Florida, W, 1887-1995, Undated

25 cents

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A daughter’s so

Orlando Sentinel reporter Larry Lipman was
present at Friday’s execution at Florida State
Prison.

By Ilene G, Reid and Larry Lipman

OF THE SENTINEL STAFF
SES SER TS 9 Se

STARKE — Triple murderer David Leroy Wash-
ington calmly went to his death in the electric chair

Friday apologizing to his victims’ families and urg-
ing fellow death row inmates to fight on.

Only hours before his death, Washington held his
sobbing 12-year-old daughter Florence in his lap and

eens

ER Dee SRR ete ae eo er ars -

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RS eyes ie isdmapee day pac ery en sng

BTL € 2, ebuy6 ide bi aa eee
gts Sri aa ee hs Te hele

told her, “I want you to do better.”

After midnight he was allowed a one-hour “con-
tact visit” in which he could embrace his daughter,
his mother, Julia Lane of Blountstown, Gainesville
attorney Susan Carey and the Rev. Joe Ingle of the
Southern Coalition of Jails and Prisons. ‘

Carey, 40, said Florence dissolved into tears as
her father was led away from the visiting area for
the last time.

“How do you explain that? How does the governor °

justify, how does the state justify, killing this girl's

daddy? She’s as much a victim as anybody,” Carey |

said,
“I want you to do better,” Ingle said Washington

bs follow ki

© 1984 Sentinel Communications Company %,

wn
eae

Saturday, J

“4

uly 14, 1984 ©

'

2 ici y

2

thE

told the child. “I want you to set some goals for
yourself and I want you to hit the books.”

Washington, 34, showed little emotion as he was
led into the peach-colored death chamber at 6:59
a.m.

He scanned the faces of the 42 witnesses sitting in
a glass booth opposite the three-legged oak chair
and asked prison Superintendent Richard L. Dugger
if his attorney, Richard Burr, of West Palm Beach,
would be among the witnesess. He was. not, Wash-
ington smiled briefly,’ apparently at. prison spokes-
man Vernon Bradford. be :

Washington, who confessed to the three slayings

that terrorized Miami during a 10-day robbery and

oo oN PSI. ee Te a |

= ms aoe : ‘ <
er OF 3 to chair
killing outbreak in 1976, ex.’
pressed remorse for his actions.

said, “I would like to say to the
families of all my victims, I am
sorry for all the grief and heart-
ache I have brought to them. If
my death brings them any satisfaction, so be it.” Kaos
. He then turned his attention to the 220 inmates ae
who remain on Florida’s death row, the largest num..."
ber In the nation, or

“I'd like to say to all the guys on death row: Don’t ><."
Please see KILLER, A-7

Bo Tax

Bhs aS,
Sd Behe

In a clear, unfaltering voice, he

Washington

_

Florida Edition:
1 5.91 ar emo neers ets maewg’ tat

-


/ . a

§ tate justices |
refuse to hait
2: executions

Meee press ~~’

« “FALLAHASSEE — Biorten’ s Su-
ie Court Tuesday cleared the way
‘for the nation’s first double state ex-
écution since capital punto was
restored eight years ago. |»...

7” The state’s highest court rejected
‘the ‘appeal of: convicted killer Jimmy
‘Smith and, two hours later, dissolved

ia stay ‘of execution -for inmate David

’Washington.

seeBoth men are Yedalad = die ate 2°

‘a.m. Thursday at Lachine: awe Prison |

_near Starke.

-Smith’s attorneys will get another
chance to win a reprieve for their cli- ©

ent during a hearing Wednesday be- . .

fore a federal judge in Pensacola,

‘while Washington’s . attorneys said :
; they would ask a federal judge in Mi- .

tami to block the execution.

: Washington, 34, was convicted of
tthe 1976 murders of three people in
“Miami.
is Smith, 30, was convicted of the May
‘1, 1978, deaths of Bonnie Ward and
ther 12-year- old daughter Donna
*Strickland. They were killed near
Marianna.

‘. On Tuesday morning, the state

‘asked the judges to allow Smith’s ex-

-ecution to proceed.

‘» Sara Bleakley, Smith’s lawyer, ar-_

‘gued that a psychiatric report on her |.

‘client from a reform school had been
‘withheld by the state and she should

‘have a full hearing to determine if the bs

‘report could help Smith’s case.

¢-In-Washington’s case, Circuit Judge |

“Herbert Klein of Miami on Monday
‘granted a reprieve to the inmate and

‘threw out his death sentences, order- .

oe a new hearing.

. Assistant. State Attorney General if
Casolyh Snurkowski protested the _

judge’s ruling to the state high court.
b” ate '

3

ro


|

_ Bainbridge, Ga.

Executions blocked

A federal court Wednesday
_ blocked the execution: of Jim-:

my Smith and David Leroy

Washington, two prisoners on

Florida’s- death-row scheduled
to die today:; Smith, convicted

of murdering a mother and her

12-year-old daughter in 1978,
was granted a stay by the 11th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The court also stayed the. ex-:

ecution of Washington, con-
victed of killing three people in
1976. The two were to go to

the electric chair at. Florida -

State Prison this morning.

Story, C-1. The execution of . ©

Ivon Ray Stanley in Georgia is
scheduled for today. Stanley
was convicted of the 1976 slay-
ing of an insurance collector in

ead 9) oe Hive |

Jf
4 aw

Ju lu (a IY 84


Ae

‘appeal, -won t die today:
“By Take G Reid :

lor THE SENTINEL STAFF -

2nd condemned. man. wins oe |

“ STARKE ~ — > Barring’ a ‘last minute ar fron ‘the 8

So34 Supreme Court, David’ Leroy Washington ‘is °

fi scheduled to be executed in Florida’ Ss electric chair f

“at T’a.m. today.~ Pugs ee ei : Egret
*:*, Washington’s ‘lawyers’ Bid oi would: appeal to~
“the nation’s’ highest court‘a:-Thursday. decision ‘by ~
Sthe llth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denying the
“convicted murderer’s plea for a stay of execution.

*:The U.S.'Supreme Court upheld the indefinite — :

‘stay of Jimmy Lee Smith’s ‘death. warrant, issued’
{Thursday afternoon by the 11th Circuit. weap REGS

~<* Death warrants signed by. Gov. Bob Graham for =

« Washington and Smith expire at noon today. Both’
*’were scheduled‘to be executed Thursday morning, —
i-but won. temporary Teprieves.~: =
€ *Graham ‘will’ now have to sign a” {~~ 4%
imew warrant for ‘Smith's S.
execution, ae
Mine “Washington, 34, who is under™
“his third death warrant, has re-.
«mained calm through the ap-
~ peals process, said Vernon Brad- |
»ford,.spokesman for the Florida.
‘Division of Corrections. Smith,
30, who is under his second war-
rant, “was pleased to find out he.
had a stay but he’s apprehensive © Washington
because he knows the state’s appealing it,” ’ Bradford
said before the Supreme Court’s ruling.

<I think he’s a bit more nervous | than Washing, :

. ton, ” Bradford said.

‘Both men remained in their cells Thursday i in athe”
“queuing area” of death row at piorisa State Prisoo,

11 miles west of this city. #7".

Washington was sedectia‘ members of his Sianily

-to visit him Thursday night, Bradford said, but

’ Smith had received no word if his mother would be
. coming from Kenansville, in ¥ Osteola a to See
“him. , 3 Cat ed

Washington’s sisinat ae a py was sejeated nh a’

three-judge panel. The opinion, issued by judges

Paul Roney, James Hill and Thomas Clark, said .
¥. : Washington’ s contention that the death penalty is.
applied ina racially discriminatory manner yet

already been decided in prior cases. _
It also denied that his sentencing was unconstitu-
ational Soaencchdl a SrOseERLOr zererted, to a victim

e + yee

ae Please see EXECUT ON, 8-8

ies orpmrns Be

Aes

et re Deut ne|

Je oly (3, IVe4

EXECUTION :

From B-1.

during arguménts calling for the -
“death penalty. “We cannot con-

Clude thatthe remark to which

“exception is taken was likely to

(| “have had any effect upon the

‘+ .-sentencing decision of the judge

F sitting without a jury,” the deet:

“sion says. 2

. Washington was Sentenced to
- death for the murders of three
¥x1: people in a crime spree in Dade

<A County in 1976. He had con-
Smith - to"? fessed to the crimes and asked
for the death penaity, but later launched lengthy ap-
peals when he decided he wanted to live.

Smith was sentenced to die for the muders of a
‘Jackson County woman and her 12- -year-old daugh-
ter in 1978. At the time of his sentencing, he asked
; the jury to give him the death penalty.

The Supreme Court ruling on Smith's stay ended !
the possibility of a,double execution, which would -
- have been the first in 20 years in Florida’s electric
chair, known as “Old Sparky.” 3 eats

3 ei


Death Row nativity up

Religious scene faces
state’s electric chair

ae The Associated Press
<<STARKE — A nativity scene
facing the building that houses
the electric chair at Florida State
“Prison is upsetting some death
penalty opponents and raising
questions about separation of
‘church and state.

“The nativity scene was erected

‘outside New River East Correc-

tional Institution, across from the
‘Florida State Prison on State
Road 16 and only a few hundred
‘yards from the electric chair.

Sun-Sentinel, Thursday, December 7, 1995

ee de

The nativity scene struck a
nerve with people protesting
Monday’s execution of Jerry
White and Tuesday's execution of
Phillip Atkins.

“Finding that here when we
showed up really offended us,”’
said Susan Cary, a Gainesville at-
torney who works with Death
Row inmates. “That the prison
system would put a nativity scene
across from the place where they
kill people is in bad taste. We also
wonder about them putting the
scene up on state land.”

Department of Corrections
spokeswoman Kerry Flack said
the department sees no problem

sets critics

with the nativity scene.

“As long as any group Can do it,
we see it as appropriate and al-
lowed,” Flack said. —

Robyn Blumner, the executive
director of the American Civil
Liberties Union, said it appears
to her that placing the nativity
scene there is unconstitutional.

“The only time a nativity scene
standing alone on public property
is acceptable is when the proper-
ty can be used for a public fo-
rum,” Flack said.

Although the area is used dur-
ing executions, people are not al-
lowed to loiter in the area or use
it for public forums.

“

WHITE, Jerry, black, elec. FLSP llorange) December 4, 1995.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a reprieve, and Florida executed the
killer in the Orange County case. ;

By Debbie Salamone

OF THE SENTINEL STAFF

Dec. 5
(c)1995 The Orlando Sentinel

STARKE ~~ It had been nearly 15 years since Jerry White murdered one Taft man
and paralyzed another.

On Monday, the time came for him to pay.

‘‘I wish that all the people who can hear my voice will turn to the Lord Jesus
Christ as I have,’’ he announced while sitting strapped in Florida’s electric
chair. ee

He said nothing about the 1981 store robbery and shootings that left customer
Jaues Melson dead and store owner Alex Alexander unable to move or speak.’

When the 2,000-volt current began, White clenched his fists and screamed --
the sound muffled by straps around his face and a black leather hood over his
head. His voice faded as the electricity flowed for about one minute.

White, 47, slumped in his chair and was pronounced dead at 12:19 p.m., his
fists still curled.

Melson’s brother, Robert McDonald, sat only a few feet from the condemned man
in a room with dozens of reporters, prison and official witnesses.

After the execution, he appeared shaken but walked from the chamber looking
satisfied. What agitated the Taft truck driver were White’s supporters and the
dozen death penalty protesters outside the prison north of Starke.

"All they want to think about is the ad

eee

-—- with a damned gun. Did he have appeal
life.’’

dant. My brother was executed tan
? He didn’t even get to plea for his

Alexander’s former wife, Juanita Robbins of Orlando, said she was relieved for

her four children and found White’s last cry ironic.

‘‘I imagine that poor guy killed in the store probably screamed too,’’ she
said. ‘’Alex couldn't scream when he died. That’s the difference. ’’

A weekend of scrambling by state~appointed lawyers and their reams of
last-minute legal motions couldn’t save White. Shortly

before his scheduled 12:05 p.m. execution, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to
grant a reprieve.

12-5-1995 America Online:Galba33 | Page 1

Monday’s only delay came for Phillip Atkins, 40, who had been scheduled to die

one hour after White for killing a 6-year-old Lakeland boy he molested in

1981. Atkins’ execution was reset for 10 a.m. today as he pursued federal

appeals. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta turned him down Monday

night. ’

On March 8, 1981, Melson asked his brother to go with him to Alexander’s
Grocery on Palm Avenue in Taft in south Orange County. McDonald chose to stay 4
home, a decision that has haunted him ever since.

About 11:30 a.m. White -- an ex-con with a violent. past -- walked in and
ordered Melson and Alexander into the freezer. Prosecutors say he shot them in
the back of their heads -- execution style -- to eliminate witnesses to his
robbery.

Melson, 34, a Vietnam veteran and Orange County equipment operator, died at a
hospital. 1.

7

Vax

Alexander, 53, was paralyzed from the neck down and unable to speak. For four
years he was trapped in a hospital bed, hooked to a respirator that sustained
his life. He died of heart failure and other complications.

At White’s 1982 trial jurors took only 40 minutes to convict him of
first-degree murder and armed robbery.

His last-minute appeals centered on whether his attorney had done enough and
whether recently uncovered witness statements, blood splatters and White’s IQ
of 72 would have made a difference. Five courts decided White’s fate would
have been the same.

At 9 a.m. Monday, White got his last meal of grilled round steak, french fried
potatoes, cole slaw, toast and orange juice. He ate most of the steak, two
whole potatocs, three pieces of toast and drank three glasses of juice.

+

His family had spent much of Sunday with White, saying their goodbyes after
midnight. Between 1 and 3 a.m., he prayed with a Gainesville preacher and the
prison chaplain. He slept for three hours and awoke at 6:30 a.m.

Susan Cary, a Gainesville attorney who acts as a liaison for death row
inmates, said White was calm and at peace, resigned to his fate.

At some point, he penned the written statement he wanted released after his
death:

’'T have confessed all my sins before the Lord my God. I wish to express my
sorrow to all of those I've pained.’’ ;

Shortly after noon, White entered the death chamber where prison officials
stood waiting.

Two guards led him to the three-legged oak chair built by inmates in 1923. He

12-5-1995 America Online:Galba33 Page 2

sat where 34 men have died since Florida resumed executions in 1979. He wore a
white long-sleeved shirt and blue pants.

He watched calmly as officials buckled the’sand-colored straps around his
arms, legs and chest.

Looking out at the more than 40 official witnesses and reporters, he
acknowledged one of his attorneys with a nod and smile.

One man stood by a green prison telephone to Gov. Lawton Chiles, who gave the
go-ahead.

After White’s final words, the black hood was affixed.

From across the executioner’s room a man nodded. With a loud slam, the chair
was activated and the hooded executioner in an adjoining booth flipped a
switch.

After the current stopped, doctors examined White for”several minutes as an
odd drumbeat, later explained as the sound of prisoners pounding on cell bars,
reverberated like a death knell. Then came the announcement:

‘’The sentence of the state of Florida in the case of State of Florida vs.
Jerry White has been carried out at 12:19. Please exit.’’

Transmitted: 12/5/95 12:17 AM (topl)

12-5-1995 America Online:Galba33 Page 3

a

DONE AND ORDERED at Gainesville, Alachua County,Florida
this 4th day of December, A. D. 1959.
H. L. Sebring
JUDGE

FILED IN OPEN COURT AT 10:00 A.M.
ON DECEMBER 4, A. D. 1959.

In the Circuit court of Florida Eighth Judicial
°
Circuit, in and for Alachua County. Summer

Term, A. D. 1959

t

THE STATE OF FLORIDA

Plaintiff

he No. 308 Murder in the first degree

IVORY LEE WILLIAMS
Defendant

SURRY TRIAL

This cause was duly called for trial, T. E. Duncan, State's
Attorney, and Joe Hill Williams, Assistant State's Attorney, pro-
secuting in the name and by authority of the State of Florida, and
the Defendant, Ivory Lee Williams who was on the 6th day of November,
A. D. 1939 duly arraigned, and entered his plea of not guilty as
charged in the Indictment, being now in open Court in his own proper
person attanded by his counsel of record, Parks M. Carmichael,
thereupon both parties, Plaintiff and Defendant announced ready for

trial, a jury of twelve good and lawful men were called, and there

came, to-wit:

t

E. M- Rowell W. M. Parrish
R. E. Nobles Joe Warren

W. T. Roberts J. CG. Koon

R. T. Beckham J. D. Merritt
R- B. Simmons M. T. Thomas
J. Be. Stokes H. S. Roebuck

AND, there also came two good and lawful men as alternate jurors,

to-wits

Me Se Carver D. Le. Shaw

TTT ¥ ie wir Tao 7} a en m4}. a om inne 4 {a cf Laan)
WILLJAMS, Ivory Lee, bl, elec. Fla. (Alachua) 11/17/2940
;

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF FLORIDA, EIGHTH
JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR ALACHUA COUNTY.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA

vs

Ivory Lee Williams

This cause coming on this day to be heard upon the suggestion
made by counsel for the defense that said defendant, Ivory Lee
Williams, fis too insane, as of this date, to plead to the criminal
accusatiéns now pending against him, and to rationally conduct a

defense in said cause; and said matter having been considered and

argued both by the State and by the defendant; and the Court being
advised of its judgment in the premises, it is, upon consideration
thereof,

ORDERED and ADJUDGED that Dr. J. E. Maines, Jr., and Dr.
Edwin H. Andrews, two physicians duly qualified and. licensed to
practice medicine under the laws of the State of Florida, and duly
qualified as medical experts in the diagnosis and treatment of
mente] and nervous diseases, be, and they are, hereby appointed as
physicians of the Court to forthwith conduct such examination or
examinations of the defendant, Ivory Lee Williams, as shall be
necessary to determine whether or not the said defendant, Ivory
Lee Williams, is too insane as of the date of this hearing ta plead

to said criminal accusation and rationally conduct a defense in

said cause.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the said Dr. J. BE.
Maines, Jr., and Dr. Edwin H. Andrews, shall personally be and ap-
pear before this Court at a hearing to be held by this Court on
Monday, the 4th day of December, A. D. 1939, at 9 o'clock in the
forenoon, and then and there report their findings in said matter
and then and there to be further examined in that regard.

DONE AND ORDERED at Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida
this lst day of December, A. D. 1939,

H.- L. Sebring

JUDGE

Filed in open Court this December 4,1939.


IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF FLORIDA, EIGHTH

JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,IN AND FOR ALACHUA COUNTY

STATE OF FLORIDA
vs

IVORY LEE WILLIAMS

This cause coming on to be heard upon the motion filed
by counsel for the defendant, suggesting the present ‘insanity OF
the defendant, Ivory Lee Williams; uponthe order of the Court ap-
pointing two physicians duly licensed to practice medicine under
the laws of the State of Florida, and skilled in the treatment and
diagnosis of nervous and mental diseases, ordéring them to inquire
into the present sanity of said defendant; and upon the testimony
of said physicians; and the defendant being personally present be-
‘fore the Court; and the Court having heard argument of counsel
both for the State and for the defendant; and the Court find, both
from personal observation of the defendant at the time of his are
raignment and at the time of this hearing, and from the testimony
of the aforesaid physicians, that said defendant was at the time
of seid’ arraignment, ‘and is now, sufficiently sane to understand
the nature and seriousness of the offense with which he is charged
and to properly assist his counsel in his defense; and there being
nothing before the Court to suggest the present insanity of the de-
fendant in the slightest degree; it is, upon consideration thereof,

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that said Ivory Lee Williams be, and

he is hereby found by the Court to be sane, and to understand the
nature and seriousness of the d@ fense with which he is charged,
and to be able to properly assist his counsel in his defense.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED and ADJUDGED that said defendant,
Ivory Lee Williams, be, and he is hereby required to go to trial

upon the criminal charge now pending against him, upon the date

heretofore set for his trial, to-wit: - December; 4, A. D. 1939.


record in the Supreme Court of Florida.
Thereupon it is ordered and adjudged that the Clerk of this
Court shall transmit the record in this cause to The Supreme Court
of Florida within 90 days from this date, F
Done and ordered in open Court this the 8th day of December,
1939.
H. L. Sebring

Circuit Judge

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF FLORIDA
ALACHUA COUNTY

STATE OF FLORIDA

Plaintiff
vs MURDER IN FIRST DEGREE
IVORY LEE WILLIAMS
Defendant
ORDER

Upon arraignment of tne Defendant upon the Indictment in
said cause, it appeared to the Court that the Defendant was insolvent
and charged with a capitol offense, This Court appointed Parks M.
Garatonaed: to represent said insolvent defendant in the trial of
Said cause, under Section 157 of the Cpiminal Proceedure Act, being
chapter 19554, laws of Florida, Acts of 1939, and it now appearing
to The Court that said Counsel is entitled to be compensated under
said section 157 for his services in this behalf,

Thereupon, it is ordered and adjudged that Parks Mm, Carmichael,
do have and recover of and from Alachua County, a political sub-
division of the State of Florida,the sum of $100.00 for his services
in representing Ivory Lee Williams, an insolvent defendant, charged
with a capitol offense before this Court.

Done and ordered at Gainesviflle,this the 8th day of December,

1939. }
H. L. Sebring

Circuit Judge


Tribune photo by FRED FOX

is victims.

<"

12 tae
Be

. Before his death, Washington apologized to the families of h

ing

day morn

A hearse carrying the body of David Washington leaves the Florida State Prison grounds after his execution

Fr


Killer tells daughter: Don’t be

By ED DEITZ
and HOWARD TROXLER
Tribune Staff Writers

STARKE — Confessed murderer

David Leroy Washington used the |

last few hours of his life Friday
. morning to apologize to the families
of his victims and to plead with his

12-year-old daughter to.learn from’

his mistakes.

Washington, 34, died in the elec-
tric chair at Florida State Prison as
punishment for a 10-day rampage of
robbery, torture and murder in
Miami eight years ago.

The condemned man entered the
salmon-colored: death. chamber at,
6:59 a.m. with an incredulous half: ”
smile on his face.  ,.,

David Washington, who murdered, three

\

people in 1976; was executed Friday morning:

in ne electric chair at Florida State Prison,

he would soon express in his final

statement.
Prison, guards strapped him

firmly into the gaken electric chair

and Washington smiled again as he
traded inaudible remarks with
them, é

He appeared curious, even a lit-
ue relieved,

° But he also appeared nervous at.

_ times, too, quickly drumming the

fingers of his right. hand upon the™

arm of the chair as he gazed into the
faces of the 42 official witnesses, who

Sy dh

The smile disguised the remorse

came to watch him die..

L. Dugger handed Washington ami: *

crophone and asked him if he would -

like to make a final statement. .
“I do.” Washington affirmed. “I

' would like to say to the families of »
all my victims, I’m sorry for all the
grief and heartache I have thoes

to them.

“If my death brings. them any

‘satisfaction, so be ite: Acdivst ere he

“I'd like to say to all ‘the guys: on.
Bab caies row, don’ t bow pe Solent don't.

‘3

like | me

% bow to a victory, don’t bow to a de-

_ feat without a fight. I'm kind of nerv-
. ous. That's all.”
Guards then lowered the death

Se eG hire

‘mask upon his face and affixed the -

electricity would surge.

‘ skull piece through which the killing ;

Dugger walked to a green tele-‘-
Prison Superintendent. Richard-/;. phone on the vack wall of the death

chamber thut was an open line to!”

-Gov.. Bob Graham’s office... .

Pare warden asked if there were »

~ any stays. :
Washington tensed in the chair '

and clenched his fists in anticipation
of what was about to happen to him,

When Dugger heard-the gover- °

nor say,, ‘There are no stays; God

-1 bless-us all,”. the warden nodded to |

Sip wil }-.* :
“| See EXECUTION, Page 6A

ee SS


Ag ae rah

Execution |
* From Page 1A

the black-hooded executioner to pull
the switch. ;

As the 2,000 volts of electricity
seared through his body, Washington
stiffened slightly and sweat spots ap-
peared on the front of his white
shirt.

The voltage shot through him for .

about 90 seconds, and he was pro-
nounced dead at 7:09 a.m. by Dr.
Canh Nguyen, the prison doctor.

His body will be cremated and
his ashes scattered over an undis-
closed spot in the Atlantic Ocean,
said Susan Cary, an anti-death pen-
ally activist from Gainesville who
was one of a dozen people to visit
with Washington before the execu-
tion.

His mother, Julia Taylor. Lane,
and his 12-year-old daughter, Flor-
ence, were among those. who saw
him during his last hours.

He sat his daughter upon his lap

and told her: “You see where I am
and it's my own fault I got here,”
paraphrased the Rev. Joe Ingle of
the anti-death penalty Southern
Coalition on Jails and Prisons.

Ingle said Washington then told,

the girl: “I don’t want you to be like
me. Set your goals and make some-
thing out of yourself. I want you to
hit the books really hard.”

As guards led Washington from
his family and back to his death-
watch cell a few feet from the elec-
tric chair, the girl and her grand-
mother cried and moaned hysteri-
cally, Cary and Ingle reported.

At 4:30 a.m. Washington was
served-his last meal — fried shrimp
and fried oysters, french fries, hot
rolls, lemonade and a quart of va-

nilla ice cream — and joked with his ,

server about his appetite. “You sald
I wouldn't be able to eat all this?
Watch this.” 2
In Miami, meanwhile, . the
mother of one of Washington's vic-

tims said she didn’t think hls apolo- |
gies were enough, but the death pen-.

alty was.

“Why didn't he think of that
when he was stabbing Frankie in the
chest?” asked a bitter Dolores Meli

Lo Proto, whose son, Frank Meli, |

was abducted, held for ransom and
then stabbed to death as he sobbed
the Lord’s Prayer while bound to a
bed.

“Why didn't he feel. bad when
Frankie was saying ‘Our Father?’
My son was tied up for two days,
stabbed 11 times in the chest. That,
to me, is cold-blooded murder.”

Washington became the second
man to die in Florida's electric chair
in the past three weeks and the sixth
since last November.

Florida, by far, leads the nation
in the number of prisoners executed
since the U.S. Supreme Court al-
lowed states to restore the death
penalty in 1976.

No other state has executed
more than three people, but Florida
has executed seven since 1979:

Three of the last four men exe-
cuted in the United States were
plack: Washington, James Adams
who died in Florida's electric chair
in May and Ivon Stanley who was ex-
ecuted in Georgia on Thursday.

Ingle said he plans to confer with ;

the Congressional Black Caucus

about what he termed “the possibil- .
ity of a loud protest” over “racial .

inequities” in the application of the
death penalty.. = :

“What that does is just under-
score what we've been saying all

along,” Ingle said Friday just mo-

ments before Washington's execu-
tion, “And that’s that it (application

of the death penalty) discriminates .

on the basis of class and it discrimi-
nates on the basis of race.

“I remember a conversation I
had with John Spenkelink a week
before he was killed and he said,
‘Joe, they're gonna kill me and a few
other of the white faces and then
they're gonna mow , down the
blacks.’ His assessment is turning
out to be quite accurate.”

Washington's execution came as

punishment for his murderous ram
page in Miami in 1976 that left three

people dead and three others seri-
ously. injured.

On Sept. 20, 1976, he robbed, tied.

up and then stabbed -to . death: a,
minister, Daniel Pridgen,,, and. at-

tempted to cover his tracks by.
smearing slogans on the wall that.

initially made police believe they

were investigating a jealousy killing ,

by a homosexual lover, :

Three days later, he robbed, tied,
up and then shot and stabbed to,
death Katrina Birk, the wife of the.

man to whom he had reportedly
been selling stolen goods, investiga-
tors said. aie

-.. He then tried ‘to. execute sthe:
woman's. three elderly,.sisters by

shooting them in the head and stab-

bing them as they lay bound in rope,

on the floor. He left one blinded in
one eye, another in a comatose state,
and. the third with permanent

breathing problems, court records,

indicate. :

On Sept. 27,1976, Washington
kidnapped Frank Meli, a 20-year-old
college student he enticed, to his
house after responding to Meli’s
want ad to sell his car. He forced
him to call his parents in an ill-fated
ransom attempt.

On Sept. 29, Washington mur:

dered Meli. :

During a hearing before the

Florida Parole and Probation Com-
mission in 1980 —- a pre-requisite to
the Florida Cabinet's consideration
of clemency — Washington ex-
plained it this, way:

“It seems like my intention was
just to get some money and then in

the course of all this I just left peo-.
ple dead with really no intention...
But after 1 got started it seems my~
mind just went blank and 1 didn’t.

care. It just seemed Jike a force was
just driving me to do this here.”
He told the Parole and Probation

Commission that he often thought ,

about “the people’s lives I left
scarred and abused and damaged
for life, And I think about the lives I

took. I can't think about nothing else .
but that... 1 know J] wake up at night ,

sometimes and be crying. [t seems

like I be laying there in bed up
there, you. know, and like £ be
drearning, And when I wake up and
realize where I’m at, the first thing

come to my mind, I say I done killed

three people.” .

' Statements’ such as those are
commonplace at pre-clemency hear-
ings because the inmate is, in effect,
pleading for his life, according to

spokesmen for the Parole Commis: _.
‘Department of -

sion and the state
Corrections. °°.
But ant!-death-

\.

penalty activist:

Jim’ Lohman of the. Tallahassee- ..

‘4

4
$

based Florida Clearinghouse on. .

Criminal Justice said he considered 4

Washington “perhaps the most re-
morseful man on death row. He's
never forgiven himself for what he
did.”

In a field across from the prison
early Friday, a group of 33 death-
penalty opponents gathered before
sunrise — under a full moon, and on
Friday the 13th — to protest Wash-
ington’s execution.

Among them were the elderly
parents of Arthur Goode, who was
executed in April. Arthur and Mil-
dred Goode said they drove all night
from their home in Fort Myers be-
cause, as Goode put it, “This is

and it ought to be protested. We’re

just two people, but if I could have

brought-2,000 I'd have done it
The group of protesters sang

'“We shall overcome” as Washing-

ton’s execution was confirmed.

Standing 100 yards away were ,

two men who said they came to the
prison in support of the death pen-

‘alty. They identified themselves as

Floyd Cone and his son, Larin Cone

of Baldwin,

‘wrong. It's immoral and it's illegal |

Larin Cone said that an escaped .

convict murdered his brother {wo -

years ago and is on death row as a ©

_ result,
“. "J can't wait for the day they kill

that guy," Cone said.
He said he thinks capital punish-
ment is a deterrent to murder “but

_only If they execute as many of them
“as they can on a regular basis,”

ead

ter

° a
prior re ee is

TT ae kchcnn dein Aces niaeenirath Met

Se. 5 seh shilen neti inane 3%

THE TAMPA TRIBUNE

Thursday, July 12, 1984

SV STRN, TITS Te eT RANE rarer ETS 6 RT EMINT rei Lig Mest oae
Rene yo

Puzzling piece of
Americana serves
as a sad reminder

‘ ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —I didn’t really want to go
to Texas and I didn't stay any lo longer t than I had to —_

Federal judges: issue sta

Ppa STARKE, Fla. (AP) — ‘Federal judges Wednesday

granted temporary . reprieves ‘to a pair of killers who
were to die Thursday morning, but Florida still had until
noon Friday to execute the men who killed a total of five
people.

U.S. District Judge Eugene P, Spellman. denied the

‘petition of mass murderer David L. Washington of

Miami but granted a stay until 6:59 a.m. Friday to give
appeals courts time to review his denial.

Jimmy Lee Smith, who killed two people near Ma-
rianna, won a delay earlier from the 11th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals less than 12 hours before he was to die
in Florida’s electric chair.

The two had been scheduled to die at 7 a.m. today.

Both men originally asked to be executed but have
since mounted intense appeals to avoid the electric
chair. «°,

Twenty killers have been executed since the U3; Su-

The two men had bean: scheduled:
to die in the electric chair today 2 at”
7 a. Moi ciate ose

preme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, six
of them in Florida. >’

Citing Smith’s own “death ! wishes, "US: ‘District :

Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola denied his request for
a stay after a nearly four- hour. hearing.

Attorneys immediately appealed to the 11th Circuit
in Atlanta. Although that court granted a stay, It also set
a hearing for Thursday morning to listen to arguments.

Death. warrants that'Gov.. Bob Graham signed on the
killers are: good through noon Friday.

Florida Attorney General Jim Smith, in an im-
promptu news conference in Tallahassee, noted that the

pees x ; aie abr MAO 8 cp igttet grag et

“reading the trial record the judge concluded there Wass, :

wes has ‘prevailed. in ‘last-diten, death cases ‘that® have’
reached the nation’s highest court. “To many inmates. on;
death row in Florida and other ane the end: is very
near,” he said. BP yest

Vinson, ruling in Smith's case, said he initially. be-. ss

lieved the killer should get a stay for an evidence-gath-
ering hearing on raiieged —_ counsel by his trial =

lawyer. peut eh oN

But after aesusaline Smith’ Ss current evar ana

n't anything the original defense attorney could have me

done to change the outcome of the trial Deegiae, of:
Smith's death wish.

“The state’s obligation to protect a defendant from =

himself extends just so far,” Vinson said...) «05 7%"
“You are really trying to overcome the defendant's
own death wishes,” he told Sara Bleakley of Tallahassee,

See EXECUTION, Page 2B

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WASHINGTON, David Leroy, black, 3), elkctrocuted Florida SP (Dade) on July 13, 198k.

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; |

| INTERVIEWS ON DEATH ROW

DOUG MAGEE

The Pilgrim Press / New York


4

WO pr
mE acl ee fu

David Leroy Was gton was born oy December 13, 1949, the
eldest of eight children. He left schoolfAin the 10th grade. In his
early 20's he married and soon had two/children. He was laid off
and could not find work. He was a formey migrant worker. Washington
was a former choirboy and drummer in e school band who had never
been in trouble. His mother's name wds Julia Taylor Lane. He had a
stepfather, and a 12 year old daughfer named Fl&rence. At the time

of the murders he was 26 and when he was executed ih) Pa
: ob

TRIAL AND EXECUTION:

David Leroy Washington was convicted on December ist, 1976

and sentenced December 6, 1976. The trial was between November
31,1976 and December 6,1976. Term of sentence was death by
electrocution, as to count I of the indictment, at expiration of
sentence imposed in case No. 76-9542. Case No. 76-9543 consisted of
indictment I, first degree murder (Daniel Pridgen) and II was for
robbery. Case No. 76-9542 consisted of count I Katrina Birk murder.
Count II was attempt to kill Ruth Pitzer, count III was the
stabbing and shooting of Julia Sullivan. Count IV was murde- of
Georgia Griffith. "As far as forgiveness", said Dade Circuit Judge
Richard Fuller, as he imposed the deathpenalty three times,
"Washington will receive forgiveness or not from his Maker".
Washington's death sentence was delayed three times since he first
entered Florida State Prison on February 16, 1977, two months after
he was sentenced to death by Judge Fuller. Washington pleaded
guilty to the vicious stabbing or shooting deaths of three people
during a rampage that began September 20, 1976 and ended September
29, 1976.
Defense attorney William Tunkey pleaded for triple life terms for
Washington saying "he possesses somewhere in him a spark which is
good, which is decent, ich deserves the chance to expire
naturally". To that, Dad te Attorney Richard Gerstein responded
that if there is a spark,fhas not exhibited it, there is nothing of
human decency exhibited at any time.

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crimes. When speaking of how he had ruined their lives as well as the
victims’ he began to cry. I had heard from a guard that he cried often
in his cell but I was not prepared. Everything about a men’s prison,
even the offices we were in, is hard-bitten, tough, and tightly-wornd.
The tears David Washington shed in that office and his atten’ * to
shut them off quickly were painful-to watch. I couldn’t accept such
extreme vulnerability in those surroundings. We sat in silence while
he cried, wiped his eyes and continued.

The second time he paused was when he thought that what he was
saying might hurt someone. He had told me time and time again that
he did not want to die but if that was what the state of Florida
required of him, so be it. I asked him if he thought that his attitude
and eventual execution might not make it easier for the state of
Florida to execute the other 130 men on death row with him. I asked
the question as we were doing photographs. He stopped and stared.
His expression didn’t change at all. Slowly he looked at me. One of
those little swords of light sliced across his cheek. “I hope the things I
said don’t hurt anybody,” he said. “I hope you can see I want to de
everything in my power against the death penalty and still be open
and honest with you.”

David Washington comes from a family of eight children. Most of
his childhood was spent with his grandmother. His mother, accord-
ing to him, went through three or four marriages. He speaks of his
present stepfather as his father. At the age of seventeen he was
sentenced to a juvenile center for breaking and entering. Part of the
year and a half he did on that sentence was done in adult institutions
and he spent some time in a hard labor camp. His second arrest was
for the three murders that occurred in September 1976.

I suppose David Washington makes it easier for proponents of the
death penalty to sleep. He is guilty and admits it. There is no chance
we are executing an innocent person. He had no trial, so it appears
there can be little dickering over the legal points raised in his case. He
is prepared to accept his punishment. He is not going to make a scene
as he is taken to his death. And he says, normally enough, that lie
does not want to die. Unlike the case of Gary Gilmore we will not be
participating in a suicide by executing David Washington.

But making David Washington’s acquaintance was an unsettling
experience. The fundamental question raised by the death penai‘y,
that of the state’s right to execute its own, dominated our conversa-
tion whether we were speaking of it directly or not. The business of
executing this man seems either feudal and bloodthirsty or futile and
indifferent, the latter being the most odious.

I think often of that patch of light on David Washington’s cheek. It
reminds me of a blaze on a tree in the woods, a mark put there to
show direction. I can read a blaze in the woods well enough and find

150

——— tt

my way, but that patch of light was something different. His case is so
open and shut and the state of Florida is so determined to execute
those on its death row that I don’t think I'll ever see him again. But
his case is really too open and shut, his contrition too sincere, for
there not to be serious and horrible questions about the damage his
death will do to us all. And David Washington is but one in a growing
forest of people on death row.

I GOT LAID OFF at the time my wife was in her ninth month,
getting ready to have a baby. They laid me off and they started
giving me an unemployment check. That ran out and I was on
food stamps. But that don’t cover rent and all that, you know
living in Miami is really expensive.

I had all the opportunities to get a job. I took advantage of a lot
of those opportunities. But after I got the job I would only work
six or seven months. | was halfway doing right by my family but
I was running the street. Running around with every woman |
saw. Seemed like J always lived in a fantasy world. I always
wanted to be somebody that I wasn’t. I was always in the bright
lights with the “let’s get up and party” people. To be honest I
couldn’t leave the house and walk across the street ‘less I run
into somebody I know I had went with. I'd be scared to walk out
of the house with my wife.

A lot of people find it hard to believe but I never in my life used
any type of drugs or smoked cigarettes or drank beer or anything
like that. I was pretty straight. I was just ignorant, you know.

And I was frustrated. My wife had just had that baby. You
know how in-laws is. I wasn’t good enough for their daughter as
far as they were concerned. No way. And now that I look at it I
wasn’t no good, you know.

All these murders happened in that same year and they all
happened in about a thirty day span. The first murder was the
Pridgett murder. He was supposedly a minister. He was a black
guy that lived in the neighborhood. He was a homosexual.

I was trying to think of a way to get some money, get the hell
out of the house and get my own place. They gave us so many
days to get out of the apartment we rented. They were going to
set all the furniture outdoors. I didn’t have Pampers to put on
the baby’s behind or nothing. I went to the wash house in my
neighborhood one day and this preacher was there washing his
clothes, Daniel Pridgett. I don’t know whether you know
anything about gay people or homosexuals. He was just
standing around and I’m just sitting there, just watching the
sights, just letting my mind wander. He walked up to me and sat
down and struck up a conversation. Then he hit on me in that ol’

ne

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David Washington sd

There is every likelihood that by the time you read these words David
Washington will have been executed.

In September of 1976 David Washington killed three people in
three different incidents. The police finally traced a check from one of
the victims to Washington’s house and arrested his brother, thinking
him the murderer. Washington turned himself in, confessed to the
murders, waived his rights to a jury trial and was convicted and
sentenced before a judge when he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced
to the electric chair and went to death row at the Florida State Prison
in Starke in November of 1976. An appeal of his sentence has been to
the U. S. Supreme Court and has been rejected. It appears that only a
recommendation by the Clemency Board could keep David Washing-
ton from state-imposed death. That recommendation seems highly
unlikely.

The law has little room for confession and repentance. A person
convicted of a crime while proclaiming his innocence all the while is
given the same treatment as a person convicted of a crime who con-
fesses his guilt. Our legal system is not so fine-tuned that it can
discriminate sincerity. David Washington went before a judge, con-
fessed to three murders, was advised of his rights and was sentenced
to die. The judge could have shown mercy in the sentencing but in
this case did not.

David Washington didn’t seem all that concerned with how the
legal system considered his confession as we talked in a visiting room
at Florida State Prison on a fall afternoon. Soft-spoken and calm he
worked the index fingers of his big basketball hands into the shape of
a steeple and talked repeatedly of how he hoped his confession was
received by God. He said he didn’t want to die. He said he couldn't
understand why, if he was already restrained, he should be put to
death. But he said he was prepared, he had taken his confession to
the only authority he recognized as having the power to judge and
pardon.

The sun, that afternoon, slid in and out of clouds and occasionally
cut through the venetian blinds. Small swords of hard light struck
David Washington as he spoke. He didn’t notice them. He didn’t stop
to look at the activities in the outer office. He sat down and told me he
was guilty of his crimes and he was on death row to pay for those
crimes.

He paused twice. His brother and a friend had watched one of his
victims for him and, though they did not participate in any murder,
were each given three life sentences for their knowledge of the

149


funny way, you know. Started talking this homosexual talk. And
he told me he was a minister, you know, and that just made me
mad. He hit on me while I was trying to get some money.

So I made a date with him and I went to his house that night. I
was supposed to straddle him and he was supposed to anal or :
something. . . .1 don’t know what kind of sex you call it. I was
supposed to straddle him and he was supposed to eat me and I
just stabbed him with a knife. I stabbed him about five times
The only thing was going through my mind I said, “Here I am
out here trying to get some money to feed my family and here go
a minister, supposed to be a minister in the church, running
around doing stuff like this.” I just got mad and just stabbed
him. I don’t know where my life went wrong, man.

The second one was the old lady. There were four ladies in the
house. They used to buy a lot of hot merchandise from blacks
out of the neighborhood. It was her and her husband and it was
like a big old store hooked onto the house. And they’d buy all
kinds of stolen TV’s and things like that.

Well I went in there to hold them up that night. There was
four of them sitting around in chairs, I told everybody just to be
still until they’d give me the money. I had the gun in my hand. I
was scared. I was shaking and waiting. I told ther all to just lay
on the floor. I was trying to tie them up and one gi up and she
wee Mores around ee I just panicked. | locked around
and I was shooting up the place. A ness
hind of week gupthep nd I left people .:essed up all

The last one was a University of Miami studer. i took about
$80 from him, out of his wallet. When I stabbed !:im I started
crying. He was saying the Lord’s prayer over and « ver again and
I just stood and I was crying. My mind just went biank. It
seemed like I was the onliest one on this planet. I was screaming
for help and nobody would help. I was just lost in this world.

I didn’t know what I was doing. I never hid out. They really
didn’t know who they was looking for. They got hold of my baby
brother. I had gone to the bank and cashed a chk, a $2500
check from the University of Miami student. They tracked the
taxi driver to where I lived. They got my brother. They broke into
the house and took my brother and I was ten to fifteen miles
on the other side of town at the time they did that. But they
thou ght they was looking for my brother, they didn’t know
anything about me. So Mama told me what had happened. I
walked into the police station. I confessed to everything. I was
guilty of all three of those murders. They convicted my brother
Nathaniel Taylor and a friend Johnny Mills just because they

knew what I was doing. Wasn’t nobody present when I killed
anybody. On the University of Miami student they knew what
was taking place. They was even in the house when I brought
the boy there but after that, that was it. Now I feel like in a way
everybody supposed to get what’s coming to them. Maybe they
were supposed to get some time. But three life sentences and 25
years?

If you’re my brother I ain’t gonna let you go to jail for
something you ain’t did. A lot of guys don’t look at it like that but
I'd give my life for any member of my family, a thousand times
over. I had close to $2,000 on me at the time I found out them
people had my brother locked up down there. I could have been
half way across the world somewhere. Instead I tried to save my
brother. They had me in one room spilling my guts, trying to
save him. They had my brother in another room beating him all
upside the head, kicking him, throwing him all over the floor and
he’s telling them what little that he did know.

My brother and Johnny Mills was just around me at the wrong
time. I told them, “Just watch the guy for me.” Doing something
against their will you know. Man, I look back to then. You’d be
surprised the people’s lives I messed up.

And the victims?

Hey, man, that’s the only thing. I lay up in bed sometimes and
] just cry. I just cry and cry cause it’s always on my conscience.
I think about the people’s lives I took. Sometimes I wake up in
the middle of the night and I say, “Damn, I took three people’s
lives,” and I just start crying. You got 125 or 130 men on death
row and out of 125 you might find two or three that will come out
and tell you that they’re guilty of the crimes they're here for. The
time’s out for playing games now, you understand what I’m
saying. I feel bad. I don’t know what to say.

I wish it hadn’t happened. I feel sorry for the things I did and I
tell anybody if taking my life gonna satisfy somebody, well take
it. I don’t want to die, but then again I didn’t have the right to
take these peoples’ lives, you understand what I’m saying? | ain’t
going to go out there and tell these people to take my life, but if
they say, “David Washington, it’s your time to die,” I’m gonna
say, “Just come on with it. I’m ready for it.” I think my life was
just one big mistake. I had all the best breaks in life, all the right
opportunities. Seemed like everything I touched, I destroyed.
Family, wife, friends, everything. I just destroyed.

I didn’t have no jury trial or nothing. I went right before the
judge and told him what I told the detectives. I was guilty of all

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the crimes. He asked if I understood my rights and this and that
and I told him, “Yeah,” and that was it. I came to death row
around November ’76.

I put myself here. I can deal with that. I don’t want to die but
I’m here for one reason, to pay for my crimes. I ask the Lord to
forgive me for my sins. Some people say, “Well, it’s a little late for
that.” The way I look at it it’s never too late. I’m hvinan. I really
don’t worry about that outside world. I really don’t worry about
what happens to me now. As long as I get my life right and try
and make the best of it now is all that matters,

I see my mistakes. I see where I went wrong. I’ve basically
been a liar, a cheat and a thief all my life. Here I am now facing
death. A lot of people don’t believe in God but I do believe in God.
If I’m going to come to you and tell you a lie and go to Him and
get on my knees and be honest with Him, what do you call that?
I’m lying on one end but I’m being truthful on the other. If I’m
going to be right with God I might as well be right with you. Can
you understand what I’m saying? So either I’m going to reject
God and tell you all these lies or I’m gonna be right with God and
right with you too.

Let’s talk about how you grew up. Where were you born?

I was born in Trenton, New Jersey December 13, 1949. I
think we moved from Trenton when I was 10 years old. I’ve been
in Miami off and on all my life.

And did you grow up with your parents?

Basically it was back and forth from my mother to my
grandmother. I enjoyed living with my mother so much that I
just decided to stay with her but my grandmother raised me. She
was in Miami.

And your father?

It’s kind of hard to say. I never really got a chance to know my
father. I come from a large family, five brothers and two sisters.
My mother’s been married three or four different times. My
stepfather was a pretty nice guy. He lived with us. I’m the oldest
of seven kids.

With seven kids running around the house my mother
couldn't just put all her attention on me. And she was working
too. But I’m saying the time she did have, she gave it to me the
best she could as far as trying to keep me in school, clothes and
stuff like that.

As far as growing up, I basically had all the opportunities any

154

eau

Ree

other kid had. I didn’t come from a real strict family. Maybe that
had something to do about where I went wrong.

How did your schooling go?

I didn’t have any trouble in school but I never got farther than
the tenth grade. Right around graduation time in the tenth
grade I got locked up and I received a five year sentence for
breaking and entering, and that ended my school. I did about 18
months at the Appalachia Correctional Institute.

Was that your first arrest?

That was the first and this is the second time. I did my
eighteen months and I was on parole. I was nineteen, | got mea
nice job and I went to work. I don’t think I was on the street a
hot year before I was married.

I was young. I was in there so fast and it seemed like I was on
the street so fast I didn’t know what happened to me.

I ain’t never been happy. Things I wanted to do, seem like I
never got a chance to do ’em. I was only happy when I was
participating in sports. Football, basketball, track. I always
wanted to be like a superstar. Always wanted to be like the Dr.
J’s and the Earl the Pearl’s. I would look around and see the
things and people that I envied and admired. Even though I
wasn't those people I would go to the store and I would buy these
jerseys and shirts and the emblems and stuff like that and I
would wear them. I would sit up and fantasize about people like
Earl the Pearl, Dr. J, “Pistol” Pete Maravich. I would just
fantasize being people like that. When I was married, I just got
married to be married, really. Just because she was a nice girl. It
seemed like I always wanted to be something I wasn't. I tried to
enlist for the service but I flunked the test. I always wanted to be
everything that I wasn’t.

With a tenth grade education I had all the best jobs you can
think of. I used to work for the city of Miami at the incinerator. I
was making good money. It was union. I used to work at Jordan
Marsh, Sears and Roebuck, Winn Dixie, Food Fair. You can
check all this on my record.

Is there a reason why you had a lot of different jobs?

I was a young man looking for something in life and really
didn’t know what I was looking for. I’d get tired of this job and
I'd just quit and go on to the next job. There’s really no
excuse... .

OAR jetrintit te hl rein scbrbcentummbe hahah: beet serie hte baba Sapte cast SmNEB eG


You said you liked to party. Were you running witha wild
crowd?

That’s something I never did was run with a ci»+d or group. I
participated in a lot of different sports and stuff li? - that. I never
really started committing any crimes till September ’76. And it
was my fault then.

You don’t blame anyone or anything but yourself?

I guess I would have to say I blame myself. And I would have
to put alittle bit of responsibility to some of my family, and
society. &

Has your mother ever said anything to you about her
responsibility?

No. Never. I love my Mama. I respect her now. I was ignorant
in a lot of areas and so was she. She didn’t have time. If she
spent all her time with us trying to show us where we were
going right or wrong we would never have had food on the table
and a place to stay.

Are you blaming the economy to some extent for . . .?

Not in my case. In some sense black mothers and fathers are
stronger than white mothers and fathers ’cause they grew up
with going hungry and they grew up with going home and
struggling and surviving. You understand what I’m saying? I
could go out there right now and say, “Mama, I’m goirg to try to
make me some money because I’m tired of going hunzry, I m
tired of being broke.” She wouldn’t want me to go and she’d try
to stop me but if I’m going anyway she’s gonna say, Buby, be
careful.” If I came in the house with $300, $400, $500 the
majority of upper class white parents would turn this money in.
But I am gonna split this money with my Mama. And she’s
gonna take it and do the things that need to be done with it. My
Mama didn’t want me out there committing no crimes. She
wanted me to do the things that was right. She always wanted
me to be like my younger brother. He serves in the Air Force.
That’s her pride and joy. But I just went down the long road at
night and it seemed like I got so far gone I coulc:.’t turn around.

I wouldn’t obey my Mama. I didn’t give her the respect she
deserved. If I ain’t gonna respect her ain’t nothing she can tell
me but, “Be careful,” you understand what I’m saying? But my
Mama, my father, they tried to give me love and understanding
the best they knew how. A lot of the things they told me went in
one ear and right out the other ear. They didn’t have the time to
spend with me like a lot of parents have to spend with their

156

child. The time they did have they tried to give to me but I
rejected it. I felt like I knew everything. I didn’t want to hear. I’m
gonna live my own life. I guess I felt like I knew everything but
really I didn’t know nothing.

Have your parents stuck with you?

When everybody else lets you down your Mama and Daddy
gonna be right there. They’ve been by my side from the very
beginning. I tell my Mama I made my bed hard so I’m gonna lay
on it by myself. But my Grandmama is old and my Mama tells
me I’m going to kill her if I don’t let her come see me. She
basically raised me and I’m closer to her than anyone else. If I
don’t let her come and see me she’s gonna worry anyway. So I
try to ease the burden on her. I let her come up and see me every
now and then.

Are the visits hard for you?

Visits aren’t hard for me. But to me a visit ain’t nothing but a
pacifier. Some guys back there live for one day, just like a baby
sucking on a bottle. They live for a visit, trimming their nails,
brushing their hair. They live and they talk about just one day. I
understand what they’re facing. All they talk about is women,
women, getting in this visiting parlor, what it’s gonna be like
when they get out there. And when the visit don’t show up it’s
just like a baby crying on a bottle. They all done got frustrated.
They’re mad, want to know what went wrong. I made this bed
hard for me to lay on. I am gonna lay on it by myself. I don’t need
this pacifier. I done caused my parents pain and suffering all my
life and I’m tired of leaning on them. So it’s time for me to give
them a break now and stand on my own two feet. This is a load I
want to carry by myself. I’ve made it, so I want to carry it. I try to
make them understand but then again I’ve come to realize a lot
of things since I’ve been here. I try to give my parents a little
more respect now than I did then. I don’t reject them as far as
visits. I try to keep it down a little bit. I let them come up to see
me maybe once a month, once every other month.

What about the families of the victims?

If there was anything, short of selling my soul to the devil, I
could do to bring them back to their families or stop the suffering
or pay back what I did, I would be willing to do it. But I know
there ain’t no way I can do that. I’m always thinking about these
people I killed, every day, every day. That’s why it just don’t
bother me if these people take my life.

I’m not going to come out here and say, “All right take my life,

ee BURT wre ees toner SOOATVEST BPS PRIST SI SIE Torr sTe Wer ert eV tonr ect Pere ert Seer rot STN a Oe Oe OO a ET weer ern UTES

I want to die, I’m sick of living in this cell. If I got to live like this
take my life.” You understand what I’m saying? But then again I
ain’t gonna come out here and play no games with you. I’m here
because of my crimes. I don’t want to die. I don’t think it’s right
what you people are doing in the state of Florida. But I really
don’t have no say-so, They don’t want to hear nothing I got to
say.

It sounds like you’re saying that if you go to the electric chair,
that will pay for your crimes.

I don’t think it will pay for it. But if these people think it’s
gonna pay for it, if they are gonna get some kind of self-
satisfaction out of it, take my life. I don’t have any reason to fight
it and I won't fight it because I’m guilty for my crimes. If the
state of Florida says that’s the way you got to pay for your crimes,
well, I’m ready. I’m willing to give my life that way for it. As far
as this gonna do any good, I really don’t think it’s gonna do any
good cause crime was here from the beginning. It’s gonna be
here till the end.

Do you think there is some way you could say that the people
back there on death row don’t deserve to live because they are
animals?

No. I think society is the animal. We are already in <ages,
man. They already took us away from society, What e!se can we
do to them? They’re still not satisfied. They just want to see us
dead. They felt like they done run out of activities to do so they
just kill some people on death row.

I stop and think, “We're animals now,” but look at those
people out there. Bloodthirsty, trying to take our lives, We're
already locked up but they still want to see us dead. Poan't see
that being nothing else but animal behavior. We are the ones
who supposed to be the animals. I hear a lot of them say they are
Christians but yet they still want to see us dead.

I really don’t believe a Christian can say he’s a Christian and
take another human life or stand by, if there’s any power, to
watch somebody take another human being’s life. That’s some
kind of Christian. That’s got to be Satan. That’s got to be the
devil. That’s not a Christian as far as I’m concerned.

Where are you in the appeals procedure now?

My case went through the courts, Florida Supreme, United
States Supreme Court, as far as I know twice. It was in and out
just like that. I was talking to a lawyer about it a couple of
months ago and she told me that I’d probably go before the

Clemency Board somewhere within the next year. To be honest
with you I don’t think I’ll see December 1980.

What does death look like to you from where you are now?
What does it look like to me? It looks like a joke to me. It might
sound to you like I say some stupid things but . . .

You’re not afraid to die?
No. I used to be. But I’m not afraid to die any more.

When did that change?

After I gave my life to Christ. See, most of the guys I know up
there they do a lot of praying. But they're not praying for their
souls. They’re praying for one thing: “Oh Lord, if you just spare
me and get me life in prison and commute my sentence . . .”
Do you understand what I’m saying? Basically they got their
mind on that world out there. One more crack at that world. But
I’m still thinking I have to face the Lord. Now death’s staring me
in the face. I’m not asking these people to take my life. But I
ain’t gonna sit out here and tell you no bunch of lies. I’m just

gonna tell you the truth. I ain’t gonna play no games with you.
I'm guilty.

I’ve noticed that you can’t remember the name of the woman you
killed and have trouble remembering which murder came first.

I try to block out my past but it’s constantly on my mind. I took
people’s lives in this world that didn’t deserve to die. I try to block
all of this stuff out. I try to block it out but it keeps coming back
to me. The transcripts of my case are laying there on the desk
and I just happen to look around and know what they are and
there it is, They’re right there in those papers. I watch a movie
on TV and see a lady hard at work and I think about this lady.
She was a hard worker, she was just trying to make a living.

Sometimes I wake up all fresh, like I'm laying out in a bunch
of roses. And I look up and the first thing pops into my mind is,
“Damn, I took three people’s lives,” I look at the bars and realize
where I am. Sometimes when you wake up you don’t realize
where you're at. I look at the bars and the first thing that comes
to my mind is that I took three people’s lives, I killed some
people. And I start crying.

Do you think about the electric chair often?

A man asked me the other day (it was a stupid question as far
as I’m concerned) if I had a chance of taking a lethal injection or
the electric chair, which one would I choose. I said, “You killed


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my brother John Spenkelink, you didn’t give him no chance, I’m
gonna die just like he died. Death is death regardless of which
way you die. Don’t give me no break. You didn’t give hima
break.” oe

You knew John Spenkelink well? aoe

We were close friends. He was like a leader. Around here
these officers believe when you got a leader like him you kill the
head and the body’s gonna die. So they tried to keep him
isolated. When you had a problem or you couldn't reason with
something, you could always go to him. He was calm. He was
quiet. If we wanted to get some changes done around here and
get them done right, we just got together with him and he’d
make sure it’s right.

In some ways I feel like he wasn’t prepared to die because he
had more faith in those lawyers than he had in God. If he’d had
the faith in God that he had in those lawyers he probably would
have stood a better chance of not dying in that cliair. I don’t
know whether you can understand what I’m saying. His lawyers
might not understand. He felt like in a way that these lawyers

would save him at the last minute.

] put all my faith in God. I don’t care nothing about the
lawyers. I appreciate and respect everything they are trying to do
for me. And | ain’t going to tell them to stop working on my case
or nothing like that. But if they do everything they can do for me
and that’s it, well I’m ready for it.

What about the people you know here on death row? Are they
ready for it?

Some of the guys say they’d live their life the same way, they'd
just be a little slicker and a little wiser. But a lot of the guys have
seen their whole life pass before them and they know. I believe
they are sincere when they say if they had one more chance in
life there is no way they would live it the way they had lived it. It
would be a totally different thing. You get to know a lot of guys.
You come to love a lot and then a lot you want to hate. Death row
is the same every day. You wake up with death on your mind
and you go to sleep with death on your mind. You watch TV
twenty-four hours a day. All they eat, sleep and talk is the death
sentence. Some guys haven’t prepared themselves for what’s
coming.

How did you prepare yourself?
I got one thing. I believe in God. I believe he is the only person
who can and will forgive me for all these sins and crimes I've

160

committed. I go to Him in prayer, just like I come to you and I
tell you everything I did. I go to him with an open heart, with all
honesty and I tell him everything. I worry about my soul. I don’t
want to lose my soul. I don’t care about my life. If they want to
take it, let them take it. I feel like I owe society something. I
don’t want to die but then again I ain’t got no reason to say don’t
take my life. It ain’t gonna solve nothing, but if it’s gonna give
them some kind of justice, well, take my life. I’m more scared of
losing my soul than I am my life. I do bad things every day but
that’s human nature. I curse. I get on the door and scream and
holler and crack jokes with the guys. I’m basically trying to
make peace with the Lord. I’m prepared in that way. I do believe
my time’s coming. I’m not gonna get a stay of execution, I really
honestly believe that. I laid everything right out on the table. At
the time when I first got here I was scared. I was really scared.
But in one sense I wasn’t. I knew what things I did wrong and I
feel like I owe society something. But there’s got to be a better
way than what they’re doing.

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:

Two Negres Executed

RAIPORD, June 4 (INS)—Two

negroes died within 20 minutes of
each other today in the electric
rae at the State Prison in Ral-
ord.

Jessie Hilton, 34. was put to death
far slaying Mrs. Bertha Turner in
DeLand last September 20.

The extreme penalty was: carried
Out 30 minutes later on John Wash-
ington, convicted of killing and rob-
Bing @ negro taxicab operator of §3

IASHLINGTO N, Jon, black, elec. FL (Volusia) June 4,
THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville)
Tuesday, 5 June 1951, page 13.
|
|
|

May 6, 1960.

_ dn State Electric Chair!


MEDIA ACCOUNT ~~

OF TRIAL:

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF EXECUTION:

EXECUTION

METHOD: Nang a9

STAYS OF
EXECUTION:

EXECUTIONER:
WITNESSES:

RITUALS :

LAST WORDS:

OTHER INFORMATION:

TIME OF

EXECUTION:

Aji
Pi

U.S. Use of Chair

For Execution |s
Approved by State

TALLAHASSEE, Sept. 14 (aa —
THe cabinet today ratified the per-

Tomes Union 4 Jwlyg

mission granted the Federal Gov.
ernment to use the State electric!
chair fot the execution of David
Joseph Watson, sailor convicted of
murdering a shipmate at Key West.

Watson, a 23-year-old negro, will
be executed at 9 A. M. tomorrow.
President Truman last Thursday
declined to interfere with the death

* penalty.

occurred outside all State jurisdic-
hae isalieten’ 4 Government
Bae es for execution of
prisoners.

—_—_ A.

NegroDiesinChair |
For Sailor Marder

RAIPORD, Sept. 13 #—In the;
first Federal electrocution in Fior-|
ida’s history, David Joseph Watson, |
23-year-old negro, died today for: P
the murder of a asallor. x

He was placed in the chair at the t
‘Btate prison farm at $11 A.M. and i
Pronounced dead a few minutes ;
later, 4
Pederal authorities who brought ¢
him to the State prison this morn- r
‘ing from Jacksonville permitted him!
to chat with his mother. a achoo! t
jteacher at Blue Summit, Pa., shortly
‘before the execution. : a

Wataon was convicted of slaving ©
a fellow sailor, Benjamin Leroy
Hobbs, 19, of Nebo, N.C. In two: (
Federal Court trials his signed con-'&
feasion was presented as tne chief:

evidence. f 1d

3roward) 9-30-1946

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THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville)
Tuesday, 1 October 1946, page 7.


Killer dies in electric chair;
Ind execution set for today

Jerry White
while Phillip
until this morning.

was executed Monday
Atkins received & stay

rections officer C

Former Cor
Hawthorne stands by t
of her restaurant Mon

he sign in front
day in Starke.

By DOUG NURSE Tampa ~Ictuee

Tribune Staff Writer ils 4S @- @ \

STARKE — Linda McCray couldn't let
the sign outside the tavern go unchallenged.

On a day in which one man was execut-
ed in Florida’s electric chair and another
was facing his final night’s sleep, McCray
found the “Monday is Fryday” offensive.

After protesting Monday's electrocution
of Jerry White at Florida State Prison,
McCray and two friends saw the sign as
they drove by Carla’s Sandwich Shoppe and
Prison Museum, @ bar about two miles from
the prison.

The sign goes up three days before each
scheduled execution.

A Lakeland man, Phillip Alexander At-
kins, 40, is scheduled to die at 10 a.m. to-
day. His electrocution was scheduled Mon-
day as well, but a stay prompted 4 delay in
what could have been the first time since
1964 two men were put to death on the
same day.

McCray and her friends wheeled
around, went inside and confronted retired
corrections officer Carla Hawthorne, who
owns the bar, in debate.

“I find it offensive,” McCray told Haw-
thorne. “It’s like @ celebration. It should be
a time of mourning. My husband, Doug, was
convicted of rape and murder in Lee Coun-
ty. But now, he tutors other inmates. He
helps other That wouldn't have hap-
pened if.he had been killed.”

Hawthorne, who worked at Union Cor-
rectional Institution from 1978 to 1990, dis-
agreed. ;

“I know you're upset,” Hawthorne said.
“You take offense to my sign. I take offense
to a map who's been judged by 12 jurors,
represented by an attorney and sentenced
by a judge and who’s committed a heinous
crime.” ; °° br

White, 47, Was electrocuted at 12:12 p.m.
Monday and pronounced dead seven min-
utes later. He was convicted in 1982 of kill-
ing a groce store customer in a robbery
and of sooth g the owner of the store and

m,
As a hooded executioner cranked a dial
releasing 2,000 volts and 14 amps of elec-
tricity, White grunted loudly as if lifting 4

See KILLER, Page 8


Nation/World

8-
¥

Killer execute

_ From Page 1

eat weight and his body went rig-
d. Some among the dozen press wit-
hesses later said it was a scream
muted by straps around his jaw and
by a plastic glass window.
. The llth U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in Atlanta turned down At-
kins’ appeal Monday night. The U.S.
Supreme Court can halt his execu-
tion. His death warrant expires at
goon.

Atkins’ attorney, Bret Strand,
said late Monday he is strongly con-
Sidering an emergency appeal with
the Florida Supreme Court claiming
electrocution in the state’s current
électric chair is cruel and inhuman
punishment.

He's citing White’s screams as

the basis of the complaint. “You can
take someone's life without it being
torturous. There seems to be a ques-
tion here.”

Atkins was condemned in the
1981 bludgeoning death of a 6-year-
old neighbor.

As time came for his execution,
White said, “I wish all the people
who hear my voice would turn to
Jesus Christ as I have.” :

The execution team placed a
leather hood over his face and the
electrodes in the hood were
screwed in place.

On hearing there would be no
pardon from Gov. Lawton Chiles,
prison Superintendent Everett Per-
rin nodded to the executioner.

Outside the prison, about 15
death penalty opponents carriéd
placards that said, “Shame” and

d in electric chair.

“Peace” and circled a plywood
manger scene they had brought.

Dorothea Murphy, a Catholic
nun, said Chiles was no better than
the men he ordered executed: “I
look at God as the author of life and
no man or woman has the authority
to take a life. Therefore, I consider
Gov. Chiles a murderer.”

Back at the bar, Hawthorne said
her sign — a fixture on execution
days for the past nine years —
alerts corrections officers and their

families to the status of the execu- ;

tion schedule.

Nancy Kabase, whose boyfriend
Greg Thomas of Jacksonville is on
death row for killing his ex-wife,
told Hawthorne executions just
cause more pain. Until victims’ fam-
ilies learn to forgive, they will nev-
er be healed, she sald.

Atkins in '89


One killer

executed;
2nd waits

lclac
By Paul Pinkham
Times-Union staff writer @- 8{

STARKE — Florida electrocuted
one murderer yesterday, while 30
feet away another waited hopefully
for a Jacksonville judge to decide his
fate.

Jerry White, his mouth covered by
a leather strap and veil, let out a
muffled scream as a hooded execu-
tioner sent 2,000 volts of electricity
through his body at 12:12 p.m.
White, 47, was executed for the 1981
murder of a customer while robbing
an Orange County convenience
store.

“I wish that all the people that
hear my voice would turn to the
Lord Jesus Christ as I have,” White
said after he was strapped into the
electric chair.

Thirty feet behind the death cham-
ber, Philip Atkins waited in a 12-by-
7-foot cell for his turn to die for mo-
lesting and killing a 6-year-old Lake-

. land boy. Atkins, 40, was scheduled

See 1 KILLER, Page B-3

. — Associated Press
‘Helen Peek (left) and Linda McCray protest in
Gainesville as Jerry White was executed yesterday.

GA Times -~OMlon

[2-SUVGF Ss
CBI)

1 killer executed; another awaits ruling

From Page B-1

to die at 1 p.m. but got a brief

stay from US. District Judge
William Terrell Hodges.

It would have been Florida’s
first double execution in 31
years. Prison officials resched-
uled Atkins’ execution for 10
a.m. today pending his appeal.

“He [Atkins] at this point is
realistic, but he’s still hopeful
because he’s got the whole fed-

eral court [route] to go,” said
death penalty foe Susan Cary,
who visited both inmates.

Cary described White as “very
much at peace” before he be-
came the 35th person to be exe-
cuted in Florida since the Su-
preme Court reinstated the
death penalty in 1979. He met
with two clergy yesterday
morning and wrote before he
was executed: “I have confessed
all my sins before the Lord my

God. I wish to express my sor-
row to all of those I’ve pained.”

The two men didn’t talk de-
spite living in nearby cells in
recent weeks, prison spokesman
Gene Morris said.

For two minutes after the
electric jolt jerked White’s body
backward, as ‘doctors checked
him for vital signs, Death Row
inmates beat a rhythmic pat-
tern on the bars of their cells.
There are 366 people on Death
Row.

e
x

mst on


sis state camps for this offense in
After serving this term he was
latey sentenced for a term of twelve
Pat ter en mbling. :
tehead says he Went toe
Hawkineviiie, Ge, where he Decame
vers ap ine cutting scrape with a
Bamed Norman Guytos, beth
men receiving injuries, He Was sen.
te. twelve months, but atter
and went to eres made Bis sacaps
Ga.,
| en le, Ga, at which
pet ae ehot
wound 8 the breast,
Mi fie stil? bears, :
Whitehead stated that after he °
Covered from his wound he came oe

Jaeksonvitie, fs went to work for
tes

Did Mot Strike Blow.
« The condemned Prisoner's final state-

' MB Preference to the killing o
Gaberne dealt with the evurinine

Wea out of employment at the time,
he @td net enter into the undertaking
‘with onthusiem, but the others

't@ the store to Qscertain the
go tat the te cimrmit the

occupied by the trio several days prior|
tothe crime in order to allay suspi-!
cion relative to their presence in the,
vicinity. |
He sayn that on the night the crime

was committéd an attempt was made ;
to rob Osborne Without Killing him. ;
but this failing, {t was decided to make!
away with him. The Prisoner, at this|
point tn his recital, again stated that!
he did not deal the fatal blow, but

stood guard at the door, while the old

man Wan being «done to Aeath. His

portion of the epolle, he nays, was $20 |

|

Heard Murder Planned.

He admitted hearing the cviawal
wel} as its mode of execu- |

tion. |
When asked why he repudiated his
first confession, he stated that he did;
so under pressie, it being stated ta|
him that he would be cleared if he told
a tale, such as was dictated by. those |
bringing the pressure to bear,
Whitehead told his story in a
straightforward manner, stating that
evil Influences had led: hig astray.
The condemned prisoner says he is:
ready to meet his fate. i
: Kindness of Sheriff.

Sherif Dowling and his deputies
have done everything in thelr power,
to make the last days qf Whitehead
comfortable. A new autt of clothes
was presented to him yesterday. as
well as a new shirt, tle, collar, etc.

Whitehead declares that his real
name is Dude. He says he has been
called Dugger. George and numerous
other namea since he came to Jack- |
Sonvilie, but that Dude was the name'
that Was given to him by his mother.

Prisoner Jovia).

When Sheriff Dowling told htm that he
Was going peit of the way to the acaf-|
fold with him. Whitehead laughingly said!
that the sheriff? was a funny man in|
going only part of the way. He sald.;
however, that he did not need his coni-
pany. Deputy Sheriff Jim Crawford then
told Whitehead that he would wo all wf
the way and the prisoner replied that
Mr. Crawfont ‘was “what he called a
Mas.’

a made the request that his

Body be sent to his home in Georgia for
wurial, which the sheriff Promised him
weuld te done : :
Cc the negro who wan yesterday re-:
prieved by Gev mell, was also seen!
by the Times-Unio sen and:
Stated that inasmuch as prieve d:
been gives him he would withhold his!
Atatemment for the present. t

> |


ae

i , ‘ ‘ aes te it aaa ae
bes y temecctinensel aS iets

font. and that he had gaked tor. nothing
from the official that had not: been’ grans-.
ted, Ile said that he had (led “about
.~ Crawford. during his trial, © when tha’
stated that he had been mistreated ®bvy:p—  —  >/ r
“the offleer, who was at that time eres: aa 3
stestive of the city police department. tater
er presented to one ef his spiritual ad«
As he stood’ on the scaffold “the: icon Lvisore. When he stepped upon the scat-
demned man allowed his eyes, to® ‘Toant fold he was reading a Bile, and toe
over the gathering, and whenayor -he ‘res! gether with his spiritual advisors, he re-
cognized one who had been ‘especially cited the Twenty-third Psalm.
kind to him, he called him by: tis 3 - The execution was the first under the

told him goodbye. srg *tadministration of  Sherlff Dowling.
vaieala et hush Whitehead promixed that he would not

math hen the str a eh ‘break down and kept his word to the | 4
bh oR} ae mere Pallets a 1tho eal

c
ASMA MHHIE. SHE. The fone ween ‘Murdered—George—Osborn—__|_
ead wlightly when the noose was’ ade) whithead was arrested. tried. and cour
"justed. After all preparations patie victed of the murder of George M. Os-
made the sheriff asked him 4 hoewaal yorn, who conducted a grotery store In
ready, and he snswered tn ieee hire Yonely part of Enterprise street. Os-
tive. Tho sherift told him goodbyesand | porns skull was fractured. by a blow

Whitehead answered in like manviera in from an Iron pipe.
a steady volce. : a

‘ "May God have mercy on your soul, ve Whitehead'’s capture and conviction war}

nie
sald Sherift Dowling, and, as the: last Sai e. Ohewtord, Cenwhekd. cworket|
wore bids et a ble the vei ateacr: Ger eins QUigently on the case with the reauit!
WWhitehead’s neck was broken ve oe that he found out that Whitehead was!
fall. In ten miiniten life was pronounced | connected with the murder and learned) -
extinet. The body waa then cut fromthe that he was in Dawson, Ga
scaffold anid ‘turnad aver to Uncertaner By a shrewd bit. of work th Aetective
“Glover and “Wis” #htiped sta vince tS L

slipped Into Dawson and arrested White-;
Dawaon, Ca, for burial as reavlested! by, head. Shortly after his arrest the negro!

= ai

Whitehead: before his aa. “- a ora tb Confensed that he wax tmplicated tn the|
ae Ss . Neatly Attired..: a eiotl orime, but. subsequently dented tis states;

The nexro Was neatly attired In a new) ment at hie trial. He Jater claimed thar |
black sult, and also, wora a black® tle. [he made this denial at the instixation of
On the lapel of his coat was a white! otners. Tle removed all doubt of his« mut
‘ribbon which hore the Inscription. “Ihave on the scaffold yesterday when he again:
rk{den the rapids.” He carried in “his] confessed that He alone was guilty of
hard a boquet of carnations, Which :he | the murder.

ue ¢
Fa Spee»


nineteen sR Vian geen oe ee

Vhitehead Conversad for some ‘tinta
with Cook and Offered a prayer for hie
foul. Then, accompanied by Rherj ty
Dowling, he walked {0 -the mca frold une
took his place over the trap, While hts
*Diritual advisorn and frlenda were sing-
Ing hyznne. ‘

After brief religions« worvices, Sharire
Dowling awked Whitehead if hea Wished
to .make 2 statement, and the negrn
answered in tte “Mirmative, fis rat
+ words were “Friends, 1 Want ta way that
I done fs. Me, myeelf Wa then Went
On to FAY that tive a'thoritien had thie
reht man He stated That Ne wan worry!
. from the Hatton of his heart tor what
“hm had done and hegyed OI! Preeens ty,
keep away ‘from ‘uch pitfalle ax he has
encountered

Ready to Die.

—

ee

Ha then, $: 9 Oud: Aletinens Voice, wat]
PERCH WIth Gol and WAN renty ta pay
the penaity for fy crime. Me amabelt
{hore KRathered ArOUNd htm of ANY nea
had anything In their henry Againee Kien

“and aa his Queation wae ANAWered wiht};

Klence, he DFAYM) for a forxivenaen Sf
"nO War the case, ; oe gee
We then, (0 oo, eel Ro ten hc)
that he wanted ry "peak tn reward to
Deguty Biyeriey Jira Crawford who Cape.
furent Aims ie DAN nn, iy, TY Nrovugehye
him ta Saekranv ite rey bay the Penalty
“for his ersrnin ry

Mf Ve Cwredt that Nby rawtord haa
PLOW dry ney Kinde, Rincg Nis Afe
t

Continued on Page: Seventeen, |.

» oe :


my

DUDE WHITEHEAD DIES TODAY:
HENRY COOK GETS REPRIEVE

———  ———- ee

Rypereteey wade for Execasion of Negro Who Will Pay
ae Op Sapigt ake e Death Penalty Today

NEGRO INSIS.S HE DID
NOT DEAL FATAL BLOW

Heard Murder Planned, But Says
He Had No Hand In It—<Admits
—-- -» Kihing Geo. M. Osborn.

‘Keptag

(®TTtTaAuosyoer) NOINN-SAWIL VWGINOTd FHL

Uniess a reprieve is granted by
Qoyv. Park Trammell. which now seems
unlikely, George, alias Dude White-
head, will today puy the death penalty
“on the scaffold, having been tried and,
convicted on a charge of murdering
George M. Osborn, an aged Enterprise,
@treet grocer, in his placg of business:
on the night of.July 23. of last year.

Henry Cook, negro, charged with
murdering his wife, tried and con-.
victed, was achaduled to die on the:
acaffold with Whitehead. but yester-:
day Gov. Trammell granted him a ra>7-
Prieve of two weeks through the ef-.
farts of hia attorney, 3. D. McGill.
McGill eéeks to secure a commuta-
tion of the death ‘penalty to that of.
life imprisonment for his client on the
@rounds of heredity Inaanity.

Preparations Made.

Preparations for hanging Whitehead!
have been made and the executton|
will take place this morning between;
10 e’clock and noon. The hanging will |
be witnessed only by officers of the:
é e ‘ ° 5 : ° one
vieted Whitehead, his spiritual} advia-
ere, representatives of the press, and. |

suegh others us are n a : ®
the statutes. oe re BnORe Geerge, allaas Dude Whitehead. tried,

This is the first hanging und the, 224 coavicted em charge of killing |
administration of Sheriff Dowling. The! George M. Osborn, an aged F.aterprise |
rope has been stretched and the scaf-| treet Sroeer, om the aight of July 23;
fel@ and trap nave been thoroughly | Met 7e8?- |
tested.

Whitehead’s Statement.
~~ Together with Shertt-W. R. Dow-+

‘€T6T Ttadw gt

"OZ obeg

| = asses = sss |

Did Wot Plan Murder. .

-ferd, & Times-Union representative’ The conden@ned man aleo said that
‘Visited Whitenead tn his cell at the! he hed no hand in planning the mur-
county jail last night: and secured 9: 46. It will be remembered that Major
statement from the condemned man,; Whltehead, a vrother of Dude, and:
who realizes that he has no chance; Marry Hubert were also arrested in
for clemency. Whitéhead eeld he: cwanection with the death of Osborn.
would have nothing further to say ex. . Whttebead stated that the firat trou-
cept @ short address on the evaffold wie that he became involved tn was
this morning. with Robert Snelibre, in Dawson, Ga.
whom Re shat at but did not t. @

‘Whitehead stated (hat he aid not: claime that he fired at Snellbro under

the lone; vocation after he had been badly
alah rma but confessed that he belies by Snellvro. He was Antenced
daar an tree blot and held open the toa term of five months in the Geor-


UPI

Death-penalty protester stands ,
with head bowed Friday after
, execution of David Washington, ;

+)
?

Ex

SMITIV’S DEATH warrant ex-

~pired at ‘noon Friday, so Gov. Bob :.
Graham will have to sign a new one «

for him to be executed legally. His

. lawyers argue that a psychiatric re-
port on Smith was withheld by the*

State and that their client should get

a hearing to see if admission of the’

report into evidence could alter his
death sentence. ;
Washington wasn’t so lucky, First
the 1lth U.S, Circuit Court. of Ap-.
peals in Atlanta and then the U.S.
Supreme Court refused to delay his
execution beyond 6:59 a.m. Friday.
So Thursday night, he met with
his mother, his daughter, a minister ,
and other family members and
friends, Then, at'4:30 a.m., he ate his
last meal — fried shrimp, fried oys-
ters, french fries with lots of catsup,
hot rolls, lemonade and a half-pint of
vanilla ice cream. He ‘polished. off :
most of the food, joking with the
guards about his appetite. = ——,
After breakfast, prison officials
prepared Washington for electrocu-
tion. They shaved his head and right
leg and gave him his execution attire,
See ee LS Raph Nord et

ecution from 1-A >”

ean

“neys.. w

te shirt, and dark-blue pants, Ly
while, in the dim, moist:
fields across the street from the pris: | tected. The ex
“on, people opposed to his death bez
" -gan to gather. S

‘the Jacksonvil]

“Washington’s appeal.
had a boyfriend on death Tow, ..: 5’

SEVERAL ASSAILED Gov:

ho -had

Graham for hig resolute enforcement

of the dea
of the mos

h ity in Flora :: Burdett: Gréene of Starke, said he:
th penalty in Florida. One : Supports capital punishment because ..:

t vocal was an elderly man

who said he was here with his wife’
“for the governor's Party.” ° ti

A, reporter pressed them to say’:
\. more, and the woman asked her hus-
band, “You going to tell them?”

“No. Eh, you can tell. them,” he

“said. “My

few months ago .

Goede. Ar

Son was executed here a
-» That’s rights
thur Goode,” (Goode, a

child molester and child killer, died

in the elect

ric chair April 5.)

Graham, who has received in.

creased nat

criticism from human-ri
for his death-penalty pol

ional attention as well ag
ghts groups
icy, issued a.

statement about Washington’s exe.

cution, It re

ad in part, “This Procesg:

Marg .

has assured that the constitutional

; who agree with Graham about the

: Selves. One member. of the group,

: “they've got to stop something some-
~Where.” >, apie

: 20-year-old college student during a -
12-day rampage in Miami in-1976,
“Rev. Daniel Pridgen, a 69-year-old
: homosexual, was stabbed seven times

with a hunting knife. Katherina Birk,
' 64, was shot and stabbed nine times. _
' Frank Meli, who was studying to be a
tax lawyer, was abducted and then
‘stabbed 11 times while he begged for
his life. ee

-WHY WASHINGTON killed,
his friends wailing outside the prison.

‘ rights of the accused were fully pro. |

ecution of the sentence :

; assures that the rights of the people ; ’
ome were members of " Of Florida are affor

e Citizens Against the: : tection.” - ’
Death Penalty. Others were attor-)

worked. -on }

One: said ‘She; death penalty collected a field apart »
=. from their ideological counterparts

"and chatted quietly. among them.

ded similar pro-

“As the sun began to rise, people -

' Washington received a death sen-
, tence because he killed a homosexual: i
‘ preacher,’ an elderly woman and a -.:

Said, “Please exit to the rear.”

.c

i

' though they rep
felt great remorse for his crimes, He
pleaded guilty to three charges of

first-degree murder, later telling a’
‘judge, “I didn’t have any right to take :

these people’s lives.”’: °

Washington: originally sought
death rather than a life in prison. But ;
che subsequently appealed his ‘sen- “
tence, claiming he was poorly repre- “
sented by legal counsel. The U.S:
Supreme Court rejected that argu- °
ment in May, and Washington then &
,, contended that comments made bya
"prosecutor during sentencing were |
improper. Federal judges dismissed >
that argument as well but not before:

Washington was granted an extra 24
hours to live. Both he and Smith were”

" originally scheduled to go to the elec-

tric chair Thursday. |
Forty people, including reporters

. and official state witnesses, watched -
‘Washington die. After two doctors.

checked his lifeless body, Corrections

* Set. Don Gladdish signalled that the »

execution was over, “I'he sentence of
the state of Florida against David
Washington has been carried out,” he

“Friday morning couldn’t say, al-"
eatedly noted that he”

SF IL PT Mag ew Me


ico
28

26A The Miami Herald / Saturday, July 14, 1984

Kalier of 3. goes . to’ electric. chair; re
Court. affirms Smith’ S, stay

Supr ere

EXECUTE /from 1A

the crimes, and during sentencing .

in December 1976 he told: Dade
Circuit Judge Richard Fuller he
preferred death to life in prison.

Friday, in the macabre death
ritual held in Q Wing at Florida
State Prison here, his request was
tulfilled.

Witnesses to the execution said
Washington was composed, un-
emotional and showed no fear as

- he was led into the death chamber
+, and strapped into the 60-year-old

oaken chair.

Reading from notes taken dur-
ing the execution, radio journalist
Mark Davis of Jacksonville, one of
12 newsmen who witnessed the
event, gave this account of
Washington’s last moments.

Washington arrived at the death
chamber at 6:69 a.m. accompanied
by eight mcn: Prison superinten-
dent Richard Dugger, two electri-
clans, three prison officials, a
doctor and his assistant.

His head had been shaved, and
glistened with an ointment spread
on to enhance electrical contact
with the skull. He wore blue
pants, white shirt and white socks.

He was strapped into the chair.
Cne leather strap went around
each leg and arm. Large straps

went around his waist and chest.
Once secured, Washington was
asked by Dugger if he wanted to

‘make a statement. He nodded, and

in a clear, unhurried voice ex-

ressed remorse over the agony he’
caused his victims and their fami- ©

lies. Then he exhorted his fellow

inmates to continue to struggle

against the death penalty.

“I would like to say to the.
families of all my. victims, I’m.
sorry for all the grief and heart- °

ache I have brought to them. If my

death brings them satisfaction, ‘so

be it.

' “I'd like to say to all the guys on
Death Row, don't bow to a defeat
without a fight,” Then he paused.

“I’m kind of nervous,” he:said,
finally. "That's all.”

His statement lasted less than 25
seconds.

The men fastened a leather chin ‘

strap tight beneath his jaw. Wash-
ington tried a small smile at
someone he recognized
front row of witnesses.
“He was completely a cool
character,” Davis sald.’

Aides put the death cap on him -’

and dropped a black veil over his
face.

ugger, meanwhile, had walked
around the chair to one of two
telephones in the room. On the
other end, Gov. Bob Graham in

In the ¢

"Tallahassee verified that there had.

beén no further stays of execution. °

_ Washington had already had two <

postponements,
“God bless us all,” Graham said,

Dugger handed the phone to Set.’

Don Gladdish, who kept the line’
open. It was 7:03 a:m,
Behind a slit in the death

,. Chamber's gray brick walls, the
executioner waited. He wore a“
black hood. Dugger looked at him,

and nodded.
There was a barely perceptible _
“thunk, ". Davis. said, and

Washington’ s body went rigid, his *.
hands curled into fists. Davis could °.

see perspiration dripping from
beneath the veil, but that was all.
A minute and 25 secods later,

. there was a second “thunk” and

the power was off. |
Medical assistant William Ma-
thew felt for Washington's pulse

’ and then listened for a heartbeat.

He motioned to Dr. Cahn Bien
Nguyen, who also checked. the
pulse and hearbeat.

At 7:09, ten minutes after he had
arrived in. the death chamber,
Washington was pronounced dead.
Dugger picked up the phone and
told Graham the sentence had been

-carried out. ., :

Washington was the fifth man
to die In Florida's electric chair:
this year,’ and the seventh since |

* said anti-death penalty advocate
and attorney Susan Cary after the.

1979, - ‘more ‘executions than, any
“State for that time period. ©

“The final sentence in this case -

, was carried out after exhaustive .
“judicial analysis and review,” Gra-
ham said.in a Prepared statement
in Tallahassee.

“I and other members. of, the
“Board of Executive Clemency re-
viewed the case. and found no
basis for commutation © of >" the
sentence.” - ;

“The difference between David .

Washington and the governor,”

execution, “is that David ‘was
sorry for killing someone.” || ‘
,. As the 24 witnesses filed out of

the prison, UPI reporter and

witness Ken Soo waved a hand- .

 kerchlef to colleagues waiting in:

two. pastures nearly - 500 yards’

away.

designated by prison officlals for’.

those opposed to the death penal-: *:
. ty. The other was reserved for

those in favor of It. More than 20.
showed up to protest the execu-
“tlon. Five — four men and one.
woman — showed up -to signal
their approval.’

The protesters carried signs. ~~

ed Murder,” read one.

«-“Florida Death State,” read ane; .

ae wire se eee eas

“Executions Equal Pre- Meditat- —bered his son.

David Leroy Washington: ;
Sorry for victims’ A icin ; *

other.
As Soo’s handkerchief began to!

One of the pastures had been ‘flutter, those opposed to the act

began to sing We Shall Overcome.
The song floated cerily over the

‘dew-wet fields and bright sun of a

Chamber of Commerce perfect

“morning.

But as the song floated toward

‘the squat ugliness of the prison, a’

grim-faced Floyd Cone Sr. stared
across the meadows.and remem: <

= small town near Jacksonville, by
4. Edward Dean Kennedy, who now,

'* Guinness Book of World Records,” .
. Said Arthur Goode Sr. -of. Fort |
Myers. "He's | killed More. people’
* than anyone.” :

‘executed for murder April 6,°1984.°

* longing never dies,” Cone said, his;
~ hands jammed deep into pockets.

wey

gS

Dine

i like this in our society you've got
. to remove him,” Cone said quietly, ‘
i: in a gravelly baritone. Re

person die, but I fest It might bea
“deterrent.” ?

‘inside the prison a voice shouted:
“Chow time! Chow time! Stand by as

t walked slowly Lowered thelr. cars. °

~ On April 11,.1981, Floyd Jr.; 32,
was shot to death in Baldwin, a

the father said, is on Death Row.-
“When you've got a person ; sick

“I get no satisfaction in seeing .

On the other side of. the’ fence,
protesters wept over Washinton’ s |
passing.

“The governor should be’ ‘An ‘the |

Goode. and : his : wife ? : Mildred
have come 'to each execution since
their son, Arthur Goode’ Jr:, was

“It’s murder,” Goode said. “The

“The emptiness that.comes into .

* your life Is never filled.’

. Suddenly, from a. loudspeaker 2

your bunks.” e
Both the Cones and the Goddes


FINAL/from 1A

» what Washington sald: Ingle recal- .

led. At midnight, all but Ingle, ,
Cary, his mother, Julia and Flor- «.
ence bade him farewell.

Those four stayed for iehee
hour in a “contact visit’. during °:
‘which they were allowed in the ©

same room, to speak and touch. “It -

- Was a painful and difficult scene,” |

Said Ingle.
“He didn’t cry,” said Cary. “He! s

really cried out. But I think he'd;
let go of everything he needed to-
let go of: the self-loathing, the

By R.A. ZALDIVAR § 3 2)
Herald Staff Writer :

David Leroy eae 3 killed :

three people in eight days during

the fall of 1976. Two were elderly, :

the third was.a student at the
University of Miami.

Washington selected his victims |

at random, plunging them from
the routine of ordinary lives into
sudden, fatal terror. Of his vic-

“tims, two died quickly. The third - .

was stabbed 11 times,

Washington took the little cash
they had, and stole cars that two
of them owned.

The Rev. Daniel Pridgen worked
at a laundromat in Liberty City. It
was there he befriended Washing-
ton on Sept. 18.

Two days later, Pridgen, 69, —

was visited at his home by

Washington. The young man turn-:
ed on the older one, stabbing him .

in the chest with a hunting knife.
Kathrina Birk, 64, was known in
her North Dade neighborhood as a

lady who liked to hold garage’

guilt over “the horrible tines he
did.”

“I think he accepted that he ~
; would be forgiven,” Ingle said..”
“And he finally forgave himself."

Girl weeps ai as father walks

off

want to. it on her pole Her -

father insisted.

Washington’s mother wept, out:

“of control. ‘Washington had ‘to

2 calm her.. “You, crying of all

people,” he said. “I always
thought .you were the: strongest
PONG. we]

Most difficult though, Ingle said,
was watching the final meeting
between father and - daughter.

Florence wore blue jeans and a»:

lace cotton blouse. She had want-

ed to look her prettiest and didn’ te.

Three brutal murders

Washington, his: hands’ mana: - :
cled, was able to reach above the °

: sobbing girl’s head. and: drop his
‘arms around her in.an. embrace. ’:
‘He sat down in a flat-backed chair «
. and hoisted her onto his lap. It was’
‘the final lecture. Admonitions. A
prayer of hope, :

“It's my own fault I g got here,”,

< he told her. “I’m the one who got :

-me here;.I want you ‘to: make?:

’.. something of your life. I:want you:

“sales. “On Sept. y+ she was at’

~ home with her, three sisters-in-law

from Indiana: watching ' Jimmy’

' Carter and Gerald Ford debate on
- television. °
Unkown to the sisters: ‘they In

turn were being watched by David
Leroy Washington. As the candi- '‘

to hit the books, Mind Momma. (his:
mother, Julia].”
He extracted the promise. He

committed j

pinay Washington and two ace
complices. They kidnapped’ Meli.
and made'a ransom: call to ‘his::

‘family, though police ‘later con-".

cluded that the men meant to kill
Meli from the start. °-
Three days after his abduction,

_Meli was killed. Tied spread-ea- -

, dates droned on, Washington tore +..:-.-—

the screen door with a knife. .

the floor. From Birk, he took $8
and change. He tied and gagged

the women. Birk, who had known '
- Washington for two years, shook °

He ordered the women to lie on.

he gag loose. He stabbed her in the ’

chest and shot her once in the
head. As she was dying, he shot
and stabbed the other three.

Miami. When he drove his red

Camaro to the North Side Shop-.
> ping. Center - on “Sept; -27,.- he
thought he was going to meet a’

man who wanted to buy the car.

Instead, he was met by David:

Frank Meli, 20, was an account. |
ing major at the University of’

to. ‘the chair

“nate her eek: it. “pm. ‘gonna’
mind Momma,” she said, sobbing, -
clutching her father. ‘I’ m going to,
“love everybody.” .

Then the men came, and he put’
: the girl down. He. told everyone
goodbye. “Florence just. stood.

“there and watched them as they
_ led her daddy down the hall to
.: die,” Ingle said, his’ eyes brim-.

ming.

As Ingle watched Washington!
disappear: down the corridor, he
heard the mother say some of the:

few words she could manage. “My:

oldest. You're my oldest,’ she
sald, vat least now you're free.”

in 8 days »

gled to a bed: ‘he was stabbed 4°
times in the chest. The wounds;

4

were parallel to each other. a

In confessing to the "murder,

‘Washington said he had placed a:

pillow over Meli’s head to muffle <
the sound of the Lord’s Prayer, ’
which Meli kept repeating.

*s


By LAURIE HOLLMAN

St. Petersburg Times Staff Writer

‘CORIDA STATE PRISON — On

“the last night of his life, David Leroy
Washington, who stabbed three people to
death during a violent robbery spree eight
years ago, gently settled his 12-year-old
daughter on his lap.

“I want you to look at me,’ he said,
cupping her chin in his hand, “and I want
you to see where | am. I’m going to die
* here, and I want you to do better.”

Less than eight hours later, David
'- Leroy Washington was dead, the seventh
man — and second black man — to die in
Florida’s electric chair since the death
penalty was reinstated in 1972.

Washington entered the death cham-
ber shortly after sunrise Friday. He ap-
peared calm and even smiled faintly as he
was strapped into the electric chair, the
same chair Florida has used for the last 60

serore execution, man urged daughter’

‘...lmsorry for all the grief and.
* heartache lhave brought to them in
If my death brings them any ;
_Satisfaction, so be it.’

“David Leroy Washington, left, apologized to the. Beh
families of his three victims: Ree

ae.

say, and Washington said yes.
The 34-year-old convict then urged his

.fellow death-row inmates to fight their
executions. And he apologized to the fam- .

ilies of his three victims.
I’m sorry for all the grief and

heartache I have brought to them,” he..

eens ne meee = ee rears

years, ' Prison Superintendent Richard
Dugger asked him if he had anything to ‘

faction, so be it.”

through his body. His hands clenched and

then relaxed. He was proseanerd dead at

7:09 a.m.

4

‘to do better’

hina ‘furrowed cow pasture near thet
ts Sefacia, about 40 people, some opposed to

capital punishment and others friends of:
the dead man, chanted, We Shall Over-

“come, while a handful of death-penalty
:. |. Supporters across the field looked at the’
~ execution chamber in silent approbation.

. This was to have been a double execu-

“-tion, Florida’s first in 20 years, Washing-*
“ton was scheduled to die first followed
. Shortly afterward by Jimmy Lee Smith,
* convicted of murdering a Marianna wom-:

an and her 12-year-old daughter after the

-.-<7.woman said unkind things about his girl-

said. “tg my iat peinesf them any satis- ee friend.

: Thursday night, however, the U.S. Su-

Pe preme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling
- WHEN HE WAS finished, ‘a black
mask was pulled over his face; a switch.
was thrown and 2,000 volts surged -

that delayed Smith’s execution. The 30-:

year-old Smith was taken out of his isola-‘

tion cell 50 steps from the electric chair
and moved to a death-row cell farther
from the execution chamber.

Plaase sos EXECUTION, 5-A

et eernthnns een mie on

nes tee hin, tes roms nie Ath <> OGY AR Pree nine 8 SGA LA At ate

B2

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1995

Execution

> Continued f rom BI
BoOvernor's office heard no last-
minute delay.

A leather hood was placed over
White's head.

At 12:12 m., a prison official

Patted White on the Shoulder, then
walked a feet steps away to slam
down acircuit breaker.

Behind a Partition nearby, a
hooded, anonymous executioner
turned a knob activating 27000 fatal
volts.

‘White stiffened and screamed, the
Secondsiong sound muffled by the
leather hood and the glass wall.

At 12:19 P.m., Perrin announceg,
“The sentence against Jerry White
has been carried out.”

“Every time there is an execu-
tion it diminishes US @3 a society,”

Said anti-death Penalty protester
Grover Tipton of Gainesville.

Information from the Associated

Press was used in this repert.


Loiataut Ladep.

Tuesday, December 5, 1996

4G 5 s:
" hPal nn!

Man executed:

STARKE — A muffled scream could be
heard as electricity began to surge through
47-year-old Jerry White, who was executed
in the state's electric chair Monday. White,
convicted four years ago of killing a cus-
tomer during an Orange County grocery
store robbery, became the 35th man execut-
ed in Florida since the death penalty wa:
reinstated in 1979.

Another Death Row inmate, Phillip
Rae was scheduled to be executed Mon-

y, an hour after White, for the 1981 kid-
napping and murder of a 6-year-old Lake
land boy. Atkins’ execution was reschedule!
for 10 am today after his appeal wat

¢

turned down Monday evening by the 1th
U8. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
Now, only the U.S. Supreme Court can pre-
vent Atkins from dying. Atkins’ death war-
rantexpires at noon today.

During the 12 hours before his execution,
White had visits with his mother, brother,
sister, uncle, attorneys, and two preachers.

Heslept from 3:30 to6:30.a.m.

About 9 a.m., he cleaned up and ate most
of his steak dinner with two potatoes and
three glasses of orange juice.

“He ate most of his food and seemed in a
jovial mood,” said Gene Morris, spokesman
for the Department of Corrections.

White entered the execution chamber at
12:03 Monday afternoon. His head was
shaved and smeared with white cream, his

Atkins loses appeal

feet were manacied, and
he was leaning on two
guards, who walked him
to the wooden electric
chair.

He sat calmly, survey-
ing the spectators, as the
guards worked for sever-

When prison Saperintendent Everett Per-
rin asked White if be had any last words,

White said, “I wish that all the people who
hear my voice would turn to the lord Jesu
Christ asthave
White was sentenced to die for the mur
der of Jamea Melson, a shopper in a gro
cery story White was robbing Besides
shooting Melson in the back of the head,
White shot the store owner and left him
paralyzed
Another customer, Henry Tehani, entered
the store with his daughter but refused
White's order to enter the freezer White's
gun misfired and Tehani fled and called
police. ;
White had a long criminal record, includ
ing armed robbery and aggravated assault.
Prison officials on the phone to the
P See EXECUTION, page B2


Clw Gainesuille Sun

Tuesday, December 5, 1995

Inmate dies in electric cha

m@ Jerry White was
executed for
killing a customer
during a
convenience store
robbery in Orange
County.

a
EGION

EX-DEPUTY SERIAL
FOUND MURDERED
IN STATE PRISON

KILLER

Business/Stocks

By DAVID GREENBERG

Sun staff writer

STARKE — With what sounded like a muf-
fled scream, Death Row inmate Jerry White
was put to death in Florida's electric chair
shortly after noon Monday

White, 47, was executed for killing a cus-
tomer during a 198] Orange County conve-
nience store robbery.

The sound from the inmate came at 12:12
p.m., just as the black-hooded executioner

turned on a switch that sent 2,000 volts and 14
amps of electricity through White's body.
White's scream was accompanied by a back-
ward lunge in the chair and a balling of his fists.

Shorty after the eléctricity passed through
White's body, the prison's head physician, Dr,
Jorge Franceschi-Vambrana. and physician's
assistant Bili Mathews announced that the
inmate was dead.

While the lunge and fist-clenching are com-
mon at executions, the screaming sound is very
unusual. No witnesses to previous executions

ir for robbe

have reported hearing a scream from the
inmate’s muzzled mouth. *

Florida State Prison Superintendent Everett
Perrin said after the execution that the sound
was not a scream.

“We think it was just the air escaping from
his lungs," Perrin said, “But it is the first time ]
ever heard it.”

Gainesville death penalty opponent Lisa
Radelet said the sound, if it was a scream,
brings into question the issue of whether the
electric chair constitutes cruel and unusual

Section B

punishment, prohibited by t
ment of the U.S. Constitutic
State officials contend th:
no pain when eiectrocuted
ately, but Radelet said the
one knows what really happ
“People are making the
Radelet said.
“This may be
problem with eiectrocution
problem is not the method,”
See EXECUTE on Page 3B

ry slaying

he Eighth Amend-
n

aC the inmates feel
and die immedi
scream means no
ans

Wwobest Kuesses,

an indication that there's a

. but for us. the
she saul. “I don't


The Ga

ille Sun, Tuesday, December 5, 1995

“Tt’s not just:
center, of Ga:
Diller and 15
White at Flor

Photo Alan
‘st vengeance,” said George Diller,

ile Citizens Against the Death Penalty.

"s protested the execution of Jerry

‘ate Prison on Monday.

EXECUTE

continued from Page 1B
want this to distract from the idea that
what we're doing is killing people.”

In his last statement, White said, “I
wish all the people who can hear my
voice would turn to the Lord Jesus
Christ as I have.”

Prison officials later released a writ-
ten statement from White.

“IT have confessed all my sins before
the Lord my God,” he wrote. “I wish tc
express my sorrow to all of those I
have pained.”

White, who had a long criminal
record, was sensénced to death for the
murder of James Mellon, a customer in
the convenience store. He also shot the
store owner, Alexander H. Alexander,
leaving him paralyzed. Another cus-
tomer, Henry Tehani, and his daughter
were in the store. White fired at Tehani
as well, but the gun misfired Tehani
later testified against him.

In his latest appeal, White’s defense
team argued that his origina! attorney
had a drinking problem and was not
competent. They argued that he later
held back information during the ap
peal process, but the courts said that
information was procedurally barred.

White was originally scheduled for
execution Friday, but the court process
delayed that. The execution of another
inmate, Phillip Alexander Atkins, was
originally scheduled for execution
Wednesday, but had been delayed until
1:05 p.m. Monday. That put the state in
the position of possibly executing two
men on the same day for the first tme
in 31 years.

Atkins was issued a stay until 11 p.m.,
and his death warrant expires today at
noon. Late Monday, his execution was
rescheduled for 10 a.m. today.


Miami Murderer Electrocuted In Raiford Prison After Several De-
lays; Walks To Electric Chair Singing; Is Second Man To Pay
For Crime; Another Serving Life Semetiee: He

RTHUR WILIMAMB, 46,  MiamiC
negro,, was. electrocuted. ip
state eontiory: st Raiford,
ay tor tre
eer pours 2


THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville)
Sunday, 12 December 1926, page 4.

|

Pays Penalty for Murder of
| Man in Miami. ,

ees

Special to Times -t' ning, |
ALFORD, Dee VL arthur wis. |
| Ilams. Dade COUNTY negro wae eles!
{trocuted at the xtate Denitentlary bere
; this afternoon at Blo Melock. after ang,

having heen @iven two Short respites &
| trom execution of the eentence with. EF
"tn @ Week,

| Hie patd the le win} Penalty fer al
murder in Miami, i
H Thesday the NeKrO' Wan Raved hy
executive order of GGOVernor John Ww
Martin when it was discovered that
the death warrant lacked the signa-
{ure of the ‘secretary of state. Tha
execution then was set for Friday. put
Sheriff Henry Chase of Dade county,
who must be present at the execution
under the law, could not be reached.
Tuday Sheriff Chase was Present.

—_— - - >


WILLIAMS, Frank, black, hanged apalachicola, FL 7-l1<--1900,

\ “APALAGHIGOLA, oe |

Pee
Seer ee poo PR. be sich! a pe Speman ae

TA NEGMO: MUADHREA PAYS THE]
{ome R PY OF TY CAINE

athe tnerdicgnene wont RY “ \t 1
| Piro thewenda:eeple-aweeinble- tm,
Rite Jallyard To Witheas the ke,

eqecution= wee Gool.to the Last.

+

, t ‘ '
ecenceeeniceen ‘ ‘ et

t atactiteala July 14.—Frank’ Wl lla nie,
tonuvicted ant the apring term of the Clr-
cult Court for. the murder of Bryan
Denham, pyld the forfeit of hin Wa Fri-
day In the presence of 3,009: ‘people, - why
‘assembled at’ Ue fallynrd to wiinena the
exacullon-.. Consideara ble--dinterdat wit
fhanifesteds dry ttre beneineg by Che colored.
population, due largely to Willaims’ “pen
feaston of religion during the tart week,

Rocently he was converted, und asked tp.
ba. biaptined by Immersion, to which
Sherif Neol consented, and daat Sunday, |
AC the requent of the doomed mint, a
Wilerd procession maved from the Jall to
the river on Wator Btreet, where, amid
much rejoleing,.« Willams “recelved: full [
aml ¢omplete remianlon for Wil his sing,
During his trial and since he has exh{b-
ited remarkable nerve, preferring, as he
vqwed, death to penal servitude. To-day
onthe senffold he reviewed his Hfe in a
coo] .and deliberate manner, warning hia
colored. companions Of the’ dangers of
“Whisky ard cards, and” Cx} Feaxcd © no re-
hid save that-he hud -not‘lead a botter
Ife, .

ty. Willlams and Denham were both des-
perato negro gamblers,’ and on the
_#teamer Nalad last March both became
Involved over a game, when. Williams:
‘without provocation shot) and Instantly
killed Denham. The loss of Denham no]
one regretted, and not | a faw sympathleed

T

—

“—T

Ca oe eee ; : a \


1940,
12 November
S-UNION (Jacksonville), Tuesday,

DA TIMES-

THE FLORI }

page 9.

Williams, Alachua ni exe
ecuted in Florida's electric chair
at State Prison ay


Laugh
| LOO

wy rebum :

rept here

Uithe

ad ae
Ati

COE:

/?

Floe.ba

STATE

OFFENDER:

NAME : Bl (We sTmopelrel
RACE:

SEX: MM

OFFENSE :

DATE EXECUTED:

COUNTY: Duval (ounty

AGE :

AGE:

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

DAY OF WEEK
EXECUTED:

OFFENDER
RESIDENCY :

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF CRIFE:

INVENTORY #

SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION

(TITLE, DATE & PAGE#)

he Sheetl's STha
Fee (967. fp. o-?

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF TRIAL:

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF EXECUTION:

EXECUTION :
METHOD: Hams le

STAYS OF
EXECUTION:

EXECUTIONER:
WITNESSES:

RITUALS:

LAST WORDS:

OTHER INFORMATION:

TIHE OF
EXECUTION:

Ait
Pi

Lytle han desgiing Like frorsd ho araube Lett Phat right Khe tt :
Baten cer tihing Le ta Dattns head tall 8 Bip
Lah be pape: lat they yd uit Hoi VpeaPuol,

tut « athiwea bAravteh ~—


pa J
O He. PALATKA DAIL mews

ee

Vu PAY 24, Weely 1 FF

| i

VOLUME IV. -

HIS JUST FATE.

A Crime of Darkest Hue Paid
for by a Life.

The Criminal Displays Stolidity

on the (Giallows.

@

The Story of His Dark Misdeed— The Two Trials
and the Escape- Account of the Execu-

tion of the Sentence of Death.

Heury Wiggins yesterday paid the
penalty of his cold-blooded crime of two
years There was no doubt of his
mult, and no room to question the just-
ness of his sentence,

ago,

The motive for his
crime seemed inadequate—revenge for
his detection in the pilfering of a trifling
sum of moncy.
diard on him,

cuted

Nor had his victim been
Mr. Porter had not prose-
nor demanded restitution in
cash, but) merely that he should work
out the amount of his theft. Yet he had
waylaid this merciful man and shot him
dead. The gross ingratitude of the
crime appalled even the most stolid, and
there was\now here any sy mpathy for the
crimin: ul.

hima,

TUITE CV

whom were Holland,
with everal deputies; Black, of Clay
Counsy, and = Martin, of Tfernando
opened the, ponderous door leading into
the cells. ;

Sheriff Zehnbar then manipulated the
combination lock by which the doors of
the cells are secured, and in a moment
could be heard the drawing of the heavy
bolt, and by pulling ona lever each door
Fwas made to swing-on its hinges.
Wiggins was ready, and from

of Duval County,

his

of uneasiness, and certainly by his firm
walk and general demeanor he showed
no signs Of weakness. His last night on
earth was one of undisturbed repose,

bar visited his cell and asked if he was
all right and how he felt, |
“Yes,” said Wiggins, “I feel good
am all right.”

“Do you feel recone jled to goy"

“Ves,” said Wiggins, “how long
it be 7" oa

“Don't know,” said the Sheriff,
be sooner than you think,”

“Well I don't care—wish it was now.”

“Very well, Wiggins, this is a serious
thing but just keep up your courage:
Keep your eye on me,” said the Sheriff,
“keep cool and we'll go through all
right.” ‘

“Yes, all right,” said Wiggins.

Wiggins ate a good breakfast and ap-
peared brighter than usual during the
morning,

At twenty-five minutes to ten he was
quietly smoking a cigar, and dressed in
his tidy white suit seemed prepared
more for a picnic than a hanging.

Pe
and

will

“it may

r

TEEN REE ORUN Owe ey Fe HW RUE Es

ceed $3,000,

looks you could” hardly detect a feeling.

and a little past, 6 on Saturday Mr. Zehn-

~viction of Henry Wiggins was about:

$1,685. Many people were under the
impression that the amount would ex-

but the above statement is
authentic.

Rev. Father Swembergh, of Orlando,
who Was the officiating priest at the
hanging of Wiggins, has attended one
hundred and thirteen executions.

Mr. John F. Speck, one of our enter- |
prising dealers in watches and fine jew-
elry, determined that the report of the
hanging ‘should be as nearly correct in
point of time as a first-class stem winder
could make it. He therefore astonished
one of the fraternity of scribes by in-
trysting him with a watch set to run and
keeyi timea la standard. It did the busi-
ness to perfection and the report in the
PALATKA NEWS is au fait.

The funeral of Mrs. Amelia Miller took.
place yesterday afternoon at 4:30 o'clock,
at West View Cemetery, numerous
friends and acqui uintances attending.

The body) of Henry Wiggins was
buried in the Catholic cemetery yester-
day afternoon. . ‘

During the execution of Wiggins yes-
terday Alice Mi ickey, the woman who is
held as ac cessory:to the killing of Willis
Mason, and whose cell was ona level
with the scaffold, pulled the curtain
away from her cell door and w itnessed
the hanging. |

There w as scarcely any excitement in
town yesterday, and a stranger on Front
street would not have known there was
anything unusual going on: in the city.
Around the jail about a hundred whites
and negroes| gathered, © but. they. were

ote nie I a ae


=)

- tial confession, and pther

‘Henry.

Ch beatadichi,

THE CRIME,
It is scarcely necessary to review all
the facts in this case as sur readers are
mostly familiar with them. Suffice’ it

tosay, on the 28th day of June {885 Mr.

W. P. Porter living at Orange Point on
the St. Johns River, about tw enty-eight
miles south of PatlatkKa, in what. is
known as the Finnigan was
found dead, having been foully murder-
ed by some one unknown,

This black deed stirred the people of the
hitherto quiet little neighborhood to a
pitch of excitement amounting almost
to frenzy.
‘The citizens were thoroughly aroused
and it was but a short time before the
whole community turned out to” hunt
the villain down, On the 80th of July

rove,

~ Henry Wiggins was arrested under cir-

cumstances. which seemed to point to
him as the guilty party. Ile was taken

‘before Justice of the Peace Squier at

Crystal Lake, to whom he made a par-
evidence was
here adduced that seemed to fasten the
guilt on him,

MOTIVE,

I¢ was hard to find a reason for so das-
tard a deed, as Mr. Porter was known to
be no oman of kindly disposition and
treated those about him always as well
as their several stations demanded.
Wiggins, a negro boy of seventeen or
tighteen years, had) been employed by
Mr. Porter to help him about his house
and grove work. One day Mr. Porter
dliscovered that a theft had been com-
mitted, and suspicion rested on the boy
The theft consisted of stealing
five dollars, and when Ifenry was
accused of: doing it, andl seeing no
escape’ admitted’ that he did steal
the money, Mr. Porter, instead of at
once having the boy hrrested and prose-
cuted, told him that if he would work it
out he would call it square.’ To this

— proposition Wiggins assented,

THE DEED.

PO ses sn Aa 8 OW leven 6 Uses bleec even Yow

preven tenn OA

GOING TO. TIE GALLOWS,

At 10:35 the solemn procession headed
by Sheriff Zehnbar, closely followed by
Rev. Father Swembergh carrying a
cross, then by the condemned man, HHen-
ry Wiggins with Sheriff Holland on one
side and Sheriff Black on the other and
these followed by deputies and. other
officials, came along the corridor at an
even pace and filed into the vestibule
where the gallows was erected” With
steady tre: ul Wiggins mounted the steps
leading upto the seatfold and unfalter-
ingly took his stand on the trap. Here,
it was noticed that Wi igeins gave aslight
shrug or tremor to his shoulders bot it
was only momentary.

HIS LAST STATEMENT.

The Sheriff then, addressing Wiggins,
asked if he had any thing to say, Wig-
gins merely turned his eyes toward Fath-
er Swembergh, who stated for. Wiggins
that he was ‘sorvy he hi Wd committed the
crime for which he was about to suffer,
and hopes he will be’ pardoned his sins:

by all, as he in turn forgives 3 all who had

anything against: him, He tendered his
thanks for all the kindness shown him
by Sherit? Zehnbar and his family < and
other friends,

DEA TH WARK. ANT.

The. rope Was then. adjusted. and his
hands, and feet were pinioned with
straps. Mr. Zehnbar then produced the
warrant and told Wiggins he held the
Governor's order for his exec ution. At
this point lie asked if he had anything
further to say, receiving for reply a
shake of the head, and when the black
cap was adjusted, Zehnbar said :

‘* May God have mercy on ‘your soul !”
and pulled the bolt that held the trap at
nineteen minutes to eleven—launching
Wiggins into eternity. The body shot
through the trap like a flash of elec-
tricity, a fall of over five fect breaking
the neck, the crack being distinc tly heard
by those present.

-IN PEATIVS THROES

Tia Wade Waywer shat oa mints whon

+ Belmont, ‘third.

quiet and orderly.

THE PRESIDENTS RETREAT.

Ho Will Remain Secludedat Oakview for
the Sunmmer.

WASHINGTON, July 25.—The President
remained at his country home, Oakview,
to-day, and devoted several hours to the
consideration of certain matters which
he desires to dispose of as sqon as possi-
ble. Tle expects to spend most of the
stimimer at Oakview, and will come into
the city only when
mont remains on
House during the
necessary business,

necessary, Col. La-
duty at the White
day attending to all
and goes out to Oak-
view in the afternoon to lay before the
President matters requiring his personal
attention. He also. spends the evening
at Oakview, driving into the city every
morning. No arrangements have yet
been made by the President for leaving
the Capital prior to his visit to Georgia
in October, | ;

> = —

THE TURP,

SARATOGA, N..Y., July 23,—The race
track was heavy, today. ~The Phrace
Flash Stakes fortwo year olds, half mile,
were won by Ningfish 3
Van Cloud, third. Time: 50 seconds.

Second race, amileand three-sixtenths,
Allred won; Himalya, second : Elkwood,
third. Time, 2:06,

Third race, California Stakez, one mile,
Royal. Areh Volante,
Time,’ 148.

Fourth race, three-quarters of a. iile,
Ovid won ; Col. Owens, second : Nellie B,
third, Time, 1:18},

Fifth race, a mile and seventy yards,
Strathspey won ;

Badge, second:

won: second,

Nellie Wan, second ;
Time, 1:53,

NEW York, July 23.—The mud on the
Monmouth Park race’ track to- day was
fetlock deep. — The first race, mile,
Bess won; Evolian, .second; Anarchy,
third. Time, 1: AT}. 2

Second race, three-quarters of a mile,


Porter hath as Ge Pann iby ds somii ato be
fire “al the shiot.

There was much exe ritement over ae
murder and if it he Lnot been for the
the

alertness of the officers in charge of

prisoner he would have ‘been lynched,
but Wigeins wis wal dy brought and
lodced in Palatha jail,

Wiceins was tried at the Spring Pe rn
of the Cirenit Court of USSG and con-
avicted, but thre
some technicality, |

ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE,

On the morning of September 23,
attacked) the
overpowered him, eleven of the sixteen
confined ino the Jail escaping tothe
Wiggins among
days after,
town,
sinee he

Case Was appealed on
’

ISS6,

the prisoners

swamps, near the city,
Sthe pumber. Four of.
Wigyins was recaptured, near
he had hiding

five

where Teen

escaped, |
NEW TRIAL AND- CONVICTION,

A new trialwas granted Wiggins by
the Supreme Court, aud he was again
tried, convicted, at the spring term of
the Cirenit Court of 1887, and sentenced
to be hanged, WAS OX-
ecuted yesterd#®.

HIS LAST SUNSET.

Friday evening W iggins saw the s sun-
set beauties of ‘Old Sol for the last time.
Those who saw it in its golden grandeur
and its departing glories that day, know
how to appreciate the privileges’ of lib-
erty and life. Saturday came, and the
flying hours chased each vther in close

which sentence

array until the hands. on the dial indi-

cated half past ten: |
At this hour Sheriff Zehnbar, accom-
anied by several visiting sheritfs, among

3 =
‘

ininutes to the gaze of

jailor and

attention
in the

in their to Sherit?
Zebnbar, kindness of heart,
save Wiggins every indulgence ins the
law's allowance, and iit everything that
Wigyvins said
of our Sherif.
After the

Wisteins,

his

he was loud.) in his praise

Wits exposed a

hody fow

those outside the

jail Mr. Farrar closed the coftin. and
carried itaway for burial,

RELIC HUNTERS, =:

As soon as the rene: was cut. it was

seized by many, in.the jailsand attempts
were made to eut pieces otf but Sheritf
Zehnbar's commanding yetee ‘* Don't
eut that rope.” was heard ringing in the
mirand the repe was. sud lenly ‘drop a
THE SCAFFOLD, os
The seaffold, from which the exec ution
toak place, was about ox 12 feet, situated
in what seems to be the ante-room of the
Jail proper, a room about 14 feet Squares
into which four cells open. | The scaffold
was ona level with and, just in front of
the upper tier of cells, about seven and a
half fect from the floors The trap was
O4x4 feet, and was: in the center of the
structure. The springing | lof this trays

was done in a’ very simple manner—a

strong cord being attached to a sliding
latch which w ben pulled aside allowed
the trap to fall.

Thus ends afolier chapter i in I ralatka’s
hanging record—and the first one for
nbout tw enty-tw o years. :

: NOTES.

The first negroes Sate. in the South

after the war, under sentence of the law,

were hanged at Thomasville, ‘Ga.

The cost of the prosecution and con-—

|

‘
i

has gone

has been’ arrested,
adjourned until Monday. -

hyd rophobia.

of Commissioners and one of the de- |
fendants, he said they ‘had better take
care of the bows or else they would find
themselvesat the end of their rope.”

ae

2
<p>

An Eleping Couple Return.
New York World.

NEW: EPAVEN, July 21.—Frank Smith
and Miss Bertha Lane, who eloped fron.
this city last) September and went. to
Florida, returned vesterday.
young married man, and his deserted
wife would not siy to-day whether she
would prosecute him or not. He is now
living with his mother near Oyster Point,
within a few blocks of | his wife's resi-
dence. Miss Lane, who is a pretty eirl,
hack to live with her family,

Ww ho reside near Mrs, Smith's

Siuaith is a

home.

The Condnetor’ 8s Carelessness. :
Sr, THOMAS, Ont. Jul € 93: —The ev te

dence giv en last night at the inquest into

‘the recent railw: ay disaster goes to show.

that it was ~aused through the failurt of
‘the

conductor, Spettigne, to test the : air
brakes before leaving Port Stanley. He
‘The ingest has been

= -
The chila's Wounds not. ‘Canuterized.
Cnicagg, July 23.—Arthur Mueller, a
two-year- -olid ehild, died yesterday from.
He was, bitten five weeks
ago in a public garden by a small dog. i
The boy's father was bitten at the same
time. - The father’s w ounds were cauter-
ized but the child's | were not, and were.
merely. treated with carbolic salve: Hy-

drophobid. developed WALI and BEEN

ensued Ryda eee
_ Bae ss os


THE DEED. |

The next thing that was Known was the

finding of Mr. Porter's body in his grove

riddled with bullets, and then the telling
of the sad news to

to faint dead away.

vy

his wife, causing her
WIGGINS STATEMENT.

Wiecius made a statement at the ime
to the court, and afterward repeated the
sine to a representative of THE NEWS,
“Mr. Porter) threatened to
havea warrant taken out for me for
stealing $5, which Ehad just picked up
when Tbesped hit not

as follows:

to keep for him,
to, as T would go and work the amount
out. but he refused, and said) he would

put me through.” Wiggins said he
stayed around in the country for the

next day or two, and on Toesday morn-
and pur-

revolver,

ing went to Mr, Causey's store
~chased some cartridges for his
cafterwards going to his father’s house, at

Mt. Royal, where he secured the gun with
From there
he went directly to the Finnegan grove
a Orange Pont,

which the killing was done,

in senreh of his | vietim

and bearing Mr. Porter) in’ the grove,
erawlheal through the bushes near) where

hewas. Porter was standing with his side
toward Wiggins when both charges of
fired
Wiggins says he did not see

his (Porter's)
Mr.
Porter fall as he ran away as soon as he
fired the shot. ;
There was anch excitement over the
murder and if for the
alertness of the officers in charge of the

the gun were into

body.

it hadnot been

prisoner he would have een Iwnehed,
Dut Wigeins wis safely brought and
lodged in Palatka jail.

Wiggins was tried at the Spring Perm
of the Ciremit Court of Is8st- and con-
vieted, but) thé case was appealed on
some technicality,
orn ore

Oa te . Tew ete

a ey GE Sere ees

IN BEATH'S TITROES.

The body hung about a minute when
he was seen to draw up his feet an inch
or two and then gradually slackened and
There
three convulsive
still, In
blood was seen dripping down from hits

straightened, were only two or
and all was

five minutes after the drop

shrugs

rivht ear, and it continued fora miuinitte
or two and stopped. it was afterward
discovered that the bleeding came from
his nose. In nine minutes Drs. Strausz
and Ames, who were in attendance, ex-
amined his pulse and felt a slight beat

Again at eleven minutes, andat fourteen
anda half it ceased.

= = DEAD: ;

At four minutes past cleven he was
pronounced dead, after hanging twenty-
three minutes.

: CUT DOWN

At 11:10 he was surdors n, just tw euty.

nine
and
the body and placed it in a coffin.

minutes after the trap was sprung,
Undertaker Farrar took charge of
After

the removal of) the black cap Wiggins’ -

features were quite natural.
HIS SPIRITUAB. ADVISER, .

Rev. Father: F. DP? Swembergh, of Or-
lande, was with Wiggins most of Friday
and did nich to reconcile
his fate. The Sisters of Charity
convent in this city have been constant

Wigeins to

in their attention to Wiggins, Sheritf
Zehnbar, in the kindness of his’ heart,

wave Wiggins every indulgence ino the
law's allowance, and in everything that
Wiggins said) he was loud) in his praise
of our Sheriif, =
After the body was exposed a. few
minutes to the gaze of thore outside the
jail Mr. Farrar closed the coffin. and
earried it away for burial. 7
RELIC HUNTERS.
As soon as the ret

rone was cut. it was

“Mann won; Jack, second;
not finish. 4

Donald
at the

third. Time, 12474.
- Second race, three-quarters of a mile,
Los Angeles. won; Fordham.
Omaha, third. Time, 1:164.
Third race. a mile and a quarter, Bar-
num Dry Mon-

second:

won: Bonanza, second;
third. Time, 2:14.
Fourth race, a mile and a half, Eole
won: Lottery, second; Tenbooker. third.
Time: 22h,

opole,

Fifth race, a mile, Young Duke won;
Britannic, second; Shasta, third. Time,
1:50, ,

Sixth race. five “furlongs, Eufaula
won: Catalpa, - second: Milton, third.
Time, 1464. : a

chase,
the others did

Seventh | race, steeple

sen >
: The Other End of the Rope.

CmcxGco, July + 23—The interest in the
big boodle case this morning was great-
er than ever on ac count: of the damaging
testimony | by ex-Commissioner) Lynn,
yesterday. To- day he was subjected to
Wsevere cross examination but in the
main his testimony was unshaken.

The members of the flrm of. Clow &
Co. next gave their experience with the
boodlers. They testified) that Ed. Me-
demanded commissions from
them on all orders and when they ap-
pealed to Klein, Chairman of the. Board
of Commissioners and one of the de-
fendants, he said they ‘had better. take
care of the boys or else they would find
themselves at the end of their rope.”

>

: An. oo Couple Peturn.
S New. York World,
- New HAVEN, July 21. —Krank: Smith

and Miss Bertha Lane, who eloped from’

this city last September and went to
Florida, returned yesterday,

young: married: man, and his deserted

Harry |

Smith i is a

I er WORE 40; 26.50
PEMON RAT STE

2 ge Pane Sie

or emg ro aPmIR aS - : ‘ ,
wos ee SL are rity & Hose HALO MOMP LYST TN horn

+

ednesd

J

EAGER eS

Section D' ,

Bice estat

By AL MESSERSCHMIDT

' Herald Staff Writer

David Leroy Washington, a convicted
triple murderer who was scheduled to die
in Florida's electric chair Thursday,
Should receive a new sentencing hearing,
‘Circuit Judge Herbert Klein ruled Tues-
day.

He stayed Washington's execution in
an order ‘telephoned to the Florida
Supreme Court at 7 p. m. Monday, and
formally completed Tuesday.

The Florida Supreme Court scheduled a
hearing for late Tuesday to review Klein’s
decision,

Washington pleaded guilty to three
first-degree murder charges in 1976. “I
didn’t have any right to take these
‘people's lives,” Washington told Circuit

Judge Richard Fuller. “I don’t lie. I

er’s death sen

believe in God, and I don’t want to leave ©

this world with this on my conscience.”
‘Washington, who was 26, told Fuller

‘and how Washington abducted college’ -
student Frank Meli: after answering a

that he preferred a death sentence to ~:

rotting in jail. :

The savagery of Washington’s eight-
day, three-murder spree in Miami brought
State Attorney Richard Gerstein to

Washington's Dec., 7, 1976 sentencing »,

hearing in Fuller’s court.
Gerstein took over for prosecutor Hank

Adorno, who prepared the case for trial, °

and argued that death was “the. only
sentence that was appropriate” for Wash-
ington. \
Paraphraszing from Washington’s con-
fession, Gerstein described how Washing-
ton hated: the Rev. Daniel Pridgen, a

homosexual; how Washington planned a
robbery at the home of Katherina Birk:

newspaper ad for Meli’s car.

Pridgen was stabbed seven times with .

a hunting knife in his bed; Birk was shot
and stabbed nine times; Meli was tied to a
bed and stabbed 11 times while begging
for his life. : :

Gerstein told Fuller that: he was

“specially moved” by the murder of Meli, .”

The state attorney described Meli as a
“young student, some 20 years of age,
who was working his way ttrough
college while holding down two jobs ...
who ‘had been left without a father
because his father was killed in the
service of his country overseas.” ;

tence to |

In reviewing the three death sentences

‘ that Fuller ordered for Washington, Klein

said that Gerstein’s comments about Meli
were improper. ars: :

«Klein said that in! 1983 (seven years
after Washington was sentenced), the U.
S. Supreme Court set ‘a standard for
sentencing defendants, in. death . cases,
That ruling requires an “individualized

_ determination on the basis of the charac- -

ter of the individual and the circum-
Stances of the crime” not on the basis of
the crime victim's social worth.
Commenting about: the the victim,
Meli, was “fundamental error,” said
Klein.
' Although Washington asked Fuller for
a death sentence, he vigorously has fought
against his execution. ;

PRS AER RE LALOR AS REL 9 RSE UENCE RDRARTEI ICC

e reviewed

‘refused
hearing.

His appeals seemingly ended in May “
when the U. S. Supreme Court sustained **
his conviction and rejected an argument.
that his court-appointed attorney, William *
Tunkey, failed to present mitigating >
character’evidence to Fuller at the 1976
sentencing hearing. it

In mid-June, Gov. Bob Graham signed ©
Washington’s death warrant. aif
’ Washington’s latest appeal claimed.
that his death sentence was both arbitrary .*s
and discriminatory and that Gerstein's .”
comments were improper. Klein ruled last :
week that the arguments were new and.
that he would review the death sentence, "5

After a hearing Friday and Saturday,» :.-
Klein stayed Washington's execution, but » =:
to order a new sentencing

oeptsh

x

pares Ty


Double execution is’scheduled in Florida |

By BILL LUENING

And LIZ BALMASEDA »
Herald Staff Writers

STARKE — Barring: a> last
Second legal victory by their

attorneys, David Leroy Washing--,
ton and Jimmy Lee Smith will die:

this morning in Florida's electric ;
chair — the first double execution
- in the country since 1965. e
Washington, former choir boy,.
high school ‘drummer and ‘con-
fessed triple murderer whose 1976
, violent rampage over 12 days
. shocked Dade County, is scheduled
’ to die first. He, will enter the gray.
_ death chamber in Wing Q at’
Florida State Prison at:7 a.m. z
, AS soon as Washington’s lifeless :
_ form is removed, Smith will be led
- in, Smith, 30, was convicted of
murdering a mother and her 3
12-year-old daughter in May 1978 :
“near Marianna in North Florida. :
Both men are expected to be.
dead by 7:45 a.m., according to
Florida Department of Corrections *
spokesman Vernon Bradford.
Each will go through the same
‘ritual. Washington planned: to see:
a serles of attorneys, ministers and |
family members during the night,
Smith was hoping his mother

would visit him. ‘ ““.. mignon, medium rare, along with
At 4:30 a.m. they ‘will get their chocolate milk, tossed salad and
last meal. Washington selected" grapefruit juice. ,
fried shrimp and oysters, french -.. ‘After breakfast each will have
fries, lemonade and vanilla ice + his head and right’.leg shaved.

cream. Smith ordered filet, Their scalps ther will. be covered =.

oink ta tuthia by, said

‘with a» saline-based « petroleum
jelly. Each will be dressed in:
traditional death garb bought for:
the occasion: crisp white . shirt,

? Please turn to PAIR /22A


~ LARK pth canta! one SUED PAIS Ory ST” nhs

ree Ee nee ae ND Oe

PAIR / from IA

dark blue pants, white socks.
Shoes and a matching blue jacket
will accompany
the funeral home. ~

Once they are. in
chamber, 30 witnesses and at least
five prison staff members .will
watch them being strapped into
the 60-year-old oaken__ chair.
Straps go across each arm and leg;
one crosses the chest. Before the

leather chin strap and metal “cap”.
is affixed, each will be allowed a -

final statement: © 39:% 477 oo
On Wednesday, the mother of a

young man murdered by Washing- .

ton was angered by the last-min-
ute appeals. ~: re heen

- «1 absolutely believe Washing-
ton should get the death penalty. I
feel very strongly, very strongly,
that the death penalty should be
executed tomorrow,” said Dolores
Meli Lo Proto, mother of Frank

-Meli, a 20-year-old University of °
Miami accounting student killed.

by Washington in 1976.

In the first statement she has
given since her son’s death, Meli
Lo Proto said Wednesday: “My
son was tied up for two days,
stabbed 11 ‘times in the chest.
That, to me, was cold blooded
murder. I pay taxes here in Dade
County and I’m supporting Wash-
ington. My son is‘ dead. My son
would have been an attorney
today.”

Frank Meli was her youngest
son, an honor student who planned
to become a tax attorney. He had
put an ad in the paper to sell his
car. Washington called him and
said he was interested: ~~» 0:

Meli was kidnapped on Sept. 29,
1976 and was killed two days
later. The University of Miami

-granted him a posthumous diplo-

ma, magna cum laude. .
“J live with this every night,”
the mother said. “I lay in bed,

. thinking about my son begging to

be set free. It hurts. How can
anyone think he didn’t kill my
boy?” ;

If they die today, Washington
and Smith will pe Florida’s first
double execution since Emmett C.
Blake, a white man from Bay
County, and Sie Dawson, a black

their corpses to .

the death

2 pay?

Jimmy Smith: Killed woman, ~

" child.

-man from Gaston County, were
executed on May 12, 1964.

Multiple executions have not
been unusual in Florida history.
There have been 22 since the
electric chair was introduced in
1924, as well as nine triple
electrocutions — and three times
when four men died in a single
day.

Smith and Washington will be
the seventh and eighth men to die
by state edict in Florida since the
resumption of the death penalty in

4976. They will also be the sixth
and seventh to die during the term
of Gov. Bob Graham.

The Florida Supreme Court on
Tuesday denied last ditch efforts
by their attorneys to commute the
sentences for rehearings. The high
court denied both appeals 6-0.

_ Smith's attorneys lost their final
effort Wednesday during a hearing
before U.S. District Judge Roger
Vinson in Pensacola. A last minute
request from Washington's attor-

-ney to block the execution was
denied by a federal judge in
Miami.

The current death warrant is

David L. Washington:
Rampage in Dade.

Washington's third. In 1976, after
he pleaded guilty to the triple
murder,
Circuit Judge Richard Fuller: “‘I
don’t want to die — you know
what I_mean? But if I sit up in
some jail and rot, I'd rather be
killed.”

Washington told Dade ;

Washington later appealed his |

sentence, first on grounds he was

poorly represented by legal coun- ©

sel and most recently, because

statements made by prosecutors |

during sentencing were improper.

Smith took his victims to a .

wooded roadside in Marianna, and
strangled Bonnie Ward cher 12-
year-old daughter, Donna Strick-
land. His attorney, Sara Bleakley,
argued this week that a psychiat-
ric report on her client from a
reform schoo] near Marianna had
been withheld by the state and
that Smith should have a hearing
to see if the report could dissolve
the death sentence.

On: Tuesday, the Florida Su-
preme Court, 6-0, rejected both

leas, and Graham’s death war-
rant, which expires at noon Fri-
day, was kept in effect.

;


-, special cell where he was awaiting

4
sy

‘_s
hy

ft

aa

;
£8
£

yi

rec.
g:
el

By BILL LUENING
Herald Staff Writer i

David Leroy Washington, repen-
tant and calm, died in Florida’s °
electric chair Friday morning —
seven years, nine months and 10
days after he murdered the first of
three victims In Dade County.

Another murderer scheduled to
die Friday, however, had a last-
minute stay affirmed by the U.S.
Supreme Court, and was moved
back to Death Row from the

execution, Jiramie Lee Smith, who '

killed a mother and her daughter :-* »

Girl weeps,

-_wife did not come. There was a

By BILL LUENING
Merald Staff Writer F

STARKE — The condemned™.
murderer met his family and
friends for the final time late
Thursday night.

Thirteen people came to say
good-bye to David Leroy Washing-
ton through the plate glass
restraining window in the grim
room for visitors in Q Wing, the
site of Death Row.

Among them was his mother,
Julia Taylor Lane of Blountstown,
his stepfather,’ his brother, his
sister and others. Washington's

‘

Repentant killer

electric chair. _

“and Margaret Vandiver, all three:

goes to

'

: near Marianna in Gadsden County.
in 1979, learned of the decision

just 11 hours before he was to
follow Washington to the chair.
For Washington, it was the last
act in a saga that began in
September 1976 when he stabbed
to death Daniel Pridgen, then three:

‘days later stabbed and shot to

death Kathrina Birk, 64, and then,
on Sept. 29, abducted and stabbed

, to death University of Miami
.. Student Frank Meli. «+ . :
; _ Washington pleaded guilty. to -

Please turn to EXECUTE /26A_

watches —

minister, Joe Ingle of the United

Church of Christ in Nashville, ;~

Gainesville Jawyer Susan Cary,:

anti-death penalty activists‘ and
friends, And there was Florence,
Washington's 12-year-old daugh-
ter. : "

talked over microphones and
through the glass in the orange
and yellow Maximum Sccurity
Visiting Park. It was hard to hear

From 8 p.m, to midnight, they’

53

ge Reh ry ae
United Press international

Anti-death penalty demonstrator stands alone in Capital
Please turn to FINAL/26A_. rotunda... °°

[oP
\y\

“ei
VWI V \

>

6

prey

|
rdbl Sr

|

Inmate Executed In Fla.
AP 4 Dec 95 20:50 EST V0874
Copyright 1995 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The information contained in this news report may not be published,

broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority
of the Associated Press.

Inmate Executed In Fla.

STARKE, Fla. (AP) -- Jerry White let out a-short, muffled scream as
he was executed Monday in Florida’s electric chair for killing a
customer during a 1981 convenience store robbery.

As the doctor checked White, death row inmates on the floor above
began beating rhythmically on the bars of their cells.

In his last words, the 47-year-old White said: “I wish that all the
people that hear my voice would turn to the Lord, Jesus Christ, as I

u
ave.

Just prior to his execution, an expressionless White nodded to his
lawyer, who gave him a thumbs-up.

When the black-hooded executioner turned on the switch at 12:12
p.m., sending 2,000 volts of electricity through the chair, White ant
out a muffled scream. He lunged against the hack of the chair and his
hands balled into fists.

The executioner, who was paid $150 in cash, turned off the power
after a minute and White was declared dead six minutes later.

White, whose long criminal record included armed robbery and
aggravated assault, was sentenced to die for shooting shopper James
Melson in the back of the head during a robbery. White also shot the
store owner, leaving him paralyzed.

Another death row inmate, Philip Atkins, had been scheduled to die
Monday for the 1981 kidnapping and murder of a 6~year-old boy, but a
federal judge delayed it until Tuesday. .

His lawyers contend his trial attorneys and the jury that convicted
him didn’t see evidence vital to his case —- a photograph that might
indicate the child was hit and killed by a@ car rather than dying from
beating administered by Stkins.

-,

a


Florida Executes Man

AP 4 Dec 95 13:15 EST V0629

Copyright 1995 The Associated Préss. All rights reserved.

of the Associated Press.

Florida Executes Man

STARKE, Fla. (AP) -- A prisoner let out a muffled scream as he died
in Florida’s electric chair Monday for shooting and killing a customer
while robbing a convenience store in 1981.

Jerry White urged people to turn to Jesus Christ in his last
comments before he became the 35th inmate to die in Florida’s electric
chair since executions were resumed in 1979.

~ om eandndinn 9 ANN volts of ealertricity theauck tha rhai~r Whites 7
rr’ ° y o~yvrvv VN oe Ne ee ee ee ee ee ee Wyte Sd th, ee ee eee oe ie

m ¥ ; ele
out a short, muffled scream. He lunged against the back of the chair
The executioner turned off the power a minute later, and White was

pronounced dead at 12:19 p.m.

As the doctor checked White, other inmatee on Florida’e death row
located on the floor above the chamber with the electric chair, began
beating on the bars of their cells.

in nls Last statement, tne 4/-year-old White said, “I wish that all
the people that hear my voice would turn to the Lord, Jesus Christ, as
T have."

Another death row inmate, Philip Atkins, was scheduled to be
executed an hour after White for the 1981 kidnapping and murder of a
o6-year-old boy. But Atkins’ execution was delayed at ieast until late
evening by a federal judge, to give his attorneys another chance to
arque that he deserves a new trial.

If Atkins is executed tonight, it would mark the first time since
1964 that Florida has executed two killers in one day.

White, 47, was sentenced to die for the murder of James Melson, a
shopper in the grocery story White was robbing in Orange County. Melson
was shot in the back of the head. The store owner also was shot; he
survived but was paralyzed.

The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for White’s execution by

tauirnince AAum an emergency request anda a Ffarmsal annnanl +hat han hoon

eo Ne we mney tw ve ae “Aha ~~ ee a me ee “Mpepee— —-s eS -—-— ~~—_~—

filed with Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Kennedy had referred White’s requests to the full court, which
rejected them Monday without dissent.

ee ee a+

parents that Atkins had molested him.

Atkins’ defense attorneys contend his trial attorneys and the jury
that convicted him didn’t see evidence vital to his case -- a
photograph that might indicate the child was hit and killed by a car
rather than dying from a beating administered by Atkins.

Atkins confessed to police and his tape recorded admission was
played during his trial.

Florida Executes Man
AP 4 Dec 95 12:36 EST V0604
Copyright 1995 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The information contained in this news report may not be published,
broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority
of the Associated Press.

Florida Executes Man

STARKE, Fla. (AP) -- A 47-year-old prisoner died in Florida’s
electric chair Monday for shooting and killing a customer while robbing
a convenience store in 1981.

Jerry White was the 35th inmate to die in Florida’s electric chair
Since executions were resumed in 1979. He was pronounced dead at 12:19
p.m., said Karen Pankowski, a spokeswoman for Gov. Lawton Chiles.

Another death row inmate, Philip Atkins, was scheduled to be
executed an hour after White for the 1981 kidnapping and murder cf a
6-year-old boy. But Atkins’ execution was delayed at least until late
evening by a federal judge, to give his attorneys another chance to
argue that he deserves a new trial.

If Atkins is executed tonight, it would mark the first time since
1964 that Florida has executed two killers in one day.

White, 47, was sentenced to die for the murder of James Melson, a
shopper in the grocery story White was robbing in Orange County. Melson
was snot in tne pack of the head. ‘the store owner aiso was snot; he
survived but was paralyzed.

The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for White’s execution by
turning down an emergency request and a formal appeal that had been
filed with Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Kennedy had referred White’s requests to the full court, which
rejected them Monday without dissent.

Atkins, 40, was sentenced to death for the 1981 slaying of Antonio
Castillo. The boy was beaten to death after he threatened to tell his
parents that Atkins had molested him.

Atkins’ defense attorneys contend his trial attorneys and the jury
that convicted him didn’t see evidence vital to his case -- a
photograph that might indicate the child was hit and killed by a car
rather than dying from a beating administered by Atkins.

Atkins confessed to police and his tape recorded admission was

Nlayed during his trial
ran 7 — a A Ee NGS a, ek ate ee ee — «©


|

2 Killers Scheduled For Chair

AP 1 Dec 95 16:17 EST V0272

Copyright 1995 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The information contained in this news report may not be published,
broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority
of the Associated Press.

2 Killers Scheduled For Chair

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida officials made plans Friday to
execute two men on Monday for separate 1981 murders. One, however, had
an appeal in the state Supreme Court and the other turned to a federal
judge for relief.

Phillip Atkins, 40, was convicted of beating a 6-year-old Lakeland
boy to death. Jerry White, 47, was convicted of fatally shooting a man
during a grocery store robbery in Orange County.

Florida has not had a double cxecution since May 1964, the last
executions before John Spenkelink was electrocuted in 1979.

White was scheduled Thursday to go to the electric chair at 12:05
p.m. Monday. The state decided Friday to send Atkins to the chair an
hour later.

Also Friday, Florida’s high court rejected Atkins’ appeal and his
attorneys turned to a federal judge in Jacksonville for relief. The
state Supreme Court was still reviewing White’s appeal but had a
federal appeai ready to go it necessary.

Atkins has already survived one death warrant and White two. In
mid-October, Gov. Lawton Chiles signed new death warrants that are
effective until noon Tuesday

Atkins had been scheduled for execution Nov. 29 and White Dec. 1.
But the state Supreme Court gave then temporary stays after state trial
judges rejected appeals in both cases early this week.

Atkins won his first reprieve Tuesday, less than 24 hours before he
was scheduled to be executed. The stay, however, was good only until
Friday 7 a.m. and the state rescheduled the execution for Friday

afteArnan
aLTcecrnocon.

Still undecided on the appeal, Florida’s high court Thursday gave
Atkins another temporary reprieve, good until noon Monday. The state
Friday rescheduled the execution for Monday 1:05 p.m.

Atkins was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of
Antonio Castillo. Atkins picked up the little boy in their Lakeland
neighborhood, drove him to a wooded area and molested him. When Antonio
threatened to tell his parents, Atkins beat him to death with a steel
pipe and his tists.

White received the death penalty for the murder of James Melson, a
shopper in the grocery story White was robbing. Besides shooting Melson
in the back of the head, White shot store owner Alexander H. Alexander
and left him paralyzed.

White had been set for execution Friday morning and won a temporary
stay, good until noon Monday, from the state Supreme Court Wednesday.

The state Thursday rescheduled his execution for Monday at 12:05 p.m.


State’s best crime

prevention unit

TAMPA — When the Attorney Gener-
al’s “Help Stop Crime!” project chose
the crime prevention unit in the Hills-
borough County Sheriffs Department
as Florida's best for 1986, Sheriff Wal-
ter C. Heinrich (right) accepted the
award from Help Stop Crime Regional
Director Don Newton, who is on the
staff at the Pinellas County Sheriff's
Department.

Ocala couple added
to Honor Roll

OCALA — Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J.
Rose, Sr., have been made Lifetime
Honorary Members of the Florida She-
riffs Association as an expression of
appreciation for the support they have
given to the Association and the law
enforcement profession. The member-
ship was presented by Major Dan
Henry (right), Chief of the Field Servi-
ces Bureau in the Marion County She-
riffs Department.

[(_ === SSeS SSS SESS SSS SESS SESS SSS SSSSSS5) =)

q County Sheriff's Department, Billy Johnson at the Hialeah (Florida) Race 7

| was chosen Crime Prevention John L. McWilliams, IV Track, and returned with a fl

d Officer of the Year by Crime ST. AUGUSTINE — Florida second-place trophy. a

fC Commission, Inc., an organiza- Sheriffs Association Distin- Trained by Charlie Hopkins, fl

: tion that promotes crime preven- guished Service Awards were the Hillsborough team included ||

f tion in six central Florida presented to Billy Johnson, 17, Special Deputies Tammy Dur- |j

F counties. He was praised forthe and John L. McWilliams,IV,16, din, Don Durdin, Nancy |)

A many crime prevention pro- by St. Johns County Sheriff Neil Harden, Sgt. Mary Oliver and ||

7 grams he has developed, includ- Perry for giving first aid to two Cpl. Terri Wallace. i

fl ing Neighborhood Watch. women injured in a sports car

al Jim Campbell accident. Personal risk was

| NEW PORT RICHEY — The involved due to a gasoline leak

(| Suncoast Chapter of Sons ofthe 1 the wrecked sports car.

| American Revolution presented Jerry Vaughn

| a Law Enforcement Commenda- Jim Bradley

|| tion Medal to Pasco County Dep- PALATKA — For the super

| uty Sheriff Jim Campbellafterhe efforts they put into a “Just say

| rescued a young woman whose no to drugs week” campaign,

|| car had plunged into a lake and _ Sgt. Jerry Vaughn, from the Put-

{| had sunk. nam County Sheriff's Depart-

fll Bill Reilly ment, and Lt. Jim Bradley, from = ql

| PUNTA GORDA — Col. Bill the Palatka Police Department,  K-9 Zack retiring with honors ;

| Reilly, from the Charlotte received Special Service Awards SARASOTA — Disabled by a fC

!' County Sheriff's Department, from the Palatka Jaycees. felifed: fron. le Shrawete | aunty i

| received a “Book of Golden Hillsborough horsemen record Jor de cand tineinasenenea |

7 Deeds’’ award from the TAMPA — Volunteers from the and taking credit for 20 criminal |

ee ee ee ee Oe ee on eee ee ee
: ; : epartment’s ounte osse i lI

f forms his tasks with a competed against teams from 20 aera nacle Kandier or leek fll

il ability, but little recognition. agencies in a national meet held ay ue promised to take good care

ll

Distinguished Service
Award Presented

FT. PIERCE — After Edward E.
Whitaker completed 25 years of loyal
support as an honorary member of the
Florida Sheriffs Association, he
received a Distinguished Service
Award which was presented by St.
Lucie County Sheriff Bobby Knowles
(left).

nl

laa Ie SII II III

FEBRUARY 1987

times during his final statements, but begged the She-
riff to let her spring the trap while shouting, “I will be
glad to see you die! I want to see you die!”

In Leon County, under similar circumstances, the
mother of the murder victim reportedly “gave venttoa
series of happy yells and danced a regular war dance
during which she threw several women around her to
the ground.” The Sheriff refused her requests to spring
the trap, and had to have the woman restrained to
control her.

Immediately after the drop, the attending physician
would check to determine if the neck was broken. At
intervals the attending physician would check for
heartbeat and respiration, and once totally absent he
would pronounce the felon dead. As a rule the body of
the deceased was allowed to remain hanging for thirty
minutes. This was the procedure even on occasions
when instantaneous death occured.

The family of the dead man was allowed to claim the
body and make funeral arrangements. When the body
was not claimed, it was placed in an inexpensive plain
wooden coffin and buried at the county’s expense.

Executions were fairly routine in the state during
the 55-year period spanning 1869 to 1924. There were
strong doubts regarding the guilt of at least four of
these inmates and public demands for reprieves. Lack
of legal knowledge, or incompetent counsel, resulted
in conviction and the subsequent execution of another
prisoner who refused to plead quilty to second degree

murder in a case where there were “seven witnesses
who saw the shooting.”

Two or more men were executed simultaneously on
thirteen occasions (there were ten double executions,
two triple executions and one quadruple execution).
Perhaps the routineness explains in part the dwin-
dling number of spectators in the last decade of execu-
tion in the state by hanging. .

While it is a fact that from 1869 to 1924 at least 223
convicts were legally put to death in Florida, it
remains unclear what criteria was used to choose
these victims. To be sure the overwhelming majority
were black, and all 223 were men. But there is little, if
any, available information on their backgrounds,
childhoods, family life and related experiences lead-
ing up to their arraignments, convictions and death
sentences.

Though not an unusual form of punishment, death
by hanging was cruel because of the uncertainty of
instantaneous death. This could be attributed to sev-
eral factors not the least of which were failure of the
state to provide a state death chamber, and also fail-
ure to provide an official, well-trained and profes-
sional executioner to insure uniform standards.

Dr. Wali R. Kharif, a Tallahassee resident and a grad-
uate of Florida State University, is currently
employed as an Environmental Specialist with the
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services. ,

Trophies won by
Sheriff's Mounted
Patrol

ORLANDO — Orange
County Sheriff Lawson
Lamar (fourth from left) gave
members of his Mounted
Patrol an enthusiastic
welcome after they com-
peted against 47 other
mounted units in the Dade
County National Patrol
Competition, and returned
with a shelf full of trophies
and ribbons. In the photo
with the Sheriff are (from left)
Deputy Terry Brewer, Sgt.
Duke Mangold, Deputy
Kathy Dilts, Auxiliary Deputy
McCarthy McCollough and
Deputy Bob Finlay. The
mounted unit is commanded
by Lt. Jack Peaden.

FEBRUARY 1987


25 years on patrol prepared Chaplain
for counseling deputies and inmates

Iron bars pose no barrier for Chaplain Jake Cravey when he is
giving directions to Dixie County Jail inmates who have lost their
way spiritually, or need someone to help them repair their broken
down faith.

CROSS CITY — During the 25 years that Jake Cravey
cruised Florida’s roads as a Florida Highway Patrol
trooper and Weights Division officer, he helped count-
less motorists who had lost their way or were stranded
due to breakdowns.

And now that he’s retired, he has a similar mission
— giving directions to jail inmates who have lost their
way spiritually, or need someone to help them repair
their broken down faith.

As Chaplain for the Dixie County Sheriff's Depart-
ment, he also has opportunites to “jump start” depu-
ties whose emotional batteries have been drained by
the stress of their jobs.

‘“‘When I was with the Highway Patrol I saw several
needs,” the Rev. Mr. Cravey said recently. “First was
the forgotten officers on the front line of defense
against crime. They are under pressure from crimi-
nals, their bosses, the public and the press. They need
counseling, understanding and someone to call on in
time of need. I believe I understand their problems and
can relate to them.”

Marital difficulties constitute the number one prob-
lem for law enforcement officers, said Cravey, due to
the fact that their families have to take second priority
behind their jobs, and they face many temptations
that can lead to infidelity.

Before retiring from the Florida Highway Patrol,
Cravey also became aware of the problems of jail
inmates “‘who needed to experience a change in their
lives, first on the inside, and then on the outside.”

“T saw thousands of dollars spent on programs to

ba

Dixie County Sheriff Glen Dyals (right) gives Chaplain Jake
Cravey a few items to add to his pocket calendar.

‘work’ convicts back into society that failed,’ he
added.

“A changing of the heart and spirit needs to trans-
pire before real rehabilitation can take place, for it is
not just a problem of environment, nor just an emo-
tional problem, it is a spiritual problem that only
Christ can solve.”

In his contacts with jail inmates, Chaplain Cravey
makes it clear that he is there to uplift their spiritual
well being, and not to help them get out of jail. “It’s
hard to minister to them without being used,” he
explained.

Chaplain Cravey began his Florida Highway
Patrol career in Cross City in 1956, and ended it there
in 1981 after working traffic as a trooper and also
serving with the Weights Division.

Two years before retirement he “answered God’s
call into the ministry,” and he subsequently received a
Bachelor of Arts Degree from Luther Rice Seminary,

THE SHERIFF'S STAR


The execution ritua,

After final statements were made (and barring no
last minute reprieve from the governor) the execution
was carried out. In most instances a hood or mask was
placed over the head of the prisoner. The hood was
normally of the drawstring variety, and was pulled
tight by one of the assistants. Perhaps the hood served
two purposes: first, to provide the felon with a last
sensory perception devoid of the oftentimes morbid
crowd; and second, to shield the onlookers from the
ghastly look of death.

The rope, in some instances “well greased,” was tied
in a hangman’s noose and placed around the neck
with the noose cinched behind the left ear. The rope
size varied. One-half and three-quarter inch rope were
most frequently used, but rope as large as two and
one-quarter inches in diameter was used in the Duval
County execution of Bill Westmoreland.

After insuring the the rope was secure, one of the
prison guards or assistants dropped to his knees and
checked the knee and ankle straps. Finally, the Sheriff
gave a signal to an executioner and the trap was
sprung.

Ideally, death was to occur instantaneously from a
calculated drop, often determined by weight, height,
muscular construction, and age. The drop was
intended to break the neck, or, technically, to separate
the first and second vertebrae of the spinal column,
causing immediate loss of consciousness and brain
death. The actual end of all breathing and heartbeat
occurred generally within ten to fifteen minutes. On
those occasions when the neck was not broken or was
only partially dislocated, death occured by asphyxia-
tion and may have taken longer.

Several men put to death by hanging in Florida
were victims of suffocation rather than a broken neck.
Edward Heinson of Duval County died of strangula-
tion 15 minutes after having received a partially dislo-
cated neck from the drop. A six-foot fall did not break
Alexander Sim’s neck in a Jacksonville execution,
and he died of suffocation after 20 minutes. It took 17
minutes for Merrick Jackson, of Nassau County, to
strangle to death even after an eight-foot fall failed to
break his neck. Failure to break the neck in the fall
through the trap was a shocking experience to the
onlookers as well as the victim.

Florida did not provide for a state executioner to
travel from county to county carrying out the death
sentences. In most instances the Sheriff designated
an individual to be responsible for springing the trap.

Facing the Gallows — Part<

J By
Wali R. Kharif, Ph.D.

“) This is the third installment | }\
/ # of athree-part article review- VY
he / ing the application of the death §%

/ {sentence by hanging in Florida
prior to use of the electric chair.
A ‘It makes a subtle argument,” ,
4 says the author, “that in spite of {| “|
‘/, whatever we may believe today £ /
|) regarding the death penalty, in
. many ways electrocution is
-» _ much more merciful than
i the practice of public
hangings.”

The identity of the executioner was not always kept
secret. He was often referred to as the “man in the
box,” or the “man in the little enclosed space.”

One executioner in Jacksonville was a man named
Hall, another in the same city was a black man
referred to as Jack Ketch. Sometimes, as in the case of
Alexander Sims who was charged with the murder of
a policeman, the Sheriff himself would spring the
trap. There was apparently an abundance of people
available who would have volunteered to snuff out the
condemned man’s life.

Present at the execution of Derry Taft in Tampa,
was Ella A. Paris, sister of the woman murdered by
Taft. Miss Paris not only interrupted Taft several

THE SHERIFF’S STAR
Curr SHAE Ss LaAssoc , TaN. -L


PTT» ele _@ ° Se we ny SP it ares
CPE Ce ee enh, I SORE AT TIO)

J ust enough ki lling

There's no pleasing some people. Never mind
that under the aggressive leadership of Gov. Bob
Graham Florida has become the nation’s Mecca for
electrical vengence. Never mind that, while other
’ states struggle to dispatch their first miscreant, Gra-
ham, with yesterday's execution of David
Washington, has put seven souls under the jailhouse
— more than twice as many as any other state.

Forget that the meting out of death has been the
Graham administration’s most wildly successful
public policy achievement — far outshining efforts
to, say, reform Florida’s tangled tax system or fully
fund schools. ... ae :

And § so what if Grahain has pines 82 death war-
Sante? So what if: he is deplored by Amnesty
International, the Black’ Congressional Caucus, all
‘manner of anti-capital punishment Ahh and some
pac Ke, oe garnet ‘ Cyt ae

: Because if Graham were rent 3 serious about
Florida’s capital punishment mandate, he would
have signed 114 warrants by now — - enough to pa-
per his office wall. ‘ ;

That’ s the Contention of the National Law
Journal, a New York legal publication that analyzed
- Graham’s own criteria for determining when to sign
warrants and found that Graham could today sign at
least 32 — many for inmates who have yet to see
their first death sheet. Those inmates are ripe for
dispatching, by virtue of having had their sentences
affirmed by the Florida Supeme Court and the U.S.
Supreme Court, and having had their pleas for
mercy rejected by Graham and the Cabinet.

Why the hestitation then? David Kaplan, a lawyer
and Journal staffer, implies that even a pro-death
advocate with as strong a stomach as Graham’s
doesn’t think his public would sit smiling through a
veritable wave of executions, the likes of which is
unseen outside of Iran. Instead, the Journal implies,
Graham rations out just enough death.

“Death and. politics are inextricably linked,”

Kaplan wrote. He quoted Florida Clearinghouse on

Criminal Justice Director Scharlette Holdman, who
said “he wouldn’t sign 30 warrants tomorrow simply
because it would appear so unseemly and repulsive
that it would backfire on him.”

“He wants to look strong but civilized, not
slobbering at the mouth,” she added.

It’s tempting to simply accuse Graham of playing
politics with the electric chair and have done with
it. If, for instance, Graham really believed in his

much-touted contention that electrocution deters
others from committing murder, then the more bod-
ies trundled out the back door of Death Row the
better.

It’s hard to argue deterrence when, statistically,
maybe one in 100 murderers will ever have to pay
the ultimate penalty. And a closer look at the
numbers show that certain groups of killers have an
even smaller chance of being called before the
Grim Reaper.

all that seeyater : }

Gai editorial

Killers of blacks, for instance, need worry almost
not at all about Death Row. White killers need fret
about it less than do blacks. And killers from the up-
per social and economic classes can do as little as
five to 10 years hard time for their crimes. And itis |
safe to predict that Florida will likely never execute
awoman.. ° :

So forget about deterrence. Given the nature of
the selection process, any killer who is cold-blooded
and calculating enough to stop and think.
beforehand about the consequences of his deed will
likely conclude that electrocution is awarded in
Florida on a lottery-like basis. And the odds against
drawing an unlucky number are great.

€

Even if Graham did sign another 32 warrants, and
even if half of them were carried out forthwith, the
additional executions wouldn’t change ie statistics

+

~ Maybe, thes, Graham’s percieved reluctance to ,
sign every warrant within arms reach stems not so |
much, as the Journal implies, from his sense of po-
litical preservation, as it does from Graham’s °
appreciation for the concept of hanes execution as
ritual,

Whether accurate or not, there is a Ow.
perception,'a fear, among Americans that,
somehow, crime is out of control, that people are no
longer safe in their homes or streets. That fear natu-
rally breeds anger and resentment, and a logical
outgrowth of thatisa public sentiment for
executions.

That someone goes to the chair periodically is
sufficient to appease that public anger and >
resentment. And it really doesn’t matter to the pub- |
lic that the selection process leading to death row is ‘
So serendipitous, or so racially and socially selec- |
tive as to dilute the deterrent value. —

To a very real degree, David Washington drew an
unlucky number and died on Friday for the sins of ;
murderers and criminals everywhere. And to the
degree that his death slaked the public fear and an- |
ger, at least for the moment, his execution was not
unlike a ritualistic warding off of evil spirits.

- Death Row continues to be reserved for the
poorest, the blackest, the least intelligent and the
lowest caste among our offenders. For the purpose
of serving the ritual, a David Washington will do just
as well as, say, the Clearwater Methodist pastor who
stabbed his wife and son to death, the Orange
County commissioner who pumped five bullets into
his wife, the Tampa psychiatrist who murdered his
patient-lover, the Okeechobee millionaire who mur- |
dered her husband, the Nassau County businessman |
who buried his wife alive with a bulldozer or the for-
mer Palm Beach municipal judge who contracted
for the deaths of a rival Judge and his wife.

The ritual is vengence, pure and glib hs Just |
don’t ever confuse it with justice.

err arrears reer erent wenn ee cen
$ .


|
|

KILLER

From A-1T ts

bow to defeat.” Seemingly unsure if he had said

what he’d meant, he said, “Don’t bow to a victory.”
Finally, he blurted out, “Don’t bow to a defeat with-
out a fight. ’'m kind of nervous. That’s all.”

Minutes later, Washington became. the seventh

man executed in Florida since the U.S. Supreme
Court removed its objection to the death penalty in
:1976.. He was the sixth man executed here since
‘Thanksgiving and the 22nd nationwide since rein-
statement of a death penalty.

} ‘Washington. was condemned ‘for- the raoders. of.

Katrina Birk, .a housewife who was stabbed nine
times; Rev. Daniel Pridgen, who was stabbed seven

times; and University of Miami student Frank Meli, :

who was stabbed 11 times.

“A second execution bah auled . at Florida State
Prison this week was stayed indefinitely by a three-

judge panel of the llth U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- ©

peals in Atlanta. That ruling was upheld 9-0 Thurs-
day by the U.S. Supreme Court to give attorneys for
convicted murderer Jimmy Lee Smith time for a for-
mal hearing on the claim that he received inad-
equate counsel during his trial. ;

About 40 anti-death penalty protestors gathered in -

a pasture across the road from the prison displaying
signs and conducting a prayer vigil. Six people who
said they favored capital punishment stood on the
other side of a fence and watched the prison quietly.

Among the protesters were Arthur Goode Jr. and
-his wife Mildred. Their son Arthur Goode III was ex-

ecuted here on April 5 for raping and killing a 9...

year-old boy.

Goode criticized Gov. Bob Graham for signing 82
death warrants since taking office in 1979, saying
Graham “should be in the Guinness Book of
Records.”

Like others opposed to éapital punishment, Goode
accused Graham of being politically motivated in

signing more death warrants than any other

governor.

} Despite the number of warrants he has signed,
this week’s issue of The National Law Journal said
‘Graham is not as vigorous an enforcer of the death
penalty as he is portrayed.

The publication also hinted that Graham’s deci-

sions on who should be executed are political.
: “Death and politics are inextricably linked,” the
article says. While Graham wants to reap the politi-
cal benefits of implementing the death penalty in a
conservative state, he knows that a wave of execu-
tions could alienate voters, the publication reported.
Syd McKenzie, the governor’s general counsel, re-
fused to discuss the reasons Graham signs a particu-
lar warrant.
But he emphasized that Graham’s decision to sign

_ a warrant is based on thes

* ‘said: “At 7:09 this morning, the state of Florida com-
» -mitted yet another murder when it executed David

“tending physician Dr. Canh Nguyen checked for any

- pening in the state and in the country?”

esi ae a c:.56: General-21
ly, the governor has said; fie 3 egg warrants” for pris-#

‘oners who have been on deatty row thejlongest and .
ae have exhausted their legal appeals, . aes Aas i.
‘«In Tallahassee Thursday. morning, atiout 50 pro-: a

testors gathered in the Rotunda to Protest the F
execution. :

After reptesentatives of ‘the governor’s office said
the execution had been carried out, Jimmy Lohman -
of the Florida Clearinghouse on Criminal Justice .

Washington. hi
- Graham, in a statement released following the ex-
ecution, said the sentence was carried out “after ex- .
haustive judicial analysis and review.’
“This process has assured that the cepuabtiuttiee!

stiiaiilgensiaieldtcigiadaiaseerntant =

‘rights of the accused were fully protected,” he said.

“The execution of the sentence assured that ‘the
rights the people of Florida were afforded similar

’ protection.”

_ Inside the death chamber, Washington watched
curiously as prison officials strapped a thick belt
across his chest and looked down while an electrode ~
was attached to his right ankle. He glanced over his
shoulder at the clock on the wall. Next to the clock,
the anonymous, black-hooded exectutioner — paid
$150 in cash — peered through an eye-level slit and
awaited the signal to throw the switch. Washington
did not look at the executioner. ‘
’ As the leather chin strap was applied over his
mouth, Washington appeared uncomfortable, then
relaxed when the black hood was drapped over his
face and the metal skullcap containing the electrode
was attached.

Dugger spoke briefly on an open telephone line
with Graham in Tallahassee then walked in front of
Washington and nodded to the executioner to throw
the switch.

Washington’s body jerked to rigid attention and
his hands clenched as the 2,000 volts and 14 amps of
current passed through-his body for one minute and
25 seconds.

After physician’s attendent Bill Matthews and at-

signs of life, Washington was pronounced dead by
Sgt. Don Gladdish.”

Ann Palmes, the mother of death-row inmate
Timothy Palmes, stood with the Goodes and said
that despite the frequency with which electrocutions
are proceeding in Florida, “I have hope.”

She attends the executions because, “I.think if
nothing else’ it accomplishes what’s in your con-
science. Do you have any conscience for what’s hap-

Timothy Palmes faces death for a 1976 murder.

Representatives of the Gainesville and Jackson-;
ville Citizens Against the Death Penalty lined the
fence with slogan-filled posters and wore stickers
disclaiming responsibility for the state’s actions.

Pat Bludworth, 35, a member of the Jacksonville

’ group who volunteers with a prison ministry organi-

zation, said the protesters continue to come out for
each execution because, “We have to make a state-
ment and make the public aware that as Christians


PER EE OE OU a ET CBS ee)

ASH /A Cras

_Executions—

Top five counties in convictions
resulting i in execution by electric
chair since 1924*

Statewide: 203 (133 black males, ;
71 white males and no women.
Average age 32)

* Before 1924 executions were carried
out at the local jail or prison by hanging.

35
26

pao |
16
10

Duval! _
Dade
Hillsborough
Pinellas
Alachua

Friends say Washington showed —
remorse for families of victims |

By MARTIN R. DRUMMOND
Sun staff writer

Joe Ingle and Susan Carey often talked with con-
demned killer David Leroy Washington about a
variety of subjects such as sports, religion, the
weather and life in prison.

. One thing they didn’t like talking about, but did
so anyway, was. death. And when they did,
Washington often cried.

It was not so much the painful idea of his own
life ceasing — which occurred Friday at 7:09 a.m.
— but the sorrow that filled him because of three
brutal murders he committed almost eight years
ago in Dade County.

; Washington, his friends said before the execu-

tion, is “eaten up” with grief for the three families
who have likewise been grieving ever since his
stabbing, robbing and shooting rampage took the
lives of their loved ones. ‘He is remorse personi-
fied. David Washington weeps and has for years on
what he has done,” said Carey, a volunteer lawyer
who knew him for six years.

Corrections officers at the Florida State Prison
have confirmed that Washington would sometimes
cry in his cell at night.

Describing the inmate as “‘a nice guy ... lovable,”
Carey said Washington had been a model prisoner
who would never kill again, even if released on the
street. “David is a good person who did a terrible
thing,” she said.

Ingle, a minister from Nashville, Tenn., said
Washington “just snapped” when he committed the
murders.

During the past few days, however, Ingle said he
has rarely seen such a display of “warmth,
genuine, hurnan concern” as in Washington.

Much of that concern was shown toward family
members Thursday night when the tall, slender
Washington visited with them for four hours, at one
point putting his 12-year-old daughter Florence on
his knee and telling her to “hit the books, really
work hard” so she wouldn't end up like him.

Florence had come with Washington's mother,
Julia. His father is dead. He was divorced. He was
poor and legal representation in recent weeks
came only because of donated time by lawyers and

social workers and donations from private sources.

Ingle, Carey and another Washington counselor,
Margaret Vandiver, told The Sun Thursday that by |
offering sympathy to the inmate over the past.
years, they were not trying to lessen the horror the
families of Frank Meli, Daniel Pridgen and
Katrina Birk have endured.

“We really grieve for them. But it (Washington’s
death) is not going to lessen anything ... bring back
their loved ones,” Carey said.

Ingle said one of his missions to the relatives of
murder victims is “to help them see what ven-
geance will do to them and their families. It will
eat.them alive.”

Ingle said he hopes the public does not view
death penalty opponents as endorsing murder or to
worsen the grief of victims’ families. “The impor-
tant thing they need to understand is that we are
not out to hurt them but out to stop a (state) mur-
der,” he said. i

Carey said Washington’s execution is an
example of how capital punishment “keeps the
murder horribly alive. Because of the morbid |
character of the execution, it keeps public atten-
tion on it (the details of the past murder).”

The three advocates of Death Row inmates said
they will likely have little time to focus on Wash-,
ington’s death because of Gov. Bob Graham’s pro-
lific signings of death warrants. More than 80 have '
been signed since he was elected in 1978, though
legal blockades by lawyers have kept the execu-
tion total to only seven.

“You know what happened is terrible. The whole
machinery of the state is set on killing that one
person and when you lose (the appeal process) it is
so devastating,” Vandiver said.

“But you know that as soon as one is over, you
don’t have time for your sympathy. But we're not
going to give up,” she said.

Vandiver, a graduate sociology student, said
Graham and state Attorney General Jim Smith are
“building their political careers on this issue.”

The three protesters said the death penalty in
Florida will never be abolished until the public
persuades enough state legislators to change the
capital punishment law.


e

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Demonstrators i in Tallahassee

ES he Teal. hold vigil in nana Rotunda,

$s

we le murder is wrong in any form.”

.. Countering the organized protestors, who have be-

come a fixture of execution days, were six individ-

uals who gathered to support the state’s actions.
Among them were Floyd Cone and his son Larin,

31, from Baldwin, near Jacksonville. Cone’s other |

son, Floyd Jr. was killed in 1981 by a man now on |

death row, Edward Dean Kennedy whose death sen- |

tence was upheld Thursday by the sar Supreme
Court.
Cone said he believes executions are a detertant

to capital crimes and, “If they knew they were going |
to pay for this with pure, swift justice, they'd think |,

about it, they would.”
When asked if televising executions might better

dissuade people from such crimes, he said, “Person-

ally, I would like to see the executions in a public
square somewhere so people could see the end re-
sults of what would happen. My son had just as
much right to live and ‘arias his happiness as Ren:
nedy Cig ks

Washington visited with about a dozen celatives
and supporters. late Thursday while the U.S. Su-
preme Court was rejecting his final appeal 7-2.

Washington was given.a final supper of fried
_ shrimp, fried oysters, french fries “with lots of
ketchup,” a quart of vanilla ice cream, hot rolls and
lemonade, prison spokesman Bradford said.

Washington spent his last hours lying on his bed

or sitting up talking with Mike Berg, chief of the

jails in Duval County. Berg acted as the official wit-
ness whose function is to observe the treatment of
the condemned. The official witness position was
created after charges were made by inmates that
John Spenkelink was abused prior to his execution

_in May 1979.


MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF TRIAL:

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF EXECUTION:

EXECUTION Agrgr~
METHOD: any

STAYS OF
EXECUTION:

EXECUTIONER:

WITNESSES: /S00 ep ©

RITUALS:

LAST WORDS:

OTHER INFORMATION:

TIME OF
EXECUTION :

At
Phi


WHITE, Napoleon, black, hanged Tallehasse

te

WEEKLY PLORIDIAD

ty aad A ee

e, Florid


WHITE, Napoleon, black, hanged Tallahassee, Fla., 9-23-1890,

"NAPOLEON WHITE HANGED. - Napoleon White, the negro wife murderer,
paid the penalty of his crime on the gallows yesterday. He was hanged in
the jail yard and the execution was witnessed by 8 crowd of about 1,500
people, mostly colored, At 12:15 he climbed the steps of the gallows,
where two colored ministers prayed for him and read 2 chapter from the
Bible, but Napoleon White, remained untouched and paid very little
attention to the prayers in his behalf, He was sullen to the last
and, unlike most of his race when sbout to be hanged, neither talked
nor sang. When asked if he wished to say anything before he died, he
simply shook his head, The trap was sprung at 12:27 and = dismal
howl went up from the assemblad throng. The mother of the murdered
women was standing on the hall across St. Augustine branch, and when
White fell through the trap she gave vent to 9 series of hanpy yells
and danced a regular war dance, uring which she threw several of the
women around her to the ground. She said that she would have given
anything if she could have been upon the gallows with authority to
spring the trap. The body was cut down at 12:43 and prepared for
burial. The crime for which White was executed was the murder of his
wife, Martha Ann white. On Oct. 31, he waylaid her and knocked her
in the head with a piece of gas pipe, from the effects of which wound
she died on Nov, 10, Jealousy caused the crime. White had previously
killed a cousin of his, a boy, after a dispute over a five-cent gambling
game, and for which crime he was convicted of manslaughter and served
out a term in the penitentiary," WEEKLY FLORIDIAN, Tallahassee, Fla.,
September 2), 1891, at page one,


STATE

OFFENDER: :
NAME : Wa pel to~ bn 2.
RACE: P

SEX: aN

OFFENSE: MuUepe
DATE EXECUTED:

county: Jo/l-harsee -
AGE:

VICTIM:

NAME : PKS
RACE:
SEX: F

AGE:

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

wife

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

DAY OF WEEK
EXECUTED:

OFFENDER
RESIBENCY :

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF CRIME:

“Leen Co.

INVENTORY #

SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION

(TITLE, DATE & PAGE#)

Le Sheds Te

Jec- Se~ /9¢2 pp e-F


ed ed aed ed) ed pe ee ed ee

Roster of
Lifetime Honorary Members
Home towns eliminated

To protect our Lifetime Honorary Members
from receiving unwanted solicitations and junk
mail, we have discontinued printing their home
towns when we print their names.

We decided this was necessary after we learned

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Lifetimers’ home towns. Without the home towns,
it will be extremely difficult.

We have never permitted other organizations to
use our membership lists, and we will continue to
do everything possible to protect the privacy of our
members.

Abstract & Title
Services, Inc.

AT&T Communications

Barkohl Farms of
Tallahassee, Inc.

L.W. Blanton

Mrs. George J. Brosky
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Eden Nursery

Robert W. Eisenmenger
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Sheridan

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Convalescent Center

Mrs. Janet Vernell

Auxiliary #4412
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Supply Distributors Assoc.
Mr. & Mrs. John W. Mr. & Mrs. James W.
Nelson

Bolesta

Dudley Perez Mrs. Gaspar Bourque

Veterans of Foreign Wars

Mrs. Elizabeth C. Armour

Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches
‘<==) Honor Roll —=<—»

On these pages we give special recognition to gen-
erous supporters of the Florida Sheriffs Youth
Ranches who have qualified for Lifetime Honor-
ary Memberships in the Florida Sheriffs Associa-
tion by giving $1,000 or more to the Youth
Ranches. Each Lifetime Honorary Member
receives a plaque, a lifetime identification card
and a lifetime subscription to The Sheriff’s Star.
Under a new regulation which became effective in
1984, those whose gifts total over $5,000 will
receive additional gold stars on their plaques —
one for $5,000, two for $10,000, and so on, up toa
maximum of five stars for gifts totaling over
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Presentations

We regret that photos of Lifetime Honorary
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names appear on the membership roster. Conse-
quently, we often find it necessary to print the
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photos in a subsequent issue.

FORT PIERCE — Presented by St. Lucie County Sheriff
Robert C. “Bobby” Knowles (center) to Col. and Mrs. William
C. Tunis.

Mrs. Inger T. Brown Countryside Mall

Mr. & Mrs.C.T.Buchanan Mr, & Mrs. P.C.

Ronald Budd Crapps, Jr.

Mrs. Mildred B. Campbell Mr. & Mrs. Maclin T.
Crowder

Mrs. Margaret Canning

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Cave

Chase Bank of Florida
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Mr. & Mrs. John H. Dodge

10

THE SHERIFF’S STAR


=

February 1987

PUBLISHED BY THE FLORIDA SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION

he

eriffs

Wilds

ee


WILLIAMS, Jake, black, hanged at Tavares, Florida, on April lh, 1913.

LAKE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
315 N. New Hampshire Ave.
Tavares, Florida 32778

January 6, 1986

Mr. Watt Espy

Law Library

Box 6205

University, Al 35486

Dear Mr. Espy,

Please refer to a letter from the Lake County Historical Society,
dated July 11, 1982 where Mrs. Brownsberger informed you about a hanging
of Jake Williams for the murder of Mr. Curtis G. Lowe. There is no truth
with reference to the part that Mr. Lowe was caught ... with Jake's wife.
Merely heresay. There's no mention that Jake even had a wife.

Jake Williams had been in Lake County about 3 weeks before his arrest.
He had joined other blacks at the home of Jolly Lane for a party on Febru-
ary 1, 1913. He commenced to flash a gun, started firing shots. Mr. Lowe
was called from his home and he came to Jolly's house while Jake was still
shooting and murdered Mr. Lowe. Could have been a stray bullet. In Jake's
final statement, he acknowledged he was guilty. He was hanged April 4, 1913.

A copy of the complete court proceedings is available for $25.00.
It includes the court testimony, coroner's inquest and venire, reports of
witnesses and jurors, death warrant and all related documents relating to
© the hanging of Jake Williams, a black man for the murder of Curtis G. Lowe,
a white man who was a turpentine foreman at Stucky's Still, near Mascotte,
(Lake County), Florida on April 4, 1913 and consists of 91 pages.

Yours very truly,

Mrs. Sue Nunes, Librarian and
Corresponding Secretary

THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION
page 9.

(Jacksonville),

Tuesday,

12 November 1940,


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-. Tribune Staff ‘Writer :

¢

4

woman and her stepdaughter and,

deserved .to die. :

\
{
{
1
|

é
2M
4

Pee

Washington had won a stay of ex- ‘
Klein said this violated the strict

Lawyers for both men, with less
than 36 hours remaining to spare
ecution and an order for a resen- !

a struggling college student holding ~

tencing hearing from Dade County ©
Circuit Judge Herbert Klein, who ,
found. the state prosecutor tried,
prejudicially, to compare the socie-
tal worth of Washington. against one
of his murder victims — Frank Meli,
two jobs.

their lives, prepared to rush appeals |.

to federal court.

See EXECUTIONS, Page 5A

epee eee na enn pee tT

silently ay “the “heoded’ eiccutines

With a dull thunk; the lever was

thrown. and 2,000 volts of electric cur- -
rent. cycled: Hirqugh. Diem cy a s*

body. ;

“Witness Mike Davis” “news ¢ Binectér
for, Jacksonville’s WOKV and WAIV.

radio stations, said Washington’s fists

clenched tightly as soon as the cur-

rent surged into him and droplets of

perspiration beaded on his body. Da- ©

vis said there was no smoke, as there
had been with sever PREVIOUS exe-
cutions. AS

="One and ferns half fnithitee after ake oF

switch was engaged, the current was

shut off. Prison physician Dr. Cahn

Nguyen examined Washington’s
wrists and chest for signs of life and,

finding none, signaled to Dugger that ~

Washington was dead.
Washington’s body was. taken to
Alachua General Hospital in Gaines-

ville for a routine autopsy, after

which he will be cremated:
Washington’s execution made him

the second black in Florida.and the-

22nd inmate nationwide to be put to

Washington accepted end quietly —

- on Washington, released a statement °
-.} moments after Washington’s death
saying that the case has had “exhaus- -
tive judicial analysis. and review” ~
that gave the convicted killer ample ©
time for appeals... oth
“This process has assured that the °
constitutional rights of the accused .
“>| were fully protected,” Graham said
. |° in the statement. “The execution of ;
the sentence assures that the rights |
of the people of Florida are afforded
similar protection.” BN)
About 40 anti-death penalty protest-
.. |. ers and a handful of pro-death penal-
.. |. ty demonstrators gathered in the cow
pasture across the street from the
prison to keep a vigil. The protesters
sang hymns, waved signs and vented
their anger over the execution.
Among the protesters were Arthur
Goode Jr. and his wife Mildred, of the
Fort Myers area. Their son Arthur
Goode III was executed on April 5 for

e

David Leroy Washington

Apologized to families raping and killing a 9year-old boy.

oe ons Mrs. Goode said she and her hus- :

death since the Supreme Court rein- band felt their presence “would do a |
stated capital punishment in 1976. _ little good and make some impres-

Gov. Bob Graham, who signed the sion” in support of the anti-death pen- -

three black-bordered death warrants alty mov ement.


— Dennis Hamitten Jr./statt

thur Goode Jr., Ft. Meyers, father of
Arthur Goode Ill, who was executed

on April 5.

ign protest-

terday’s execution of David L.

d holds as
Washington. Next to her stands Ar-

in

Robyn Goodk

ing yes


“sy
iy z ff seet ws chee Be} new

"Gentes
tt Sh}

* STARKE“ (AP): Bote
murderér David L. Washington, will
go to. the: electric chair. at ae a.m.,
today, prison officials said Thursday.

jected his” defense ‘claims. 1

‘barred the. execution of death row,
inmate ‘Jimmy: L:: Smith, upholding
an Atlanta appeals court ‘stay
spared himwntier aatiehied

‘ execute both men, who murdered

»whén their death warrants expire. It
would. have been the first time in 19

pace However,

aU yp ree

W ashingtor’ Ss. execu

after; ai federal‘ appeals ' court: rer" :

yi Ean ie ating

9° ad it's

tio :
David. L. Washington i is er eanied to bet. 8s

executed at’7.a.m. today: ‘The.U.S, “Supreme
Court! “upheld: a. stay, for Jimmy, Le “Smiths

alee ‘i Rane tOl ¥

‘ive shoe ity

Aid ae ebesie TRAN
‘Miami, had been scheduled to die
* Thursday: but | “won ‘temporary. res.
ss Prieves:. from ° two different federal, ¢
"Courts late. ‘Wednesday; Uc ts Bea
sake Early Thursday’: “Georgia | exe:
\euiled - death: ‘Tow. inmate. Ivon R..

‘ye; But: the, U.S.. Supreme an

spat
» Florida prosecutors had ‘pressed

a total of five people. by noon today -

years : a state. chad executed two :
‘criminals’ ‘in:one dayes tye oe a
thes Faatisng Rigiest. parts? Bradford sald: of: Washington’ S
Scburt,: ‘without; Cortimént.:, jeft: Intact.

spn earlier es byt the ith U; S; Cire

oa ‘f Stanley after the U.S. Supreme Court:
‘of the stay. granted. by. the’ Atlanta * refused’ to hear’ his’appeal. Stanley:
court! ‘earlier: in’ the dav.:-He- was! %, “was the, 21st prisoner. to, be, éxeculed »
“pleased , bu; stint _dpprehensive be: °° ‘since. the: Supreme © Courts restored’

spokesman Vernon:, ‘Bradford. Said ;¢ausé he knows, the. attorney general” capital punishment in.1976. Florida’
Vashington’s execution had been re-jv'ls: taking ‘it to the: ‘Supreme Court, AU has*executed ‘six killers since*1979,
cheduied: for just: after, ‘dawn byl Bradford Said: raete Seer 2, but- hasn't pul wo to: death on the,
‘lorida State, Prison Supefinienden(y “MING feol thal o Stay of execution “same day. since 1964, a
righiird Dugger < Baad yFehould not have Seen! varaity that? Washington “was, isited: by, his.
iy “tie was still, calm. Melvdidn't. fei.” = SS nilner sand pier: relatives Thurs,
eem, to be surpris¢d.: ‘There. doesn't ( day, while, capital: ‘pugishment’ foes: ?
eemito ! ‘be. much; reaction? on \hls om. ngarby: Gat nesville: paid a. briet.
sit :tO; Smith W ‘ednesday: night.) He;
ae mother ee: ashen: ‘and Wash! Was a <Hittie'. imore.; “ heryous 3 than
ingtony a *triple- ‘murderer : “from Washingt. i * Bradford reported.

sult Court ‘of “Appeals ‘which. tule’ ‘ * One ‘6f Smith's attorneys told him"

hat. Smith's «. ; arguments. needed:
“loser study...)
‘Department a or: ‘Correcilors

reaction when‘ he learned ‘he'd, jlost

n sche eduled; ‘Smith’s Si

j

© renee Ce mae? pd oo Pee:

washington, 34. ig under iis third‘
| death“ warrant” for.: “a: :197G'“crime:y
spree ‘that claimed the.lives ot: Unies!
‘ versity.of Miaml student Frank Mell,1 ot

elderly Miami: resident Katrina. Birk “
and" homosexual ' ‘minister? Daniel {
Pridgen.’ od oe ey! :
“For Mell’s mother, Dolores, Mell:

Lo Proto of Miami, Washington's s eke
i ye. pes

Sone *
, Oe

i My: “son Pus tied “up. for. two.
days, stabbed I} times in the chest. i
That. to me. was cold-blooded mur-—
der. | pay taxes in here Dade County
and I'm supporting Washington, My ;
son is dead. My son would have been
an: attorney? todays" she! Saidr#%.!
At Smith.’ 30; was" condemned.’ Tor,’
the ‘May ds 1978 slayings. of, Bonnie:,

SEG ‘Sep EXECUTION, Page 2B

ont

es

Vie appzal in Allanta:: ners me

Mey? at tes

“when he heard the pajr criticize” ‘his:
- girlfriend, had told the jury: “It's my’,
desir¢ that I die In the electric: chair’
for. what I have ‘done... 3: Baa eae
Washington, a migrant “worker in!
“< Florida’. when he. was -a teen- agers
‘, pleaded guilty at‘his’ ‘trjal and had?
- asked" a, circult Judge, lo sentence.
«him to death Instead of sending him:

oye « From Page 1B.

“fo Ward and her 12: year-old ‘daughter
Donna. Strickland,’ “who.were | mur-
i "dered near: Marianna’, Smith mutl-:
ie the child's in after: ling
ere Sree
“ Both’ ‘men: had  igked ‘for the 10 BisGa., ‘y
~ death sentence but later their attor- sagt Caen want to ‘aie’ mr: ‘you ‘know
'‘neys mounted all-out appeals to Keep ai: what I mean? But If I sit’ ‘Up in some’
‘them alive on-death row, where aati jail and fol, Vd father be Billed,”
‘condemned Kilées libs, , Washington, then. 26, , told. Judge

» Smith, a former travelin catake oth * Richard Fuiler.
8 "The last double ‘execuiion in’.

- val worker who heresies enraged «
: “Flo + a t Sy ' i
rida W 1s May 12. 1964, ieee

3 s

cS oe


- ‘By JON PECK ; fs

United Pross International

‘ STARKE — An appeals court « on. aan denied

Fast of execution for one of two killers facing. the first

:, sdouble execution in 19 years, but granted t the petition e

’ the second death-row inmate.

vo The 11th'U.S. Circuit Court of. Aviocals in‘ Atlanta
turned aside a last-minute plea from attorneys for David

‘ Leroy Washington, condemned for the slayings of three: «+ 4"
people, The panel refused to delay Washington’s execu."

_ tion beyond 6:69 a.m. today, and state’ prison officials .-"
‘were preparing to execute him at 7am, « °\.

FByed ned Lee Smith, 30, received a reprieve.’ «

: ifaisly sugge ed. beter sknpenting? ee he 1 yea’

Abbett s victiins were ‘worth more than his o.vn

- Butia three “judge pane}. of vei? eotiet (ede that
ge? : ; ‘

save ¢ is taken was otkely te to have ha any effe :t upon :

ithe sentencing decision of the judge,”.the panel said, . ;*-
- Karlier in the day, the Atlanta appeals court a;: ‘reed to °:

“a stay of execution for Smith to further consider ris ees

: of ineffective counsel. : Ps ’

. 7s Plorida. ‘authorities promptly asked the § s apreme

pee! Court to. throw out; the: stay, . but the court re‘used to.

aie Ploase soe EXECUTION. 12- A’y

“Attorneys for Washington arenes that: a Prosecutor

Execut! G6 Nr from SA:

Sconsider the esas Death warrants.

for the two men expire today at noon,

Earlier Thursday, Ivon Ray Stan-
_ley, 28, was executed at 12:15 a.m.
EDT in the electric chair at Jackson,
Ga., becoming the 21st man executed

in the United States since the Su-'
‘ preme Court lowered its death penal-

ty ban in 1976.
There has not been a double exe-:

“eution — two men executed in the ;

“game chamber on the same day —

. since 1965, when Kansas hanged two -
‘men at once on two different occa-

sions. Florida has executed six men

‘ since 1976, more than any other state. |

‘dered and the lawyers argued, Wash- :
‘ington and Smith waited in isolated “:
“cells 50 feet from Florida’s electric

“chair, Washington,.who stabbed to’

s; death a homosexual preacher, an el-”,

« derly woman and a college student i in a roport.

Viami eight years ago, was Visited by! “
his family. And from her home in‘

ke Central Florida, Smith’s impover-"
“ished mother called collect every
‘ hour to the clearing house on crimi-

nal justice to find out the status of -

~: her son’s appeal. Smith was’ convict-:

ed for the murder of a Marianna

~ woman and her 12- yon: xald eae.
‘in 1978. Fee ae

State prison officials: were /prepar-

: ing Thursday night to’ move Smith
- off death row. ‘They did not expect

further court ‘action before his war-

‘rant expires at noon.

Washington, who. received stays :
of two previous execution dates, said :

- in an interview: “I think my life was”
.just one big mistake. I had all the

WHILE TIE JUDGES pon-:

best breaks in life, all the right op-
* portunities. Seemed like everything I.
“touched, I destroyed. Family, wife,

- friends, everything. ] just destroved."

=< St. Potorsburg Stuff Writer;
. Lauria Hollman conisinuned to ast

o 4

Ne SMITH wis

i

Pas drop eke ni kac 1b ke
TST SEES. oe

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7

SETI I roe A REE, ad


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State’s high court clears way for doub

The Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE — Florida's
Supreme Court on Tuesday refuscd to

_ halt the scheduled Thursday

executions of two convicted murder:

ers, clearing one roadblock to what

would be the nation’s first double exe-

_ cution since capita: punishment was

restored eight years ago. . nea’
The state’s highest court rejected 6-
0 the mercy appeal of convicted killer

esis EE ee

Jimmy L. Smith and, two hours later, _
dissolved a stay of execution for mass »

murderer David L. Washington by the
same vote. er

Both convicted killers are sched-
uled to die at 7 am. Thursday at
Florida State Prison near Starke,
where six other men have been elec-
trocuted since 1979. Prison officials
have not said who would be the first
to be strapped into the electric chair.

en

‘Smith’s attorneys will get another
chance to win a reprieve for their cli-

ent during a hearing today before a~
federal judge..in Pensacola, while ”
Washington's ‘attorneys » said : they:.
would ask a federal judge in Miami to o

block the execution. :

murders of three people in Miami.

But the Supreme Court heard his case

le: execution
“for a second time Tuesday afternoon.
«tse. State prosecutors said Washing-

“ton’s new lawyers were arguing legal
issues that had been litigated in other

fenders insisted the arguments were
tions that merited a reprieve.

‘since May 1964 that two inmates were
electrocuted on the same day.

‘4

‘courts. But the prisoner's public de-.

vita. =~ Mew and raised constitutional ques-
Washington, 34, is under his third E

warrant for the September 1976 -.,_ It would be the first time in Florida -

TE. BS

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7

Georgian faces
execution; 2 in
Fla. get stays

Compiled from AP, UPI wires ”

'- A killer who buried his victim alive faced death in
Georgia’s electric chair a few minutes after midnight:
Wednesday, but two men scheduled to die in Florida
today received temporary reprieves. ; eee
«The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in
Atlanta granted a temporary stay to Jimmy Lee Smith at
6:25 p.m. EDT: Wednesday, a little:more than 12 hours
before he was scheduled to die in the nation’s first double
execution in 19 years. The court scheduled a hearing for
9:30 this morning on Smith’s case. © er
‘=. A few hours later, after the action in the Smith case,
‘U.S. District - Judge Eugene P. Spellman denied the
petition of David L. Washington. But he granted a stay of

execution for Washington until 6:59 am. EDT Friday to }
give appeals courts time % review his denial. . fe
If the stays are lifted, Florida has until noon Friday to |
“execute the men who killed a total of five people.
< {Here are details of the developments in both states:

. the death penalty in 1976.

\

Executions tenia

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit in Atlanta
denied a stay of execution for Stanley Wednesday after-
noon, and he was to be strapped into the electric chair at

Jackson Diagnostic Center south of Atlanta shortly after

midnight. ; ‘

Stanley and another man, Joseph Edward Thomas,
28, were convicted of the robbery-murder of Clifford
Floyd, a prominent Bainbridge, Ga., insurance man who
was robbed, beaten, shot and buried alive in 1976.

Thomas is still on Georgia’s death row.

Stanley admitted he was present when Floyd was

killed, but ‘said it was Thomas: who committed the
murder. ;
Fares ae

In Florida

Washington, 34, was to die in the electric chair at
. Florida State Prison near Starke at 7 a.m., and Smith, 30,
was to have followed him a few minutes later. The death
warrants for both men are in effect until noon Friday, so
they could still be executed if their stays are lifted.

Florida has already executed six men since 1976, more
than any other state.

Officials said Washington and Smith were in holding
cells about 12 feet apart next to the death chamber. They
could not see each other but could communicate if they
wished. Apparently they had little to say to each other,
according to prison spokesman. Vernon Bradford.

Washington, one of eight children born to a Trenton,
N.J. family, came to Miami when he was 10. He admitted
killing three people in robberies over a 10-day period
because he didn’t have enough money to buy diapers for
his newborn child.

Smith, convicted of killing a woman and her 12-year-
old child in 1978, was abused while a child by his father,
grandtather and stepfather, according to Gail Rowland of

ocierieottane -. In Georgia © ; wy
“~~ Fvon Ray Stanley, a high school dropout with an IQ of
81, was to become the 21st man executed, and the second
in Georgia, since the Supreme Court dropped its ban on

Please see EXECUTIONS, 4-A

Oo ee

the Florida Clearinghouse on Criminal Justice.

., The last double executions in the United States came
in 1965, when Kansas — which has since abolished the
death penalty — carried out two double hangings, on
April 4 and June 6. The men executed in April of that year
were Perry E. Smith and Richard Eugene Hickock, the
killers in Truman Capote’s book Jn Cold Blood.

Since 1976, the on]y instance in which two inmates
have been electrocuted on the same day oceurred April 5,
when Elmo Patrick Sonnier died in Louisiana for killing
two teen-age sweethearts and Arthur Frederick Goode
was executed in Florida for the sex slaying of a 9-year-old
boy. , j

Journal hints politics plays role

A national publication says that although Florida has
had more executions than any other state since 1976, Gov.
Bob Graham is not as vigorous an enforcer of the death
penalty as he is portrayed.

This week’s issue of the National Law Journal says
that while Graham can sign as many as 32 death warrants
now, he is signing them either in pairs or individually.

“Gov. Bob Graham is committed to executing
murderers. But not too many,” the New York publication
said.

The publication hinted that Graham’s decisions on
who should be executed are political.

“Death and politics are inextricably linked,” the arti-
cle says. While Graham wants to reap the _ political
benefits of implementing the death penalty in aconserva-
tive state, he knows that a wave of executions could
alienate voters, the publication reported.

Syd McKenzie, the governor’s general counsel, re-
fused to discuss the reasons Graham signs a particular

warrant. But he emphasized that Graham’s decision to |

sign a warrant is based on the merits of a case. Generally, .
the governor has said he signs warrants for prisoners who |
have been on death row the longest and have exhausted

i
’ their legal appeals. i


,'

Killers set for
execution get —

temporary stays.

The Associated Press
STARKE — Federal judges
Wednesday granted temporary re-

prieves to a pair of killers who were
to die Thursday morning, but Florida
still had until noon Friday to execute

the men who killed a total of five:

people. ci, ie

US. District J udge piigehe P: F bel

man denied the habeas corpus peti-
tion of mass murderer David L.
Washington of Miami but granted a
stay until 6:59 a.m. Friday to give
appeals courts time to review the
denial.

Jimmy Lee Smith, who killed two
people near Marianna, won a delay
earlier from the llth U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals less than 12 hours
before he was to die in Florida’s elec-

tric chair. wy

Jimmy Lee Smith
killed two people

<2 eee

Be.

David L. Washington
killed three people


re | : ean | EEO Sen
To (A324

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Florida. 1 cece
‘Washington; Smith’
execution loa oe

By MIKE McQUEEN .
The Associated Press ae

STARKE — One of two Florida murderers
“whose executions-were delayed for 24 hours wen.
an indefinite stay Thursday, but the Supreme Court|
declined to spare the other, and prison officials
_ said he would be executed in the electric chair at 7
a.m. today. .

: The 1lth U.S. Court: of ‘Appeals in ‘Auden F
"granted a stay for Jimmie L. Smith, and the U.S.
Supreme Court later refused to lift it.The justices,
without comment, left intact the appeals court or-
.. der, sparing Smith’s life until it eet: his latest
egal arguments more closely. .

~.But the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 to approve the
By ne of David L. Washington, a convicted tri-
ple-murderer, and left intact an earlier order by
the federal appeal court in Atlanta, which ruled |
that Smith's arguments oF SaCIISENY trial counsel. ;

heeded closer study. -

Florida Department of hyenas spokesman *
S Verner Bradford said his execution had been re- ;
‘scheduled for just after dawn by State prison Su- | i

ger iron hi Richard DUsEE A“ tn,

‘see EXECUTION 0 on page BA ae

execution
"From page 1A

“He was still calm. He didn’t seem to be
surprised. There doesn’t seem to be much
reaction on his part,” Bradford said of
Washington’s reaction when he learned
he’d lost the appeal.

Smith was “still apittenalvet after
learning of the Atlanta court’s reprieve
since the decision was being appealed to

the Supreme Court. But once the high -

court spared him, “he was very pleased,”
Bradford said.

Death warrants for the men, who killed
five people between them, were set to ex-
pire at noon today. The carrying out of
both sentences would have marked the

- nation’s first double execution in 19 years.”

“We feel that a stay of execution should

: ‘not have been granted ... that there was no

legal basis for it,” Assistant Attorney
General Ray Marky said in Tallahassee.

Washington and Smith had been “just
Sitting in their cells’ earlier as their
appeals were being considered by the
11th Circuit, Bradford said.

‘Smith, who killed a woman and her
daughter, and Washington, a triple-mur-
derer from Miami, had been scheduled to
die shortly after sunrise Thursday at the
Florida State Prison near Starke but won
temporary reprieves from two different
federal courts late Wednesday.

Early Thursday, Georgia executed

death row inmate Ivon R. Stanley after

the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear

“more nervous than Washington,” Brad-

rs

his appeal. He was the 21st prisoner exe-

cuted since the Supreme Court restored *

capital punishment in 1976 and the first |
black executed in Georgia since 1963. |
Florida has executed six killers since 1979
but hasn’t put two to death on the eccae
day since 1964.
Washington was visited by his motler|

‘and other relatives Thursday while:

capital punishment foes paid a brief visit
late Wednesday to Smith, who was “a little

ford reported.

Washingion, 34, was under his third
death warrant for a 1976 crime spree that
claimed University of Miami student
Frank Meli, elderly Miami resident
Katrina Birk and homosexual minister |
Daniel Pridgen. |

t


ek VA Ie Sun
ae is } A, 1984

Sun reporter Martin Drummond
witnessed the execution of David
L. Washington.

By MARTIN R. DRUMMOND
Sun staff writer

STARKE — Just before 2,000
volts of electricity surged through
his slender body: early Friday,
Florida Death Row inmate David
L. Washington smiled, said he was
sorry for the three people he mur-
dered in 1976 and that he was

-“kind of nervous.”

The 34-year-old black man, a
former migrant worker, said if his
death brings any satisfaction to
the victims’ families, “So be it.”

’ “I’m sorry for all the grief and
heartache I have brought to
them,” he said.

And in his last advice to 220 oth-

.er condemned prisoners,

Washington said, “I'd like to say to

all the guys on death row, don’t

bow to defeat ... don’t bow to a

victory ... don’t bow to a defeat.”

_ “I’m kind of nervous,” he said
with a half-smile. “That’s all.”

At 7:09 a.m., just over five
minutes after his apology, he was
declared dead by Florida State
- Prison doctor Canh Nguyen. Pris-
on Sgt. Don Gladdish then told 42
witnesses crowded into a room

adjacent to death chamber that
the sentence had been carried
out. :

Washington’s only visible. signs
during the electrocution were his -
clenched fists which slowly
rotated during the 85-second burst
of voltage. Just before FSP Super-
intendent Richard Dugger called
a halt to the execution, sweat be-
gan dripping from Washington’s
hood-covered face.

‘Just after the death
pronouncement, the 12 news me-
dia witnesses, 12 “official” wit-
nesses picked by the state and 18
corrections employees filed out
quietly except for a couple of the
official witnesses who were
smiling and joking, though their

-conversation could not be

distinguished. One of the two had
said before the electrocution that
Washington's death “is a good re-
minder that we live in a lot less
than perfect world.”

Also smiling were a pair of cor-
rections officers standing in the
death chamber next to Washing-
ton’s body. :

Washington had been on Death
Row for more than seven years

See EXECUTION on page 8A


ies MEA chiens fay tio PETE ye eRe Dea ae
ERS ES SNOW ae Sn ESTE ere ee aT oes
~. %:

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*-. Gainesville Sun.

tr ee nw

La

riday, July 13, 1984

cae leew nne! om ymca gS iat


EMA i a Ob rte

Gary Uesironysunreatr chutacrepher |
Left: Susan Carey, a Gainesville attorney who volunteered her services to help David
Washington, reacts to the execution while outside Death Row. Right: Margaret Vandiver,
a legal assistant to Washington’s attorneys, stands with the parents of Arthur Goode Il.
Goode died in Florida’s electric chair earlier this year.


Execution = ts«i
From page 1A oe 8

for the brutal September 1976 slayings of.” |

* 4
en gs ey

University of Miami.student Frank Meli, elderly ’~

Miami resident Katrina Birk and minister Dan-~-
iel Pridgen. The bodies had been stabbed a total-:". .

ey

of 27 times and, in addition, Birk had been shot..
_ Meli had begged for his life before being
killed, police reported at the time.

In Miami, Meli’s mother, Dolores Meli ie

Proto, told the Associated Press Washington’ S.

execution was long overdue. © °°: *

- “My son was tied up for two days, stabbed 11.
times in the chest, and I’m supporting:
Washington. I pay taxes. My son is dead. My son:
would have- been an attorney today.”

When convicted, Washington told Circuit ;

Judge Richard Fuller to sentence him to death. “I:

don’t want to die — you know what I mean? But if 3) |

I sit up in some jail and rot, Pd rather be killed,’%
he said then. 2

During: fie: seven years, two ‘death warrants:
had been signed by Gov. Bob Graham but both °
expired after the. US: iis seein blocked. -
them. - 2:

_ Aggressive ake “efforts. ‘dering ficeke days :

were waged by death penalty opponents against
the death warrant signed in June by Graham:
The opponents, claiming an arbitrary and dis-
criminatory sentencing process, were able to
block Thursday’s scheduled execution when the
U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday it needed
more time to review the sentence.

But late Thursday, the Supreme Court justices
rejected the last-minute appeal and let stand
their earlier stay which expired at 6:59 a.m. Fri-
day. In anticipation of the execution, Washington
was fed a breakfast of his choice which included
fried shrimp and oysters, french fries, hot rolls
and a quart of vanilla ice cream. U

At 7:04 a.m., Graham's decree was confirmed °

by phone and then carried out by a black-hooded

executioner who threw the switch for a re of .
$150 in cash. oe

' Washington’s body was picked up by chimed
Chestnut of Chestnut Funeral Home. Cremation
is planned by Washington’s family who will
spread his ashes in the Atlantic Ocean.

Washington’s execution is the seventh carried .

out by the state since Graham took office in 1978.
Nationally, 21 other men have been executed
since the Supreme Court reinstated the death
penalty in 1976, the latest taking place early
Thursday morning in Georgia.

SY. eit aeingg a ‘


E LOST... FRANK’S GONE

tinued .

rk pants” walking toward the garbage
ntainer. “He’s the same man who
sed the joint a half-hour earlier,” the
sssage said. But this time he went on
o the hamburger stand.

High above the scene, a police plane
ide a tight circle. A woman undcr-
ver officer tried on shoes in a store
out 100 feet from the pickup point.
, all eyes focused on the paper bag
side the garbage bin, an urgent call
me on the radio: “The wind is blow-
g the bag away!” But it was only a
ist and the bag stayed relatively in
e same position.

Police waited for hours. No one
‘ked up the bag. They noticed two
n walk by the area, one of whom
inced toward the ransom sack, but

ide no move to pick it up and went:

| into the small restaurant. Police
ta very good description of him.
“Something spooked the kidnaper,”

Ransom demanded by kidnapers was left
. in garbage bin according to instructions, ©.
: but never picked up. As police began  biatxjgs.
probe at gravesite, residents of the
neighborhood gathered to watch.

said Lieutenant Minium in tracing the
case. “It could have been any little
thing. The kidnaper was operating in
fear from the start.”

With the payoff failing to gell, police
realized that the victim’s chances of
survival were sinking and they would
have to move fast. They hoped des-
perately another contact would be
made, but Angelo Meli waited without
receiving any calls except from friends
offering their help and sympathy. They
understood when he asked them to
keep his line clear.

The key to the victim’s whereabouts,
officers realized, now lay in the loca-
tion of his missing red car. Detectives
fanned out over Dade County, a met-
ropolitan area with scores of new and
used auto agencics, in search of a
dealer who might have bought such a
ear or discussed buying it.

They concentrated the search in the

ee od

northwest: section where Meli had pre-
sumably met the man interested in his
car. There, several dealers recalled be
ing offered the car by a well-spokes
black man, but they had become sus:
picious of him and refused to talk
trade. One dealer notified police of his
suspicions, but that was before the
hunt began. {

Detectives pushed their — search.

through Wednesday night. and ot
Thursday, Detective James Perla final
ly found the right dealer.

“Sure, we just bought a Camaro like
that,” a salesman at a north Dade
County new and used car agency told
him. “In fact, we cleaned it up and
have already sold it—the customer %
on his way here now to pick it up.”

Detective Perla asked if the car had
an Italian coat-of-arms sticker on it
a distinctive feature of the missing
Mcli youth’s car. i

“I believe it did,” the salesman said
“But we took it off when we cleaned
up ‘the car and painted a_ racing

stripe on it to make it more attractive
to a buyer.”

Perla was led to the car where he

checked the identification number un-
der the left windshield against the one
police had obtained from  Frank’s
brother. The shiny Camaro awaiting its
mew owner was the car police were
looking for and police immediately
seized it.

“The fellow we bought it from for
$2600 was a black man,” the dealer
recalled. “He had identification and a
Florida title for the car, which was
signed and notarized and matched the
car. He had a voter's registration, So-
cial Security card and bank book in
the right name. “What else can you
check out? An Italian sticker means
nothing. It could have been on the
car when he bought it.”

The dealer’s spokesman added an-
other detail which brought police to
an instantancous alert. “Oh, yeah,” he
said. “The fellow had some trouble
cashing the (Continucd,on page 51)

Arrested in the brutal
murder were Nathaniel
Taylor (1), Johnny Mills

and David Washington (R),
who allegedly lost all the
proceeds from crime at track
right after the killing.

Lit hae ng BT a

WS RTL AR SRE gh Ts No aN

Sete aad

epee


(AMI, FLA., OCTOBER 1, 1976

“Bargain at $3,600,” read the for
e ad. “Clean, red 1974 Chevrolet
maro. Student owner needs cash.”
[wenty-year-old Frank .Meli’s need
‘ash wasn’t really that serious. Actu-
, the hard-working student at the
iversity of Miami wanted to sell his
-engine red Camaro so he could
’ a newer car. He had just moved
) an apartment with two friends
|, as often happens in such circum-
ices, felt he needed a new auto to
nd out his new style of life.

ine of his roommates told police
r that Frank had a number of calls
wering the ad, several apparently
n the same man. On Tuesday, Sep-
ber 28, the persistent caller finally
‘d Meli to mect him at noon at the
rs store on the corner of Northwest
‘nty-seventh Avenue and Seventy-
h Street just outside the Miami
boundary limits.

Sppstsst

re Sa

ST

“How will I know who you are?” his
roommate heard Frank ask the caller.
The young man said as he left the call-
er told him he would recognize the
type and color of the car and would
make himself known. When the student
walked out of his new apartment, his
friends would have no idea it was the
last time any of them would see him
alive.

Shortly after 2 the next morning,
Wednesday, September 29, Frank’s
older brother Angelo was startled by
the ringing of his telephone in the dead
of night. Answering it, he recognized
his brother Frank’s voice, speaking in
high agitation.

“Listen, I’m OK,” Frank told his
brother. “But please do as I say. I'm
being held, and these guys are serious.
They want the amount of moncy I’ve
got in my savings account—they’ve
seen my account book so they know

how much I have,” he said urgently

Another voice then came on_ th
phone, giving Angelo Meli instruction
in a sharp businesslike way. He wa
to bring the money in cash, in a plait
brown paper bag, and deposit it besid
a Dempster Dumpster garbage bin ¢
a hamburger stand near NW Twenty
seventh Avenue and_ Seventy-nintl
Street—the same neighborhood wher
Frank Meli had headed to discuss th
sale of his car.

Angelo Mcli froze inside as he hai
to face the awesome fact: his brothe
had been kidnaped and was being hel
for ransom! Shaking, he reached fo
the telephone to call police.

The hour was a lonely one, too, #
the Dade County sheriff's headquartet
in downtown Miami but as always!
staff was on hand for emergencies. Ané
the sergeant who answered the phom
realized this was an urgent matter.

“We notified the FBI and our hom-

icide unit,” said Detective Gary Min-
ium, himself a member of the latter
highly trained squad. “We felt it was
a legitimate attempted kidnaping from
the start.” ;
Newspapermen were informed of the

‘situation but agreed not to publish

anything about the kidnaping while
the ransom negotiations were going on
and the payoff being set up. Broad-
casters also kept quiet about the dra-
matic life-or-death case.

The victim’s brother had been prom-
ised Frank Meli would be released
within an hour after the bag of money
was picked up. He got into his car
with the money and met police at a
Pre-arranged spot, well-removed from
the actual rendezvous with the kid-
naper which had been designated over
the telephone.

When he met the police, they told

GONE

Police waged a desperate battle against death in their.
attempt to recover a kidnap victim from his abductors

Angelo to leave his car and get a taxi
—driven by an officer disguised as a
cabbie. The. money was to be left at
the payoff location at 3 p.m. the same
day, Wednesday.

The whole group then proceeded

-toward the pre-arranged spot, but only

the taxicab was visible on the open
streets. The police took back roads and
twisting routes to the same area to
avoid tipping whoever held Frank
Meli’s life in his hands that officers
were around.

As the taxicab slowly cruised into
the shopping center area across the
street from Sears, hidden police ringed
the area. Angelo got out of the cab
and, as instructed, placed the paper
sack with the cash at the foot of the
Dumpster, a huge garbage bin which
is picked up and emptied into a truck
fitted for just such an_ operation.
Hushed but urgent voices sounded

by DAVE E. DAVIS

over the police radios as the drama
unfolded. ;

“The drop will be going down now,”
a voice said. “All units stand by.”

The brother then got back in the
cab and: was driven home to await
another call telling him the ransom
had been picked up and his brother
was free. Police continued their vigil
from hidden points around the ham-
burger stand where the ransom pay-
ment lay beside the garbage can.

As the brother left the scene, an
officer of one of the surveillance units
described on his radio a “Negro male
with a gray shirt, blue pants and red,
white and blue sneakers” walking
toward the drop site. “But he hasn’t
picked up anything,” the voice con-
tinued.

Seconds later, another message on
the radio described “a Negro male
wearing a blue and white shirt and

continued on next page

led

“et

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tout

CR Ce ec ts aigecnione ess


Proiesiers await signal

of Washington’s death

“By PAULA HORVATH-NEIMEYER
_ Sun staff writer

As a red sun broke over the horizon

_ early Friday, some 50 protesters took

up a vigil behind a wire fence across

‘from Florida State Prison to await the

death of a man. ay of them even
knew. °

wire fences of the prison across the

street, 34-year-old David Leroy

Washington, convicted of killing
* three people in Miami, was Preparing
“to die. Pay

en "Washington, fe cometimes: migrant
worker, had lost a final bid for his life

late Thursday. when the Supreme
Court rejected his appeal. He would
be the seventh man executed in
Florida since the Supreme Court

reinstated capital Pap pteneat ins)":

1976.

Many of those who had gathered

Friday had traveled to the misty cow
pasture before to protest the execu-

‘tion of the others at the Starke prison.

Their protestations sounded familiar.

“Executions Equal Pre-Meditated
Murcer” proclaimed one sign. “Stop
State Murder” was scrawled on
another.

“These men are here (on death
row) for the most part because
they’re black and in the second part
because they’re poor,” the Rev. Larry
Reimer of the United Church of
Gainesville told the protesters.

- Asingle death penalty backer stood
quietly apart.

Although Washington was nothing
more than a: name to most of the
protesters, some had met the con-
demned man and even fought for his
life.

Joe Ingle, director of the Southern

Coalition on Jails and Prisons, and

Gainesville attorney Susan Carey had
stayed with Washington until the ear-
ly morning hours as Washington met
with and prepared his family for his
impending death.

“The death penalty creates a whole
new class of victims,” Ingle told re-
porters, ‘‘The pain his family had to

- Behind the. en Noaits end Vharbed.

go through last night is unforgivable.”

They stood with Dick Burr, a West
Palm Beach attorney who had taken -
Washington’s case during the past few |
weeks. Burr had just returned from |
Atlanta where he had been fighting to ©,

have his client’s life spared by the .
- courts. ,

“The courts are an important place -
where the fight for life and decency
- takes place. But the courts will not do

anything to stop (executions) until the
people of Florida say they don’t want
them anymore,” Burr said.

_ Standing silently with the other
protesters were Arthur and Mildred

Goode, the parents of Arthur F. |

Goode III, a convicted child rapist
and murderer who was executed in
early April.

It was.the first ‘execution the

noe aecaee octets tints Phat the ion — then nem ont aentan tapas ty

Goodes had attended since the 1979 |

‘execution of John Spenkelink when

their son was waiting on Death Row.
And it was the first time either of
them had ventured near Starke since
their son’s death three months ago.

“It was the first time we could °

stand coming near here,” Mildred
Goode said. Her husband said he
hoped their presence “would do a lit-
tle good and make some impression”

in support of the anti-death rons

movement.
Silence descended over the cow
pasture as the protesters awaited

word on Washington’s fate. Even the

normally boisterous press corps was
quiet as all eyes were focused on the
the side door leading from “Q wing”
of the prison about a quarter of a mile

away where the death warrant was |

being carried out.

Suddenly, the door nhiened and
several small figures emerged. One,
believed to be a wire service report-

er, came forward, faced the cow |

pasture and waved a white cloth slow- |
ly back and forth over his head. It was :

_the standard signal to other reporters

waiting in the cow pasture.
The execution of David Leroy
Washington had been completed.


J ™

DAVID LEROY WASHINGTON
EXECUTED JULY 13, 1984

PRESENTED BY: RICHARD SUAREZ
NOVEMBER 05, 1991

CCJ 3934

DR. WILLIAM WILBANKS

pounpet See ive

iia iy

BMS sald ae te

i

eight, he evidently had shot to death
an 11-year-old playmate—in the same
backyard where Meli’s body was un-
earthed 13 years later. The child kill-
er’s explanation of the grisly deed at
the time was that he had meant to

shoot another boy when he grabbed

his father’s rifle, but the victim ran
between him and his target.

A psychiatrist on the earlier case
said the child killer suffered from a
“severe character disorder with suicidal
and homicidal potential.” Yet, because
Florida had no suitable juvenile facility
for such a subject, the boy merely
had been sent to New Jersey to live
with his grandmother. He had drifted
back to Florida and was on probation
for a robbery conviction when Meli
was kidnaped.

On Monday night, October 4, the
third suspect surrendered at the down-
town sheriffs office, accompanied by.
a relative. Previously identified as Gary
O’Neal, he was booked as Johnny
Gary Mills, aged 20, with an address
near the murder scene. Mills was
locked up with the other two suspects
without benefit of bail.

Police said they had now been able,
through questioning of the suspects
and unidentified witnesses, to piece to-

TOTES EAP TERAYTRD Papeete rt er

gether Meli’s last hours. The youth so
eager to sell his car had arrived at the
northwest section shopping center be-
tween noon and 7 p.m. of the fateful
Tuesday, police said. The prospective
buyer, identified as Washington, pur-
portedly walked up to his car and, was
offered a test-drive. With Meli sitting

beside him, he drove the car around. -

He then, according to police, asked

Meli to drive him to 6520 NW Twenty- '

ninth Avenue, where Taylor lived.

At the house, Washington allegedly
pulled a knife and forced Meli. to
accompany him inside. The captive
youth then was tightly bound and kept

under guard while Washington went .

out with the car to sell it, the investi-
gation showed. Meli had already been
a prisoner for some 12 hours when he
-called his brother to appeal for’ his
ransom payment, the charges contin-
ued. But he did not live much longer
after that.

“We lost,”
“This is what you dread from the mo-
ment it starts. Any time you lose live
contact with the victim, you immedi-
ately become even more concerned
about it.”

“I’ve never seen greater effort in such
a short period of time,” added Investi-

_ troit Mafia

said Lieutenant Minium.

gator John Spiegel. “We really tried!

The effort showed in Spiegel’s eye
He had not slept since 4 a.m. Wedneg
day when the ransom call had set the
police machinery in motion.

The investigation produced one od
footnote. The victim, Frank Meli, w
the grandson of Angelo Meli, identi
fied in U.S. Senate testimony as a D
figure. The testimon
called him a “top-ranking nation
hoodlum and notorious Prohibition e
figure.” He died in 1969 in Fort Lat
derdale, Fla. {

But, the father of murder victim
Frank Meli had died a hero at th
controls of his Air Force Sabre Jé
when it developed engine trouble ove
Landstuhl, Germany, in 1956. H
stayed with his doomed aircraft cel

_than bailing out so he could steer

away from populated areas when i
crashed and save countless innocen'
lives.

His son, Frank, was an infant at
the time of his father’s death and as
he grew older he had dedicated himself
to his studies, making a B-plus average
on his way to earning a law degree. It
was “unlikely,” police said, that Melis
kidnap-killers knew about his fan
and its background. ;

R.1.P. JEANETTE MARIA BODARD

County officers’ waited for a detailed
report from Dr. Snow, they received a

‘report from the Oklahoma State Crime

Bureau on the clothing found with the
skeleton. The blue-green dress was de-
scribed as an “out of date” party dress,
five to ten years old and of small size.
The bra had a B cup, slightly padded,
and possibly of the push-up type. The
pantyhose were of a cheaper brand

’ while the panties were of the bikini
type, plain in back and decorated in.

front.
The strands of brown hair found in

_ the grave were being kept at the state

crime laboratory, ready to be micro-
scopically compared with hair samples
from missing persons.

Payne County officers were able to

- eliminate more missing persons from

consideration in the case, as authorities
from throughout Oklahoma and _sur-
rounding states were expressing more
of an interest in the investigation.
Officers in Mayes County, just east’

of Tulsa, had been looking for a 29- .

year-old woman from Pryor who was
last reported seen on January 7, in a
bar in Claremore. Her bloodstained car
was later found in Oklahoma City. But
after a close examination of hair type,
investigators tentatively ruled out this
woman from the case in Payne County.

52

continued from page 33

On Thursday, June 24, after a week
and a half of examination, Dr. Snow

had a report for Payne County officers. -

The victim was described as a woman
ranging in age from 25 to 35. She was
5 feet tall to 5 feet, two. Her build

was described as slightly stocky and 3

she was white.

While the size and age could fit a
large number of women, Dr. Snow’s
report had some_ information that
could fit only a few. The victim had
sustained injuries at least a year before
her death of the type that could have
occurred in an auto accident. They had
been such as to indicate the woman

had been thrown into the dashboard |

or windshield of a car and may have
been disfigured, or scarred on the
right side of her face.

Dr. Snow. reported the woman had
poorly-healed multiple fractures of the
lower right jaw and right face that ex-
tended to the left side of the face. The
‘poor healing could have been the re-
sult of poor medical treatment, or the
victim could have received a first-rate
surgical job on a very badly mauled
face, Dr. Snow reported.

Dr. Snow also found a_ pressure
fracture in the first lumbar vertebra
in the lower back, which could have
been received in the: same accident.

Dr. Snow said the seriousness of the
fractures lead: him to believe the
woman suffered facial disfiguremen
and that she was either scarred or had
undergone plastic surgery. He pointe
out, however, the injuries could ha
been received as long as 20 year
before. ;
The absence of all molar and pr
molar teeth on both sides of the low
jaw was a mystery not entirely °y
plained by the suspected accident, Dr
Snow said. He noted an accidelll
could account for the missing teeth of
the right side, but not the teeth on 7

left side,

The information from Dr. Snow w:
used to eliminate from further con
sideration the remaining names on the
list: of missing girls and women i
Payne County. Deputy Staley passed
the report from Dr. Snow along t
other law enforcement agencies and
started a check of Stillwater surgeo .
and hospitals. After several days of in-

quiries, Payne County officers were al:

a regular resident of Stillwater.
Officers in Oklahoma City and Tulsa
and other cities in the state were
checking their missing person reports;
looking for a short woman 25 to

most certain the victim had not .

years of age who had been seriously —

injured in an accident from one to 20
years before.. But,

after almost two .


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WE LOST... FRANK’S GONE continued from page 37

certified check we gave him for the car.
In fact, he came back here to demand
the car back because he had been un-
able to cash the check, We called the
hank and arranged for it to be cashed
by them.”

The bank, police learned, was the
Southeast First National, the biggest
in Miami. By that time, it was night
and the bank had long since closed.
hut detectives called bank officials and
several of them made a special trip
to meet with officers and go over the
records of checks that had been recently
cashed. :

Thev found the check paid by the
car dealer for the Camaro, and more
important, they found with it a tele-
phone number which ‘an_ alert bank
- official had requested before the check
would be cashed.

[t was, police quickly learned, a non-
working telephone number—for a line
that had been disconnected six months
earlier. Again, police requested and re-
ceived aid in non-working hours, from
telephone company officials. They soon
had the name and address of the sub-
scriber whose phone had been turned
off.

The officers knew that 6520 NW
Twenty-ninth Avenue was in a seedy
neighborhood of the northwest section.
A select squad of detectives cautiously
approached the house, well aware that
if the kidnap victim were there—and
“alive-a concerted movement might
provoke his execution.

An officer knocked gently on the door
which was opened ‘by. a young black
man who turned out to be the man
whose name went with the discon-
nected telephone number. He did not
answer the description of the man who
had sold Meli’s car and had been

observed at the ransom payoff drop
area,

POLICE felt certain, however, that he
_ Was involved in the case and ques-
‘tioned him briefly. Withdrawing, they
‘“ationed themselves discreetly in the

neighborhood to keep watch on the

house,
A short time later, officers sallied

forth from their hiding places and’

Brabbed a tall youth walking toward
the house and snapped handcuffs on
ie After questioning, however, he
a released. He had only resembled
thi man police were looking for. Still,
“us innocent man gave some valuable
formation in his
oo So valuable, that a detail of
seat. obtained a warrant for the
tion. of the youth they had ques-
med at the house.

>:
With the warrant, police arrested

answers to the.

Nathanial (Winkie) Taylor, 21, a man
on probation for robbery. Meli obvi-
ously was not being held prisoner in
the shabby house where Taylor lived
so police now began a painstaking
general search. Checking all the rooms,
then going into the backyard and
combing it for any indication that all
was not as it should be.

At 3 p.m. Saturday, some 48 hours
after the kidnaping was first reported,
officers spotted freshly turned earth
just beyond the backyard of the house
at 6520 NW Twenty-ninth Avenue. Re-

~ porters had by now gathered at the

scene and a crowd of neighborhood
gawkers also pressed against barricades
thrown up around the house by police.

-Shirt-sleeved officers began digging

into the suspicious mound of dirt,
sweating in the hot afternoon sun as

_ they worked.

At 3:40 p.m., Sergeant George Lucas
came out to a group of reporters with
grim news. A body had been found:
buried at a depth of three feet behind
the yard. He said he could not reveal
its identity until relatives had been
notified. But none present had any
doubts about who it was. The kidnaped
youth, Frank Meli, ‘had been found

dead.
A blood-stained shirt was first lifted

from the grave. Then a bloody blanket»

and finally, the body. As it was taken
from the grave, an ice-cream truck
came down the street, its cheerful bells
adding a grotesque note to the stark
scene. ~

The medical examiner’s truck was
backed into the yard and the body,
wrapped in a plastic bag, was lifted
into it. Four officers hoisted the bag
and one said, “there was a lot of
blood.”

The stench from the body was over-
powering as the doors of the death
wagon were closed and it took the
victim to the medical examiner’s office
for a post-mortem © examination. The
crowd at the scene was still trying to
peer into the rude grave.

During these scenes set in motion
by morbid curiosity, police had kept
a watchful eye on the houses in the
shabby block. And late that Saturday
afternoon, while the officers were still
digging, a man was observed leaving
a house a block away. The officers’ at-
tention was riveted on this particular
man because he closely fit the descrip-
tion of the one who had sold young
Meli’s car to the dealer. Apparently
the man knew he was being watched
and almost immediately after he left
the house he put up his hands in the
timeless pattern of surrender. Police
quickly came forward and accommo-

dated him by putting him in handcuffs.

He was identified as David Leroy
Washington, 26. Both he and the man
arrested at the house behind which
the body was found, Winkie Taylor,
were’ charged with kidnaping and first
degree murder.

“We're looking for a third suspect
now,” said Homicide Detective Minium.

From their first questioning of the
suspects and evidence at the slaying
scene, police deduced Meli had been :
killed when he tried to escape his ab-
ductors. The coroner’s examination pro-
vided a grisly rebuttal to that deduc-
tion.

“It was a cold-blooded murder to-
kill the only witness,” said the chief
medical examiner, Dr. Ronald Wright.
The victim, he said had been tied
spread-eagled to a bed and stabbed 11
times in the chest.

ONE of the wounds had been inflict-
ed in his arms or head as might have —
been . expected had he been knifed
while trying to escape. The autopsy
findings indicated that Meli was _al-
ready dead at 3 p.M. Wednesday when
his brother made the futile payoff mis-
sion in response to the call at 2 A.M.
the same day. But he might have been
still alive, police said, when his car

‘was sold less than two hours after the

estimated time of the abduction.

“If the people there (at the auto
agency) had done the same thing as
the car dealer who went to call. the
police, we would have had him,” said
Homicide Detective John Spiegel. “It
certainly might have saved the boy’s
life.” Esgiatia

Police said they had learned that
Washington gave $200 of the red Ca-
maro proceeds to Winkie Taylor and
$200 to another suspect who had not
yet been arrested. Then, they said, the
prime suspect in the kidnap-murder
plot, Washington, paid $1000 cash for
a Honda motorbike and buzzed off to
a dog racing track where he lost every
bit of the money remaining from his
alleged venture into kidnaping and
blood.

“That’s what they exchanged this
boy’s life for,” said Detective Spiegel.

Police released a picture for publica-
tion and began an intensive manhunt
for the third suspect, identified as Gary
O’Neal and described as a gangling
black, six feet, five inches tall but
weighing only 145 pounds. He was
charged with first degree murder, kid-
naping for ransom, armed robbery and
conspiracy. Taylor and Washington had
implicated O’Neal in the crime, officers
said. |

A chilling previous case, meanwhile, |
had emerged in the background of sus-
pect Winkie Taylor. At the age of

51


DAVID LEROY WASHINGTON
EXECUTED JULY 13, 1984

EVENT: |
On September 20, 1976, David Leroy Washington went to the
home of Daniel Pridgen, 69, a minister he had known for two days,

with robbery on his mind. He ended up stabbing Pridgen seven times.
He ransacked the house, stealing jewelry, cash, a 22 wNgto ke yu !
Pridgen's 1965 Chevrolet. IS <a

Three days later, Washington went to the home of Katrina Birk,
64, of 10351 N.W. 28th Ave. He killed Mrs. Birk and wounded three
of her sisters-in-law. He broke into the house and he tied, gagged,
shot and stabbed al] four women. The sisters-in-law were Julia
Sullivan, 73, Ruth Marie Pitzer, 70, and Georgia Griffith, 68.
Georgia Griffith remained in coma at Jackson Memorial Hospital and
later died. The sisters-in-law were visiting from Indiana at the
time of the murder.

On September 29, 1976 Washington abducted accounting student Frank
Meli, 20, of the University of Miami. On the night of September 27,
1976, Washington responded to a newspaper ad in which Meli was
offering his 1974 Camaro for sale. When Meli arrived at the
Northside Shopping Center, Washington abducted him and tied him to
a bed in a house at 6520 N.W. 29th Avenue. Washington, along with
Nathaniel Taylor, his brother and Johnny Mills, who faced trial in
the Meli case, first attempted to extort $2,700.00 in ransom money
em Meli's brother, th failed to pick up th oney. Washington
Gi) seit Meli's carg wever, a day later abbed the young
ident to death with the same knife he had used on Pridgen and
Mrs. Birk. Meli's body was buried in a makeshift grave in the back-
yard of 6520 N.W. 29th Avenue.

17
THE VICTIMS: If \peenncd

Rev. Daniel Pridgen was 69 years old. Washington had met
Pridgen two days earlier at White Snow Coin Laundry, 5750 N.W.
27th Avenue, where the 69 years old minister worked part-time.

Katrina Birk was 64 years old. She lived alone at 10351 N.W. 28th

Avenue in North Dade. She was described by neighbors as a feisty

little woman who made a living buying and selling used furniture.

She drove a blue pickup truck. She was survived by her son, Andy,

and her husband Omar who was in a nursin tn @t the time he
0

murder. \
[ v4 — ne*
Frank Meli was 20 years ol hn Washington kidnapped him, held him

for ransom and then stabbed him'11 times after failing to pick up
the ransom money dropp off by Meli's brother. Frank expected to
be a successful tax lgwyer. He was a University of Miami accounting
student. He alw ade the dean's list and had a 3.5 grade point
average. His f died in 1956, when Frank was 6 months old. His

mother later remarried. He is survived by his mother Dolores
Zoproto and his brother Angelo Meli.


One killer —

executed;
a Second
gets delay

Phillip Atkins’ appeal
was turned down by the
11th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals on Monday.
Now, only the U.S.
Supreme Court can spare
his life.

By Ron Word
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

STARKE

Condemned killer Jerry White
let out a short, muffled scream as
he was executed Monday in Flori-
da’s electric chair for shooting and
robbing an Orange County conve
nience store customer in 1981.

As the doctor checked White,
other inmates on Florida’s Death
Row, located on the floor above the
Chamber with the electric chair,
began a rhythmic beating on the
bars of their cells.

A second execution scheduled
Monday for convicted child killer
Phillip Atkins was rescheduled for
10 a.m. today. Atkins’ appeal was
turned down Monday evening by
the 1lth US. Circuit Court of Ap-
peals in Atlanta; only the US. Su-
preme Court can prevent Atkins
from dying. Atkins’ death warrant
expires at noon*today.

White, 47, urged people to turn
to Jesus Christ in his last com-
ments before he became the 35th
inmate to die in Florida’s electric
Chair since executions were re-
sumed in 1979 and the second in
the state this year.

When the black-hooded execu-
tioner turned on the switch at 12:12
p.m., sending 2,000 volts of electric-
ity through the chair, White let out
a muffled scream. He lunged
against the back of the chair and
his hands balled into fists.

The executioner; who was paid
$150 in cash, turned off the power a
minute later and White was de
‘Clared dead six minutes later.

Just prior to his execution, an
expressionless White nodded to de
fense attorney Michael Minerva,

Pleacn wae ryre

EXECUTION - ‘He had zero hope that

the U.S. Supreme Court would help him ’

From 1C

who gave him a thumbs-up signal.
In his last Statement, White

Said: “I wish that all the people that.

hear my voice would turn to the
Lord, Jesus Christ, as I have.”

Susan Cary, a Gainesville attor-
ney who acts as a liaison for death
row inmatcs, who visited White
Monday night, Said, “He was very

much at peace. He was realistic.
He had zero hope that the US. Su-
Preme Court would help him.”
White was sentenced to die for
the murder of James Melson, a

shopper in the grocery story White
was robbing.

Atkins, 40, was sentenced to

-death for the 1981 kidpapping and

e
a

murder of 6-year-old Antonio Cas-
tillo. Atkins picked up the little boy
at a Lakeland neighborhood, drove
him to a wooded area and molest-
ed him. |

When the boy threatened to tell
his parents, Atkins beat him to
death with his hands and-a Steel

pipe.

Atkins was first sentenced to
death on Feb. 19, 1982, and was
later resentenced to the electric
chair after the Florida Supreme
Court vacated his death sentence.


Killer’s scream rings |

hollow for 1 witness

WHITE from A-1

and the dozen death penalty pro-
testers outside the prison north of
Starke.

“All they want to think about is
the defendant. My brother was ex-
ecuted too — with a damned gun.
Did he have appeals? He didn’t
even get to plea for his life.”

Alexander’s former wife, Juanita
Robbins of Orlando, said she was
relieved for her four children and
found White's last cry ironic.

“I imagine that poor guy killed
in the store probably screamed
too,” she said. “Alex couldn’t
scream when he died. That’s the
difference.”

A weekend of scrambling by
State-appointed lawyers and their
reams of last-minute legal mo-
tions couldn’t save White. Shortly
before his
scheduled 12:05
‘p.m. execution,
the U.S. Su-
preme Court re-
fused to grant a
reprieve.

Monday’s
only delay
came for Phillip
Atkins, 40, who
had been
scheduled to
die one hour after White for kill-
ing a 6-year-old Lakeland boy he
molested in 1981. Atkins’ execu-
tion was reset for 10 am. today as
he pursued federal appeals. The
11th Circuit Court of Appeals in
Atlanta turned him down Monday
night.

a ad

On March 8, 1981, Melson asked
his brother to go with him to Alex-
ander’s Grocery on Palm Avenue
in Taft in south Orange County.
McDonald chose to stay home, a
decision that has haunted him
ever since.

About 11:30 a.m. White — an ex-
con with a violent past — walked
in and ordered Melson and Alex-
ander into the freezer. Prosecutors
say he shot them in the back of
their heads — execution style —
to eliminate witnesses to his rob-
bery.

Melson, 34, a Vietnam veteran
and Orange County equipment
operator, died at a hospital.

Alexander, 53, was paralyzed
from the neck down and unable to
speak. For four years he was
trapped in a hospital bed, hooked
to a respirator that sustained his
life. He died of heart failure and
other complications.

At White’s 1982 trial jurors took
only 40 minutes to convict him of
first-degree murder and armed
robbery.

His last-minute appeals cen-
tered on whether his attorney had
done enough and whether recent-
ly uncovered witness statements,
blood splatters and White's IQ of
72 would have made a difference.
Five courts decided White's fate
would have been the same.

bur

| nn a ad

At 9 a.m. Monday, White got his
fast meal of grilled round steak.
french fried potatoes, cole slaw.
toast and orange juice. He ate
most of the steak, two whole pota-
toes, three pieces of toast and
drank three glasses of juice.

His family had spent much of

Sunday with White, saying their |

|

goodbyes after midnight. Between |

1 and 3 am., he prayed with a
Gainesville preacher and the pris-
on chaplain. He slept for three
hours and awoke at 6:30 a.m.

Susan Cary, a Gainesville attor-
ney who acts as a liaison for death
row inmates, said White was calm
and at peace, resigned to his fate.

At some point, he penned the
written statement he wanted re-
leased after his death:

“I have confessed all my sins
before the Lord my God. I wish to
express my sorrow to all of those |
I’ve pained.” ’

Shortly after noon, White en-
tered the death chamber where
prison officials stood waiting.

Two guards led him to the
three-legged oak chair built by in-
mates in 1923. He sat where 34
men have died since Florida re-
sumed executions in 1979. He
wore a white long-sleeved shirt
and blue pants.

He watched calmly as officials

vkled the sand-colored straps

around his arms, legs and chest.

Looking out at the more than 40
official witnesses and reporters,
he acknowledged one of his attor-
neys with a nod and smile.

! One man stood by a green pris-
_on telephone to Gov. Lawton
Chiles, who gave the go-ahead.

After White’s final words, the
black hood was affixed.

From across the executioner’s
Toom a man nodded. With a loud
slam, the-chair was activated and
the hooded executioner in an ad-
joining booth flipped a switch.

After the current stopped, doc-
tors examined White for several
minutes as an odd drumbeat, later
explained as the sound of prison-
ers pounding on cell bars, rever-
berated like a death knell. Then
came the announcement:

“The sentence of the state of
Florida in the case of State of Flor-
ida vs. Jerry White has been car-
ried out at 12:19. Please exit.”


tah

- =

Witt Tis rr en eG at
, verry, black, elec, FLSP (Orange) 12/4/1995

Jerry White pays
ultimate price
for 81. murder

C) The U.S. Supreme Court refused to
grant a reprieve, and Florida executed
the killer in the Orange County case.

By Debbie Salamone

OF THE SENTINEL STAFF f . AL

STARKE — It had been nearly 15 years since Jerry
White murdered one Taft man and paralyzed an-
other.

On Monday, the time came for him to pay. -

“J wish that all the people who can-hear my voice
will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ
as I haye,” he announced while
sitting strapped in Florida’s elec-
tric chair.

He said nothing about the 1981
store robbery and shootings that
left customer James Melson dead
and store owner Alex Alexander
unable to move or speak.

When the 2,000-volt current be-
gan, White clenched his fists and
screamed — the sound muffled by
straps around his face and a black White
leather hood over his head. His voice faded as the
electricity flowed for about one minute.

White, 47, slumped in his chair and was pro-
nounced dead at 12:19 p.m., his fists still curled.

Melson’s brother, Robert McDonald, sat only a few
feet from the condemned man in a room with dozens
of reporters, prison and official witnesses.

After the execution, he appeared shaken but
walked from the chamber looking satisfied. What agi-
tated the Taft truck driver were White’s supporters

Please see WHITE, A-10

+

’ FeO7eI Ze

/ a/o GI 5

pal)

Orlando Sentmel (alder

“ : ; sler ‘L (Duval), 6-14-1948
panes had ALEAKAQANAEYr lle 9 W Lag 616 Ve ny (Duv al) Vn 19 =
‘ 7 y o ate ee

THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, JACKSONVILLE, TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 1948.)
—== = > |
{Wiles Dies y

At Raiford’ cae :

Pays Penalty in Chair for
| Slaying of Police.

- Alexander H. Wiles was executed
yésterday for the slaying of « Jack-
Sonville policeman June 22, 1946.

, Alcording to the Associated Press.

| Wilet.was pronounced dead at the |
State Prison, Raiford, at 9:15 A. M.
‘The prisoner issued no statement
before his electrocution and, ac-
\cording to L. F. Chapman, prison |
‘superintendent, the execution was

“routine.” |

Wiles was indicted for the shot-/.
‘gun slaying of Ellis Van Dya) and
Richard Scarborough, police offi-
cers and was convicted of Dyal’s
murder. The two officers were shot|.
to’ death after they entered Wiles’
‘home in answer to a telephoned
‘call for assistance from Wiles’ wife.

| ‘The execution, carried out in ac-|
cordance with a death warrent
|signea last week by Gov. Millard
|F. Caldwell, followed the exhaustion
of every avenue of reprieve from
‘the death sentence, Wiles’ attorney,
‘P. Guy Crews, was unsucceasfu)] in
‘appeals to the Florida and U. 8.
‘Supreme Courts and to the State
;Pardon Board.
! ‘

t
ie

——


WIGGINS,. Henry, black, hanged Palatka, Fla., July ©£3,1887

flat)” WIGGINS:.0,, STATE. 3 693

“West half of lot. two (2) of block eighty-six (86) of the city of’ Jacks
sonville,”—-which ‘was her separate legal property, negotiated with
the appellee for the erection of a residence thereon. , The appellee,

with the consetit'of the husband, agreed to’ build the: housefor'a sum
agreed on! The house was completed ‘by the appellee, and received
by the appellants, Schnabel and wife. That a court of.equity will
charge the real estate of the wife with the value of improvements
which she procures to be erected:thereon has -been‘several times de-
cided by this court. seeded wl tropstach al

There was a demurrer to the bill on the ground that it did not
allege that George E. Schnabel was insolvent,-or that, judgment ‘and
execution had been obtained against him without avail. No author-
ity has been cited that sustains-this position, nor-can it be supported
upon any. legal or equitable theory of which we are cognizant. It
has never, to ouf khowledge, been decided that the husband's insolv-
ency wad.a necessary prerequisite to the-power of the! wife! to, bind
her separate ‘estate in the two methods recognized by our decisions,

‘The appellants assign as error the exclusion of the testimony of
George E. Schnabel; the husband of Mrs: Schnabel. |The common-
law rule which denied to the husband the right to testify for or
against his wife ina civil suit against her has not been altered’ by
the statutes of this state.: ‘The statute, only authorizes the wife to be a
witnéss in a:case where her husband is’a party. It does riot..extend
the same right to him in a case where she isa party. | ‘That they are ,
both parties defendant here does not alter the rule. -He could testify
to anything: relating to his own defense, but he could not testify in
support of any defense ‘set up by his wife. McGill v. McGill, 19
Fla. 341..; His evidence was properly excluded.’ Upon a review of
the testiriony in this cause thé decree of the circuit court is modified as
to the amount thereof, and a decree will be heré rendered against the
said Kate-S. Schnabel for $37.96, which -is declared to be a-lien on
said “west halfiof lot two, (2,) block: eighty-six, (86,) of the city of
Jacksonville,” and the improvements thereon, and which, if not paid
by the twenty-third day of May, 1887, an execution shall issue from
this court therefor. ©. eM aa ot

’ . , e
aor yotee3 i 4 f j genes t

(28 Fd. 480) prepiior of ow La ey ine ls
, ; anegoed? ery 4 WIGGINS -v.; STATE, ;

reb en , red

4 yee er rrnocang UP Ce eeyeyen ea 5  Axte 4 rn. welage BeceE bh cain gy ps e
oe yaa (Supreme Court of Florida. ‘March 2, 1887.) ..°,,

fa.
Wye

1. MurpER—InDICTMENT—“ PREMEDITATED INTENT.” Rise ellen
1) An-indictment for murder. in the first degree should charge a premeditated
_ intent or desire to kill, as it alone distinguishes that crime from murder in the
’ jesderAlegrees.  - ves Viens ad Penn a ree

9. Excertrons, Brow ‘or—Must'! Contain, WHAT. 6 0
The. bill of,exceptions should be. full and sufficient, and, this court will not
‘examine the assigned errors when the judge certifies that it is “an imperfect
) pillof éxcéptions,;” not showing all the evidence. :'-- Re aa ay Pes


694 SOUTHERN REPORTER. [Fila.

8, Samwz—ReEcorD,
Exceptions taken to the form ne 4 validity of the indictment which appear
in the record, will of course be considered.
4. Same—VeERpDictT—INDICTMENT—SENTENCE. |
The verdict of the uy. that they find the defendant guilty upon : an n indict-
ment not charging the murder to have been premedi(aied, will not Warrant &
sentence of death,

(Syllabus by the Court.)

L

Error to circuit court, Putnam county. ed
Indictment for murder, a A Coy aN Slay

W. HA. Wigg, for plaintiff in error, | cated AL wey oD nett, ial
The Attorney General, for the State. ; |

Van VALKENBURGH, J. On the twelfth day of + November, A. D:
1885, the plaintiff in error, Henry Wiggins, was indicted for the
murder of William B. Porter, of Putnam county. The defendant was
arraigned in the same month, and entered a plea of not guilty. In
April, 1886, the case was tried by a jury, and defendant was found
guilty. A motion for a new trial was made upon several grounds.
This motion was overruled by the court, and Wiggins was sentenced
to death. From this judgment the case is brought here by writ of
error, and the errors assigned are the same as those upon which the
motion for a new trial was overruled, save only they allege that the
court erred'in:“sentencing defendant to death’ when ‘the: verdict did
not specify the degree of murder, and that the indictment is ‘fatally
defective in not following the words of the statute.” - S

What purports to be the bill of exception in this case is defective
andimperfect. In fact it gives no basis for action upon it in this court.
The judge who signs it, in his certificate, says. that it does ‘not show
all the evidence in the case; that there were six other very material wit-
nesses whose testimony is not included in it; and he concludes his cer-
tificate as follows: “I sign the imperfect bill of exceptions presented
that the prisoner ’s attorneys may raise the points they desire to make
in regard to jurors and confessions, should the supreme. court con-
sider it proper to allow the appeal without a complete statement of
the evidence.” Many of the errors assigned cannot be examined or
passed upon on such a defective record, and we do not propose to ex-
amine them, except so far‘as the indictment and the errors alleged

- are based upon that which appears in the record, These are, in gub-

stance, that the indictment is fatally defective, ant that the verdict
does not specify the degree of murder. = © \ read

In the case of Dunham v. State, decided at the lest! devas ‘of this
court, and reported in 22 Fla. —-, we had occasion to examine this
question thoroughly. The indictment in the.case under consideration
is in substance the same asin that; it does not charge premeditation;

and we heldin that case that our statutes make the premeditated in-:

Bre se

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Fla.J | FORCHEIMER 0. TARBLE, 695

tent to kill necessary to constitute murder in the first degree. The =

question of premeditation is a question for the jury, and it is that
alone, when passed upon by a jury, that warrants a conviction pun-
ishable with death. In this case the verdict of the jury was as fol-
lows: “We the jury find the defendant guilty.” The sentence of the
court was as follows: “That the said Henry Wiggins be taken to the
county jail, and there confined until such time as may be appointed

by the governor of the state for his execution, and that he be then.

hanged by the neck till he be dead.” |
The judgment is reversed, and a new trishawurieds

(23: Fila. 99) . 4A deg ‘
a Forcurimer and others v. TarsuE and another.

(Supreme Court of Florida. February 19, 1887.)

1. Counts Hida biol! Ba dittre Aen JUDGMENT BY DEFAULT.
Under the constitution and laws of Florida as they were in August, ‘A. D.

1876, ‘a circuit judge was not empowered to set aside in vacation a final judg-.
ment entered during a term of the court on default of the defendant in a

ol , action.
2. SAME. + :
Myrick v. Merritt, 21 Fla. 799, denying power. cof circuit judge to undo or
alter in vacation, under the act of 1879, (chapter 8121,) the final disposition
~ made of a case in term-time, approved.
(Syllabus by the Court.)

i

5

Appeal from circuit court, Escambia county.
W. A. Blount, for appellants.
K ppiaity & Mallory, for appélleéass.

‘ Rana; J. The bill of. complaint shown, that on Ap ril 16, 1878,
Mrs: Tarble purchased from George.§. Wells, and evcivel a deed of
conveyance of, the land described, lying in the city of Pensacola;
that she and her husband, the appellees, are in possession of if; that
appellants have caused it ‘to be levied on, and are about to sell it un-
der an- execution issued January 29, 187 6, on a judgment rendered
by the circuit court of Escambia county in term on August 5, 1874,
in their favor against Wells; that on August 1, 1876, the judgment
and execution were set aside and vacated by an order made i in vacation
by the judge of said court, and that the order so vacating such judg-
ment and execution remained unreversed and unrescinded until a cer-
tain day in January, 1886, when said circuit court in term made an or-
der vacating said order of August 1,1876. A transcript of the proceed-
ings in ‘the action against Wells is annexed to and made a part of the
vill as showing the alleged proceedings therein. The bill prays an

SBF AEs MAY cia ARS

EPS i ee ie Aenea on PF ak tht


i

coon Ae a a iil

Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s Su-
preme Court cleared the way yester-
day for the nation’s first double state
execution since capital punishment
was restored eight years ago. Two
killers are set to die tomorrow.

The state’s highest court rejected
6-0 the mercy appeal of Jimmy L.
Smith and, two hours later, dissolved
a stay of execution for David L.
Washington by the same vote.

The court also overruled a circuit
judge who had thrown out Washing-

wa
fs iy
GE
SS

i
«

cleared

ton’s three death sentences Monday
night. a

Both men are scheduled to die at 7
a.m. tomorrow at Florida State Pris-
on near Starke, where six other men
have been electrocuted since 1979.
Prison officials have not said who
would be the first to be strapped into
the electric chair,

Gov. Bob Graham’s June 15 war-
rants remain in force until noon Fri-
day.

Smith’s attorneys will get another
chance to win a reprieve for their cli-

Stage set for double execut

ent during a hearing today before
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson in
Pensacola, while Washington's attor-
neys said they will ask a federal
judge in Miami to block the execu-
tion.

Washington, 34, is under his third
death warrant for the September 1976
murders of three people in Miami.

State prosecutors said Washing-
ton’s new lawyers were simply argu-

- ing legal issues that had been litigat-

ed in other courts.
The prisoner’s public defenders in-

louble execution —

sisted the arguments were new and
raised constitutional questions that
merited a reprieve. y

But the Supreme Court disagreed.

warrant for the May 1, 1978, stabbing-

strangulation of Bonnie Ward and her

12-year-old daughter, Donna Strick-
land, They were killed near Marian-
na. '

Sara Bleakley, Smith’s volunteer
lawyer, argued that a psychiatric re-
port on her client from a reform
school near Marianna had been with-

‘ case,
Smith, 30, is under his second death -

held by the state and that she should.’
have a full-blown hearing to deter- :
mine if the report could help Smith’s |

But the justices’ three-page opinion ,
in Smith’s case appeared to follow the.+
arguments presented by Assistant; .
State Attorney Ray Marky, who said»:
defense lawyers had ample time dur- .;,
ing Smith’s nearly six years on Death =:
Row to raise all appeal issues. 4
If electrocuted, Smith and Wash- &

(See STAGE, Page B-2) _

)

10n tomorrow

ene a”: eas

(From Page B-1)

ington would be the 2Ist and 22nd
prisoners to be executed since the
,U.S. Supreme Court restored capital
. punishment in 1976. No state has exe-
cuted two men in one day since then,
/ Florida has executed a nationwide
high of six men since the landmark
Tuling.
The last double execution in Flori-
da occurred in May 1964.
Washington-had won a reprieve on

Saturday and again on Monday from
Circuit Judge Herbert Klein of Mi-
ami. Klein also threw out the prison-

‘er’s death sentences, saying he found

Statements made by the prosecutor
during Washington's 1976 sentencing
Improper,

Richard Burr, Washington's public
defender, had convinced Klein that
the prosecutor had no right to argue
his client should receive the death
penalty, in part, because he had killed
a college student who aspired to be a

tax lawyer.

Burr said to compare the worth of
a defendant’s life to that of his victim
has been ruled improper by federal
courts,

Smith's initial mercy plea was re-
jected Monday by Circuit Judge Rob-
ert McCrary of Marianna, who at the
end of the hearing declared: “I'll do
all I can to see that he [Smith] gets
killed before I dice,”

. McCrary is the judge who sent
Smith to Death Row six years ago,

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Florida inmates win
stays of execution

‘ i
f-

Associated Press uit t
STARKE — Federal judges grant- }..-:
ed temporary reprieves yesterday to}...
a pair of killers who were to die this
morning, but Florida still had until }.
_noon tomorrow to execute the men |.
.who killed a total of five people. |
“U.S. District Judge Eugene P.
. Spellman denied the petition of mass
_ murderer David L. Washington of Mi-
-” ami but granted a stay until 6:59 a.m.
tomorrow to give appeals courts time
Sto review his denial. i
“..° Jimmy Lee Smith, who killed two
“people near’ Marianna, won a delay
- earlier from the 11th U.S. Circuit ©
, Court of Appeals less than 12 hours
“ before he was to die in Florida’s elec-
ye tricsehair,: 3 AORN ,
Both men originally asked to be ex-
- @cuted but have since mounted in-
‘tense appeals to avoid execution.
- Meanwhile, in Atlantaafederalap-- -. |.
peals court refused last night to block ‘+ Jvon R. Stanley
the execution of Georgia Death Row ‘Appeals to Supreme Court °
inmate Ivon-R. Stanley, who was a :
scheduled to die just after midnight. In Florida, U.S. District Judge Rog-
_A three-judge panel of the lith U.S. er Vinson of Pensacola, citing Smith’s
Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a “death wishes,” denied his request for
two-page order that Stanley’s petition a stay after a nearly four-hour hear-
raised arguments that had already ing.
been denied in an earlier appeal. In Attorneys immediately appealed to
the latest plea, his lawyers contended the lith Circuit in Atlanta. Although
that the death penalty in Georgia has _ that court granted a stay, it also set a
been applied in a racially discrimina- _ hearing for this morning to listen to
tory manner. arguments. é
. The judges said they found “relief Death warrants that Gov. Bob Gra-
can be granted only if the ends of jus- ham signed on the killers are good |
tice require it; we conclude that the . through noon tomorrow. ‘
ends of justice do not warrant relief.” Vinson, ruling in Smith’s case, said
Georgia Attorney General Mike he initially thought the killer should
Bowers said he understood Stanley’s get a stay for an evidence-gathering |

lawyers were taking the case to the
*. Gee FLORIDA, Page A-14)

. US. Supreme Court.

ee

“Florida inmates win reprieves;,
Georgia killer's appeal denied

g7

ey sy} ae

fe

$4 “Washington, 34, is under his third
tae (From Page A-1) | warrant for a 10-day robbery-
fee : abduction rampage in which prosecu-

‘hearing on alleged ineffective counsel tors said he killed University of Mi-

| S.by his trial lawyer. ami student Frank Meli, elderly Mi-

“>” But after questioning Smith's cur- ami resident Katrina Birk and
‘tent lawyers and reading the trialre- minister Daniel Pridgen.
“cord the judge concluded that the — The nation’s last double execution
~ original defense attorney could not jn a state occurred June 22, 1965,
-- have changed the outcome of the trial when Kansas executed George R.
= because of Smith's death wish. York, 22, and James D. Lantham, for
“” Wwashington’s attorneys have one of seven murders that they had
“claimed a prosecutor at his 1976 trial bragged they committed. On April 5,
“in Miami made improper statements Florida and Louisiana each executed
© comparing the worth of the lifeofone a killer. :

. of three victim’s to that of Washing- Florida’s last double execution was
© ton’s. May 12, 1964, when it put convicted
“But the state Supreme Court said killers Emmett Blake and Sie Daw-

thut. was no reason to grant a re- son to death, The state has executed!
; prieve, and overruled a circuit judge more than one man on the same day
+ who on Monday had blocked Wash- 22 times since it began electrocuting
{ ington’s execdtion on that basis. prisoners in 1924, Bradford said

$


-

PERL US

_ THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION /JACKSONVILLE JOURNAL:

PAGE A-3

vr
om
we}

ioe

eN ptm . 44 Fmt +

yerog ton
sxe,
be
rf
P

By Frank LoMonte -
_ Staff writer

STARKE — Twelve-year-old Flor-

ence Washington sat on her father’s
lap and said a last tearful goodbye

just after 1 a.m. yesterday. ©

Six hours later, her father, David
Leroy Washington, was strapped into
the electric chair at Florida State

. Prison and executed for the murder

of three Dade County residents dur-
ing a nine-day killing spree.

_“J want you to look at me. I’m the
one who. got me here. I want you to
do better,” Rev. Joe Ingle of .Nash-
ville, Tenn., quoted the prisoner as
saying during the visit.

Washington, who was pronounced
dead at 7:09 a. m., was the fifth man
to die in Florida’s electric chair this
year and the seventh to be executed
in the state since Florida resumed en-
forcement of the death penalty in
1979.

Death Row inmate Jimmie Lee

’ Smith, who was convicted of murder-

.ing two Marianna women in 1978, also
was scheduled to be executed yester-
day morning. But Smith won a stay
from the lth U.S. Circuit Court of

: Appeals in Atlanta on Thursday,

which was upheld by the U.S. Su-
prene Court. ;

» Washington had survived two other
death warrants, one in March 1981,
and the other a month later. He and
Smith were scheduled to be executed
Thursday morning, but. they won a
temporary stay when the Atlanta ap-
peals court decided Wednesday to
postpone the executions for 24 hours.

But Washington’s luck,—-and his
appeals — finally ran out Thursday.
After: hearing oral arguments from
Washington’ 's lawyers, the federal ap-
peals court vacated the stay and the
U.S. Supreme Court upheld that deci-
sion Thursday night.

The 34-year-old Miami native never
denied killing University of Miami
student Franc Meli, 20, Miami resi-
dent. Katrina. Birk, 64, and minister

Daniel Pridgen, 69, and has expressed -
remorse for his crimes. One anti- .

death penalty protester standing out-
side the prison read an excerpt from
an interview Washington gave sever-
al years ago in which he said he was
sorry for his misdeeds.

“I don’t care about my life. I feel
like I owe society something,” Wash-
ington told author Doug McGee as
quoted in McGee’s 1980 book Slow

; Coming Dark. : te sae

Those who visited with W ashington
‘hours before his death say the.con- .
demned man was more concerned
about the grief he had caused his own
family and the relatives of his victims
than about his own impending death:

“He was. able to forgive himself be’
cause he felt he was forgiven. And'l
think that’s beautiful,” Ingle said. :

In Miami, Meli’s mother, Dolores
Meli Lo Proto, said she didn’t believe
Washington’s. earlier. apologies ‘In
court for the crimes.

“Why didn’t he think of that when
he was stabbing Frankie in the
chest?” she said. “Why didn't he feel
bad when Frankie was saying the
‘Our Father?’ ”

“My son was tied up for two days,
stabbed 11 times in the chest,” she
said. “That, to me, was cold-blooded
murder.” :

Washington was served a last meal
of fried shrimp and oysters, french
fries, lemonade, a half-pint of vanilla
ice cream, hot rolls and catsup, said
prison spokesman Vernon Bradford.

Ingle said Washington faced the
prospect of death calmly, trying to re-
assure his family that their lives
could go on after his death. Witnesses
to the execution said Washington was
calm and unemotional, even flashing
a grin at the witnesses and chatting
with the guards who were binding
him into the chair.

Moments before the switch was
thrown, Washington used his final
statement to apologize to the families
of the people he murdered.

'“T would like to say to the families
of all my victims I am sorry for all
the grief and heartache I have
brought to them,” Washington said.
“If my death brings them any satis-
faction, so be it. a hae

“I'd like to say to all the guys-on
Death Row, don't bow to defeat with-
out a fight,” he continued, stumbling

- over a few words and then correcting

himself. “I’m kind of nervous. That's
all.”

With that, a metal restraint was
clamped around his jaw and a black
leather hood was fastened over his
head to hide his face from the 40 of-
ficial witnesses.

After checking to make sure there
were no last-minute stays, Prison Su-
perintendent Richard Dugger nodded

(See WASHINGTON, Page A-5)_

easy


DEATH ROW

ame

Court rules on execution appeals

By JON PECK

United Press International
STARKE, Fla. — An

appeals court Thursday de-

nied a stay of execution for ~

one of two killers facing the
nation’s first double execu-
tion in 19 years, but granted
the petition of a second
death-row inmate.

The llth U.S. Circuit!

Court of Appeals in Atlanta

turned aside a last-minute

plea from attorneys for
David Leroy Washington,
condemned for the slayings
of three people. Lawyers
argued a prosecutor un-
fairly suggested before
sentencing that the lives of
Washington’s victims were
worth more than his own,

But a three-judge panel
of the court rejected that
argument,

“We cannot conclude

that the remark to eres
exception is taken was likely
to have had any effect upon
the sentencing decision of
the judge,” the panel said.
Earlier in the day the
Atlanta appeals court
agreed to a stay of execution
for Jimmy Lee Smith, 30, to
further consider his plea of

ineffective counsel.
FLORIDA authorities
promptly asked the

Supreme Court to throw out
the stay. Death warrants for

. the two men expire at noon

today. -

‘Earlier Thursday, Ivon
Ray Stanley, 28, was
executed at 12:15 a.m. in
the electric chair at Jackson,
Ga., becoming the 2Ist man
executed in the United
States since the Supreme
Court lowered its death

oars banin 1976.
There has not been a’

double execution — two
men executed ‘in the same
chamber on the same day —

. Since 1965, when Kansas

hanged two men at once on
two different occasions.
Florida has executed: six
men since 1976, more than
any other state.

Washington and Smith .

were held in isolation
chambers 12 feet apart next
to the death chamber, They
could not see each other,
but could speak if they
wished, prison officials said.
However, they said both
men were quiet.
Washington was the
cooler of the two while the

appeals were argued, suid:

prisons spokesperson
Vernon Bradford.

“IT DIDN’T SEEM. to

affect him at all;” Bradford
said. “Smith appeared to be
a little more nervous.”
Smith, 30, .misunder-
standing his attorney, orfgi-
nally thought his temporary

_stay of execution was all he ,
needed to escape the death

warrant,

“His attorney told him he
had an indefinite stay,”
Bradford said. “Then he
saw on the news that he still
had a hearing,”

Washington, . who _ re-:

ceived stays of two previous
execution dates, is a black,
former choir boy, the oldest
of seven children who ad-
mitted he killed three dif-
ferent people in three dif-
ferent robberies over a
nine-day span in’ 1976,

“T think my life was just
one big mistake,”
Washington said in an in-

‘terview. “I had all the best

breaks in life — all the right
Opportunities. Seemed like
everything I touched I de-
stroyed. Family, -wife,
friends, everything; I just
destroyed.” :

Smith, who is white,

confessed he stabbed a.
death in

woman to
Marianna, Fla:, and then
killed) her 12-year-old
daughter because she was a
witness. Smith, allegedly
abused by his father and
grandfather while a child,
spent most of his life in
reform school and prison.

Stanley, a retarded black
man, died refusing a last
statement or the solace of a
minister for the killing of a
Balnbridge, Ga., insurance
agent in 1976, ‘The victim
was robbed, beaten and
buried alive.

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THURSDAY, JULY 12, 1984 |

: -- WE HERALD-PALLADIUM, Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Michigako foe

ty“?

Buried Victim Alive

Pair Of Florida Killers Win Last-Minute Reprieve —

By DICK PETTYS
Associated Press Writer
JACKSON, Ga. (AP) — Convict-

“ed killer Ivon R. Stanley went

“IVON R. STANLEY
Executed in Georgia

calmly to his death in the electric
chair today minutes after the U.S.
Supreme Court refused to stop his
execution for the robbery-killing of
a man who was buried alive after
pleading for his life.

As Stanley became the 21st per-
son to be executed since the Su-
preme Court restored the death
penalty in 1976, two convicted
murderers in Florida, originally
scheduled to die at sunrise today,
were locked in isolation cells under

Se OE

a last-minute reprieve.

A hearing was set for 9:30 a.m.
EDT today in Florida for Jimmy L.
Smith, who killed a North Florida

mother and daughter. He and D2- .

vid L. Washington, a_ triple-
murderer from Miami, awaited the
outcome of appeals that delayed
their executions Wednesday.

The slightly built Stanley, 28,
was convicted of the 1976 murder of
Clifford Floyd, a Bainbridge insur-
ance collector who was beaten with
a shovel and hammer and buried
alive.

Stanley walked quietly into the
execution chamber at 12:07 a.m. in

the Georgia Diagnostic and Classi-.

fication Center after refusing last
rites and a final statement.

About a half hour earlier, the Su-
preme Court had denied Stanley’s
request for a stay, reaffirming a
decision by the Georgia Board of
Pardons and Appeals and a three-
judge appeals panel in Atlanta,

Stanley watched closely as six
guards attached the leather straps

-that bound his arms and legs to a

wooden chair,

Asked if he had any final state-
ment, he shook his head. Asked if
he wished to have a prayer said for
him, again he shook his head.

auemssteme tet sestancptcetenib

ahi

At 12:15 a two-minute jolt of
more than 2,000 volts coursed
through his body, and he was pro-
nounced dead nine minutes later,
his fists clenched as 11 witnesses
watched.

Stanley, who had worked at a
nearby sawmill, was the second
‘ person put to death in Georgia

since 1976 and the first black in
more than 20 years.

. Wallace Cato, then district attor-
ney and now a judge in Decatur
County, -said Floyd begged for his
life when he was robbed by two
_men and was ‘‘still trying to talk’
as they buried him in a shallow
_ grave. ¥

Stanley had maintained that Jo-
seph E, Thomas, now on Georgia's
death row for the same crime, was
the killer.

The condemned man twice re-
fused to see a minister Wednesday.

“He was not religious ‘‘and made no
pretense about it,” said Fred Stee-
ple, a prison spokesman for the
prison system.

“He says he’s not guilty, and I
believe he’s not guilty,’’ Stanley’s
grandmother, Evelyn Stanley, said
Wednesday after visiting her
grandson, who she said was in good
spirits and was reminiscing about
his childhood.

About 50 death penalty oppo-
nents and members of Stanley’s

Is Executeé

. family met Wednesday night inTAt-

,demonstrators stood with reporters

Pe ore bi yrs 7

ae cage

Jimmy David 22%, A
Smith Washington’*, 2
afb R

lanta to pray for him. Aftet’la.#
church service, the crowd movedto
the steps of the state Capitol across.
the street where they held a 20-min. ~
ute demonstration. nae

Outside the prison a group of

aad
Geer ®

ise f
A}

in an area designated for specta
tors. : ag

Florida had scheduled the na-
tion’s first double execution since:.
the death penalty was restored in: =<:
1976. Bi ghee
Washington, 34, was convicted Of «
killing three people during a 1976.
erime spree — University of Miami "s
student Frank Meli, elderly Midml *
resident Katrina Birk and a minis:
ter, Daniel Pridgen. van}

Smith, 30,. was sentenced.t
death for the May 1, 1978, slayixt
of Bonnie Ward and her 12-yearsok
duughter Donna Strickland, who -
were murdered near Marianyat® +
Fla. Smith cut out the child’s hearg. <°s
after killing her. Sat “y

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en


2B

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES Ba

Horida

z

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 1984 -

~
é .-

aN aR ee ay

By JON PECK

United Pross International

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court
Tuesday refused to block two executions scheduled for

 Thursday,-'setting the stage for furious last-day legal

battles in federal courts at opposite ends of the state.

- In separate 6-0 rulings, the court cleared the way for
what could be the nation’s first double execution in 20
years.
The court Tuesday evening lifted a stay of execution

issued earlier in the day for triple-murderer David
Leroy Washington, who could become the second black
executed in’ Florida since the death penalty was rein-
stated in 1976. :
EARLIER, THE JUSTICES refused to grant a
stay for Jimmy Lee Smith, convicted of killing a Mar-
janna woman and her 12-year-old daughter in 1978.
‘ _ Attorneys for both death row inmates said they will
take their appeals to federal courts.
A hearing on Smith’s mercy plea is scheduled for this
morning before U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson in

. Pensacola, and Washington’s lawyer said he expected to

file a similar federal appeal in Miami. :
Tuesday afternoon Washington, who confessed to

killing three Dade County people over a nine-day span

in 1976, canceled a final press conference at Florida

executions set for Thursday

‘

+ Eger

State Prison in Starke. Smith had refused all along to

talk with reporters. hy, ‘
. Six prisoners have been put to death in Florida’s
three-legged wooden electric chair since 1979, five of
them since last Thanksgiving. None of the six has been
executed while under his first death warrant.
Washington, 34, is under his third warrant, while
Smith, 30, is under his second. ; oF
Prison officials began preparations for the execu-
tions, which were scheduled for shortly after dawn
Thursday. Gov. Bob Graham’s death warrants expire et
noon Friday. ;
If both executions are carried out, it would be the
first time since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted its ban on
capital punishment eight years ago that two prisoners
have been executed within a 24-hour period in the same
state. ~

Florida’s last double execution occurred on May 12,
1964, the final time Florida administered its ultimate
punishment before the high court ruling stopped execu-
tions for more than a dozen years.

Washington, one of eight children, was born in
Trenton, N.J., but moved to Miami when he was 10. He
has never denied killing Daniel Pridgen, Katrina Birk
and Frank Meli during a rampage of robbery, kidnap-
ping and killing Sept. 20-29, 1976. Ps

‘Supreme Court refusestoblock: — ,

2 RRR SES

SR

JIMMIE LEE SMITH


Convicted killer adds tears and apologies to last goodbye |

By BILL COPPINGER
Alligator Staff Writer

STARKE — A handcuffed David Leroy :

Washington bade a tearful goodbye to nis

12-year-old daughter as she sat on his lap at +

the Florida State Prison Friday morning,
about six hours before he was electrocuted.

Washington, 34, became the. seventh
man executed in Florida since 1979, the
fifth this year. Since the U.S. Supreme
Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976,
22 men have been executed nationwide. :

Washington was scheduled to be part of
the first double execution in the country .
since 1965 and the first in Florida since
1964. The other inmate, Jimmy Lee Smith,
convicted of murdering a mother and her
daughter in Marianna in 1978, received an
indefinite stay from the 11th Circuit Court
of Appeals in Atlanta Thursday,

As he sat with his mother, daughter
Florence, Gainesville attorney Susan Cary
and the Rev. Joe Ingle of the Southern
Coalition of Jails and Prisons, Washington
lifted Florence on his lap and made her.
promise to lead a better life than he had,
Ingle told reporters shortly before the
execution had been carried out. Family
members had requested to see Washington.

“It's my own fault I got here,” Ingle
recalled Washington saying. “I’m the one
who got me here. I want you to make
something of your life. I want you to hit the
books.”

Washington was then led away to
prepare for the execution as his daughter
stood sobbing, Ingle said.

Washington ate a final meal of fried
shrimp and oysters, french fries, rolls,
lemonade and about a.quart of ice cream,
said prison spokesman Vernon Bradford. ,
He ate “almost all’ of it, leaving some ice
cream, Bradford said.

Washington was led into the death
chamber at 6:58 a.m., one minute before
his stay was to expire, said Chuck Derany of
WXFL-TV in Tampa, one of the 12 media
witnesses. After he was strapped into the
electric chair, he read a final statement to
the families of his victims as well as to

fellow death row inmates, Derany said.

When’ asked by prison superintendent
Richard Dugger if he had a final statement,
Washington nodded and said “I'd like to say

to the families of my victims: I'm sorry for —

all the grief and heartache I brought them.

If my death brings them satisfaction, so be ,

it.” : ;
“To ‘all ‘the guys on Death Row,”

_ Washington continued, “I'd like to say
don’t bow to defeat: . . without a fight. I’m .
- kind of nervous. That’s all.”

At 7:03 a.m. 2,000 volts of electricity
surged through his body for one minute and
25 seconds, according to witness Mark
Davis, the station’ director of Jacksonville
radio station WOKY. Prison doctors
checked his pulse and heartbeat and,
finding none, pronounced Washington
dead at 7:09 a.m.

Across from the death chamber, about a
quarter of a mile away in a cow pasture,
about 30 anti-death penalty.protestors sang
“We Shall Overcome” when’ a media
witness exited waving a white handkerchief

the now common signal that the
execution was completed.

Among those protesting the execution
were Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Goode. Jr.,
whose son, Arthur. III, was executed in
April, The Goodes drove from Fort Myers
earlier that day for the first time since their
son’s death, Goode said that Gov. Bob
Craham “should be in the Guiness Book of

World Records” because of the number of

death warrants he has signed. ;

“He is doing this for political reasons,”
Goode said: “He's running for the Senate
and he wants to use this to his advantage.
It’s popular to be (pro-death penalty) in this
state.”

Another protestor, Sheila Maxwell, 29, a
waitress in Starke, said “The only time
things will change is when there is a new
governor.”

Maxwell, one of the first anti-death
penalty protestors to arrive,is the girlfriend:
of Charles Messer, a death row inmate
convicted of a 1975 murder.

Florida State Prison.

On the other side of the fence stood five
people supporting the death penalty.
Among them were Floyd Cone Sr. and his
son Larin Cone from Baldwin, near
Jacksonville. Cone’s son Floyd Jr. was shot

and killed in 1981 by Edward Dean Ken-

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL WILSON

' The hearse carrying the body of executed killer David Leroy Washington exits

nedy, who is now on Death Row.

“I get no satisfaction in seeing a person
dic, but I feel it might be a deterrent,”
Cone said. “If they knew they were going to
pay for this with pure swift justice, they'd
think about it before they killed anyone.”

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—

| Negro Convicted on Charge of Kill-
| img George Osborne—Must
Pay Death Penalty.

{LIFE SENTENCE FOR NEGRESS

Unusually Large Number of Con-
victed Murderers In Court to
+ Beesive Sentence.

George Whitehead and Henry Cook,
both negroes, who were eonvicted in:

the circuit court of murder tn the
first degree, were sentenced yesterday
to pay tne death penalty, the sentence
ftr each case being propewaced dy
Judge Call at the session of the court
held yesterday morning.

Whitehead was convicted of anal

white man, George Osborne, who was
Rilled in bis little grocery shop, and

Cook was convicted of the murdbr of
his wife, Lila Cook.

At the sesaion of the court yesterday
there was an unusual array of crimi-

nals on whom sentence was to be
passed by the court. the term of court
having been unusually prolific of crim-
inel casea, the prosecutions having
been conducted by State's Attorney

month of January.
In addition to the two negroes sen-

Pet. Sa ee Oe

one eran,

=— ——————

murder, on August 23. of the aged,

William A. Hallowes, Jr. Guring the:

!
'tenced to death. ‘uciaprisduers cried

far murder in the first degree and con-.
victed were sentenced tv the peniten-.
Uary for Hfe, included being Lissie'
Smith, a negress, charged with killing’
Charlie Clinscale. The others receiving
Nfe sentence were Henry Stacks...
eharged with killing Henry Benjamin.,
and Will Moore. convicted of criminal:
assault. Lew Williams and Riley Best,
who had been indicted on a charge of j
murdering Dennig Williams and Enoch |
Roes, respectively. were sentenced to a
term of five years each in the peniten- :
tlary. :
Sephie Jones. ai negress. charged
with Killing Lardway Morgan with a.
knife, wag sentenced :o three years In:
the penitentiary.
' QOgcar Durham was sentenced to the:
| Penitentiary for the full term and pe-.
| Flod of his natural life, he having been |
, Convicted On a@ charge of criminal as-—
) Sault. ,
| Motion was granted tn the case of
j Dobe Singletary, a young white man,
j}and he was remanded to the custody of
ithe sheriff to awalt the action of. tne
‘certminal court of record. Singletary ts
Charged with killing Curtis Scott a
| negro, and has already had two trials
{n the circuit court.
> Following the passing of ie sén-
.tences Judge Call adjourned court un-!
tl 9°30 o'clock Monday morning. Feb-,
iruary 24. i
|

EVIDENCE IN SNEED
CASE IS CONCLUDED

| Arguments Will Be Made Today.
Dead Man's Mother on the
Stand Yesterday.

a ee atiee © ene.

; Wernon, Tex., Feb. 21.—The presen-
tation of evidence in the trial of J. B. |
Sneed. accused of murder jn connec-
ltion with the killing of A. G. Boyce,
{Jr., at Amarillo, Tex... last September,
‘was concluded today and the hearing
of arguments will begin tomorrow
, morning.
Mrs. Boyce. mother of the man
i Sneed ja accused of having killed. was
the last witness heard. She related a
‘conversation between herself and her!
husband and a Capt. Thomas Snyder. |
father-in-law of Sneed. in October, !
/ 1911, relative to the relations between |
} her son and Mrs. Sneed and declared
that both she and Boyce’s father made
every effort to keep them ap&rt. Mrs.
Sneed's influence over him, she satd.,
was so strong that they found It im: |
possible.
| On cross examination Mrs. Boyce de- |

cece ae enema ene oes 2 pe

'clared that so far as she knew nv frea- |

: son, other than his domestic troubles,
existed that might have cnused Sneed

to kill her son. |

&

‘tn


é . igs ; Mae ne ts . "q 2 i
', iT nt LIT ED Geors<e (Dude ) ; black, nanged Jacksonville > FL 4-18-1933,
WO 2 oi r) oY eit:

WOT DAD UDI DUA Yr UuLU

‘Officer Who Brow g ht | Negro, Just-Before Exeontion-Said-

° d fo Justice He Murdered Geo. M. Osborn,
Whitehea , Aged Grocer.

|

» x

MET END WITHOUT TREMOR

~—-

a Nerve Remai ned--Withthim—to-Bnd—
:. Execution Went Through ™
goatee soe. Without Fer > 74 | eae

Sed diheeeenete iterate

go Se
Tnsisting Thursday, the day brfére itts
execution, that he did not deal the blow
Whieh ineant the death of George. M. Oa.
born, the aged Muterptise street grocer.
on the night of July 23 Inst, (Saorge, allan
Mads Wiltshsact, FeRetday. morning. aa. -
he stood on the esefiott—betorr- tins trap—
{Was prong whieh dropped him inte.
’ eternityy “canfesred Sthat hoe. alone wae
CER a es Kullty of the brutal murder Of Ihe Ager
Abo sheer ae Baas eet ig te ea white groceryman. :
LoS ; BP IA EN Loa) ke The dotailx of the execullon, whieh had

gy Path Py ae hiey ao) been carefully .planned by Sheriff W. ee
Dowling, went “wirstyi- without » Wiehe
the trap being ADTUNK at exactly ieee)
o'clock and ten minutes Inter, at 10 33, - °
Dr. Herlong pronounced Whitehead n dead
man. The negro went ty hls doom. wiih
i while tipon hia Npe and a Rteady Ftep,
malntaining a ruperd nerve to the ent

.- . Ate Hearty Breakfast.

Whitehead arose about 7 o'clork ves.
terday morning after A refreshing slee}
and partook of a hearty Dreakfast. lle
Wus cheerful and eatd he was ready to
Moet ete: fate, wee ee

Shortly befora 10 o'clock hls wyptritual
p@dvisers gathered about hie cell and re-
Ugloua sarvices were held until. about:
eae ibs 10:16 o'clock, when the condemned man
et tinaereintert—wertice a

Deputy Sheff. James “(e-' Crawtord, | tho scaffold after MLODDINK a fow minutan ‘
who as a detective of the local pollee | at tha cell of Henry Cook, who WAR sen.
department. trailed-negro—murderee to tenced to be hanged at the same. tine.
Dawson, (ian. and broughtihim back to] & Whitehead, but who on Thursday WAN,
stand trial on charwe of killing axed | &ranted a reprieve of twa week by Goy,
white grocec laat July 23, 02)).. rark Trammell. wee

~ + + te ete:

'
—

- are /9,1913 C58, PI, Co4))

t


{ George Whitehead, alias Duggar

}- The Drutet kitting of the aged gre-

t head with @ ptece of tron. Boon. iP -on
i rerday was wes arrested, ss wareeine+
bert,

‘CHARGED WITH
MURDER NERO
WAS CONVICTED

DUGGER WHITEREAD MUST
PAY DEATH PENALTY.

*

‘One of Several Charged With Kill.
ing of George Osborne, Aged
Grocer, Last July.

gee - .
Guilty of murder tn 4he flrat degree

| Tae the verdict rendered yesterday by
the jury ‘'n -the case of- the negre,}

ween ee wen

ee ee

cad, who Was oa that Beteret
ere

pon supe ob: :
white man, the Jury being out but a;

very short time before returning with
its verdict.

cer, who conducted a small store on
Enterprige street, is well.
Osborne wag kitted by betny ;

‘ne@re* convinted Fee-

ead

Major Whitehead and Harry Hu

two other negroes. All three were in
court veeterday when the case came up
fer_trieal _ 1

A severance was granted ‘on the mo-
tion of the state and the trial of
George Whitehead began and within a
short time aj} the testimony was soon
Presented. The arguments in the aft-
ernoon were very brief. The prosecu-
tion was most ably conducted by State
Attorney Hallowes and the defendant
was represented by Attorney G. A.
Stevens and Dan Register.

Whitehead had only two witnessca,
two young negro women, who falled to
prove an alfdb!. The prisoner stated |
that on the day of the murder he had !
moved his furniture and that he spent.
the night with the man who moved
his belongings, but fatled to have this!
man {on court to testify for him. He!
atated that he wag not near the acene
of the crime and that the confession he
made had beén obdtained from him
after he had been made drunk and
had been threatened and beaten.

—e— 5

a er

va

Ciel ‘St AuvaNnvi ‘,

Z abed /(aTTTAuosyoer) NOINN-SAWIL VaGINOlI FHL

TI

JACKSONVILLE, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1890. a, PRICE FIVE CENTS,

NAPOLEON WHITE HANGED

THB WIFE MURDERER GOES orf ow
SCHEDULE TIMP.

Page l]
g HIS CONDUCT ON THE SCAFFOLB.

He Puts on a Show of Indifference, bas
atthe Last Aska to be Held Up, Plead-
ina the Weakening Influences of Con-

| fnement—Crime for Which He Died.

Special to the Tiwes-Uniox. - ‘

TALLAHasseR, Flay September W—
Napoleon White, who was to hare besa
|hanyed here oa the 16th, for the murder—
of his wife in 1833, but was granted a re-
spite of seven days by Governor ieming
fora miatster fx talk religion into him,
waa hanged today, Ile was convicted at
the fall term of the clroult court last year
on the testimony of twoeye witnesses, bat
notwithstanding this he declared his inno
cenceto the very tast-——____—_-

At 12 o’clock Shertf? Pearve and his dep-
uties antered the-jall - and -went—througi: ~
the usual preliminaries, A’ 13:15 the
doomed man was led up the steps of the
scaffold.. He walked with stealy step,
gasing the while at the crowd congregated
outside of the jail yard. Heaching the -
top of the scaffold he placed one foot on the
trap and tried its strength. A pareoa
came furwani and ovaimenced realiog
from the Bible, after which be offerala
sbort prayer. od

Napoleon seemed to regard al! this as
entirely unnecessary. During the reading
aod pres he recognized someone ou
the scaffold and saluted .bim with How
are you?” lie passe! away the reet of the
religious service -ecrutinizing— with—min-—
utevess every plece of the workmanship of
the scaffold, and when-the preacher had
finisbed Shertif Pearce came forwani and
read the death warrant, at the concinsion
of which the black cap was drawn over
Napoleon's face and the rope pnéta poal-
tio. . ° \

At 123.27 the aignal was given. The
doors partéd under his feet and fu an in-
stant the spirit of the murderer was
hurled tuto eternity. 7

This was Napoleon’s second crime, be
having just served out a term In the state
penitentiary for the murter of « little
om boy, when he killet his wife,

i} throsgs the terrible ordeal of bind-
{ng his hands and feet, Napoleon strived
hard to appear anooncerned, but before it
was through with it was apparent that he
was aiving way. He finally asked those
standing near him to bold him yp, saying
- that he bad beenin jail 20 long he waa
weak. Otherwise he was {ndifferent.
About 1,300 people, moatly colored, wit-
neased the banging. .


ole
, chnny (aks
WN he hededend ale Le bY dnd 9 WU dd Jy

s - HANGQEo.
mae Orime Avenged.

N. A, Chandler, it may be well to

Without Provoertion und With a»

{ Cighty cents of his Wagee Were wi
J beld for a few days. Latimnore
J Sisted*he was sick gud had’ rer
home and told some uf the men of ;

C6t breakfast fp hades:
poo short time after (his the report

Speer.

peut under the alia. of Joha Ww
Hams, tad TsApvearets six mont

| brought t Ovala, tried and four

hung.

haye jee, Pathe tips: . ile tyege

feall the fact that on Joguary Mb,
1892, he shot Paymaster Chandler

termined and Premeditated inte

& pistol Was heard, Chandler - wus
} found dead and the hegro who they

later he War urreated i.) Jackson Ville,
Bullty of taarder and ete ear eter | to be

igs Latinore’s attorney, Geo, H. Bad.
er, weeured for his Cent na new trial,
Which took Plave befar,. Pacing. Hockey
‘in Noverster dast ag. RUN found
Builty, This'time th Verdie€ of the
Jary was *XeCuted for yr; Wi provoke
and POL Dloodig Murder as ff shioubed

Latimore’s Last Day—A Cold Plooded

{ Io the hanging of Bon Latigsage
j thls Thursday noon for the killing of

Te

de-

th-
in-

guy
he |.
| Camp tht unless Chandler Pald blu
| the eighty cents “one of then would

wt
il-
his

wd

ad

ie TTLMORE ) 9
sel peme
va Nery cd,

ce)

7 |
i
1
|
/
i

Phe domed nian COMfessed change
of heart to Nis spiritual AdVirer, Fath-
er O'Riley, Atter receiving ahaohts
ton he tole jatler Charles Smith here
he woul tind » #aw that WAR Sri tay:
igled in bya trusty ror Ed Ditiey's
benefit, but of whieh he could vinke
no use, 010 waa secreted under th.
slab of the wash-stand.

Deputy Ben MeCotough, oe.) ved
sprang the trap atte :30 pom. ais tr
teen minutes after Dea. Newson, and
falar prouounced bim dead. .

Before Latimore was BWane into
eternity, Reve. Goings and Neilson,

the cotilemned. Thea be made x
talk, the gubstauve of whieh PWas be
confessed the suurder, was sorry ivr it,
had repented and told al of his race
to take warning from his fate. He
‘thanked eachyaud every one who, in
any way bad been -klud to hitn and
was especially grateful to Jailer Sriith
for his kind treatment.

10g - B crowd of coubtry people
represent nnd tas Usual evi ry

point of Vaulage was secured to o..te

‘the execution, every available sjace
was taken up inside the inclosare wind
the Jail. Phe kies were overcast with
clouds and general gloom marked (hr
tragie end,

two colored preachers, prayed with.


|

i
i] iH
i
I
I

ny

n
I}

(32 Fla. 315) fo] I

WILLIAMS vy. STATE.

(Supreme Court of Florida. Aug. 7, 1893.) |
HomicipE—WItTNESS—Cross- EXAMINATION.

1. The rule is well settled that a party has
no right to cross-examine any witness except as
to facts and circumstances connected with the
matters stated in his direct examination, and if
he wishes to examine him as to other matters
he must make the witness his own. But this
rule permits an inquiry on ‘cross-examination
into all the facts and circumstances connected
with pine matters of the direct examination.

2. Far the state a witness testified that he
was standing at the east side of a house called
a “commissary,” where the deceased was killed,
and saw the uccused there a short time before
the killing; that while at the building called
the ‘‘commissary,’’ witness heard the accused
use language indicating a purpose to kill the
deceased, such as, “If you don’t pay me, I am
going to kill you.” On cross-examination the
witness was asked what kind of a building was
that commissary, and’ the question was ex-
cluded by the court, on the ground that it was
not a proper cross-examination, Held to be
error. he question was not only a legitimate
cross-examination, but it cannot be said to be
immaterial, as the witness’ answer may have
been the means of establishing the fact that
he was not at the house, and did not hear and
see what he related.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

Error to circuit court, Marion county;
Jesse J. Finley, Judge.

Johnnie Williams, alias Ben. Latimore, was
convicted of murder, and brings error. Re:
versed.

Geo. H. Badger, for plaintiff in error. Wil
liam B. Lamar, Atty. Gen., for the State.

MABRY, J. The plaintiff in error was in-
dicted, tried, and convicted of murder in the
first degree in the Marion circuit court, and
the sentence of death was, passed upon him.
He has sued out a writ of error to this
court, and various assignments of error are
made here.

We are confronted with an error in the
record before us which, according to well-
established rules of law, will necessitate a
reversal of the judgment. A witness—Enoch
Butler—was introduced by the state, and tes-
tified that he was at the place called the
“commissary” on the afternoon of the day
the deceased was killed, and saw the ac-
cused there. He also stated that he was
standing at the east side, of the house be-
tween sundown and dusk, and. the deceased
was paying off hands. Heard him say some-
thing about not paying off the hands that
night, and defendant said: “I am going to
have my money,. you d——d old son of a
b—-h. If you don’t pay me, I am going to
kill you.” He was also asked how he hap-
pened ‘“‘to be at that commissary that even-
ing,” and stated that he went there to ecol-
lect for seme pork, potatoes, and things he
had sold to the hands getting cross-ties. On
cross-examination the witness was asked,
“What kind of a building was that commis-
sury?’ The state objected to the question,

\WILLIaM3, Johnnie (aka LATTIMORE), bl, hanged Marion
ounty, Florida, on January 25, 1894
834 SOUTHERN REPORTER, Vot, 13.

(Miss.

as not a proper cross-examination, and the
court excluded it. Proper exception was tak-
eu to the ruling, and it is assigned as er-
ror here. The rule is well settled that a
party has no right’ to cross-examine any
witness except as to facts and circumstances
connected with the matters stated in his di-
rect examination, and if he wishes to ex-
iunine him as to other matters he must make
the witness his own. This rule, however,
permits an inquiry on cross-examination into
all the facts and circumstances connected
with the matters of the direct examination.
Savage v. State, 18 Mla. 909; Adams v. State,
28 Fla. 511, 10 South. Rep.'10G; Tischler v.
Apple, 30 Fla. 132, 11 South. Rep. 273. The
deceased was shot and killed in the house
called the “commissary,” near 9 o’clock at
night, and if ‘the defendant did the killing
there was no. question of his guilt.. It does
not appear that the witness Butler saw the
killing, or was present ‘when it was done,
but he states that he was at the commissary
between sundown and dusk, saw the defend-
ant there, and heard him use language in-
dicating a purpose to kill the deceased. It
is apparent that it was a matter of great
importance to the accused whether or not
the witness mentioned was in fact present
and heard the language related by him. He
states that he was standing at the east side
of the building referred to, and heard the
defendant use the language imputed to him.
It was a proper cross-examination to ask
him what kind of a building that was, and
we cannot say that the question was imma-
terial, as the witness’ answer to it may have
furnished convincing proof that he was not
there, and did not in fact see it. The fact
that other witnesses for the state described
the commissary house will not relieve the rul-
ing from the objection made, as the ques-
tion excluded tended to test the correctness
of the witness’ statement in a material point
against the accused. The defendant had a
clear legal right to inquire into the matter
excluded, and we cannot say that no harm
was done-him, We cannot avoid the result
here, without a violation of a well-recognized
rule of law, and, that too, in.a.case involy#
ing life.

We do not deem it necessary : to3 refer to
the other assignments of error: made.

The judgment is reversed, and a new: triat
awarded.

ut “(69 Miss, 233)
STEVENSON v. MORRIS MACH. WORKS,

(Supreme Court of Mississippi.  Oct., 1891.)

ACTION BY Satis AGENT — Breacu or Contract
BY PRINCIPAL—DELAY IN DELIVERING Goops.

Where one enters into a contract with
certain manufacturers by which the latter are
to fill orders procured by him, and he is to re
ceive a commission. on such orders, he has a’
right of action against such “manufacturers {a
case they so unreasonably delay to fill orders
that the purchasers refuse to accept the gooda,
and he loses his commissions on the sales,

"=

THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville)
Saturday, 15 April 1913, Page 5.

JAKE WILLIAMS HANGED.

Tavarea, April 4—Jake Wilitams,
the negré who killed C. CG Line, a,
turpentine ian. at Mascotte in Jan-/|
Gary, was hanged at 10:30 o'clock this!
morning. The scaffold was bullt in |
the jail yard in fall View of the}
street. This is the frst hanging that |
has ever taken place tn Lake county.

——¢-—— |


LEGAL HANGING —

| _/IN FERNANDINA

| WILLIE WATERS, ALIAS CURLEY,
({ PAY@PEWALTY oF CRIJES.

,

«4 Made e¢ Bpeech on Gallowe—Sald He
Refused to Perthit Efforts to
v4 Have Bentence Chmmuted.

i] t
‘ 1% Fermndina, June’ ‘The negro | Willie
“Wates, aliae “Curley,” wae legally exe-
 @uted- here at noon today for the commls-
<alon of crimes for which he was duly tried
{ “and jonvicied at the lest term of court,
> WE nerve was quife up to high teféion,
bo! and he displayed’ not the elightent.t
ne | or mttation during the intarim, of mitt ting
a

ie ly and througheut th
preceding his éxedution, '

- wae te time arrived the murderer
" aones upon the gallows platform, and in
predence of & conmiderable crowd, both
ite and fed, mate.an addrees ta ihe
vy in which he hoknowleged hin crime,
7 poy of the law meted put to
opim, w ing up ty exhorting all of hia
brethren to take warning by hie

ie and keep thelr lives free from ‘evil.
‘i nee 12:80 the drop | in ang it six minutes

pronounced & Waas,
+ hele an in attendance. mee Pa Pres ——

7 » During the last month of the condemned
4+ man’s lite in jail he e oyed considerable
/ of his time in doing work, which
1} -weomed to give him much pleasure. He
[- ale wanted to write @ hibtory of himeelf.
‘yes ‘¢ Tt to paid that motida: wag made for a
’ olay aty days in ¢ ng out o
“ \@elay of sixty days in the carryt tot
Pag ene law convicting Watera of murder in the
“first degree, during which effort was t.

{/,. De made tor new trial with commutation
j | of sentence to Iife imprisonment, but the

| negro refused to ive consent to the same,
f . breterring the gatos to @ life term,
i

mere en i mee oe perrgueagar