
room, and that a shot be placed in this gun
[the gun introduced ‘in. evidence], and the
gun taken in there and fired in.a dark room,
so: that we can see if when. you fire this
gun if you would be able to tell who any-
body was by the flash of the gun, as has been
testified to here by witness upon this stand.
We desire that somebody, well known to the
jury, but who they do not know who it is,
go in the room and shoot the gun, and see
if the jury can ascertain, by the flash of: the
gun there in that dark room, who was the
persan that fired the gun off in there.”

This was objected. to by the state’ upon
tis ground that it ‘had not been shown that
the. proposed vexperiment would take place
under the same or similar conditions that ex-
isted. on the night the. crime was committed,
when the gun was discharged, which objec-
tion was sustained by the court, to which rul-
ing an exception was duly noted.

Thereupon the defendant introduced cer-
tain testimony,, which weideem it unneces-
sary to set forth, in the attempt to show that
the proposed experiment would be. performed
under the same or similar conditions, at the.
close,of which the defendant renewed his. mo-
tion. The state again. objected upon. the
same ground, which objection was sustained,
and an exception duly, noted to’ the ruling.

As was said by this court in Lawrence...
State, 34 South. 87; .Hyidence of an experi-
ment whereby to test the truth of, testimony.
that a certain. thing. occurred is not admis-.
sible,, where the conditions attending the al-
leged, occurrence and the experiment are. not;
shown. to. be similar.”

Ag,to,, whether. ,or not, such | ‘similarity . of |

circumstances and conditions has’ been made
to appear is a preliminary question for the
court. to determine, 12 Amer. & er Eney.
Law (2d Ed.) 400, 409. = | 4

It is also within the judicial: Riaation
of the trial court whether to permit experi-
ments relevant to the ‘issue to be made: be-
fore the jury during the trial, or to refuse
to permit them, and ‘an appellate court
should decline to interfere with’ the ruling,
unless an abuse of this judicial discretion
is clearly made to appear. See Leonard v.
Southern Pac. Co., 21 Or. 555; 28 Pac. 887,
15. L. R. A. 221,,and note; City of Ord v.
Nash, 50 Neb. 335, 69 NN. W. 964; Homan v.
Franklin County, 98 Iowa, 692, 68 N. W.
559;. People v. Levine, 85 Cal. 39, 22 Pac.
969, 24 Pac. 631; Ball v. United States,.163
U.. S. 662, 16 Sup. Ct. 1192, 41 L. Hd. 300;
Abbott’s Trial Brief, Criminal Causes (2d
Ed.) 202, 203, and. cases — in notes; 1
Thompson on Trials, § 620. (

It would seem that the decisions are pot
inclined to favor the making of experiments
by or in the presence of the jurors. AS was
cogently said by Miller, C. J., in Chicago,
St. Louis & Pittsburg R. Co; v. Champion
(Ind. Sup.) 32 .N. EB, 874, 23 L. R. A. 861:
“Evidence of this. kind should be received
with caution, and only be admitted where it
is:obvious to the court, from the nature of
the experiments, that the jury will be en-
lightened, rather than ‘confused. In many
instances a: slight change in the conditions
under which the experiment is made will so
distort the result as to wholly destroy its
value as» evidence, and make it harmful
rather than helpful.” This case was not of-
ficially reported, but on rehearing was trans-
ferred to the Appellate Court, where'a differ-
-ent opinion was rendered by Davis, C. J.:
See 9 Ind. App. 510, 86 N. HB. 221, 37 N. E.
(21,.53 Am. St. Rep. 357, After using the
cautionary language. quoted: above, it. was
held by Miller, C, J., that the experiment
proposed in the case should have been admit-
ted; ‘but. in the opinion’ prepared by. Davis,'
C. J., supra, it: was held that “there was no,
error in the ruling of the trial court in ex-
cluding . the evidence,, because of the failure
, to show, or offer to show, that the.test or
experiment was made under substantially
‘the same conditions as existed at the time
, the injury occurred.”,, The following author:
i ities will also prove instructive: Lake Hrie
& Western R. Co.. v. Mugg, Adm’r, 132: Ind.
168, 31 N. B. 564;: Thrawley v. State, 153 Ind:

-120 Mass. 185, text 190; State v. Justus, 11
Or. 178, 8 Pac. 337, 50 Am. Rep. 470; 1 Wig-
_more’s Evidence, §§ 442, 451.

It will readily be seen, from an examina-
‘tion of these authorities, how difficult in
many cases it would be for’ ‘the court to be
certain, or even reasonably so, that the cir-
cumstances and ‘conditions under’ which the
: proposed experiment was to be tried were,

‘precisely or substantially. the same or simi,

875,,.55, Ny; BE. .95;. Commonwealth v. Piper,


JACKSONVILLE ‘ELECTRIC CO. v. ADAMS,

“In the case at bar’ it was well urged
ity the state that the eyesight of different
“pesos widely varies, thdt it was not shown
Ww the gun was loaded on thé night the

rine was committed, with a long or short |

Pdirtridge, with bullets or shot, how many
rafting of powder were uséd, etc. Other mat-
“Wf# will readily suggest‘ themselves to the
las points of difference.
ithe light of these authorities, we are of
opinion that no error was committed in
“@staining the objections of the state to the
“Wiroduction of this evidence.
F The only question now remaining for our
“@isidératiof is the first ‘assignment based
“ton the denial of the motion for a new
‘tii This motion contains eight grotinds,
I tat only two of them are argued here—that
verdict of the jury’ is not sipported by
evidence, and that the court erred in
sing the defendant’s motion to experi-
nt with the gun in the jury’s presence.
we said in McNish v. State (Fla.) 36
h. 176: “Where one ofthe errors as-
“Mgréd'{g based upon the overruling of the
‘Wotion for ‘a new trial, and’ said motion con-
“Wsts of a number of grounds, an appellate
‘urt will consider only such grounds as are
immed.” We have already considered and
nosed of the assignment based upon the
sal of the court to permit the experiment
the gun. We now come to the question
the sufficiency of the evidencé to warrant

(onviction, We have given all the evi-

“@nce our most careful consideration, and
» ate forced to the conclusion that there was
awple evidence to warrant the jury in find-
Wy the defendant’ guilty.’ This finding of
| the jury was concurred in by the trial judge,

“gn we must refuse to disturb it. McNish v..
te, supra; Browning v. State, 41 Fla. 271,
and numerous authorities

% ‘South. 639,

It would be fruitless to set forth the de-

fills of this horrible crime.

The judgment must be affirmed, and it is
® ordered; the costs of this appellate pro-
teding to be taxed against the county of

Jackson, b wet

COCKRELL” ‘and WHITTiELD, JJ., a,

enne ELECTRIC CO. v..
ADAMS. vs

(Bupreme Court of Florida, Division B. aly
26, 1905.) |

runes harioends—Insont TO Cutt,
The contributory negligence of parents in

{

gf

ftmitting a child, a boy four years and one
wenth old, to go without a caretaker upon the
atets of a city upon: which electric cars are

upon which the car was

183

operated, cannot be imputed to the child in an
action by him against the corporation operating
the electric cars for damages resulting to him
from the negligent operation of an electric car.

[Ed. Note.—For cases in point, see vol. 3T,
Cent. Dig. Negligence, § 159.

2. TRIAL—INSTRUCTION.
An instruction calewlated to mislead the
jury is properly refused.

'3._ STREET Rarrnoaps'— INsoay ‘TO CHILD—

NEGLIGENCE, .

Where the: motorman of an “electric car,
being operated upon the streets of a city, should.
and must have seen a child of tender years,
unattended, in dangerous eb gpa to the track’

eing operated, it was
his duty to use means “strictly commensurate
with the demands and exigencies of the occa-
sion” to prevent injuring such child, the burden
of proof being: upon the electric car company
to show that such means were used; and under
such circumstances, if such proof is not satis-
factorily made, the company is negligent and
liable for damages. ©
4, TRIAL—INSTRUCTIONS. :

If there are several fenportaiit issues in a
case, it is not proper to single out one of them
in an instruction, in such a way as might im-
press the jury that such issue was the con-
trolling one, and thus mislead the: jury;' and:
such an instruction is properly refused.

‘5. APPEAL—REVIEW—NEW. TRIAL.

Where the bill of exceptions does not show,
any exception to the ruling of the trial judge’
denying a motion for a new «trial, this court

‘cannot consider the merits of such motion.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

Error to Circuit Court, Duval County;
Rhydon M. Call, Judge. —

Action by Stanley Adams; by Wright Alex-
ander Adams, his next friend, against the
Jacksonville Electric Company. Judgment.
for plaintiff, and defendant brings error.
Affirmed.

On the, 21st of ‘April,. 1908, the defendant
in error, Stanley Adams, hereinafter called
the plaintiff, by W. A.. Adams, his next
friend, filed his declaration against the plain-
tiff in error, hereinafter..called the defend-.
ant, containing six counts, The first count
is as follows: bea #94

“Stanley Adams,; by: Wright, Alexander
Adams, his next, friend, plaintiff, by Bryan &
Bryan, his attorneys, in this. first. count, of
his declaration sues: Jacksonville. . Electric

,Company,.a corporation organized and doing:

business. under the. laws of .the state, of
Florida, defendant, for that..heretofore, on,
to wit, March 26th,..1903, the said. defendant
was the owner and operator :of a certain

‘street car.propelled.. by the: power of elec-

tricity, . numbered. .;;88;..., that defendant,
through its agents and.servants, has-the ex-
clusive control and management of said street

‘ear and was operating same in the city of

Jacksonville, Duval county, Florida, upon cer-
tain street, railroad track of defendant, lo-,
cated upon Bridge street. and Monroe street
and. divers other streets-in said city of Jack-
sonville; ‘that. plaintiff was, on the day afore-
said, to wit, March 26th, 19038, of the age
of four years.and:one month; that on said
day, to wit, March 26th, 1903, in the light
of day, at, to wit, 8 o’clock in the forenoon


ie eee:

Fiorida:
Times-Union
May 23,1979

‘

§

ote

ete of

eats

Supreme Court Justice Thurgood’: ;
‘Marshall late Tuesday blocked Spen-y§
“kelink's execution only hours before
“| the condemned killer was supposed to

- die in the electrié chair at the Florida
_ State Prison here." :# 2.8 20262

V Marshall, a aia apporient: ‘of
| ‘capital punishment, stayed execution
» Just seven hours before the appointed ,
time of.7 a.m. today when Be sighs
was to be put to death,

; “T believe it appropriate to grant

“the. application for a stay Until further‘<;
~action by the entire court,’!, Marshall
| said in a brief opinions,

fy de,

4 A " Related stories on Pages B-

By

and KEN CUMMINS ° 7" «:
a! Times-Union Staff Writers*'

i “STARKE —: The scheduled ex:
écutions ‘of condemned: murderers
John A, Spenkelink and Willie Jasper:
Darden Jr. were. derailed Tuesday:
_when federal judges granted aia
men stays of execution.

ethan Godi he +» Spenkelink was

‘quoted ag saying when he. yard the’ "news came from Washington,
“news on television.

me < Spenkelink's’ -eeragriadt Pathe

‘Tom Feamster of:St::Anfe's Episcd

“pal Church ‘in Statke,, was i with: him
Re 1

nee > at me
HAL Mint ‘ihotghththep me
“= talking about, Darden then 1 "Peallzed ‘talking . ret singing when the: news:
it was Spenkelink,’’. Feamster sald,’ ne ay. :

akg ¥ wives! Wn Li pen

wet ean a AIT

Rae le ‘ "
Re apy
wy 3

ey «f preaihed a ‘sigh i of relief then
Spenkelink breathed a sigh of relicf.
“John said; ‘Don’t forget to tell those
Kor people out there I love them. I never
' wai Bave up hope.’ "..

FRANK ‘YOUNG °

71> Meanwhile, ‘ai. Hadee of the 5th
U:S: Circuit Court of Appeals in New
Orleans, where Spenkelink had lost

own stay | order,

: Judge. ‘Elbert’ P. Tuttle of Atlanta
grdnted the stay “until farther order:
OF the court,” he ‘said. ,

4 “4

4

ny former,’U.S.- Attorney ° General «.
: Ramsey Clark said, ‘The grounds are »
‘Mmatters.”: not’. raised . heretofore.”:
‘Clark, who was in Atlanta after visit:
ing Statke.on Tuesday, said, “There
are about 10 or’ i cde ovce J factual .
claims. eS

een. answered,”. cried Spenkelink’s
-mother,. Lois, . who. had given him

Drage, at 9: 30 P. m, ‘Tuesday. °

been praying’ for,”. said-Tim “Myers, : -
husband of Spenkelink’s sister .Carol.;
“He had been at a’ prayer vigil in the
;meadows outside the prison when the

A * “What do you say? It’s fantastical .-
SAUL 1, can say is it’s Just erect *;

Sn,

“Aboit ‘300 «: demonsirators had.”

“psi fence across the road front the prison:

an earlier appeal Tu uesday, signed his .

Commenting. ‘on’, putlle's deci- -

“S wphank God! our ‘prayers have —

i what: would have been her last em: .

‘U's. ‘something ‘that ae nave

“been” leaning against. ‘thé: :chain-link *

oe -

s g

Mrs, Lois spenkelink shows ‘strain of death watch

«they began Clapping and singing ‘ert Grakiain at thé governor's ma.
the gospel hymn, -“Amen.” Those ,- sion in Tallaliassed. An assistant gen-
‘with «flashlights . or candles. waved sera) counsel in the state altorney’s of-
“them in the air. Many began. hugging: "fice relayed Lhe news to him at 12:44
«, and crying and holding each other in“., a.m. today.

the. calm north Florida nigtity.."-_.).* "The governor said through press

The news also reached Gov, Rob ie EXECUTION, Page A-3)

vba

in


The. Rev. Radolph MeKissick- pastor of. Bethel 1 Insti-

piutional Baptist Church; said he Sones the death penalty

licak and. humanistic -groun

nn dg

he Word says ‘Vengeance. eae saith the
wand’ that j is enough for me. »; McKissick said.

Kay: Islay | ‘of: ‘the: Fcksoniite Citizens Against’ ‘the.

: = Death’ Penalty Said’she opposes“the death: “penalty : “be-*

as
ta

sg

ne

i Se

ee

Lae

nine

ause it is unfairly sepeed and statistics prove it is not a

Ce
; deterrent to crime. os

Some ministers in Jacksonvili “support it.

: “Pm for it,” said the Rey. Cornelius Davis, pastes of.
‘Southside Baptist Church. “When a person takes a Per:
son's life he must be willing to give his own.”

‘Joe: Goodspeed, ‘minister- at San Jose. Church of ;
Christ. said he considers the death riod a ee a
and useful enforcement of law. es p ih

Ty is a difficult ‘question; ” ‘Gondapaeh’ said. ‘yp don't
think the-Bible insists on it.:There is-biblical basis for both
sides. I don’t insist on the death penalty, but I don’t think °
itis inhumane or violates scripture or love. cet it.
sed be the most juane thing” we, could do.” ee

eerie ade ae t+ 3


; EAE

z
¥

SPERM OST

. statement
after he arrives at work at
49-ams
Hull said the ‘death war-

(From Page he iy:

secretary: Steve. Hull “he
will . give” no’ immediate . warrant if it expires.
i; statement, ‘but he. did not;; -

Ae we 2H

oe -rant:. expires .Friday at

hat

x
5

bees
ats

ate

: noon,
could still be carried out if
the -full: Supreme. Court”
‘refuses to make the stay ©

, permanent. ‘Hull: sald the
pe goyernsr did: not indicate ~ companion William Jasper
ae

eae aes ieee: REP Se ACS a care “ws nal nwt? re “he OTA Suet Ses aut a

so the ‘execution .

spade teens eae Bar

“sg. Spenkelink’s. ‘Death’ Row’

‘a

immediately Shethor he
would sign, another death

: Marshall .was- the third °:
Court |

. appealed to in a desperate.

last-minute effort to stop te:

his execution. Justices’ Wil.
liam Rehnquist, and. John~
“ Paul Stevens denied Stays‘
at 8:06 p.m. and 11:40 p.m. §:
Tuesday, respectively.

flammatory

2 gat Me

; “i Darded Jr. earlier - Tieslay”
won a; temporary, reprieve # ert, Harper. said Darden
‘ss when a federal: judge” de-".
“ layed . his: execution ~15.;

‘hours before he'was to ‘die ?:

in the ‘electric chair.‘ His. «
execution was to have fol-:;
‘> lowed Spenkelink's, by, one; ait

US. Distict: ‘Tudge’ wil

=Wam | 'T,. (Hodges ruled : pin
“Tampa that Darden’s. ex:is:
éecution must \ be . delayed °
cf until : his ‘appeal’ can ‘be...
heard in the courts. ‘Darden-#*.”

v

‘contends: the remarks of-s

#the prosecutor..to: the: jury”

“in the :1974, ‘trial -were .

hee ey

Aen eats

;
’
‘.
f

Darden’s. attorney Rob-

told him by telephone that:

» “Words cannot express the
“Jove: and. appreciation for
‘ what has been done on my
behalf.”

‘Darden's ‘stay brought ai
‘“cheer from a small crowd
of demonstrators holding «

vigil outside the prison and
“solemn: — acknowledgment
from Spenkelink’s mother.

: said Mrs. Spenkelink.
“The: mood” outside - the

m ptison before word of the

Stay reached the 300 dem-
onstrators was somber.

.Around midnight demon-

strators crowded against -
the fence that kept them.
outside the prison com-’

pound,
% Signs -
leading
nouncing capital

chanting,

waving
and

punish-

~ iment. »-
HeEEAL: one point two death °
«penalty proponents got into -.

bea ‘shouting match with the

& ponents - were,

“opponents, but the incident

ended calmly when the pro-'

awdy. 0

“sic”
‘killed in February 1978

“Well, I'm glad he did,” ”

_ escorted. i

The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Wednesday, May 23, ;

Orange Park
shop owner Tsuyako “Su-
Thomas who was

after being stabbed 16
times, stood at the prison
fence and pointed at Death
Row.

“Rveryone of those peo-

sandwich :

ple took a life,” he said. .

“No one ever says anything

about the victims.”
His wife’s slayer, Patrick

A. Brewer, is awaiting ex-
ecution on Death Row. +)

About 30 newsmen gath-
ered around Thomas when

- he asked if any of them had

lost a loved one to a killer.

When he got no response,”

he pointed to death penalty
opponents. nearby. who
were

have either. °

-. “If this continues, by the
‘* time Brewer gets: to .the
chair seven to eight years ~
from now, these. bleeding *

.chanting © non-stop ,
“Death Row must go,”, and.’

: :: Said, “I doubt any of them, 3
occasionally ~ a ee

- speeches de- :

tures about 800 yards from ~

the green, three-story pris-
on. A center tract reserved
for journalists, while fields
on either side of them were
reserved for opponents and
proponents.

Throughout the night,
sporadic clamor, shouts
and gunshot-like sounds
were heard from inside the
prison. At one point flames
were seen in the windows
of one prison wing, but the
fires were quickly brought
under control. There was
no word from prison offi-
cials on the cause, although
witnesses speculated that
inmates probably burned
newspapers or mattresses

in protest.

-rison  » Superintendent
David Brierton said in his
statement to the press ear-

» lier in the evening that
some inmates were setting

off small, homemade

*’“match bombs,” small bun-

hearts will have’ won out.

and we will do away with

_ capital Spear # ee:

er said.
Prison officials "paneelba®

. out space in a series of pas-

dies of matches which pop

‘when ignited in a container.

‘arlier Tuesday, Mrs.
Spenkelink made. a_ last-

‘minute, tearful appeal to

.. Graham to spare the life of

+b be

her only son.
“Gov. Graham claims to
be a Christian, but he won't

e

en talk to me about my
son. IIe doesn’t even know
my son. How can he kill my
son, my only son?”

“J would like Gov. Gra-
ham to come and sce me,”
Spenkelink had said in his
statement. “IL seems to me
that if he is to judge me, he
should know me.”

Spenkelink, 30, was con-
victed of the beating and
shooting death of his trav-
eling companion, Joseph

Syzinankicwicz, in a Talla-
hassee motel in February
1973.

Darden, 45 and black,
was convicted of killing
Lakeland furniture store
owner James ‘Turman dur-
ing a 1973 holdup. He was
also sentenced to life in
prison for assault in an-
other crime.

Spenkelink was bearing
up well during the ‘hours
before his stay was
granted, prison superinten-
dent Brierton said.

(Contributing to this re-

port were Times-Union
staff writers Mike Ander-
son and Percy Hamilton

and AP and UPI dis-

patches.)


. Renarphicksatartteri) ia een baat saa opt STs ae ares eee ee
“Times-Union Néws: Services ® |

“4
?

1

syepestas nqoees

Paice ttt Wet, jo as soso “1 have been ‘walking in fear
-4.,Crowds outside’ of- Florida. State y here in, Lakeland for six years not
Age tison near Starke cheered, sang and |’; knowing if he was going to escape or :

veilBeed a ictih ang with: joy! when. * be let out again on probation.” |: &.
they heard the execution ‘of John A. : Graham signed the death war-’2
“FSpenkelink. had been postponed by : rant for Dardtcaad Spenkelink Fri- %
Ax/U:S: Supréme Court Justice Thurgood day. < 1
ig Marshall “eetitei *" . Phe governor has received more 7
“than 1,000 telegrams denouncing the %
3.¥ death sentence as murder. Another ie
ed and*sang -in‘jubila-. 600 praised him for signing the war- ;
ale Ty Oh ooo *O pants, Telephone calls have been run- 7

Shanty tebe

Hor, His
ha ata
Fee

se tp paca *

po

fone 3
Sy Die wk itt rg TO dba aA Se nt heavily in favor of the gover-='
ay ¥; ‘Tims, Myers... Spenkelink’s " i § action. ae ey
“brother-in-law rom Buena Park, Ca: | ;
rel £

“Clit, had just arrived at’ rally of anti: <.. , Meanwhile, 87 of the 120 mem- °

*fddath penalty: protesters when hej. bers of the: Florida House sent a

icard ‘the news of the delay!” °° «letter to. Graham praising him for

po Ate Be So ay ok Se a (Signing the Spenkelink and Darden .
ay « death warrants. 2

: * Oe te 4 ae ESOT
| dl : = fess gh.We heard a:rumor ‘of the’ st

~Florida:Times -Union ten wed enemaan! ah we :
“ he said, “It is definitely something we As Graham's workers were sift-

oikGh ech cee

were hoping and praying for.”. °°: ing through thé. mail,’ protesters *’

roa, A Cee a ee ~.y Staged a mock execution Tuesday in
_ Seee His wife Carol, Spr : the hallway outside the white double
gsteg; said Sri = doors that lead to his office, i

-J,. | Sereams of. “NO, NO,. NO,"
3 pierced the office.complex: as the
under +; demonstrators:~ who have blocked ,
ne de- {the entrance since early Monday. af-

xLernoon — played out a death ritual to.
protest the scheduled executions...

Spike Virwnealre ci

‘was, not.known whether Gra- i : ie
+ Mg as ry,
: " oft ap e
Adoded: with’ fetter 3 2) WSs
er t é thdSe:: Supporting™a) of 8
= “deGision to sign thé dea t y
tay Spénke 4 Eye
- Peale
; Rae's EST SEe
. : SEBS imurder}<
nie. : .. &eommitted'w un in th : s

es, eke Ak Se
- — BILL CRANFORD/Staff: :

Nad a few lit candice 4

fea Sh C8 Complex by'a;side dot,

Be eae, Se a
fain rower 4 oy ie tos ¥ ball asks: atte: Al aad LP ake. aged =

ge Se ue e ae meses ‘ “as

= ; wis: an th * 7

= 2 vk: Mamie Lee Riley, 78, whose son, Wadel, 30, is on Death Row, -*
| 2 °} 4; Joins in a candlelight vigil outside Florida State Prison near
d Math 4 4-Starke Tuesday night as opponents of the death penalty awaited
| rte tabestiye enter. the governor's of- ee 3 eae atone execution of John ep :
; ry .s ‘ 3 #5


Jacksonville Journal 12-6-78

ene

Disciplinary Raion.

oe 8 Bot SER aoe

Confines Spenkelink

STARKE Death row-inmate -John "Spenkelink to-
day was found guilty by a disciplinary board at the Flor-
ida’ State: Prison ‘of disobeying a direct ‘order’ arid at-
tempting to assault a guard, a spokesman for the Beige
ment of Corrections said. a

“He was: “sentenced *. to 90 days * | in- disciplinary
confinement off death row where he will not have visita-
tion rights, including newsmen. In confinement he also
will not have a television set like all cells on death row nor
will he be able. to go outside for recreation. :

* The hearing resulted from an incident the day before
Thanksgng. in which Pe aicuc a: had a Betis: with
. :

- Meanwhile, a 2 prison civil Hips | group ata in Talla-
iissbe today that an- “outside peacekeeping group”
Should be sent to the Florida State Prison to avert a poten-
tially volatile situation on Death Row in the wake of the
alleged beating by guards of Spenkelink.

ae With 17 inmates facing execution and Spenkelink,
convicted of killing a drifter in a Tallahassee motel, likely
to be the first to go, “Death Row is like an armed camp
the night before the~battle,” said a spokesman for the
Florida Clearinghouse on Criminal J ustice.

- His is the national test case, now in the U. S. Supreme
‘Court: for new challenges: to the death penalty. _


Sarasota Herald-Tribune eta he

“y

“Ste RAST Tes neti ae
’ tt

- Spen ‘elink In Soli tary;

Death Row Said

yt ds Sued

-

NIU aE BSE Lr BB Ft RAR RAED, FIR RRIEIDIET™ CEDURE Fn Tet eR ERRNO Py

<Y° By BARBARA FRYE ae ae . Thomas Barton, have lashed a campaign of harrassment

>

hy gf L LAHASSEE (UPI) — Prison authorities sent:) against death row inmates because of the escape.

: -eonvictéd “killer” "John: Spenkelink: to.: solitary - confinement. They said he was knocked unconscious and not given
i ‘Wednesday’. ‘and civil rights-groups said-Florida’s death row ¥ medical: treatment’.for 48° hours. ‘They also charged that’
-* “is like an armed ys the. ulgnt before. the. battle” and. “proper- medicine was withheld, deliberately’ or from ° slop- :
te explode pay time: ask trag ah LAP tg he piness,' from death row inmates James: McCrary, who has

“The sgroups’ urged that'an eg citte te egng faree| ; _ epilepsy, and Glenn Martin, who has sickle-cell anemia.

Pike, the Suakere be. ‘sent to, Florida State Prison to avert; - McCrary’s. lips “were blue and he was shaking,” aes .
ack of medicine, said’ clearinghouse Co-Director. Scharlette -

‘Holdman;:.who visited. the’ prison after’ the: Spenkelink inci-
i: creates an fonts are tense’ ‘over. cre recent escape. ‘ Sey *s Soom She said Raper ort was Socetving no: iuaicatin: © except :
A 8, Seeds} s 0th § be yd Peery HS Ba Nae BES SLSERED EE ae ee
i Se ecretary: ok Corrections t Louie ‘Wainwright, “however. said" /° Spenkelink, SRLS SR te die. for. the 1973 killing ofa:
—-after-a- -meeting- -with Gov.-Reubin.Askew: that “the situation drifter in:a=Tallahassee motet, may be the :next person:
 sisswell” “underj control.””"Askew. Press: Secretary Paul Schnitt:, ‘vin’. ‘America: to--be. executed: His is. the lead atclay: in. 6s
+said: _the-governor ~is- “satisfied *- eet eu way things- are= “new: ‘challenge. of ‘capital. punishment, pending in. the US,
& “being, -handled- ‘at -the : ‘prison.: ae ae eh t “eG Supreme Court: after being rejected in lower courts. |. =
=> Wainwright: also* said. ‘disciplinary: Action - against ‘guards: Dr. Holdman, Co- Director, Susan Carey, .atr.aftorney, cig
“blamed :for. the: Nov,: 18. escape of death row- inmate Robert, of :Rev.. Joseph. -B. Ingle, -Nashville, Tenn.,- director of the. -
‘ F.. Lewis, “’since ; ‘recaptured, will. be, announced later ies “Southern Coalition on Jails and Prisons, said their investiga
week SNES Lest 5 ‘tt t . tion... indicated :guards -“created, provoked and then ag-.
- The disciplinary: committee at. Florida’ State Prison cut 4 * gravated’”' the tense situation that ecupted in the ‘confronta:.
oe ‘Spenkelink’s: visitation rights. and sentenced him to 90 ; tion. with Spenkelink. - se tae Ses a
; days in ‘solitary ‘cc confinement’ Wednesday in connection with 3, 2m Wainwright, in an interview, said be has every confidence. 4

geen 9c fracas with guards in which. ‘Spen ? oe ae | in Superintendent David ‘Bilerton: Hicks ‘and. Barton. Wain-*

ISOS, FES h toa a a
a cracked: Tib, cuts‘and bruises. i ““ wright.-said: the: order enying visitors ‘to “24 inmates ‘in*
- The committee said Spenkelink provoked the: incident by the. visiting-room when. Lewis pulled off an embarrassing ”
Pees nate tec He oan weapped no a first-in- history escape from -Florida’s’ death row, wearinz
. With a broom handle and a bar of stad ee in an 38 guard's uniform, ‘walt baat by hima for secminy teecuee

old sock; 35. 6: i)

> Officials said - Spenkelink srohably will ‘be kept in the ) Their visiting privileges were restored Wednesday, he said.

small cell in:.a different wing of the prison for no more Ms. Carey said the “unfair” loss. of privileges, coupled

'. than 60 days. since his sentences of 60.days-for attempted - . by rejection of inmate requests to call their lawyers, provok-

assault and 30 days for disobedience were concurrent: 2 ee an ai Libpens ety py Peo asst pe

>... The committee, made up of. staff. members,. sentenced ‘ Ke . penkelink, 2 age ebapee -o30 s Tying

. five other inmates who took part in the protest. to 30 days “ “age own hea whic ; ss th eal wed 10.

- solitary confinement for. disobeying orders: They were iden-, - bie ean Ba a unch trays unless they were allowed to
tified as Charles ‘Messer, John Garfield, ‘Alonzo Bryant, - eer WOR Siew. i

George Kilpatrick’ and Mike Mikenas: =. ..! i aya cei e was udlerous sod impossible to" believe”

i i that. Spenkelink,’ weighing 167 pounds and locked in.a six

They ve a rat Hee ti subtracted. from gain time by nine foot cell, was a threat to four hefty. guards whom

*” earned for good ‘behavior, meaningless -for. death - row. “Ms. Ca fev b f th
’” prisoners, vunless ‘their sentences are bitimabely, commuted, poset Pe “bed 7 ably 0-as_ members of: “the se <e

‘to. life. "7; * a “ 3
While the committee was meeting’ “at the ‘Stathe ‘prison, spate said Spel had wired his coll aooi =

» . Spokesmen for the Florida Clearinghouse on.Criminal Justice. tere Goik: the pe? fd ee sana oS ning aan
- and the.Southern Coalition-on Jails and Prisons told~a, ° a Bas € cord and went in toca Aon i om res af
’ Tallahassee news. conference ‘that guards, Ied by Assistant *: 5 ‘ agg a campaigner against the death penalty, =
Superintendent Milton Hicks and Chief Correctional. Officer oat nuk Was a, 5 Scapegoat”. for. guards, angry at the:

~ he +

4

s
NF
aur


Florida Times-Union

Voss

Eo a

rANS

Spenkelink sister
remains hopeful

ES By FRANKLIN YOUNG
+. Times-Union Staff Writer. . (

‘

‘ ,

pe ¢ “John Spenkelink’s sister says she. still has hope that

“lawyers will be able to save her brother from Florida's
hair. ques a 2 tee a s/t ge coe fs

x

oat sete
a Gurre

sag E 0S

ers have ‘some kind of “hope,” Carol

=

“Supreme ‘Court. Monday. refused. to hear

“motel room fight over money...”

7 - ede: th.

S28"Mrs. Myers, whose husband Timothy isa ‘computer

programmer, said she hopes to drive ,to Florida to visit
-her brother. in June-or J uly,‘depending on the price and’

availability of-gasoline: «= *:!rtsteeqater sete ee F

: . She said if something happens in the meantime, she

will scrape up the money for an airline ticket.

:oS".“We've had it'very hard as a family,” Mrs. Myers

‘said of financial difficulties. “I feel if he had money, he
| i _wouldn’t be sitting where he is today. Money. talks, guilty

“or not guilty.”..-. fe. evan

_.. She said the family has received letters from all over
the United States in support of Spenkelink’s fight against
execution. « copy : real Senhet oe.

“I really think he already has been through a hell of
a lot down there with all that harassment. Things go on
nobody ever hears about. A lot of others would already
have snapped, but he hasn't.” SG seats oh abet 8 :

'.. Mrs. Myers’ said she and her brother were “pretty
close” when they: were growing up, although he is two
years. older’ than, she. Spenkelink, she said;’ will be °30
“Thursday. 0" yee 8 aa apatites Nr a hada
She said she opposes capital punishment, but if it
‘must be imposed, it should"be reserved for people “who
kill for kicks, rape some little kids or beat them to death.” .

"=: “Johnny is not that kind of person,” Mrs. Myers said.‘
“I don’t feel he would deliberately go out and shoot some-
body down.” |? 2 OY 1itee ao. NSAICRIE RE Sas 9 em

“She said that if Spenkelink “has done wrong or some-
,thing, he should be punished. But not with his life.”


Jacksonville Journal 3-27-79

Spero rel yegere
Re eI NI A erga: ST CTT Tee men ees

z x

‘ac

Spenkelink’s Attorneys
Eyeing Renewed Appeal

-.,~+ Bogner added, “The principal legal
challenges available to him seem to have

‘ been exhausted, or very nearly exhausted.
There’s really nobody in the country that is
in his situation. No one has gone as far as
Spenkelink.” 2202: 2h" sn eet ess

. Meanwhile, Gov. Bob Graham indicat-
~ed through. his~ staff members that he
~wants Spenkelink’s case resolved as soon
“ as possible. Robin Gibson, Graham's legal }
counsel, told reporters ‘yesterday that the
governor would call a special meeting of
_ the Cabinet, sitting as the Executive Cle-
mency Board, sometime between April 15

SRS Sanaa cane

% a ag O48 ge 8% ner hae ae
““. TALLAHASSEE (AP) — Attorneys
* for Death. Row inmate John Spenkelink
: Say they will decide within days whether
‘to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsi-
‘der-its refusal to hear Spenkelink’s last-
yditch appeal... | Pees st Ye,

2. “We're considering that course of ac-
.Uon and probably will make a decision in
a day or.two,” Jack Bogner said yester-
day.-- Bogner: is’ ‘an’ attorney with the
‘.NAACP. Legal Defense Fund, one of the
wanti-death penalty groups representing: -
pupeakelinke 2, Ate ee ae
if; » Scharlette Holdman, executive direc- :
“tor of Florida Citizens Against the Death . -and May 15...

“Penalty, called the decision “frightening.” |. “Earlier, Graham had ordered the Pa.

wre hvst

“<-i“This just brings us. closer to legal .-

murder,” she said. “It opens the gate.”
“\. Ima brief, one-line ruling released yes-

terday, the nation’s highest court refused

to hear the third appeal Spenkelink had .

brought to the court from his 1973 death
sentence, which was returned by a-Talla-

hassee jury. ae

, Spenkelink was convicted of ‘killing a
traveling

companion, ~ Joseph

-Szymakiewicz, 43, ina Tallahassee motel’

_ room.

“We were disappointed with the rul-

: ing,” Bogner said. “We had hoped the

“

%
s

»
$
ae

court would hear this case. We believe it
raised profoundly serious legal and consti-
tutional issues.” ; *

Ate wee gs }

0 aon Sa cn oS ae 0S

_ Clemency Board.

Oita Bante SE alt a ne ON Re dee eo ele

role and Probation Commission to prepare
a report on Spenkelink’s case for the Cle-
mency Board. Three of the current board
members — Graham, Attorney General

Jim Smith and Secretary of State George. }

Firestone — have taken office since the
board denied clemency to Spenkelink in

Oe Riera Seay :
..:“If a decision has been made by the
Clemency Board not to commute the sen-

tence,” Graham said, “we will move expe-

ditiously to follow the law. We will not |
“shirk from our responsibilities just’ be-

cause of their enormity.”

Sf Spenkelink’s attorneys are preparing
an extensive case to present before the

Vas! 302 he