Florida, S, 1895-1998, Undated

Court grants killer new | Sentencing

The Associated Press

“WASHINGTON = The U.S. “Sut”
preme Court on Monday said it

would allow a new sentencing for
a South Florida man convicted
and sentenced to death for kill-

ing a police officer during a bank

robbery.

The court, without comment,
turned down prosecutors’ bid to
reinstate Leonardo Franqui’s
death sentence, thrown out by
the Florida Supreme Court be-
cause a co-defendant’s confes-

sion was read to the j jury.

The nation’s highest court re- |
cently voided a Maryland man’s
_ manslaughter conviction because
‘jurors heard the confession of a.

co-defendant who did not testify
and therefore could not be
cross-examined.

~ * Franqui was convicted of kill-_
ing Raul Lopez during a robbery

in Medley, a Miami suburb, on
Dec. 6, 1991. He also was convict-
ed of fatally shooting police offi-

- cer Steven Bauer during a bank |

robbery i in North Miami on Jan. 3,

1992.

Franqui was sentenced to
death in each case. The death
sentence for Lopez’ s ees still
stands... 2°.

During both trials, jurors were
read a co- -defendant’s confession
that described Franqui’s role in
the crime. Franqui also had con-
fessed to the crimes.* °

The trial judges said the co-de-
fendants’ descriptions of Fran-
qui’s role could be used because
they were similar to his: own

‘ confession.

FROM PAGE 1A

3 more scheduled
to be executed
by month’s end

a.m. that sent 2,300 volts of elec-
tricity through Stano’ s body.
“Yes!” Neal whispered. “Yes,
yes, yes.” ¢° j
Stano, who only moments earli-

er had managed a crooked smile —

at witnesses, stiffened in the
chair. At 7: 15 a.m., he was de-
clared dead.

Stano’s execution was the first
of four scheduled in Florida i in a
nine-day period.

Leo Jones, convicted of killing
a Jacksonville police officer, ‘is
scheduled to die today. Judy Bue-
pa dubbed the “Black Wid-

w” after poisoning her husband,
is fated to die on March 30 and

Daniel Remeta i is to die on March —

31.
Stano, 46, was executed for the
murder ‘of Cathy Lee Scharf, 17,
‘who disappeared in December
_ 1973. Hunters found her’ decom-

posed body in a drainage ditch at |

the Merritt Island National Wild-
life Refuge on Jan. 19, 1974.
Stano confessed that he
choked her repeatedly and
dumped her body in the ditch be-
fore cleaning up and going roller
skating.
' He later confessed to 41 mur-
ders in Florida, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania, describing most of
his victims as prostitutes, run-

Se
-STANO

aways and teen-agers.

Once a talkative charmer who
regaled police with details of his
crimes, Stano’s only words on

' Monday came in a statement re-

leased by his legal team aftér his
execution. Stano wrote he was

manipulated into confessions by _
- by phone to the death chamber,
- gave the signal, and three cycles

former Daytona Beach Pouce Sgt.
Paul Crow. °

“T am innocent,” the statement
read. “I was frightened, I was
threatened and I was held month
after month without any real le-
gal representation. I confessed to
crimes that I did not commit.”

- Crow could not be reached for
‘comment. —

Wearing glasses, a white shirt

“and Navy blue slacks, Stano was
‘helped into Florida State Pris-

on’s death chamber at 7:03 a.m.
He trembled slightly as he sat

down, and the official holding his ~

right hand had to pry his fingers
apart to release his grip.

Stano’s head was shaved and
covered with a thick layer of gel,
designed to conduct electricity.
Officials worked swiftly, applying
leather straps to Stano’s arms,
legs and midsection. An elec-

trode was attached to his right.

leg, which also was shaved and

_ covered with gel.

As he was strapped in, Stano

_ Stared at one of his attorneys, sit-

ting in the front row between the
families of two of his victims. He
then uttered his last words: “My
attorney, Lisa Gardner, and my
religious adviser will be passing
out my last statement at the com-
pletion of the execution.”

A prison official pulled a
sponge from a bucket of salt wa-
ter and pressed it into the head-
piece, then attached a black
swath of fabric to cover Stano’s

“face. The assembly was placed on
' Stano’s head.

Gov. Lawton Chiles, connected

of electricity were sent through
Stano’s body.

Stano was the 40th prisoner ex-
ecuted since Florida reinstated
the death penalty in 1978 but the
first in nearly a year.

After a flame burst from the
headpiece of Pedro Medina on

- March 25, 1997, the state suspend-

ed executions to allow an exam-
ination of the electric chair and a
legal review by the Florida Su-

preme Court.

About 20 protesters gathered
outside the prison next to a sign

that read: “Lawton Chiles, serial

murderer, kills again.”

“How can they do this? How
can our government do this?”
said Bonnie Flassig, 46, of
Gainesville. “It is cruel and
barbaric.”

Meanwhile, Raymond Neal and
several other family members
puffed cigars.

“Am I satisfied? Absolutely,”

Neal said. “This is something ©

we've lived with for 22 years. Ill
sleep good tonight.” |
Maher, though, was more
reserved.
“I won’t hate like this ever
again,” he said. “It’s not worth
the toll it takes on your life.”

The Miami

Herald, Tuesday, May 18,

oo 7 eye
ami Killing
: a nee ‘ ,
John A, Stanton, 46, paid with his
life Monday in the électric chair at

ying, Dec,'26,1940,o# Fred Knust,
erly night4ves mahi at a bowl-

alley at(N.{W3 Seventh ave, and
hs fee

mend mercy when it found Stan-
guilty of first-degree murder.
till held in jail here‘awaitihg dis.
sition of his case is Albert G, Tay:
who turned state witness and
told how he held a flashlight while
Stanton beat the watchman to death
during a ro - Taylor. once. was
roled.by Jaage Paul D. Barns, but
was rearrest en. it was learned
at the judg®§:'did) not have the
wer under the state law,
At the trial, Taylor told how: he
elved only $20 of the $89 they
k after Stanton bludgeoned the
year-old watchman to death with
wbar. . . ‘ ,
.., Stanton said his: home wag in
yphnetown Pa. Taylor is from
towah, Tenn. -
2 @. e RECESSES

1942,

page 1B

STANTON, John A., wh, elec. FL (Dade County) May 18, 1942

yee.”
Zo

a
§

‘with ar at

prior ¢ we sitieg. ad
6 ao Ni x “ay
Warrants. hi each wan’:

“ penborn, of the
: Openers, Jastice. for teers
nee nion was started immediately,

i
\

with murder were ‘by Honeys

hand vy biting ee

trees. SRS

~

ponecked tt

Either Miami, Florida
News or Herald

1/3/1941, B1

pa ie 3
lor checked: out pe thelr’

Ia: Rages ecko Soe

Whew? 9 Pew

ke ie ¢
ve Pgetiiae Eee repens |

eas A eee


% The et : uot i,
come ty a

B, Bon fand . Detectives °.

gether in
hea te the same Troon, -

1 ng mgt clue the detes
tives lea Taylor wae in. te
Qf sending part of his ear

Peach week to his wife whe)

lives a fiveacre farm Just: cae |

side Etowah.

A check of bus term!nals shaved
that: men answering their descrip>
| tions ease a narthbound ta

ea
| Bg ila chiet of police quoted
‘Taylor in a telephone Stor ap
with Miamt police es saying
panion went to: their room uit
early that morning and asked ma
P Sode ahe iadial with
jm.”
“Outside the alleys." Taylor is ab
leged to haye confessed. “the killer.
jtold me ‘Tm going to rob we

soi er
Held Fisshitcht i.


nore
ite
jJetective

. so close to the
s of humanity that
stark, vivid reality.
ombining the brutal
official record with
ting, vibrant persons
's are recorded about

the Issue with This Il-
on the Cover

September issue
imate Detective
, on sale Wednes-
igust 6, and it will
| these = stories
others:

1 to Trade

20 Often

’s Dr. Joss case—
did the brilliant

sian’s dog bark only
she was slain?

w-Case

om

vare’s triple honey-
—a bridegroom, a
and the man she
in the midst of a
iatched in prison.

«-Bottle Poisoning

y Samples

yhis’ latest sensation’
ich of his many wo-
murdered this aged
‘rio?

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1 News Stands—15¢

TIMATE
stective
stories

re By Is invariably armed. Use cau-
ion.’
Melchen and Acosta looked at each
other in stunned silence, The latter
whistled a long whistle of amazement.
“Now we know what stripe of skunk
we're up against!” he exclaimed grim-
ly. “Manslaughter, rape, robbery—”
His commentary was cut short by the
entrance of a detective who was escort-
ing a frightened-looking taxi driver.
“This is Grady Brannon, Chief,” in-
troduced the detective. “He hacks for
Blue and Gray. Claims he took a fella

| out to the Beach day ’fore yesterday.”

Driver Brannon fingered his cap
nervously.

“J didn’t do nothin’, Sir,” he stam-
mered. “I been—”

Acosta gestured for him to stop. “I
merely want a little information, Mr..
Brannon. Where did you pick up this
fare? What did he look like? Where
did you take him?”

“Well, I was crusin’ down Bay and
this guy flagged me at the corner of
Perry, I think it was. He was a short
little guy, middle-aged I guess you’d
say. He says to me, he says: ‘Do you
know where Jim’s Boat Yard is on the
Beach?’ I says sure and I took him
there, Sir.”

“Where did he go when you let him
out? Did you see?” asked Acosta.

“No, but I reckon he went on the
Hornet. On the way out he got to
talkin’ to me. Said he’ had a friend
who owned a boat called that.” The
Inspector thanked Brannon, who left
hurriedly, and turned to Melchen.

“This time I think we do it, Eddie,”
he said. He pushed a button on his
desk and to the clerk who appeared
in response he barked, “Get me Swan-
son!”

Rolf Swanson, pilot of the city police
boat, came into the room and Acosta
dispatched him immediately to the
river front to warm up the craft. He
summoned three other men and rapid-
ly gave them instructions to drive to
the Beach boat yard. .

“Captain Melchen, myself and Swan-—
son will go in the launch,” he: said.
“Probably the man we're after is on a

cruiser anchored offshore a bit. Your
job is to see to it that nobody—under-
stand—nobody leaves by way of land.
When we get this bird, Swanson will
send up a rocket and you stand by

to take him. Now get going!”

In hal? an hour the police craft had
turned from the St. Johns into a small
bay adjoining the ocean. It was dark
by then—pitch black. “Shall I switch
on the spotlight?” Swanson asked.

Acosta nodded and unholstered his
automatic, as did Melchen. The sun-
bright ray of the light pierced the
blackness, swept back and forth for
a moment like a searching finger, then
came to rest on the white hull of a
medium-size cabin cruiser upon the
stern of which was lettered: Hornet.

“Go "longside of her,” whispered
Acosta. The two came together with
a gentle thud and the cabin hatch of
the ‘cruiser banged open emitting a
flood of yellow light. A large man
with a bull neck scrambled out on
the deck—Benny Maxbaum.

“Come on out, Stanton, we’ve got
you covered! This is the police!” com-
manded Inspector Acosta. “You—Max-
baum—get in our boat quick!”

Three things happened so fast they
were all but simultaneous. Maxbaum
obeyed and jumped into the police
launch, the light in the cruiser cabin
went out, and a shot thundered into
the night—splintering into the wooden
hull of the police boat. Acosta and
Melchen both emptied their guns into
the Hornet. There was a cry of pain.
Then a cry of:

“All right! All right! I'll come.
Don’t shoot anymore, for God’s sake
don’t shoot anymore!”

And in the capture of Stanton,
Melchen and Acosta bagged more than
they had bargained for. In the mur-
derer’s pockets they found, among
other things, a tremendously signifi-
cant piece of paper. Upon it in Stan-
ton’s handwriting was written: “Guer-
ney Taylor, R. F. D. No. 4, Etowah,
Tenn. Kid from bowling alley.”

Could Taylor be the “young guy
with freckles” described by the soda
jerk as having been in company with

Stanton at the bus station? And what
about the “kid from bowling alley”
part? Was he in on the killing?

The police and States Attorney G. A.
Worley grilled the prisoner for hours
before he confessed. .

That ghastly document unfolded
how, on Christmas night, he had per-
suaded a young pin-boy—Taylor—to
help him “make some easy money.”
Taylor had been employed only for
that one-night and Stanton told him
all he had to do “was hold a flash-
light while I scoop up the bucks.”
What actually happened was the brutal
bludgeoning of Uncle Fred, who had
started to cry out when he saw he
was being robbed, and, a few minutes
later, the rifling of the “Sky Fighter.”

Taylor made no resistance when they
came for him on January 7. He cried
a little, though, on the steps of his
hillside cabin as he said good-by to
his pretty bride of less than a year.

Local officers at Etowah were as-
tounded when they learned Taylor was
being taken back to Florida. All his
life—and he was barely 21—he had
been a model boy, attending Sunday
school regularly, making high grades
in his classes and working industrious-
ly at his job until the man for whom
he labored went broke.

Doctors James L. Anderson and
Paul Kells, Miami psychiatrists who
examined both Stanton and Taylor,
concurred that the Tennessee youth
had been subject to “irresistible im-
pulse” created by tales of easy money
told him by Stanton.

On May 20 in the Circuit Court of
Dade County Stanton was sentenced to
be electrocuted at Raiford-State Prison.
Taylor pleaded guilty, but at the time
this issue goes to press he has not
been sentenced.

Benny Maxbaum, in Jacksonville,
convinced the State’s Attorney for Du-
val County that he had no knowledge
of Stanton’s status as a fugitive and so
was released.

The name Benny Maxbaum as used
in this story is fictitious to protect an
innocent person.

"Chicago's Most Vicious Killer—Get Him!" (Continued from Page 6)

And there, lying in the gutter be-
side the curb, was the body of Officer
Speaker.

Boland, sick with anger and regret,
told the motorist, “Take me to a phone,
quick, and don’t drive near that
body.”

“Nor those skid-marks,” snapped
Officer Reynolds as he got out of the
car and pointed to twin black streaks
of burned rubber near Speaker’s body.
“Looks like a hit-and-run case. I'll
stay here and keep the crowd away.”

1 hcg rushed to the nearest drug
store, phoned in a report to Captain
Edward M. Redd of the Park District
and to Captain Walter Healy of the
Sixth—Hyde Park Chicago District.
Then he hurried back to the scene of
the crime and almost immediately
dozens of other officers swung into the
investigation.

A priest, Father McDade, of Mount
Carmel High School, who happened to
be passing, stopped and administered
the last rites of the church while
Speaker’s brother officers looked on
with uncovered heads and moist eyes.

Doctor A. P. Lewis, a physician of
No. 5052 Cottage Grove Avenue,
stopped, examined Speaker and pro-
nounced him dead.

Everybody knew Officer Charles
Speaker. He was assigned to this quiet
post on the South Side. Soon he was
to have retired on pension. He had
been on the Park District force 28
years and had served with courage and
distinction. His home was at No. 6628
Drexel with his wife, Mary, 49, and a
son, Joseph, 23. He also was the father
of a daughter, Mrs. George Kelly.

And now he was dead, killed in line
of duty, and, as his brother officers
looked down at his body, they were

cold with rage and they knew that, if

it took the rest of their lives, they’d
get the man who had killed him.

“Canvass the park,” snapped Cap-
tain Healy. “Quick. Maybe there was
an eye-witness.. Maybe we can get a
description of the car.”

Lieutenant Michael Woods of Hyde
Park Station and a dozen other officers
went into action.

Cruisers skimmed through the park.
The alarm went out all over the city.

Close by they found a witness. Pa-
trolmen Nicholas Juric and Raymond

. McManamey in Park District Car No.

805 brought in Cleveland Mitchell, No.
5643 Dorchester, a Negro WPA watch-
man who had been near by and seen
the accident.

“This car,” he began, .“it—”

“Quick,” snapped Captain Healy.
“What'd it look like?”

He said it was a green 1941 Chevrolet
—_— and that there were two men
n it. .

Instantly that word went out on the
radio to all cars.

Then Healy said, “All right. What
happened?”

Mitchell said the car had been

- traveling west on 59th Street. Speaker

was on the south side of the street—
the far side from the car’s normal

path.

But inexplicably it swerved across
the street diagonally and headed
straight for Speaker.

Mitchell heard its brakes scream as
the tires bit the concrete, saw Speaker
drop.

One of the men got out of the car
and fled on foot through the park.

“What'd he look like?” demanded
H

ealy.

Mitchell’s description was vague but
he thought the man was young, thin,
medium height. Healy broadcast that.
“What else?”

“That’s about all,” said Mitchell.
“The other man—the driver—stayed in

the car and drove away fast. He’

headed west on Fifty-ninth Street.”

Swiftly Healy threw out the order
to blockade every main street in the
district at strategic intersections, to
watch 59th particularly.

And Healy asked Lieutenant Woods,
“But why? Why’d the car swerve like
that?”

“Out of control,” Woods suggested.
“Confused by traffic maybe.”

Reports started banging in—discour-
aging reports. Squad after squad
checked in with word that it had
learned nothing.

Deputy Coroner Chris McGarigle
had ordered Speaker's body removed
to O’Hanlay’s undertaking parlors at
No. 7705 Cottage Grove. There Doctor
Hagerty performed the autopsy.

But he found a bullet in the dead
man’s head!

In his examination he discovered
the slug had entered in the corner of
Speaker's left eye. The hole unusually
small, was partially concealed by the
eyelid; thus it had escaped notice of
the police. They had seen blood there
but had figured it was from a skull
fracture.

It wasn’t. And there were no bruises
or cuts on Speaker’s body as there
should have been if he had been run
over by a car.

“This man,” declared Doctor Hag-
erty, “was shot to death—not hit by
a car.”

Immediately they examined Speak-
er’s gun. It was fully loaded and had
not been fired recently.

Doctor Hagerty probed for the bullet.

It was a .22.

Instantly he called Captain Healy
who, amazed, put out the news on the
radio and teletype and got to work.

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Guerney Taylor, pin-boy
at the bowling alley, knew
of no one at the recreation
parlor who used the rubber
glove, a clew, held above
by Captain Eddie Melchen

These men were certain that
among these articles was
vital evidence. From left to
right: John Stanton, Investi-
gator Raymond Mills and
State’s Attorney G. A. Worley

print | you got in the bowling-alle.

case.’

At the other end of the line Melche
bristled like a bloodhound on fres
scent. His staccato questions pounde
up the wire so fast that they almos
were unintelligible. Acosta answere
them with a slowness maddening t
the Miami officer.

“Okay, all right, but it seems lik
a long shot to me,” said Melche:
“You’ll have it in the morning and
you’re right I’ll come myself.” Acost
smiled to himself, picturing his friend
skeptical grimace.

“Long shots make horse-racing in
teresting, Eddie,” he said, chucklin;
and replaced the receiver.

Late that afternoon Inspector Acost
went to the hospital to question Gi!
strap, but was informed that althoug
the man had come out from his con
he was to weak to see anybody.

BOUT four o’clock next morning-

January 4—a terrific clanging set u
outside the warehouse and docks of th
Bull Steamship Lines on the St. Johr
River, Jacksonville’s gate to the se
A watchman on duty at the Clyde
Mallory docks next downstrea
sprinted to the telephone and informe
the police that the burglar alarm wi
ringing. A squad car, cruising c
Duval Street a dozen blocks awa
careened round the corner opposi
the Bull Line property just in time {:
for its driver to see a small sedi
slither wildly into a street one squa)
up. As it sped under a street light, t!
squad car officer’s keen vision record¢
the 1941 tag number: 6-4029.

Siren screaming, the police cruis:
hurtled in pursuit but when it mac
the turn into the street up which tl)
fleeing sedan had gone, that car w
(Continued on Page 47)


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DETECTIVE, Octobe

SP (Dade) May 18,

eavy wrapping

NV it cruelly into the flesh.

0 ‘ly were the hands and feet

dnd, but’the elbows had been tied
and drawn tightly towards the

The head | y bal

1944

1942.

ked Detective Mc-
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gan and taken his farm, there would
be a motive for murder. I went a
step further and supposed that Roman-
dorff took Logan’s name as well as
his farm, that would give a reason
for him to be afraid of anyone from
Maple Falls. In effect he had mur-
dered himself and assumed his vic-
tim’s identity. That explains the letter
Logan was supposed to have sent to
the postmaster saying he was going
to Ireland.

“Taking Logan’s name was a master-
ful stroke for Romandorff. It gave
proof that Logan was alive, and at the
same time, he was proof that Roman-
dorff was alive. It left no room for
suspicion that murder had been done.

“Of course, when I heard your de-
scription of Logan, I knew for sure.
The forged deeds ‘will be positive
evidence for the jury.

“Romandorff—or, as we knew him,
Logan—must have planned to marry
the widow for her money. Apparently
she refused to turn it over to him, so
he killed her like he did Logan and
Shively. Only this time he didn’t get
away with it. Lewis and Tish sus-
pected something was wrong but they
weren’t sure what. All they wanted
was to keep out of trouble. That’s why
they were so reluctant to talk.”

“You still have to capture Roman-
‘dorff,” Williams pointed out.

“I don’t think that will be too
hard. You saw him in Seattle. He
must feel confident after talking to
you that he got away with the mur-
der of Logan. He doesn’t know we
are after him, so he won’t try to
cover his tracks. That’s why I didn’t
want this thing to leak out.”

Graham was right. Romandorff’s
trail was picked up from a hotel reg-
ister in Seattle. He told the clerk
there he was headed for the town of
Davenport. Romandorff was found
asleep in a hotel room in Davenport
the following day.

HE ADMITTED his identity and the
murders.

Romandorff said he killed Logan to
get possession of his farm and buried
his neighbor’s body in the woods. He
signed the deeds over to Frank Ran-
kin, who in reality was himself. He
killed Shively in a hotel room in
Spokane. He cut the body up in pieces
and put it in a trunk and shipped it
back to the farm. He said he buried
the body in a meadow. Herman was
really Romandorff and when he sold
the farm to Monaghan, he cleared
$6,000 on the deal. He said that he

planned to kill Mrs. Janson and forge
her name to get her property and
money.

Sheriff Graham asked him: “Why
did you shoot Logan’s horse? That’s
one thing I couldn’t figure out.”

“I love animals,” Romandoff said.
“I was afraid the horse might starve.”

In making his confession, Roman-
dorff told the officers that he com-
mitted his first murder in Africa. “One
time I killed eight miners at once,”
he said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was
telling the truth,” Graham said. “I’d
like to check in Africa and see if he
did kill eight men like he said.”

The trial was over, and Roman-
dorff was sentenced to be hanged
when Graham got a reply from the
Union of South Africa that a man
who fitted the description of Roman-
dorff, but who went by the name of
Fredrick William Jahns, had killed
eight miners and was wanted by the
police.

Before Romandorff went to the gal-
lows in the exercise yard of the State
Penitentiary at Walla Walla on the
morning of April 21, 1911, he admitted
his name was Fredrick William
Jahns and that he was born in Saxony,
Germany.

"But For $91 They Needn't Have Murdered" (Continued from Page 11)

nowhere to be seen. Already, on the
two-way radio, the “pick up 6-4029”
had gone out. Every cruiser on patrol
was alert but, incredibly, almost an
hour later the fugitive machine had
not been located. It had simply bored
into the dark and was gone.

With the advent of dawn, however,
the warehouse incident assumed pro-
portions most amazingly interesting to
the Detective Bureau and, slightly later
in the day, to Inspector Acosta in par-
ticular. Though nothing had _ been
stolen—the alarm had circumvented
that—a portable acetylene torch was
found abandoned right in front of the
door of the bookkeeping department,
a large, wicketed-in room containing
the firm’s safe.

At Acosta’s behest the acetylene out-
fit was positively identified by its own-
er as the one stolen by the man who
had slugged Gilstrap two days before.

When the morning mail was placed
upon his desk, the Inspector pounced
eagerly on the envelope from Melchen.
As if the inclosed print-photo were
made of gold leaf he carried it ginger-
ly to the lab technician.

“See if this is like the one from the

monkey-wrench,” he said.

T= minutes later a telegram was
on its way to Miami. It said, simply:
“That horse paid off.”

Melchen caught the noon plane north
and was in Acosta’s office at 2:30. The
Inspector related what had happened
at the Bull Line docks.

“You say the license was 6-some-
thing-or-other? That’s Palm Beach
County’s prefix numeral. Now I think
at least I know how he got here from
wherever he scrammed off the bus.”
He trailed off, thinking. (Let it be
said here that each Florida county
has its own prefix tag number. Palm

‘Beach County is 6, Dade, 1, and so on.)

“I got an idea,” Melchen told his
host. “Look. If that stinkin’ killer
didn’t steal that car—and somehow I
think he’s too smart to be runnin’
around in somethin’ hot—he must’ve
bought it in West Palm Beach. Second-
hand job, somethin’ cheap ’cause he
didn’t have much money.” He paused
reflectively. “Your cop didn’t make
out what kind of car it was, huh?”

“No. He was too busy chasing and
trying to read the number.”

“Use your phone?” Melchen asked
abruptly. Acosta nodded, smiling. “If
it’s to Miami don’t forget to reverse
the charges.” Much as he admired and
liked the Captain, he delighted in
twitting his mercurial temper.

As a result of the call, State’s At-
torney’s Investigator Mills in Miami
went to West Palm Beach that after-

oD—?

noon. He had no trouble substantiat-
ing Melchen’s guess. On December
26 a man answering the description of
the fugitive had purchased a ’33 Plym-
outh sedan from the Poinciana Motor
Sales Company for $75 cash. The
proprietor of the second-hand lot re-
membered the deal distinctly because
“the guy was such a good bargain
hunter.”

Len Kirby, the proprietor, told Mills
that he gave the buyer 1941 tags even
though the car had a Connecticut tag
on it good for two more months.”

The Connecticut license number was
listed in Kirby’s records: AH 607. Upon
his return to Miami that evening Mills
transmitted what he had learned to
Melchen over the telephone.

Immediately “AH 607, 1940, Con-
necticut” replaced the Florida number
Sa the Jacksonville patrol-car pick-up
ist.

In the morning Acosta and Melchen
visited Gilstrap at the hospital.

He told his story briefly.

“It was a little after midnight when
this car drove up,” he began. “A short

' guy about forty-five or fifty wearing

a painter’s cap got out and told me
to fill ’er up. I noticed he was wear-
ing rubber gloves.

“Then he asked to borrow a wrench.
I gave it to him and he asked me the
way to Jacksonville Beach. Said he
had a pal out there. Just then he
must’ve slugged me. That’s all I re-
member.”

The Inspector and the Captain
thanked him and left.

When the detectives arrived at
Headquarters Acosta dispatched a
patrol car to search every road, every
square mile of the Beach area.

An hour later two of Acosta’s men
from the Auto Theft Bureau were
inspecting a parking lot on Bay Street.
Suddenly George Manley clutched his
fellow officer’s arm.

“Look!” he exclaimed, pointing to a
machine parked off in a corner behind
a larger automobile. “Isn’t that the
buggy Acosta’s so steamed up over?”

It was the '33 Plymouth and the
license tag that shone dull silver in
the sun was Connecticut AH 607.
From the man in charge of the lot
they learned that it had been there
two days. Manley called Acosta’ from
a near-by booth and the Inspector
with Melchen ignored traffic lights on
their way from Headquarters.

On the floor of the rear seat were
a pair of rubber gloves, torn at the
right thumb; the ’41 Florida plate
6-4029, a blackjack and a painter’s
cap.

“He’s bound to come back after his
car, Eddie,” Inspector Acosta said.

After detailing the two Theft Bureau
men to stand watch at the lot, he and
the Captain drove back to the station
house.

After the Inspector had sent a squad
of detectives to interview all cab driv-
ers who had been in the vicinity of the
Bay Street parking lot two days before,
the afternoon mail was brought in.
Among the letters was one forwarded
from Miami for Melchen. In the upper
left-hand corner of the envelope was
printed: “Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion.” The Captain tore it open sav-
agely.

The thumbprint checked with that
of one John Stanton, who had been

?released as an arrested case of “schizo-

paranoia with homicidal impulses” by

the Dannemora, New York, State Hos- | }

pital for the Criminally Insane on
April 6, 1939. The FBI communica-
tion revealed also that he’d served
time dating back to 1924 for crimes
ranging from armed robbery to man-
slaughter and attempted rape, and that
he. was on parole from Dannemora
until 1944—forbidden, thus, to leave
New York State until then.
Punch-line of the Federal missive
leapt to Melchen’s eyes: “This man will
stop at nothing to get money when

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STEWART, Roy Allen, white, elec, Fl. (vade) April 22, 1994
9

> EXECUTION

Convicted killer executed

1979 murder sent
Roy Stewart —
to electric chair

By TERRY NEAL AND MANNY GARCIA
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS

STARKE — Roy Allen Stew-
art waited 15 years for this one
minute.

A black-hooded executioner
with holes for eyes hit a button
at 7:10 a.m. Friday, sending
2,000 volts of electricity

through Stewart’s body. His

fists clenched. His chest
heaved. Then he went limp as
air and life rushed out of his
body.

At 7:11 a.m., a doctor said

Stewart, the convicted killer of.

77-year-old Margaret Haizlip of
South Dade, was dead.

Moments later, outside the
Florida State Prison a few miles
outside of Starke, a man in a
black pickup sped by a small
group of death penalty protes-
ters, screaming: ‘‘One less. One
less, baby!’’

Stewart started down the

path to the
electric chair

on Feb. 21,
1979. That
was the day
that Haizlip
invited
neighbor
| | Stewart, then
wen) 23, in for a

smses luncheon
Roy Allen Stewa eodwich |

He wasn’t
a good guest — she soon caught
him stealing her watch. He at-
tacked Haizlip, stripped her,
kicked her, raped her, bit her
savagely on the hip and stran-
gled her with an electric cord.
He survived three previous
executior warrants with 15

years worth of court appeals,

and his family maintained his
innocence throughout.

“We are very disappointed
in the judicial system of Flor-
ida,’? said Moe McCutcheon,
who is married to Stewart’s sis-
ter, Betty. ‘‘He was innocent,

and he just basically got rail-

roaded by politics.”’
At about 5:30, Stewart got

his last meal: lobster, baked po-
tatoes with sour cream, tossed
me and iced tea. He ate it
In the wee morning hours,
Stewart prayed with the Rev.
Fred Lawrence of First United
a Church of Gaines-
ville.

Prepared to die

Shortly after 7 a.m. Stewart
walked calmly into the execu-
tion chamber and was quickly
buckled in to the three- eg ed
oak chair known as Id
Sparky.’’ He looked prepared
to die. With pursed lips and
clenched hands, he_ peered
through the glass into witness
chamber, making eye contact
with a few people.

When asked if he had any fi-
nal words, he leaned into a mi-
crophone and responded, ‘‘No,
I just want to thank Rev. Law-
rence. I appreciate all you’ve
done for me.’’ Lawrence sat in
the front row and nodded back.

The current was applied and
smoke rose from a spot on his
right calf where an electrode
was attached.0

Boca Rew.) News -Apal 25, 994


The Orlando Sentinel, Friday, July6,1999 B-3

Plea. from death row inmates: Don’t put us ina oy. electric chair |

‘TALLAHASSEE — Defense attorneys

Thursday continued a battle to prove that -

Florida’s electric chair is broken: -: =.
: They cited statements from prisoners

who say they were asked to fix a musty:
i _electrode before May’s botched execution...

: Pwo men are scheduled for electrocu-
tion Tuesday morning. .

‘Fire, smoke and sparks few from the

‘ héad of Jesse Tafero, the last man to die

: in,the chair, after prison officials applied

. three surges of electricity May 4. --:

_ The state Department of Corrections

3

.. has maintained that the problems -were

caused by a new, synthetic sponge under
the headpiece.

Defense attorneys, however, have ar-

gued that a broken headpiece lowered the --
. level of electricity. from the. normal :2,400

volgs used to instantly kill a person to

- perhaps as low as 90 or 100 volts, a level

that meant. Tafero was. tortured and

_ burned alive.

Six affidavits from prisoners: ‘at Florida
State Prison near Starke were filed
Thursday with the state Supreme Court.
The high court last month refused in a 4-
3 decision to order an evidentiary hearing
into defense claims filed on behalf of an-

other death row inmate, Judi Buenoano. ,
A federal judge in Orlando, however,

held two days of hearings and then reject-

ed the defense’s argument.

. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in At-

--lanta later gave Buenoano an indefinite.

stay but did not say if it was because of

‘the: alleged: problems -with the chair or
- other issues.

In their motion, defense attorneys for
William Squires and Roy Allen Stewart
charge the department with knowing be-

fore Tafero’s execution that there were

problems with the head electrode. .
“They asked [unlicensed] inmates
working at Florida State Prison shop to

fix the electrode,” Thursday’s motion
says. “It was not ever fixed.” ~~

The Corrections Department, the mo-
tion alleges, ‘“‘does not stand before the
courts with clean hands.” . | ~

In his affidavit, Larry Allen Williams

_ said he was given “a strange object” to fix

in April 1990.

copper, but it was very corroded with a
sort of green film on it, like it had been in
water a long time,” Williams said i in the
affidavit.

Williams said prison officials first re-
fused to tell him what the part was. Once
they admitted it was part of the head-

_ piece for the electric chair, however, he

refused to work on it any more.

Squires, 48, is under a first warrant for
the September 1980 fatal shooting of ser-
vice station attendant Jesse Albritton in

’ Hillsborough County.

Stewart, 34, who is under his third’

- death warrant, was condemned for the
“This thing looked like it was ‘made of

February 1979 murder of 77-year-old Mar-
garet Haizlip in southern Dade County.
Haizlip invited him into her home for a
sandwich but became angry after seeing
him take a gold watch.

Stewart beat Haizlip with his fists, sex-
ually assaulted her and strangled her
with an electric cord.


Goop Mornina, WIREGRASS

@ FLORIDA EXECUTION: STARKE, Fla.
— An inmate was put to death in Florida’s electric
chair Friday for killing a 77-year-old neighbor who
had invited him into her home for a sandwich and
wound up being raped and strangled.

Roy Allen Stewart, 38, was put to death at the
Florida State Prison.

His final appeals were turned down Thursday by
the U.S. Supreme Court.

“He was prepared to die,” said the Rev. Fred
Lawrence of the First United Methodist Church in
Gainesville, one of two ministers. who spent the
night outside Stewart’s cell. “He was better pre-
pared for his death than I am for mine.”

Stewart also was visited by his mother and
stepfather, Barbara and Hampton Hodge of
Sumpter, S.C., and two sisters and a brother.

WLS CULUi as Wremsrsrey aera THEA AAU Rw pws

>» EXECUTION: Roy Allen Stewart, 38, died in Florida’s
electric chair Friday for the 1979 murder of neighbor Mar-

izli ! d \ d.
IO TSP YP SE I SAN a>


— EXECGUTIONALERT)

There are 4 death Warrants pending in FLORIDA,

TUESDAY OCTOBER 7 7:00 a.m. EDT ELECTRIC CHAIR

HENRY PERRY SIRECI JR. and ROY ALLEN STEWART both have execution dates for Oct. 7
They are white. Sireci was sentenced in 1976 for a murder that took place during
the course of a robbery in Orlando. Stewart was sentenced in 1979 for the rape-murder
of an elderly woman in Dade County. These are Second warrants for both cases,

TUESDAY OCTOBER 21 = 7:00 a.m. EDT ELECTRIC CHAIR

——
JOHNNY COPELAND, a 29 year old black man, was sentenced in 1976 for the vape-murder
of a convenience Store clerk in Leon County. He had two co-defendants, one of whom
is also on Death Row. This is the first warrant signed on this case.

WILLIE DARDEN is now facing his fifth death warrant, with an execution date set for
Oct. 21. He is a 53 year qld black man who has been on Death Row Since 1974,

There has been much doubt that he received a fair trial; jurors were improperly
excluded; there was questionable eyewitness identification; the prosecutor's behavior
was racist and inflammatory (according to him, Willie Darden was "an animal" who
Should be "blown away");the defense attorney failed to present mitigating material
during the Sentencing phase; and of course, in Florida, there is also the issue that
a black man convicted of killing a white Person is 37 times more likely to receive
the death sentence than if the victim were black.

The issue of discrimination based of race of victim is going to be argued before
the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct.15. (McCLESKEY), Although the decision will not te
formally announced until a number of months later, it is feared that after the case
is heard, there may not be stays forthcoming based on that issue,

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Contact; Gov. Bob Graham
~~ Gevernor's Office
State Capitol
’ Tallahassee, FL 32301

" 904-488-4441

UPDATES: Capital Collateral Representatives: 904-487-4376
Florida Clearing House 904-222-4820 .
National Execution Alert Network: 402-474-6575

- yan : _——_—— -—— -
my ce ag im ms

Se me ee ee ee es ee

As of this time, no news on the ‘status of Lawrence Buxton, black, Texas, scheduled to
be executed on Sept. 30 and Dennis Steckton, white, Virginia, scheduled to be executed

on Oct. 3,
> Donald Franklin (TX), Raymond Riles (TX) and Herbert Welcome (LA) all received Stays,
SEPTEMBER EXECUTION: JOtg Rook was executed in North Carolina on,Sept. 19, >

my there is speculation about..why he did not receive a McCleskey Stay.-. :One‘'theory lz we
(nis: that the U.S. Supreme \@ourt has already set certain parameters \on ‘which cases \O

— Tce,

black.
NATIONAL EXECUTION ALERT NETWORK
BOX 81455 om
coln, aS sre pOMOMME Re He
ee ee ™
5 Ogg ASR a.
apie rr ana tia nel
Navajo AtUSA 22
~ Walt Espy

PO Orawer a77
Headland, ac 26345


a?

residential, the west, commercial build-
ings, so that across the street were the
print shop and then, further east, two
residents.

The officers concentrated mainly on
the woman who had seen Mrs. Hai-
zlip talking to the young man the day
before her murder.

The witness described for a police
artist a young blond-haired man with
a ruddy complexion, about five-foot-
six, wearing faded blue jeans and a
dirty white T-shirt. He was carrying a
portable radio. She was sure that
Maggy’s visitor had a light beard and
moustache.

While this work was underway, other
officers continued their search-for clues
at the murder scene. There were no
obvious signs of forced entry. A rela-
tive said that Maggy seldom locked her
doors and often left her windows open

to catch a breeze at night. Perhaps her:

attacker walked right in the front door
and killed her.

Tom Carroll, the evidence gatherer,

vacuumed the house carefully, emp-
tying the sweepings into evidence
bags. He determined that Maggy Hai-
zlip’s desperate flight from her at-
tacker had not been limited to the bed-
room. In the living room, the sleuth
noticed clear signs of a skirmish. In
the bedroom, drawers were wide open,
in disarray.

A robbery had certainly been car-
ried out, but the detectives suspected
that the pillage had been committed
after the rape and after the murder
and had not been the motive for it.
Moreover, it was difficult to tell just
what had been stolen.

In the blood-drenched bedroom,
Carroll found an opened package
of bologna with one slice remain-
ing. A piece was bitten out of the
slice. As Maggy was obviously a
fastidious housekeeper, he reasoned
that she had not discarded the meat
there. Carroll carefully placed the
meat into a plastic bag and ini-
tialed it.

Carroll then shot 100 photographs
from various angles. Inside and outside

the premises. Among the evidence he ,

bagged and tagged were two couch pil-
lows, a black leather strap, and sever-
al pieces of material that appeared to
have been torn from the old woman’s
slip. Next to the tattered piece of slip
lay a tattered bra.

While Carrell continued to gather ev-
idence, Charles Diggs, from the Med-
22

ical Examiner’s Office, arrived and per-
formed a superficial examination of the
body. His audit showed blunt force
trauma to the face, which had been
reduced almost to pulp. Ligature marks
encircled the neck. Feces, which from
the odor were human, soiled the naked
stomach around the private parts of
the corpse. A threadbare piece of polka-
dot dress hung about Mrs. Haizlip’s
spread left arm. Beneath the body
was a cord still attached to an electric
iron. Police deduced at this point that
the woman had been strangled by the
electrical cord and that the iron was
used to bash her face in.

One of the twin beds in the room
where the body was found was in-
tact. On the blood-covered bed, how-
ever, Carroll spied several blond
hairs. He carefully tucked the sheets
into an evidence bag, as well as the
pillows and pillow cases from the

- death bed.

There were peculiar smudges on the
floor covering and the tiles in a pat-
tern leading away from the body and
into the kitchen. They were deduced
to be footprints, but had been smeared
enough so that they probably could
never be identified. Carroll pho-
tographed the smudges and most of the
surfaces inside the house.

Carroll conjectured that he lifted 82
latent prints from Margaret Haizlip’s
home on Wayne Avenue. He processed
even the body, because the month be-
fore muderer Steven Beattie had been
convicted on evidence of a lone fin-
gerprint raised from the naked and
raped body of one victim.

Going outside, Carroll took pictures
of several shoe prints and bike tire
marks left on the surface of the ce-
ment carport. Moving to the victim’s
methodically clean Chevy with the
hood up, the crime lab expert found the
broken tip of a knife in the ignition.
The wires to the ignition had been
yanked out. On the lawn in the front
yard he spotted a narcotic syringe and
spoon which he also bagged and took
into evidence. He even bagged a
woman’s green bracelet, found under-
neath the Chevy.

Carroll held the ignition wires to-
gether to see if Mrs. Haizlip’s car would
start. It did.

Such is the nature of crime scene
work, an accumulation of everything
in sight, then a conference to determine
which items might be of any relevan-

cy.

After five hours of virtually non-stop
forensic work, the crime scene was
sealed. The body was placed in an
ambulance and taken to the morgue.
An autopsy performed by State Pathol-
ogist Diggs showed that she had died
less than 24 hours prior to discovery
of the body.

“The body was rigor, which starts
to set in within two or three hours of
death, depending upon temperature,
then disappears within about 24 hours,”
Diggs said. “The whites of the eyes
also showed the onset of decomposi-
tion, which also begins within a cou-
ple of hours after death.”

The following afternoon, patholo-
gists turned over the preliminary au-
topsy report to homicide. The pathol-
ogists determined that the victim had
been attacked violently and beaten
senseless. Forced intercourse had
certainly taken place. She died in her
own bed.

During her desperate struggle she
suffered severe lacerations about

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en
—
—
~~


by BILL KELLY

hen the newlyweds
first arrived in Flori-
da in 1920, they set-

tled on the southern most
fringe of Greater Miami in the
old community of Perrine.
The people who lived in the
tropical wilderness, across
from the port of Key West,
were pleasant, unassuming
folks, and Margaret “Maggy”
Haizlip, and her husband,
Jim, fit in perfectly.

In this placid town of 900, the Hai-
zlips raised five children, were active
in civic and church affairs, saw boom
and bust and watched the kaleido-
scope changes in the area.

The Haizlips were prominent mem-
bers of the United Methodist Church,
where for many years Mrs. Haizlip
taught Sunday School and frequent-
ly delivered the Mother’s Day ser-
mon.

“Both Maggy and Jim were reli-
gious people who gave thanks every
day for all the things that brought sat-
isfaction into their lives,” Pastor
Richards said.

The Haizlips were also members of
the American Legion and Maggy was
a past president and historian of the
Perrine Woman’s Club. In 1965, that

STEWART, Roy Allen, wh, elec. FL (Dade) April 22, 1994

After the kill...ne@ snacked on his victim

SEX FIEND’S
TEETH
MARKS
WERE A

DEAD

GIVEAWAY

fraternity named James Haizlip “Hus-
band of the Year.” Two months later,
South Dade residents presented a “This
is Your Life” agenda at the Perrine
Community House in recognition of
Maggy’s lifetime of service.

In 1967, she was widowed.

“She was afraid to live in that house
alone,” a neighbor said. “With growth

and expansion, the neighborhood de-
clined and was frequented with break-
ins. But there were too many memo-
ries there for her to leave.”

Faithfully, on every weekday, Maggy
taught five and six year olds at the
Good Shepherd Day Care Center, in
Perrine, from 8 a.m. to noon.

Said a church elder: “Maggy was
extremely young at heart, She had a
wonderful sense of humor and related
greatly to young people. They adored
her.”

Invariably, women living alone are
prime targets of street punks, and the
community of Perrine. was no excep-
tion. Maggy was the victim of frequent
break-ins, so frequent that some she
did not even report.

But the latest burglary spelled doom.

In all the years Maggy had taught
kindergarten she had never once failed
to appear on time without first notify-
ing her superiors. Therefore, when
Joy Belknap drove up to the Good
Shepherd Day Care Center about 8
a.m., on February 22, 1979, and a
teacher told her that Mrs. Haizlip had
not yet arrived or called in, Joy vol-

Morgue picture of Margaret Haizlip.
Roy Allen Stewart is waiting for his
last meal on Death Row.

unteered
house an
Mrs. Hi
idence w
green-cal
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An unl
Having
parked i1
Wayne A’
teacher’s
Chevy, p
liarly, the
quandary
77-year-«
Receivi
Joy calle
from insi
she rapp
called a;
turned th
door eas:
Relucti
side and
ment the
sheveled
to Parker
delivery
work.
“Pleas
for a mi
happene
cited we
been ran
locked.”
The tw
to the ho
nous sile
trio step}
into the
way alor
to two s
The first
peared i1
The en


iborhood de-
{ with break-
many memo-

ekday, Maggy
r olds at the
ire Center, in
100N.
‘Maggy was
ut. She had a
or and related
They adored

ing alone are
unks, and the
vas no excep-
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that some she

spelled doom.
gy had taught
ver once failed
wut first notify-
erefore, when
» to the Good
enter about 8
_ 1979, and a
s. Haizlip had

d in. Joy vol-

rgaret Haizlip.

waiting for his
2ath Row.

unteered to drive over to Maggy’s
house and check.

Mrs. Haizlip’s modest, one-story res-
idence was postcard perfect with its
green-carpeted yard spiked with state-
ly bushes. A bird feeder dangled
from a hemlock tree. A huge royal
palm drooped over a white picket
fence.

An unlikely setting for violence.

Having reached her destination, Joy
parked in front of Maggy’s house on
Wayne Avenue, and at once noticed the
teacher’s 1951, immaculately detailed
Chevy, parked in the driveway. Pecu-
liarly, the hood was up. That settled the
quandary, car trouble had delayed the
77-year-old widow.

Receiving no answer at the front door,
Joy called out, “Maggy!” No answer
from inside. Opening the screen door,
she rapped on the inside door, and
called again. Still no response. She
turned the knob. To her surprise, the
door eased open.

Reluctantly, Joy stuck her head in-
side and looked around. To her amaze-
ment the usually clean house was di-
sheveled. Joy darted across the street
to Parker’s Discount Center, where two
deliverymen were just arriving for
work.

“Please, can you come with me
for a minute, I think something has
happened to Mrs. Haizlip,” the ex-
cited woman said. “The house has
been ransacked, and the door was un-
locked.”

The two men chaperoned Joy back
to the house and went inside. An omi-
nous silence lay over the house as the
trio stepped through the living room,
into the kitchen, and then made their
way along the corridor giving access
to two small bedrooms and a bath.
The first bedroom was barren and ap-
peared intact.

The end of the search was behind

Instrumental in solving the sex slayings were Det. Al Singleton
(left) and Sgt. Dave Simmons.

the door of the second bedroom. On
the queen-size bed were two bare feet
protruding from beneath ruffled sheets.
The sheets were covered with russet-
colored stains where blood had soaked
through to the mattress. Joy pulled back
the sheets. It was Maggy, or what was
left of her.

The report of the gruesome mur-
der was received by Officer Bill
Wallace of Dade Public Safety De-
partment’s (PSD) Station 4, on road
patrol with Officer Lavoie, at 8:47
a.m. When they arrived at the Hai-
zlip house, the people who had found
the body were waiting on the lawn.
One of the men directed the officers
to where they had found the body.
Several neighborhood women were
trying to console Joy Belknap, the
weeping woman who had discov-
ered the body.

There was no doubt that the murder
had been related to a sex attack. Not
only had the woman been stripped of
her clothing, but deep bruises on her

The bite marks around the
nipples, thighs and buttocks
were a dead match with the
choppers in the suspect's
mouth. Lawmen hope the
next thing he sinks his teeth
into will be his last meal.

thighs, buttocks, and genital area were
proof that she had been fighting off her
attacker. Her panties were pulled down
around her ankles, pinning her iegs so
she could not kick and fight back.

The medical examiner’s office later
conducted tests and determined the
old woman had been the victim of a
particularly brutal sex attack. Ihe)

found traces of semen in the her vagi-
na and rectum.

Det. Joseph Pontigo ordered his
homicide officers to fan out anc Gues-
tion neighborhood residents, remuind-

ing them to pay particular attention to
anyone who seemed nervous or edgy.

Several residents said they had heard
dogs howling around 5:30 a.m. on the
morning of February 22, 1979. but no
one attempted to check out the com-
motion. Others saw a “beat-up” 1963
or 1964 metallic colored Ford cruis-
ing the streets the night before the mur-
der. Someone else saw a strange man
cutting through a neighbor’s yard and
called the police.

A woman who lived close by said
that around 5 or 6 in the afternoon of
the day before, she had seen a blond
white man talking to Maggy at her front
door. She thought she knew most of
the young men in the neighborhood but
this particular fellow was a complete
stranger to her.

The Haizlip home was seated on an
immense corner lot with a empty tract
in back. so there was only one next
door neighbor. That house “as evi-
dently occupied by a floating popu-
lace of young people taken to partying.
The area to the east of Maggy was

21


the face, neck, and abdomen. Her left
nipple had been almost bitten off.
Both eyes were blackened, which
indicated hemorrhage inside the skull.
This was due, the coroner said, to
blunt trauma inflicted by a heavy
object. The rib cage was fractured
on both sides, and three ribs were bro-
ken.

As for the iron, found beside the
corpse, and sticky with blood, there
was no doubt that the appliance had
been used to bludgeon the old
woman.

Furthermore, several purplish bruis-
es, a quarter of an inch deep near
the mouth of the vagina, had no doubt
been inflicted by some inflexible
object, possibly a pipe or piece of
wood.

Diggs telephoned Dr. Richard Sou-
viron, a practicing dentist who had late-
ly been hired as a consultant in the
field of forensic orthodontics. Dr. Sou-
viron later became famous when he
was called upon by lawmen investi-
gating the grisly murders of two coeds
at the University of Florida, who had
suffered bite marks around their nip-
ples. The doctor successfully matched
imprints in one of the cases to
Theodore Bundy.

After hearing the description of the
widow’s death, Doctor Souviron agreed
to come to the morgue at once.

The forensic dentist established that
the nipple bites were human tooth in-
dentations. There was distinctive spac-
ing which would prove to be valuable
for comparisons with any bite marks
taken from a suspect.

Dr. Souviron would not trust just any
photographer to take photographs of
the bite marks. He-insisted on using
John Valor, forensic photographer
for the City of Miami Police Depart-
ment with whom he had worked for
many years. Working with slides,
and using various polarized fixtures
to bring out the color, Valor made
copies.

After carefully examining the bite
marks in the photographs taken by
Valor, through a magnifying glass,
Dr. Souviron came to the conclusion
that the bite marks had been inflicted
at the time of death or immediately
thereafter. He said the tissue lacked any
vital reaction of the encircling area, and
there was not a lot of dispersed bleed-
ing. The bite presented a slow inten-
tional pattern. ’

According to the dentist, this meant
24

that the victim had not been strug-
gling at the time of her death. If she
had, he said, there would have been
scrape abrasions left by the teeth around
each nipple. mus

Therefore, it was the doctor’s con-
clusion that the bites on the widow’s
breasts were inflicted at the exact
time of death or immediately thereafter.
With this in mind, he made a stone
model of the bitten bologna and from
that a wax mold, so that Valor could
take more pictures.

While this was going on, Paul Dole-
man, criminologist in biology-serol-
ogy, discovered evidence of sperm
with A and H antigens in the vagi-
nal swab retrieved earlier by Dr.
Diggs from the vaginal entry of the
victim. At that time, before DNA,
bloodtype could only be determined
from semen only if the man was a
secretor. In this case, Doleman’s lab
analysis showed that the victim had
been raped by a Type A secretor.
The victim’s own blood was sent to
the FBI lab in Washington and came
back as type 0; and it was her blood
which was recovered from the elec-
tric cord which was wrapped around
her neck.

-By now police had programmed a su-
perb profile of the killer; possible fin-
gerprints, blood type, clear teeth im-
pressions. Detective Pontigo ordered
a computer printout of all area crimes
involving sexual assaults.

As for the pace of developments
over the next few weeks, Pontigo com-
mented: “We have a couple of promis-
ing things; one or two of the 82 la-
tents lifted from the crime scene might
be helpful. But as for the prints lift-
ed from the victim’s buttocks, breasts,
legs and thighs, and dusted with
black graphite powder, ID Techni-
cian Richard Laite tells us that these
are fabric prints, not from human
fingers.”

Meanwhile, an anonymous caller
contacted Pontigo at the PSD Sta-
tion 4. The informant said a vehicle
with 250 pounds of marijuana in the
trunk was parked on Wayne Avenue.
Pontigo sent Officer Bill Maddrix and
Detective Gary Wilcox to check it
out.

Just as the officers in the unmarked
police car pulled onto Wayne Avenue,
the suspect Thunderbird was pulling
away from the curb. They followed it
south on U.S. 1 to 182nd Street. The

Thunderbird pulled into a fast-food ©

restaurant and stopped. The two offi-
cers got out and approached the sus-
pect’s vehicle from opposite sides, guns
drawn.

Aman and a woman were in the front
seat. The officers ordered them out of
the car, then requested permission to
search the trunk. The trunk was empty,
but a further search of the vehicle
turned up a bag of marijuana. The
subjects were placed under arrest and
driven to the interview room at Sta-
tion 4.

After running a computer check on
the pair, police discovered that the
woman had a bench warrant out for
her for passing fraudulent checks.
Confronted with this, she began
crying hysterically. Terrified of
prison, she wanted to make a deal,
which she did for a wrist-slap of
two years probation. She knew who
killed the Haizlip woman, she said.
Maddrix notified the homicide divi-
sion.

The informant was the same woman
who lived across the street from Maggy
Haizlip at the time she was raped and
murdered.

She said a man who worked with
her boyfriend on a roofing job, was
a regular customer at the Perrine
Pub where she worked as a barmaid.
He needed a place to stay, so she
took him in as a favor to her
boyfriend. He made good money but
he spent it all on cocaine. He had
moved in with her about two weeks
after the murder. She sensed her new
roommate was worried about some-
thing that had happened. One night
while he was high on cocaine, he
blurted out that he did not mean to
kill her neighbor. He was burglariz-
ing the place, he said, when she at-
tacked him with a iron. His name
was Roy Allen Stewart.

“Where is Stewart now?” Maddrix
asked the woman.

“I heard he went to South Caroli-
na,” she answered.

She took a polygraph test and passed
it.

The detectives continued working the
case, seeking more information about
Roy Allen Stewart. The sleuths learned
that he was a veteran burglar on pa-
role from South Carolina. On March
23, Florida authorities contacted South
Carolina sleuths, who put out an im-
mediate parole violation pickup on
the suspect.

PSD Supervisor Dick Hall con-

tacted sever:
Stewart wa
records, to 1
and palm p
Bloom at He
up a set unc
been using \
right palm pr
left on a che
bedroom. 7
matched an
her bedpost.

An all-poi
for the arres!
degree murde
in a newspaj
from a Rich
olina, reside
whose anon,
ed, remembe
he might be e
pany in Rich’
art showed |
Billy Gilbert
him into cu
fered no resi

With Sout!
April 20,197
and Singlet
Sheriff’s De
year-old Ro:
face first-d
concerning tl
zlip.

At the Flo:
ron, impress)
art’s upper an
rendered intc
Valor took r
parison meas
pictures of S
the bite mar!
a microscope
the bite in
Maggy’s bed
Stewart’s lov
around the n
around the pu
been made b
as well as th
tocks and sto

In late Jur
Stewart was
County Circ
publicity, it
columns of
hardly notic
interested in
taking place
in a courtro:
Theodore Bu
coed murder
ron testified

y>ULiiod V tein , WEOL RS

FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville), Monday, 14 January 1946, page 3.

dude

9

S + ,
WOLG

1-14-1946

elec. FL (Merion) l

=e

Three Men Today

tomorrow i the

|Chspman, :
of

— Btate Prison, announced we

Sullivan.

State Will Execute !

negroes and’ oS, i (UP) — Two}

Sew

~


THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville), Tuesday, 15 January 1946, page 6.

Three Are Executed
At Raiford Prison
_ Within 45 Minates

death in the Ocala apartment of
Sullivan's on March 29, 1943

connected with any
tions. The men made no last-min-
ute statements.


- oo

coke

SULLIVAN, Robert Austink. white, -36,- electrocuted, Fhoriday on Novembe r 30,

DOTHAN EAGLE, Dothah, Alabama, November 27, 1983.

an eee

2]
-
|

PL
f

te ee,

-«

an Re aae se

,

‘May Have

-: (AP): — A. condemned rebuffed three
'- (murderer scheduled to be ‘month

‘ “told the man had confessed peals
- :3to a priest that he was with

ye

“Snot know about his|~
‘ “homosexuality, Snyder told |

1983,

| “We couldn’t verify it }
3, because of the cir:
cumstances,” the bishop
: Said. ‘We have no idea who
- git might have been.’*="" 4 .
f _Confessional confidences ©
cannot be betrayed under
tae pain of excommunica-
iio4, so either the uniden-
‘titted man must come for-
-| ward or he must “live with
;}it’’ on his conscience,
Snyder said. es
Sullivan, who claims he is
innocent, is scheduled to be
executed at 7 a.m. Tuesday
at. Florida State Prison
near Starke. His lawyer
Friday requested a stay
from the 11th.U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals, and a
hearing is scheduled Mon-
day morning. .
Attorney Eric Freedman
said there is considerable
evidence pointing to
_Sullivan’s innocence, and
he wants a new hearing to
. ‘consider. that evidence. ae
- |Freedman also coutends Sea gt te via:
*.4,{that Sullivan’s trial at- BE Ae
oa torney didn’t provide the
a> i -. Ss; necessary legal help to win -
i “the case. oo 34.27 se

Re:

- Sullivan In 197 7 Interview |

Condemned Man

oh eT = sk
t ene at sik eas

Wind
yay
‘e

'

2 UR

* ed 4
eee) ae

verglades, hit on the head

ith a tire iron and then ee

shot in the head four times. :
cLaughlin was given a

| “PALLAHASSEE, Fla.!arguments have been

— first by a circuit

*-'*eexecuted Tuesday might judge, then the we ‘life sentence on reduced
“have’an alibi in a Boston Rudges on Bort an charges... 2% 10 RRR
man who reportedly con- Supreme Court andlater bY “‘cuijivan’ maintained he |.
fessed that the two were a federal district judge. was drinking in a bar at the ("*
‘together at a homosexual ’ jf a stay is ag by the Uh char -the. robbery:
> ‘ e ; gies. y a
-bar the night of the murder, Atlanta app ‘ee mtnder” sae

‘says a Roman _ Catholic Sullivan w

Snyder said church of- }

bishop. =< %'~.-@ reprieve from Supreme ¢ciais took the Story of the | °- =
; Bishop John J. Snyder of Court’ Justice Lewis F. Boston man’s statement |=. °~ oe

; i id he was lt Jr., who handles ap-
St. Augustine sai Powe CE ee ecieeutt

said James Lohman of the
“Robert Sullivan, 36, in a Florida Clearinghouse on
‘homosexual bar in Miami (Criminal Justice, which op-
‘on April 9, 1973, the night ses the death penalty.
Donald Schmidt, an assis- Sullivan was convictse 2
‘tant restaurant manager in | the basis of testimony PY.
‘Homestead, was robbed jReid McLaughlin, whom
‘and killed. . ‘Ithe state, says was
The man could not admit . Sullivan’s accomplice.
‘publicly to having fre- | | ee in.
‘quented the now-defunct /-
. ‘bar because his family does f°

seriously enough to bring it |
and other alibi information|
to Gov. Bob Graham last
. Florida was the first J. -° 00 00)
‘i state,to re-enact death- | 7°. oso 72
zs yen laws in 1972, ©

OE, en eaaee Me i)
> ets eS bs

EN ER te Oe OP Die N IO
: . Fie Sg Ae

‘=the Florida Times-Union
‘and Jacksonville Journal
‘newspapers in a copyright
story last week... . .....

Snyder said the church
‘could not confirm the con-
fessional story and he could Ag sla
“not divulge where he learn- ......

ae

RES AEE ARENAS BAIT OME IAT

ion mobi it

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


Slay Knast Throws

NANA ALA EME

hed Jobn: AS Stanwn, #3. 7 ed !

night. confessed,
wrarder of Yred aust, &
| iad them to the p pLAce,.9

aati Yrot JncksonviNe, ¥
Wradarrested, oid

eae ER

ae

4) nehbar, Mills said, wita recov
‘gevoss the street from: te baWwBne ;
rose b at N. W, Seventh, sY eriae dt rd |
rary titi ot mete we are. La SOs
aa weed car lot two block ray’
nara Sos fhory odd 8 as gas enw es ‘¢

tlt em iy bead is
haat poo e
eH hae ty. : bats Fi * ;
i HUET Watt , and :
" we hy ; ‘BRAS ae

in ioe

erecGe T

Cdvasva’ murder and impilested
Stapwon.

«Rate ‘Investigator. I. re Mila and
‘Det tecuve Frank Love lets, immedi:
“ptely, to return Stanion to Miaml
tos Jacksonville police wald- Banton,
‘wha gave a faire name when. hed
‘yested, Jater admitted: nis tdenkity
‘wind walt that he had loft Milam hy
‘pus with Traylor on the morning of
“Dee, 28 but made no othee tapi
“yronta. "ty waa on that: niornin
“tat Knuat's body, the nead en
“was found on the balcony, wherd

aylpr 23," adie
Shero:eald: has Tadmittéd his park nary
E reir

Tag. 64-year-old | Miami» 4 night.

glept, at the Crescent fowl! ng Ay

NL OW, Seventh avenue enih

‘jey,
Pwenty fifth airect,
aor. Warrants Already Jaswed |
 Warranta charging hath omer
with murder alreacy have been is
gued by Henry L. Oppenbern, Jus
thee of the peace.
- Taylor’g story, according te MTV,
pal that he accompanied Stanton
Jind re bowling alleye where hath
reviourly wotked as pin hove
eid a flashlight nite Ktanton
E ibaa Khust to death with
crowbar. Btanton- wakened Kinust
ity re etenaae the youth old nie

nen an Patni wih ied weapory:

an pho eye!

er; etmek Hi ATR,

ang Stonton, 04," :
ned to’ Micthh 2 & ndery.-
trom Jocksonville,’ where he”
was arrasied as ihe gacond -
‘suspect sought in ¢ nneclon |
with the bludgegqn- wurder of:

Net:

fy elhyt ae
TS

wealchmean.

_*

Miami News or Herald
January 8, 1941,A8

Te i ERE Ba ee

Clue in Knust |
Killing Sought |

Police Fail In Hum oe

Watchman Slayer
%~ Intense queationing by police of
12 persons jn their’ investigation of
the murder of Fred K nust, 64, night

men who necked out Of a@ roomin

brutal” cage In hha experience.

Knust was bound and Ragered and
lugged to death In his slee ing.
Quarters at the alleve Hig 4 Jers!
atole more than gag and a quantity |
Of cigars and Clgareta an broke!
Open a Penny: weighing machine
1 and a “akity” Kame money container
‘In their search for loot.

ee I A Al, ast a 8

Unnamed, undated Miami, FL newspaper


fe! would ‘be

ranted a last request of o
convict and ‘confessed alayer of Fred Knust, 64; ing alley.‘care.
faker, Saturday said'he had asked two men; othep-tha albert Gd,
Taylor, 21, of Etowah, Tenn., his accomplice; tO ae hin
robbery, eee: Oo nm
They, declined “to have anything
.t6°do with, the Job" and later Tay-|
lor agreed to “go alorfg,” inventiga.
, | Lore sald, Btanton says he Is ready
*[to, plead ‘guilty to first-degree myr- |
der chargey, ; ;

S Taylor, who admitted he held
a. fdhiight while Stanton beat
Knuat to death with pineh bar in
Knust's: sleeping quarters at: the
Crescent Bowling ‘Alley, N, W., Bev-
enthyavenue and Twenty-tifth
Street/sald he also wanted to pleud
gullty to murder charges,

eo: Stanton rtariled Investigator 1, N.
Milla when he asked if a condemned |,
than’y last. winh usually was grant-
44;%:When assured that jt was,|
Stanton 'sald: , |

Unamed, undated Miami,FL, enewspaper

aC Tet' that case I want one case of

beer”: ee anger ©

ive Repodiates Suggestion
weUggesiod that what he

Gv figed} was: & minister, and

x
=
g
‘
:
8

he.was 16 years
cst am


pe Xe iat Qc. UGE oer |

eho! FEET, Z ‘
Be fe Le,

* Y es Aiea eee"!

ae Pe ta one

ey aaet


Harder. He was
>! My. marriage,

ut of the car?”

{ shoved hint but:
> gulley.”

ay. But I came
nses, and I came
She broke down

‘ars, justice had
incomplete record
ice files. The law
i fireman George

945, Annie Bell
arraigned before
. Wheeler. She
at that time, and
‘ed to a term in

fF
re
ee

familiarity with
vas known to the
as killed to keep
tobbed the slot

oughtfully: “The
eaten up it might
10 had a grudge
employee.”

et’s take the em-
ad see what they

: that is at the
successful police
2 compiled of the

and present, and —

results were in-
ees roster seemed
nover of shifting
was quite natural
thousands flocked
d where some of
; visitors sought
uployment to help
‘acation period.

vith a stocky man.
‘htened, but tight-

Jeas, grimly, to
leveland, a tough
lk.”

en, softly. “Why
ou have anything
of old Knust ?”
one nothing—”
Christmas night,

his breath and
that, but I didn’t
1 any killing.”
put in Deas, “that
it; and that when
to square himself
-e and dollar bills.

ty ren

4

He won't tell me where he spent the ’
pe ey and he confesses that he hasn’t any
jo ee

Melchen poked an accusing finger at
Cleveland. “Where'd you get that money*
Christmas night?” he demanded,

“Crap game,” insisted Cleveland; and °
that was all he would say.

Deas added: “He’s a liar by the clock,
coe. T’ve checked all over with many
of his friends. There wasn’t any all-night
crap game anywhere in town.”

“Lock him up,” directed Melchen,
“and let him think it over.” :

He phoned Mills, at the State Attor-
ney’s office across the street, about Cleve-
land, and asked: “Want to question
him ?”

Mills wasn’t sure. “Let him stew for
-awhile,” he decided, “and I’ll talk to him
later.”

. But when he hung up, he turned to
State Attorney Worley.

“I’m told that it was Knust’s habit ‘to
lie in his cot and read by that dangling
light.”

Worley nodded, curious. He knew
Mills’ faculty for seeing and sensing the
obvious things that were frequently over-
looked by even the shrewdest detectives.

“Well,” went on Mills, “that light had
been strung to the makeshift bedroom on
the balcony, I’m told, durifig the last
three months—when the upper porch was
rigged up as sleeping quarters for the
old man.”

“Ty see,”

“It was connected to the box wires
below, on the first, floor, and had a sep-
arate switch, which the old man threw
‘on when he went upstairs to bed. It was .
located right under the stairs.”

“What does that prove, Mills?”

“When I saw it, the switch wasn’t on.
That light above Knust’s bed was dis-
connected.”

“Maybe he didn’t turn it on?”

“He must have! Even if only to see in
the dark room. He was reading before
he went to sleep Christmas night.” Mills
produced the popular magazine. He
opened it on a dog-eared page, in the
middle of a story. There were several
ominous brown spots on the pages. Wor-
ley looked up swiftly.

“Yes, I’ve had them analyzed. They
were made by human blood. The old man
was reading his story and got this far.
Either he laid the magazine down and
fell asleep—or the light went out and he:
was forced to quit reading by the en-
trance of the killer,”

Mills turned the magazine over. “Now,
look at the back cover,” he invited. “See
those spots? Also human blood, It adds ;
up this way: The old man was reading
this story and got this far in it—where
the blood stains are. He fell asleep, and
the magazine lay open at this place, be-~
side him. The blood spots on the inside
pages must have been made when the
killer struck, There’s no other way they '
could get inside.”

“TI see,” nodded Worley. “And then?”

“Then,” went on Mills, swiftly, “the”
magazine was knocked to the floor in
the struggle. It closed, naturally, and the
back cover was facing up. The killer’s

A

work put those blood stains on the

cover.” ‘ :

‘And: just what are you driving at?”
asked Worley.

“He was reading in bed all right, until
he fell asleep—and after that the switch
downstairs was opened,”

“You mean the killer opened the
switch ?”

“Exactly. He knew where it was. And,

_inasmuch as it had. only been installed
for three months, and was hidden under

the stairs, it had to be someone who knew
where it was. I think we can eliminate
customers, I believe that this points to
an employee, probably someone who saw
him disconnect it in the morning, before
the alley was open to the general public,
or throw it on at night. Knust couldn’t
read in bed if he’d forgotten to switch
on his light.” }

“It makes sense,” agreed Worley.
“Which seems to narrow down the
search to employees.” .

“Just about—since Knust had no close
friends who ever paid him any after-
hours visits,” '

“What about Cleveland? He worked
at the alley.” “a :

“Yes, he did odd jobs all over the
place—that’s why I asked Melchen to
let him stew for awhile. He had money,
and his wife admitted that he wasn’t
ne all night, and: doesn’t have any
jo dase nt be

Worley shrugged, “Cleveland’s been in
trouble. before, bootlegging, — selling
bolita tickets.”

ILLS nodded and: left. He ex-
plained his theory of the light
switch to Chief of Detectives Scarboro,
and soon numerous plain-clothes men
were tracing down employees of the alley

‘for the past three months—since the in-
stallation of the bedside reading lamp -

over the dead man’s cot,

Cleveland still refused to talk as the
days went by; nor did he even attempt
to furnish any alibi; and so he was held.
On one count he was firm; he’d had noth-
ing to do with Knust’s death, he insisted.
His previous record was not in his favor,
and the police let him stew, feeling that
he would talk eventually.

All the other employees of the alley
were being carefully checked by the of-
ficers; so were persistent idlers, who
made the alley a club room and meeting
place; while some bizarre stories came
to light, there was nothing to connect
any of the customers with the murder.

One by one they were traced down and
questioned by the tireless officers; one
by one they were eliminated as possible
suspects,

Only two of the employees remained
unaccounted for when the intensive
checkup was completed: One was a
young man named Taylor, who was
described as a dark, good looking youth
of about twenty-two; but he had worked
in the alley only one night as a pin boy:

The second man had worked in the
alley some three months ago as a pin
boy. He had given his name as John
Stanley, was described as in his forties,
short and slight, with a rather long, thin

,

i
nose. He had been argumentative and
mean-tempered, and had quarreled with
the proprietor’s brother, who was in
charge of the pin boys. He had quit in a
huff. No one at the alley knew if he or
Taylor were local or out-of-town men.

What interested Mills most about
Stanley was that ‘one employee remem-
bered seeing Stanley in the alley a few
days before Christmas. He had watched
a game for an hour or two, Still, there
was nothing unusual in this ; many people
drifted in to watch the games; people
who wanted to pass an hour or two;
vacationists, or men without jobs, or
chronic idlers, or fans.

“We've checked everyone else,” de-
cided Mills, “so we might as well check
on these two—Taylor and Stanley.
Maybe they know something. When it’s
murder, you can’t overlook anyone.”

Scarboro and Melchtn thoroughly
agreed, and orders were issued to locate
the two men. Not as easy a job as it might
sound in a city‘of nearly 200,000 inhabi-
tants, at the height of its winter season,
when perhaps another half million visi-
tors were lodged in the area.

At a meeting of the chief manhunters,
Mills suggested :

“Since these two men seem to have
been unskilled, and worked as pin boys,
we'd better look first in the cheaper sec-
tions of town, where men with little
money might find lodging.”

The others had the same idea, and so
the hunt was narrowed.

In this manner Detectives Papy and
Hancock finally came to the Horn House,
at 35 N. W. Second Avenue. It was a
modest hotel, where impecunious guests
could get a night’s lodging for twenty-
five cents. The register revealed that a
man by the name of Taylor had stayed
at the place for some weeks.

The general description given them
by the clerk seemed to tally with that ob-
tained at the alley. He was slim and
brown-eyed, about twenty-three, quiet
and pleasant. The clerk was rather sure
that he didn’t drink or gamble. Question-
ing other roomers brought out a picture
of a nice youngster, whom most people
liked. He didn’t mix intimately with any-
one.

“A nice little guy,” commented Papy
wryly. .

“Can't tell about that,” demurred Han-
cock. “Killers come in all sizes, shapes
and kinds.”

They also unearthed the fact that a
John Stanley, too, had been a guest for
several months, In contrast, the infor-
mation available on this man was that he
was a blowhard, a terrific liar and a great
conqueror among the sleazy waitresses
of the waterfronts; but he was not pic-
tured as vicious, or as a possible mur-
der suspect.

When the detectives reported this find,
a consultation was called.

“The curious thing about this.” mused
Mills, “is that these two men who once
worked at the alley should live in the
same place. Would that be coincidence ?”’

“Not for my money,” decided Captain
Melchen, swiftly.

Scarboro said: “What I'd like to know

107

:

and froze the woman into immobility.
“She’s writing with her left hand! It
says here in the Merril notes that this
woman was released because she was not
lefthanded. This- woman is ambidex-
trous; she can write with either hand.”

Life came into the woman’s eyes. Tears
clung for a fraction of a second on her
lashes. Then they fell, and the creature
who was Annie Bell Simmons became a
woman again.

“I did it!” she sobbed. “It was me!
I killed him. Me! Me!”

Hysterically, frenziedly, she poured
out her story.

“That's ne I’m on the stuff! I can’t
sleep. I can’t think. I keep seeing him
the way he looked with the wire on his
neck, laying there in the road, dead! I
picked him up at the courthouse in my
brother’s car. We drove to the old road,
down back of East Lake. He told me
that there was another girl! Another

open the machines, no doubt. No traces
of blood on it either—but there might be
a print—let’s see what the boys can dis-
cover.”

The fingerprint expert, however, found
no prints on either of the discarded tools.

“Wiped off,” concluded Mills. “Seems
to indicate we have experienced yeggs
to deal with, who do not leave finger-
prints.”

“Or they wore gloves,” suggested
Detective John Deas.

‘Questioning the employees, it was
learned that a porter named Harry
Cleveland had been dismissed several
weeks ago. He was knawn as a tough
customer and ‘he had been hanging
around the alley before Christmas, ask-
ing for his old job back. He had been re-
fused because of his truculence. ,

“Look him up, Deas,” suggested
Schwelm.

Deas nodded and left.

The utter savagery of the crime sug-
gested a personal motive, but Malloy,
who knew Knust well, said that he wasn’t

the sort to get into any trouble with any-.

one, man or woman,

“He was too old to be involved with
any women,” he explained. “Old Fred
minded his own business and most people
liked him.”

The physical clues were assembled: a
hammer, a chisel, a towel, twine, and
they went under the scrutiny of the of-
ficers ; but they led nowhere. It could not
be determined where they had come from
or where they had-been bought. The
fingerprints that were, finally assembled
by the tireless criminologists working
under Captain Barker, didn’t match any-
thing in the Miami files; so they were
rushed to FBI headquarters in Wash-
ington.

106

girl! And me gettin’ kicked out by my
husband on account of that guy !

“That’s when I hit him, There was a
wrench on the floor board. I swung it
hard.”

The woman sobbed brokenly for a few
minutes, One of the detectives brought
her a glass of water, She waved it away.
Suddenly her eyes became crafty. “T’ll
tell it to you,” she said. There was an
hysterical eagerness in her voice. “I'll
tell you the way it was. Just give me a
shot, Please... I beg you. Please! Give
me some stuff!”

Eddins shook his head slowly. “Keep
talking, Ma’am,” he said, “You picked

‘up a wrench from the floor board.”

The woman’s eyes dropped. She wrung
her hands in her lap. “It, . . knocked
him out,” she continued hoarsely. “There
was some wire behind the seat. I looped
it around his neck and kept twisting. I
keptaremembering about the other girl.

Detectives had rounded up the bowling
alley employees and made the discovery
that one of the threé pin boys was
missing. He hadn’t shown’ up for work
since Christmas Eve, Two of them ac-
counted for their time satisfactorily. The
third had worked at the alley only a few
weeks,

An officer was dispatched to find and
bring him in. He was found asleep at his
boarding house, He could shed no light
on the crime; and his excuse for not
showing up for work was that he’d cele-
brated Christmas too enthusiastically and
was nursing a jittery hangover,

ILLS, who had assisted in question-
ing the employees, shook his head.

“I’m quite sure,” he told State At-
torney Worley, “that those boys didn’t
have anything to do with it.”

“And yet,” insisted Worley, “it has
all the earmarks of an inside job. Some-
one knew that Knust kept money over-
night as a general thing; someone knew
where he slept; knew his habits; brought
along the tools for the job—and left no
fingerprints.” ;

Mills assented to this, and added:
“That’s just it: It’s too professional a
job to have been done by any of those
employees I spoke to.”

Captain Melchen and Detective Chief

.Scarboro were consulted, and the four

men went into a huddle to determine if
the few pieces of the murder jigsaw they
possessed could be fitted into any pattern.

“The job,” stated Melchen, “was care-

fully cased. Someone knew the premises
_well, also the habits of the old man.”

“It could have been one of the many
habitual hangers-on at the alley,” sug-
gested Scarboro.

Worley acquiesced. “It’s certain that

Death Rolls a Ten Strike

(Continued from page 47]

And I twisted harder. Harder. He was
the guy who ruined me! My marriage,
my name, my life...”

“You shoved him out of the car?”
Eddins asked.

“He was heavy, but I shoved him out.
He rolled down into the gulley.”

“Then what?”

“I... I drove away. But I came
back. I came to my senses, and I came
back. But she was...” She broke down
and began to sob wildly.

After nearly six years, justice had
written finis across the incomplete record
in the Birmingham Police files. The law

“had found the killer of fireman George

Merril.

On, December 14, 1945, Annie Bell
(Green) Simmons was arraigned before
Trial Judge Robert J. Wheeler. She
entered a plea of guilty at that time, and
has since been sentenced to a term in
prison of forty years.

‘the killer had complete familiarity with

the layout. Maybe he was known to the
old man, and Knust was killed to keep
him from telling who robbed the slot
machines.” :

Mills contributed, thoughtfully: “The
way the old man was beaten up it might
have been someone who had a grudge
against him—a former employee.”

Scarboro nodded. “Let’s take the em-
ployees, one by one, and see what they
can tell us.”

The tedious routine that is at the
bottom of so much ‘successful police
work began, Lists were compiled of the

various employes, past and present, and ~

traced down; but the results were in-
conclusive, The employees roster seemed
to indicate a rapid turnover of shifting
job seekers, This, too, was quite natural
in a resort city, where thousands flocked
during the winter; and where some of
the more impecunious visitors sought
any kind of part time employment to help
them tide over a semi-vacation period.

Then, Deas came in with a stocky man.
He was shaken and frightened, but tight-
lipped,

“This,” reported Deas, grimly, to
Melchen, “is Harry Cleveland, a tough
cookie; and he won’t talk.”

“No?” asked Melchen, softly. “Why
not, Cleveland? Did you have anything
to do with this killing of old Knust ?”

“No, sir! I haven’t done nothing—”

“Where were you Christmas night,
Cleveland ?”

Cleveland sucked in his breath and
stared. “Can’t tell you that, but I didn’t
have nothing to do with any killing.”

“His wife admitted,” put in Deas, “that
he wasn’t home all night; and that when
he did get in, he tried to square himself

. with a handful of change and dollar bills.

He won't
night and h
job.”
Melchen
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is this: When did these two check out ?”

‘The clerk wasn’t sure,” supplied Han-
cock. ‘The best he can do is that Taylor
left a day or two after Christmas; and
that Stanley went at about the same
time.”

“What about Cleveland?” asked Mills.
“Said anything yet?”

“Not a word,” answered Melchen.

‘Maybe all three are tied up in this
killing,” hazarded one of the detectives.
“All three are former employees.”

“T don’t like the idea,” offered Mills,
“of their checking out just when they
did. It looks fishy, and I think we’d better
find these two men. We can come back
to Cleveland later. We’ve got him.”

Further checking discovered a guest
at the Horn House who had known
young Taylor. He remembered that the
youth was married. %

“Sure,” said this roomer, “the kid was
nuts about his wife, and he wrote to her
all the time.”

‘Where did she live?” asked one of
the detectives.

The informant wrinkled his brows.
“Wait a minute—I did know. Some little
town in Tennessee, I kidded him about
it being a whistle,stop, and he told me
his old man had a swell farm there. The
town was Owatah—no—Etowah.”

“What about this guy Stanley ?” asked
the officer. “Was he a pal of Taylor’s ?”

“T wouldn’t kriow,” confessed the
other. “But I knew. Stanley. Damndest
liar I ever met—a windbag.”

‘Happen to know when Stanley and
Taylor checked out?”

“Why, yes. Stanley checked out on the
26th. I think Taylor checked out on that
day too.” ,

The detective rushed his information -

to headquarters. Melchen sent for Mills
and this new information was discussed.

“Might as well check further,”
shrugged Melchen; and put in a long
distance call for the chief of police at
Etowah.

Clyde Davis, the Chief, was able to
furnish further information on Taylor.

“Yes,” he acknowledged, “I know
Taylor. He’s here. His father owns a
farm about five miles from town, What
about him?”

‘“T’m not certain yet, Chief, but please
see thatthe doesn’t leave town. I’m com-
ing up to ask him a few questions.”

Melchen hung up and faced Mills.
“May be a wild goose chase,” he said;
“but I’m going to Etowah to’ talk to
this Taylor,” : 3

“T’ll go with you,” instantly decided
Mills,

And that night Mills and Melchen left
Miami for Etowah and arrived the fol-
lowing day. A visit to police headquarters
and a few minutes spent with Chief

Davis in explanation resulted in all three |

men deciding to go to the Taylor farm.

They found voung Tavlor on the porch
with his wife. He was pleasant and soft-
spoken, hardly the killer type. He
answered all questions frankly and
freely; but Mills, a skilled psychologist,
was frowning as the questioning lagged.

“You knew old Knust, didn’t you?” he
asked.

108

“No, sir. I only worked there one
night.”

He acknowledged knowing Stanley,
but interrupted to say that. Stanley’s
real name was Stanton. “You see,” he
explained, “he and I got chummy. The
night I worked at the alley I didn’t have
any place to sleep, so Stanton took me
to his room at the Horn House; and I
stayed there after I got another job—
dishwashing.”

“Where is Stanton?”

“I don’t know, Last time I saw him |

was the morning I left for home. He had
his grip and he was leaving Miami.”

“Bid you ever return to the alley after
you quit there?” :

An expression too fleeting for hesi-
tation washed across the youth’s features ;
his pause was momentary, but the hawk-
eyed Mills saw it. “No, sir,” replied
Taylor, firmly,

“I think,” decided Mills, suddenly,
“that you'll have to come back with us.
I’m not satisfied with your story.”

“Okay—I’ll tell you. I don’t know why
I went with Stanton that night,” he said,
brokenly: “I’ve never been in trouble be-
fore in my life, but I was afraid of Stan-
ton and he made me go—” ’

Both officers traded swift , glances,
Gradually, they extracted Taylor’s story:

He had been all ready to go home and
had written that he was coming. Christ-
mas night, Stanton had come to his room
and insisted that he go along to the bowl-
ing alley. Stanton had hated Pop
Malloy’s brother, who had charge of the
pin boys, and he was going to get even
by taking all the coins from the alley’s
shot machines,

STANTON had brought along the
tools, the crowbar, the rubber gloves,
the screwdriver, chisel and flashlight;
also the twine.

When he had refused to join the ven-
ture, Stanton had threatened to break
his skull open with the crowbar if he
didn’t come along and hold the light. That
was the story as he told it.

Stanton had ‘unscrewed the hinges of
the back door and they had entered. Then,
Stanton had broken open several slot
machines, They’d heard the watchman
snoring upstairs, and Stanton had thrown
the light switch, cutting off the current
from the old man’s reading lamp—the
only light in the upstairs bedroom,

To Taylor’s protest, Stanton had
answered: “Shut up! He must have a
wad of Christmas dough.”

There had been a struggle when the
old man woke up, and Stanton had hit
him repeatedly with the crowbar, Finally,
he lay silent.

“And what did you do?” asked Mills,
soberly. :

*“Nothing—I was scared to death. All I
did was hold the flashlight as Stanton
told me to, I didn’t know the old man was
dead until I read it in the papers. I
thought he was just unconscious,”

“Stanton was cursing me and he made
me put the light down and tie up his feet,
while he tied his wrists and elbows,
Stanton took some money from a bag and
a cigar box, then. we left, Stanton gave

me twenty dollars and warned me that if
I ever talked he’d find me and kill me—
and he meant it, too.”

The entire loot had amounted to about
ninety dollars, Taylor thought. Stanton
had thrown away the tools and the gloves
in a vacant lot. Taylor claimed that he
was then too frightened to do anything
more than catch the next morning’s
earliest bus for Jacksonville. Stanton
had taken the same bus, but he had left it
at Palm Beach, admonishing the youth:
“Tf you ever tell, anyone anything—lI’ll
kill you.”

With Taylor’s confession, the search
for Stanton intensified. Descriptive
wanted circulars went all over the nation.

Cleveland, who had been held all this
time, was released, completely exon-
erated.

But Albert Guerney Taylor, twenty-
four, who looked like a college freshman,
was booked for murder, and the hunt
went on for Stanton,

It didn’t take long for an alert detec-
tive, in Jacksonville, to spot him, He had
been arrested on a charge of stealing
some trifles from a-used car lot, on July

6, 1941. When Detective Inspector

Acosta saw the prisoner brought in on
the petty charge, he frowned.
“Unless 2'm badly mistaken,” he said,

' “this guy is Stanton—the killer they’re

looking for down in Miami.”

He proved to be right. Stanton was
taken to Miami and there thoroughly
identified. After which, he did a right-
about-face that astounded the officers.

“Okay,” he declared, offhand, “so I
knocked off the old man, Turn that kid,
Taylor, loose. He didn’t have anything
to do with it. I took him along just to
hold the light. He didn’t do anything.”

A checkup on the nonchalant Stanton
revealed an astonishing record. He was
wanted in a dozen places on robbery
counts, and had served time in various
prisons, He had first been arrested at six-
teen in Pennsylvania, on a murder
charge, Of his forty-four years, he had

. served twenty-nine of them in prison. He

confessed to obtaining $8,600 in a payroll
robbery at Youngstown, Ohio, and later
served time for this crime.

He guided police to the spot where he
had flung the bloody crowbar and gloves,
and calmly confessed that he’d killed
Knust.

At: the last moment, however, he
repudiated his confession and pleaded in-
sanity; but the jury wasn’t hoodwinked.

On April 10, 1941, he was sentenced to
die in the chair by Senior Circuit Court
Judge Paul D. Barnes. He was executed
at the State Prison, at Raiford, on May
18, 1942.

Taylor was sentenced to tweuty years
on a second degree murder charge. But
a thorough investigation revealed that the
youth had been forced into the crime by
the experienced and vicious Stanton, and
on July 1, 1943, the Florida Parole Com-
mission released him, for his past record

_was clean.’ He promptly proved himself

by joining the Army.

_ The name Harry Cleveland as used isi this story
ts fictitious, to protect an nt man involved in
a murder case,

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PAPER
ao BOS oot

3330

dant’s guilt was deficient, defendant was
not prejudiced, and thus not denied effec-
tive assistance, despite alleged availability
of additional character witnesses who could
have been called to testify at trial; testimo-
ny of witnesses would have been cumula-
tive and would not have had any significant
impact upon trial. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend.
6.

6. Criminal Law <1208.1(6)

Death penalty is not imposed in racial-

ly discriminatory manner in state of Flor-
ida.

Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Before RONEY, Chief Judge, and
HILL and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges.

HILL, Circuit Judge:

The court, swa sponte, reconsiders this
case insofar as our previous opinion ad-
dressed an issue which had been raised by
the court swa sponte and unadvisedly. For
the reasons stated, one section of our previ-
ous opinion (I-B) is stricken and a state-
ment of the reasons for its being stricken is
inserted. In order that our entire opinion
may be found in one place, we vacate our
earlier opinion, 847 F.2d 1486 (11th Cir.

1988), and the following is adopted in its

place and stead:

Roy Allen Stewart brought this federal
habeas petition challenging his sentence of
death. His petition sets forth four claims
for relief; (1) comments made by the trial
judge diminished the role of the jury in
violation of Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472
US. 320, 105 S.Ct. 2638, 86 L.Ed.2d 231
(1985), (2) improper exclusion of a juror in

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STEWART v. DUGGER

violation of Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391
US. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776
(1968), (3) ineffective assistance of counsel
at sentencing, and (4) racial discrimination
in imposing the death penalty. The federal
district court denied relief on all four
claims. We affirm.

The facts surrounding Stewart’s 1979
conviction are sufficiently detailed by the
Florida Circuit Court’s order denying state
habeas relief:

The victim, Margaret Haizlip, a woman
of small physical stature, in her late sev-
enties, was a pioneer of South Florida
living in a small home across from Stew-
art’s temporary residence. About 10:00
p.m. Mrs. Haizlip was out on her porch
and saw Stewart. She waived [sic] to
him, invited him into her home and fixed
him a sandwich. Shortly thereafter he
went to her bathroom and stole a gold
watch from the medicine cabinet. Mrs.
Haizlip, after going into the bathroom
confronted the defendant, apparently
about the stolen watch, whereupon Stew-
art beat and pummelled Mrs. Haizlip un-
mercifully about her ribs, face and head.
While so doing, the defendant was tear-
ing the clothing and ultimately the un-
derwear from her body. As she lay on
the floor, bleeding from her face, moan-
ing and “making noises,” the defendant
forcibly had sexual intercourse with her
in a manner so vicious so as to tear her
vagina. The defendant thereupon fas-
tened a cord with an iron attached to it
around her neck, pulled tightly on the
cord and thereby strangled her leaving a
ligature mark on her neck.

The medical examiner testified the vic-
tim suffered eight broken ribs, multiple
contusions, and her larynx was broken.
A bite mark was identified on her thigh,


STEWART v. DUGGER 3331

and what appeared to be a bite mark was
on her breast. There were blood stains
and disarray in the living room and bed-
room area of her house, indicating the
victim was fighting and running for her
life. The defendant left the victim at the
scene with blood on his hands.

Sentence Order dated July 26, 1979 at 3-4.

On September 19, 1986, the governor of
Florida signed a death warrant (Stewart’s
second). Stewart’s execution was subse-
quently scheduled to occur on October 7,
1986. Stewart commenced various collat-
eral attacks in state court, a previous
round of state collateral attacks had proved
unsuccessful. After Stewart’s claims were
rejected a second time by the Florida state
courts, Stewart commenced this federal ha-
beas proceeding. On October 5, Stewart’s
petition was denied by the United States
District Court for the Southern District of
Florida. The district court, however,
granted a certificate of probable cause to
appeal, but denied a stay of execution. In
view of the fact that the district court had
granted a certificate of probable cause to
appeal, we granted a stay of execution.
Stewart v. Wainwright, 802 F.2d 395 (11th
Cir.1986); see Eleventh Circuit Rule 22-3;
Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 103 S.Ct.
3383, 77 L.Ed.2d 1090 (1983).

I. THE CALDWELL V.
MISSISSIPPI ISSUES

A

[1] Stewart contends that comments
made during voir dire diminished the role
of the jury in violation of Caldwell v. Mis-
sissippi, 472 U.S. 320, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 86
L.Ed.2d 231 (1985). During voir dire, the
trial court asked the following question of
a juror:

Just briefly, let me ask you about capital
punishment. We have to ask this ques-
tion, ... because this is one of those
eases where the legislature has said that
the death penalty is the appropriate pen-
alty.

Trial Transcript at 409. Stewart claims
that the impact of this statement was com-
pounded by the judge’s earlier comment to
the jury that “[y]Jou will assume that all the
proper evidence and the proper law will be
presented to you.” Jd. at 358-59. Accord-
ing to the appellant, the effect of the
judge’s comment was to instruct the jury
that the appropriateness of his execution
had already been decided by the state legis-
lature, thus minimizing the jury’s sense of
responsibility for determining the death
penalty. We disagree.

The inquiry under Caldwell is whether
comments made at trial “mislead the jury
as to its role in the sentencing process ina
way that allows the jury to feel less re-
sponsible than it should for the sentencing
decision.” Dugger v. Adams, — US.
—— , 109 S.Ct. 1211, 1215, 103 L.Ed.2d 435
(1989) (quoting Darden v. Wainwright, 477
U.S. 168, 184, n. 15, 106 S.Ct. 2464, n. 15,
91 L.Ed.2d 144 (1986)); See Harich v. Dug-
ger, 844 F.2d 1464, 1473 (11th Cir.1988) (en
banc), cert. denied, — U.S. ——, 109 S.Ct.
1355, 103 L.Ed.2d 822 (1989); Mann v.
Dugger, 844 F.2d 1446, 1456 (11th Cir.1988)
(en banc), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 109
S Ct. 1353, 103 L.Ed.2d 821 (1989). Here,
in the context of the entire trial, it is clear
that the jurors were under no impression
that the legislature had predetermined the
appropriateness of the death penalty for
Stewart. Although the trial judge’s ques-

tion to the prospective juror was inartfully |

phrased, the trial judge intended to convey
the message (1) that the legislature had
determined the death penalty to be appro-

gie
435

oe
WY
by
PEERS at
RREEDPEEPSPL OO Dr SS TETECE RES aS SEO RRRRC ERE 323

3332 STEWART v. DUGGER

priate in the narrow class of homicides in

which aggravating circumstances are

present, (2) that the prosecutor intends to
present evidence of such aggravating cir-
cumstances in this case, and (3) that the
jury may impose death if aggravating cir-
cumstances outweigh mitigating circum-
stances. Throughout voir dire, the jury
was informed that not all murders call for
capital punishment and that a finding of
guilt as to first-degree murder does not
require a verdict of death. Id. at 275, 344,
348, 415, 419, 482, 490, 506, 566. On at
least eighteen occasions the trial judge re-
ferred to the fact that death can only be
imposed under appropriate circumstances.
Id. at 298, 299, 302, 309, 397, 400, 406, 441,
458, 460, 463, 479, 480, 513, 521, 526, 527,
550; see also id. at 518, 535, 567-68 (com-
ments of counsel). The jury was also spe-
cifically informed during voir dire that
they would be required to weigh aggravat-
ing and mitigating circumstances during
the sentencing phase. Id. at 392, 444.
Furthermore, the terms aggravating and
mitigating circumstances were defined dur-
ing voir dire. Id. at 530-33. Most signifi-
cantly, the jury was informed that the leg-
islature had only enacted guidelines as to
when the sentence of death was appropri-
ate. Id. at 203, 213, 347, 348, 371, 563.
Under these circumstances, the trial judge
committed no Caldwell error.

B

[2] While reviewing the Caldwell claim
raised by Stewart and addressed above,
this court noticed other occasions where
defense counsel, the prosecutor and the
trial judge touched on functions of the jury
which might have been asserted as impli-

1. In fact, Stewart has never raised these claims
in the courts of Florida or in the district court.

cating Caldwell in a manner different from
that which had been suggested by Stewart.
The court swa sponte requested supple-
mental briefing and then addressed the
merits of some, but not all, of these other,
potential Caldwell issues. See Stewart v.
Dugger, 847 F.2d 1486, 1489-1493. (11th
Cir.1988). Upon further consideration of
this record, however, we conclude that this
court should not have analyzed these Cald-
well issues. As our now withdrawn opin-
ion observed, it was Stewart who initiated
many of the comments we viewed as possi-
bly implicating Caldwell. At trial, he did
not object to these comments or others
made by the trial judge and by prosecuting
counsel. Stewart did not challenge the le-
gality of any of these comments in his
direct appeal to the Supreme Court of Flor-
ida. As a result, he waived these claims
under Florida law. See Adams, 109 8.Ct.
at 1217, n. 6 (citing numerous Florida
cases).! There is no assertion or basis for
finding that “cause” and “prejudice” would
excuse this procedural default, see Wazn-
wright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 87, 97 S.Ct.
2497, 2506, 53 L.Ed.2d 594 (1977), and it is
clear that our failure to review these addi-
tional Caldwell issues would not result in
the death sentence of “one who is actually
innocent,” Murray v. Carrier, 477 US.
478, 496, 106 S.Ct. 2639, 2650, 91 L.Ed.2d
397 (1986). Our review of the issues we
raised on our own motion is, therefore,
precluded. See Adams, 109 S.Ct. at 1215-
1217 (defendant’s failure to raise Caldwell
claim on direct appeal to the Florida Su-
preme Court constituted a state procedural
default which was not excused by cause
and prejudice or actual innocence, thus pre-
venting federal habeas review.).’

2. We note that the State of Florida pointed out
in its supplemental brief that Stewart's proce-

SPEPEPSDEDST OL SD OTe


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SPOPOPAPe DA ER PSS

|

MESPRORERPLOLOLOLOLESOTOLOICTATL OCP LAT ST ATRL ED
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ARALORODALAD RROD ODA PR DRESS DOS OLDER:

Bar tees PL (bad

BSS shi

STEWART v. DUGGER

Roy Allen STEWART,
Petitioner—Appellant,

CZ

V.

Richard L. DUGGER, As Secretary
Department of Corrections, State
of Florida, Respondent-Appellee.

No. 86-5800.

United States Court of Appeals,
Eleventh Circuit.

June 27, 1989.

Murder defendant brought federal ha-
beas petition challenging his sentence of
death. The United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida, No.
86-2109-Civ-Ryskamp, Kenneth L. Rys-
kamp, J., denied petition, and appeal was
taken. On reconsideration of its initial
opinion, 847 F.2d 1486, the Court of Ap-
peals, Hill, Circuit Judge, held that: (1)
judge’s voir dire comments did not improp-
erly instruct jury as to appropriateness of
death penalty, and (2) defendant was not
denied effective assistance of counsel.

Affirmed.

Opinion, 11th Cir., 847 F.2d 1486, su-
perceded.

1. Criminal Law ¢655(4)

Trial judge’s comments during voir
dire did not have effect of instructing jury
that appropriateness of capital murder de-
fendant’s execution had already been decid-
ed by state legislature and did not improp-
erly diminish role of jury; although judge
Stated that “this is one of those cases
where the legislature has said that the

HPCBEE SPER SEE SERTPEPEPE PERE ERESSERREEEDS

yey

PETELELERD Taree Rrs.
PEST OL OCDE OL Or OL er OL DEST OT

3329

death penalty is the appropriate penalty,”
jury was also informed that not all murders
call for capital punishment and that finding
of guilt as to first-degree murder does not
require verdict of death.

2. Habeas Corpus ¢=340

Capital murder defendant who did not
object to argument by defense counsel,
prosecutor, and trial judge which touched
on function of jury, and did not challenge
legality of any such comments in direct
appeal to state court, waived such claims
under state law and was precluded from
asserting constitutional error arising there-

from in subsequent action for habeas re-
lief.

3. Jury 108

Potential juror who expressed opposi-
tion to death penalty was properly excluded
for cause in capital case; juror’s comments
unambiguously showed that his views
would prevent or substantially impair per-
formance of his duties as juror in accord-
ance with his instructions and his oath. 28
U.S.C.A. § 2254(d).

4. Criminal Law €641.13(2)

Capital murder defendant was not de-
nied effective assistance of counsel when
defense counsel claimed that defendant
was innocent, despite overwhelming evi-
dence of defendant’s guilt; pursuing claim
of innocence was Strategic decision de-

signed to create lingering doubt in minds of

jurors as to defendant’s guilt in order to
avoid death penalty. U.S.C.A. Const.
Amend. 6.

5. Criminal Law €>641.13(2, 6)

Even if trial counsel’s conduct in pur-
suing claim of innocence in face of over-
whelming evidence of capital murder defen-

Synopsis, Syllabi and Key Number Classification
COPYRIGHT © 1989 by WEST PUBLISHING co.

The Synopsis, Syllabi and Key Number Classifi-
cation constitute no part of the opinion of the court.

Sftwet exeaded
oo gap eet


i. an

ET RATT RTT PI tT OL AL RS ILI EE IF ET I ET areata taal

; mf Catholic chaplain at Florida's The black-tie

© after 4pm, CDT."
Best ram dare wee aes ware

i. He was ready, to accept death Man

SLRS IE ELE SELL HET ORI REM ATE

“STARKE, Fia’ (AP) =
traight was “at peace

lectrié chair for the brutal murder of
‘Jacksonville businessman, says the © “funn :
riest who of his rs earlier, ty a a
with him: PPA baci > A hd inl ale he
‘The Rev. Joseph’ wien gat, ‘the. * pris i &

State, Prison, spent. much of Tuesday,» @ switch at 5:06 p.m., sending 2,000
“who ‘received ee five volts kis ects elN Purging through. 4

~ strapped into the ¢

who was a bookkeeper at Stone's store.

“ xrings rison, had. met Palmes. in prs Palmes and Straight both main-
piarke, i He wos Foal Wey wi ape serving time for burglary. - » _ tained they were innocent, blaming Ms.
_ emer dangat said. _.. When he left prison in 1976, Straight __ Albert, who received immunity from

e Straight was pitaliaect to death bors FS ont to live in. Jacksonville with . Prosecution for testifying against them.

& et

- the Oct. 4, 1976, torture-slaying of.
+ Jacksonville furniture store owner
- James N. Stone, Co-defendant Timothy
« rang was, Fpegued. in Noyeraber;
1984 :
: Stone was beaten with a hammer {
~~ and stabbed 18 times. His body was’ J
ee a Stuffed into a hand-made wooden coffin 9)
and dumped off a bridge into the St.
© Johns River.  Kscitad PAR ae
A | Prosecutors said Straight and
» + Palmes killed Stone’ because he refused
¥ “fo give them jobs collecting delinquent
~ “accounts at his store, } : 6
/» Since 1979, 16 killers have died in the
- Florida electric chair. In ail, 58 people
© have been executed in the United States
© since the death penalty, was # rexived in
& ‘1977. » :

<-m Straight entered the death chathber
=

4

re

SG aee Patines and his girlfriend, Jane Albert,”

1G Arvawn

i se ec oda un . Authorities said Stone had been
ABT Zo fae REpob hic. lured to the killers’ apartment by ci

aE) ie re ; am ' Murderer ~ Jane Albert, his secretary and the

killer's roommate, and was forced

“OY tae le at gunpoint into a. coffinlike
ler fights

executed |e erin,
“to block — by. Florida |,
“execution ©

dumped the wooden box containing
Stone’s mutilated body off a bridge
. (STARKE, Fla. (AP) — Lawyers -
“for convicted killer Ronald ; FB

: United Press international
STARKE, ‘Fla. —

electric chair Tuesday for the 1976

| Slaying of a‘ businessman who was |.

by. Florida |

_ STARKE Ronal
Straight was executed in Flodia's

into the St. Johns River. They then
took the victim's car, credit cards
and. $3,100: in cash, and fled to
California, where they subsequently
were arrested, ere

- Albert was granted immunity in
exchange for. testifying against

"Straight readied a last-minute.ap-

~~ forced ji
“peal to the U.S. Supreme Court on __ forced into a wooden box, tortured

with a hammer and knife for 30

Straight and Palmes.

“Monday after an appeals court re" =
fused to halt his scheduled execution ®:

today.
"The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap-
‘peals in Atlanta turned down
- Straight’s appeal late Monday but
granted a stay until noon today to al-
‘low time for lawyers to take the case
to the nation’s high court. Straight
“had been scheduled to die at 7 a.m.
“EST.
-*)Earlier U.S. District Judge John H.
Moore II refused to stop Straight’s
electrocution. The U.S. Supreme
Court rejected an earlier emergency
“request and formal appeal Monday.
‘The state Supreme Court rejected
his appeal earlier Monday.
* Straight, 42, was condemned for
“the Oct. 4, 1976, slaying of Jackson-
“ville furniture store operator James
_-N. Stone. Stone was hit with a ham-
-“mner and stabbed 18 times before his
“body was placed in a box and
dumped into a river.
~+Straight’s co-defendant, Timothy
“C; Palmes, was executed on Nov. 8,
1984. s
| ‘Meanwhile, the 11th U.S. Circuit

to die today for a 1976 slaying.

Court of Appeals granted an indefi- -
nite stay to William Thomas Zeigler ~

Jr., who also had faced execution to-

day in Florida for the Christmas Eve
1975 slaying of four people, includ- a

ing his wife. © Soe
Later, the state Supreme Court va-

‘ cated an appeals court stay and the

state petitioned the U.S. Supreme
Court to let Zeigler’s execution g0
forward, >: me

If the US. Supreme Court over-
“turns Zeigler’s federal stay and

Straight fails to win a reprieve, Flori-
da could have its first double execu-
tion since 1964. The last double exe-

- cution in the nation was in 1965 in

Kansas.

3 nticoe UPI he
Ronald Straight was scheduled »

a ———

__ tiver.

statement, Straight answered, “No
«= Straight had’ won two ,

_ Teviewed his case Tuesday after-
_ Noon. His final appeal wes iurved

“past decade.

_dacksonville businessman Jame
Stone, who, according to a coroner, |

Timothy Charles Palmes was
executed Nov. 8, 1984, for his part

minutes and . then dumped into a

' Straight was strapped into “Old

_ Sparky” without incident. and was |.
| pronounced dead at 5:12 p.m. EDT

after a single, 2,000-volt surge of
current. : |
Asked whether he had a final

_ sir. No thank you.” |

St had wi brief stay
before’ the U.S... Supreme Court

“It was Florida’s 16th execution

and the nation’s 58th since capital |
_ punishment was reinstated in 1976.
Texas, with “13,-has. the second- | °
highest number of executions in the

~ Straight was the second ,
executed for the’ 1976. seater of

was bound with wire, beaten with a
hammer and stabbed 18 times “over
the course of a half-hour.”

in killing Stone, whose knuckles | |

had been partially severed.

to die

Straight originally had been set
uesday at 7 a.m. but won a
five-hour stay Monday night from

the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of

Appeals in Atlanta.
- The execution was reset for noon,

_but an hour before Straight was to
have been strapped into the electric

chair, Supreme Court Justice Lewis
Powell: granted another. five-hour
stay because the justices needed
‘additional time to study the case.
The high court then rejected
Straight’s appeal 5-4.° 000

Corrections Department spokes- |-

man Vernon Bradford said Straight
had “his religious visit” with his
minister. later in the morning.
Straight declined a final meal but
did drink two cartons of chocolate
milk, Bradford said. —


»

oe.

‘ ‘Cl Kiier: is ‘granted short reprieve,

” STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A federal court denied

sue killer Ronald J.Straight an indefinite
- Stay of execution, but granted him a reprieve until”

»» noon today so his lawyers: could again: present a,
onylast-ditch’ ‘appeal to the U. S::Supreme Court,
te © Straight had been scheduled to die at 7 a.m.

-oico-defendant’ in the torture-murder’ ofa’

ie ee dacksonville furniture’store ‘Gwner was su te tent |

death in the electric chair.
Be ‘ees Pipaye fatally 82 gh nA? ad Relat

a
ap

| « today;.more than'19 months after his” «OX Lee


(Dyval) 5-20-1986,

: GHT, Ronald, white, l2, elec. Fla.

wes j Man Executed
Oye” In Florida’s :
: Electric Chair

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man con-
victed of beating and Stabbing to
death a furniture store Owner who
refused to give him a job was exe-
cuted in Florida's electric chair
Tuesday, the second man to be put to
death for the crime.

Ronald J. Straight had been grant-
ed a five-hour stay Tuesday morning
by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis
Powell, but the order expired at 4:0]
p.m. CDT. Straight originally was
Scheduled to die at 6 a.m. CDT Tues-
day.

Vb add

ne€ssman who was beaten with a ham-
mer and stabbed 18 times on Novy. 8,
1984. Stone’s body was put in a hand-
made coffin, which was weighted and
dumped into the St. Johns River.

Straight’s execution marked the
first time the State had put a second
man to death for a Single crime since
Florida revived capital punishment
in 1979. Since then, 16 killers have
died in the electric chair here.

Prosecutors said the two men
killed Stone because he refused to
give them jobs collecting delinquent
accounts at his store. Both men said
they were innocent, and they blamed
Palmes’ girlfriend Jane Albert, who
was given immunity from prosecu-
tion, for the murder.

Straight, who entered the death |
chamber chewing gum, winked at
witnesses and Stared at a priest who |
met with him earlier. The Rev. Jo-
seph Maniangot offered a silent bles-

mz sing.

O Asked if he had a final Statement,
rod Straight said, “No, sir. Nothing.”

79 A chin strap was fastened over his
e) -f2 jJawanda black hood was placed over
es ae his face.

ha Superintendent Richard Dugger
i

>

~

rs)

ox

ioe)

gave the signal to the hooded execu-
tioner, and Straight’s body stiffened |)
as 2,000 volts of electricity surged |
into him. The cycle lasted about 90 |
seconds, and the body slumped
Slightly as wisps of smoke rose from
his navy blue pants.

A prison doctor Pronounced him
dead at 4:12 p.m. CDT.

Straight, 42, turned down a tradi-
tional last meal of steak and eggs,
and drank only chocolate milk for

‘lunch. He was “very nervous” as he

. .Waited in a death-watch holding cell

> hear the oaken electric chair, said
prison spokesman Vernon Bradford.

Ds yIngy, a4p


TO KILL
AND BE KILLED

Case Studies from
Florida’s Death Row

Kent S. Miller & Betty Davis Miller

Hope Publishing House
P. O. Box 60008
Pasadena, CA 91106

(“61

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To Kill and Be Killed

Postscript — In February 1988 a United States Court of Appeals med
that the jury had been incorrectly instructed to consider only he Statutori-
ly-defined mitigating circumstances and thus Stone was mepeed of an
individualized sentencing determination as required by the eighth er d-
ment. There will be an opportunity to present evidence of Stone’s terrible
background to a new sentencing jury. Stone also claimed that he ie .
ineffective lawyer— a recent law-school graduate who me not eens ly
tried a death case, was overworked and was neither assisted 3h abined
by the public defender. The court rejected this een and said “even
in capital felony cases defendants have no legal right to the very best
counsel.”

50

pests

6.

Robert A. Sullivan

Middle Class/No History of Violence/
Useful Life on Death Row

! firmly believe that Ihave been selected as a sacrificial lamb by the of-
ficials of the state of Florida NOT for what Ihave been accused of doing,
but instead because Iam the antithesis of the type of Person who has tradi-
tionally been the victim of capital punishment, especially in the south. Be-
Cause I am white, attended college, and had considerable support
including much by the Catholic Bishops of Florida and Massachusetts,

Graham [governor] and Smith [attorney general] decided to come after
me. If they succeed, Graham and Smith

the death penalty exclusively for the ur
Sriendless,

can Say that we are not reserving
1educated, or minorities, or the
— Robert Sullivan, November 22, 1983

51


S2n 98 om Herald news services

#

poe a Wa J

p

™

a

615% depictgwoiennnd

¢
¥

a ; i.
Soe 4 thin. 7 s
A black hood was placed over his

{2.-O/-23

STARKE, Fla. — Robert A. Sullivan,
convicted murderer who spent 10
ars on death row, was executed in
‘orida’s electric chair Wednesday af-
r reciting a psalm in tears and thank-
g Pope John Paul II for trying to
ve his life.

Sullivan, 36, his blue eyes watering,
t in the oaken death chair, took a mi-
ophone and read in a clear voice
om the 62nd Psalm written on a legal

st, because my hope comes from

‘ad and the executioner, also wearing
black: hood, threw a switch sending
000 yolts of electricity through Sulli-
:n’s body for two minutés. ;

SULLIVAN TWITCHED, then was

ill. He was pronounced dead at 10:16

m.,, Six. minutes after Gov.

raham gave the go-ahead for {he exe-

tion, ending a week of frau..ie legal
\ aneuvering that reached to the U.S.
5 tpreme Court and won the con-
)mned man a brief stay.

¢ i hare
; Sullivan, who had spent more time

mee “~~ 4) death row than any present inmate,
;, a8 convicted of the 1973 execution-
* yle murder of a motel clerk. He nev-

waivered in maintaining his inno:
nce and his attorneys fought to the
(d to spare his life.

“To all my peers on death row, de-
site what is about to happen to me, do
xt quit,” Sullivan -said.. He also
anked the pope for “his personal in-
‘rvention asking thut-my tife be
sared, te ’

“I hold malice to none. May God
iess us all,” were his last words.
- The adopted son of a Harvard-cdu-
ited physician alsa said. ‘‘t send my

THE DALY WERALD

«iller executed

‘d; “And in God alone is my soul at.

Beb .

love to my friends who are in reality
my family.”

HE URGED CAPITAL punishment
foes to continue the fight “because th
cause fs just.” :

About a dozen protesters conducted
an all-night vigil outside the Florida
State Prison near Starke, while others
marched through state office buildings
Wednesday morning

ARLING Toy

cles

C

But one proponent of the death pen-
alty said she was relieved. ‘

“““here is no winner here éxcept jus-
tice.” said Wendy Nelson, whose. 10-
year-old daughter, Elisa Vera. Nelson,
was abducted and her throat cut by

Lar-y. Eugene Mann of Palm Harhor. .

Main is an inmate on Fiorida’s death

Nelson was joined outside the Starke’
. orison Wednesday .by about a dozen

DENA am. ‘ot

es

é

.

Execution ends killer’s.

~ 10-year bat

tek ARMM RAR roe bay

“STARKE, Fla. [AP]—Convicted
murderer Robert Sullivan was exe-
“cuted Wednesday in Florida’s' elec-
tric chair, ending a 10-year fight
inst death that won the attention
Pope John Paul II. ;
Florida thus became the first state
to execute two people since the Su-
‘preme Court reinstated the. death
penalty seven years ago. Sullivan
entered the death chamber at 9:59
a.m., and the first surge of 2,000
volts of electricity began at 10:11.
The current was shut off 2 minutes

Sullivan was pronounced dead at
10:16 a.m. by Dr. Cahn Nugtun.

Despite the pontiff’s plea for
mercy and last minute legal maneu-
vering, Sullivan was executed for the
— 9, 1973, shotgun slaying of Don-

a Schmidt, an assistant manager
at a Howard Johnson's restaurant in
Homestead, south of Miami.

THE VICTIM’S watch and credit
cards were found on Sullivan when
he was arrested, but the 36-year-old
inmate contended he was in a
homosexual bar at the time of the
ire
Sullivan fought his case up to the
United States Supreme Court. ‘The
1ith U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Atlanta received a request for a stay
in a phone call at 9:50 a.m., and
announced its denial 20 minutes
later. The Florida Supreme Court
earlier denied a request for a stay;
Sullivan’s final appeal to the U.S.
Supreme Court failed Tuesday night.

ullivan had been on Death Row
for a decade, longer than any other

inmate currently under a sentence of,

lower
leg rol

tle for life —

Witnesses had a clear view of the

death chamber through a large win-
dow. Sullivan’s eyes were watery
when he entered, with his head and.
cee leg shaved and his pants,

up. ety
HE SAT DOWN,: was handed. a:

microphone at 10:01 and read pas-:
cages ot the.62d Psalm written on a
legal pad: ‘
soul ai. rest, because my hope comes

“And God alone is my

from within. RG CAO Ee
He ulso- had a final statement: “‘To
all my on Death Row, despite
what is about to h n to me, do
not quit.” He thanked: Pope John
Paul ior “his personal. intervention
asking that my life be spared.” . 4
Several times during the reading
of the psalm he began to: weep, bu
during his final statement he spoke
with « clear voice.
His face was covered by a black
hood before the switch was pulled.
He twitched, and then was sfill. |
THRE WERE NEARLY 40. pev-
ple in the wilness room and seyen
people in the death chamber, in-
cludiiig doctors and the executioner.
Suliivan did not look to either side
as he walked in. As he sat down he
looked at a Roman Catholic priest
sitting in the second row, Rev. Vin-
cent Daily, and smiled ‘at him. say-
ing, “Thank you, sir, for every:
thing.” ere A
Su’livan, the adopted son of a Har-
vard-educated surgeon, ate his last
meal of a 2-pound steak, french fries,
milk and fresh strawberries at 6,30
a.m., prison spokesman’ Vernqh
Bracford said. Hid —

HTS, peylois DEC, Of, (993

spite pope’s

rt

8

rs

“other advocates. who carried. signs
-"peading “We Love the Vieting’. and

“We support Governor Graham.”*
In Tallahassee, some 75 miles west
of the prison, about 100 anti-déath.pen

- alty protesters held a prayeéé' vigil ir
the Capitol rotunda a3 Sullivan’was’€x-|,
“ecuted: Most ‘held hands withinsight of

the governor’s: office and ereircled z

plea

VICTIM’S WIDOW. Rose Schmidt, widow of Donald executed Wednesday, embraces. her Childrer:tipon
Schimdt, for whose murder Robert A. Sullivan was _ hearing of the execution. Lana ae

“huge marble slah bearing "the! eurren
and past official state seals. ;

de Re

Set tet Sette sees

REHASH


me ae

.———

site rset sires Bes ies

CHIChbo §=TRIBUNE yov-49

Pope, court 7;

‘intercede on:

Death Row.
- .SFe0mm Chicago Tribune wi ifs 29-83 P

A PLANTA—Robert: Sullivan, |”

‘whose scheduled execution drew a
‘yare appeal for mercy from Pope:

- John Paul Il, won a last-minute stay

of execution from a federal judge:

Monday night... ...

- «: Chief Ju John Godbold of ‘the
lith. U.S::Cireuit Court of Appeals »
issued the stay. shortly before 11 p.m.”
to poll all 12 judges of the llth.
Circuit on whether io reconsider Sul-

livan’s appeal.
The aie came

Sullivan was scliedued te die in the

~ electric chair, He already had been

pace! in a holding cell 75 feet from

execution chamber at Florida

State Prises in Stave !

*. Earlier, the Vepe bad asked Gov.

‘Bob Graham “for humanitarian

' reasons” to halt Sullivan’s execution,

-: gaid Tom Horken, executive director
of the Florida Catholic Conference.

THE PLEA WAS conveyed in a
“telephone call by Archbishop
Edward McCarthy of Miami, said
Graham's. press secretary, Steve

Hull 5

*: he archbishop told Graham he ”
had received a. personal communi-
que from the Pope asking that
mercy be extended to Sullivan, Hull

ght hours before

shy

FF So

said.. +:

Sullivan, 36, has been on Death
Row Jonger than any other inmate in
the nation. He was convicted and
sentenced to die 10 years ago for the
April 9, 1973, murder 0: Donald
Schmidt, an assistant manager of a
:Howard. Johnson’s restaurant in
Homestead, Fila. =
The governor told reporters that
the case had lingered in the courts
long enough and that he would not
grant a-last-minute mercy appeal. ,

‘A “ROMAN CATHOLIC bishop in
Florida has said a Boston man con-
fessed to a priest that he was with
Sullivan at a-gay bar in Miami at the
time of the killing. The priest is
barred from revealing details of the

* -” conversation. But the priest and sev-

_ev'a) of his colleagues asked ihe Pope

Sullivan was innocent.
Rev. Joe Ingle of the Southern
Coalition of Jails and Prisons said
Graham has the power to issue a_60-
day stay of execution while Sul-
livan’s attorneys try to establish an ~
‘alibi.
“] fully believe he is innocent,”

Rev. Ingle told reporters.

He said Suilivan’s defense team is “a

trying to coax the unnamed Boston
man to come forward.

“It’s significant that the Pope has
become involved in this,” said Fred
Lawrence, a Methodist minister and
spokesman for Gainesville Citizens
Against the Death Penalty.

“| THINK THAT any time the
Pope takes a hand in something it
becomes a religious issue,”’ he said
during a night vigil at St. Edward's
Church in Starke to protest the
scheduled execution.

In an interview with the Florida
Times-Union of Jacksonville on Mon-
day, Sullivan said he hadn’t killed
Schmidt and claimed Florida offi
cials had singled him out ‘‘to show
that they will execute a middle-class
white boy.”’

On Monday morning, a three-judg«
panel of the Lith U.S. Circuit Cour
of Appeals denied him a stay ©
execution.

The panel held that the Floridi
Supreme Court had provided an ade
uate review to determine if Sul
livan’s death sentence was fair com
pared with sentences in othe:
murder. cases. That issue—propor-
tionality—gained a last-minute stay
of execution in Texas last month for
convicted killer Tames David Autrv.

=?

‘

Death
row

drama

fl- 29-83
‘Execution
halted in Fla.

~ Robert Sullivan, already
facing execution longer than
anyone else now on death row,
was granted at least a few
more days of life last night.

A federal judge halted to-
day’s scheduled execution of

’ the baoy-faced prisoner only

hours efter Pope John Paul Il
tried unsuccessfully to. save
Sullivan's life. aye

Chief Judge John Godbold:
of the 1 1th U.S. Circuit Court is-
sued a stay of execution just
eight hours before Sullivan was
scheduled to die in the electric
chair. ; i

Gov. Bob Graham was un-
movec earlier by the pope’s
plea tu save Sultivan’s life for

-. “humenitarian reasons.”

~ é

Graham said the case had

lingered Jong enough.

The pope joined a group of i

seven bishops from Florida in

. asking, that Sullivan be spared
for “humanitarian reasons.”

Last week, Roman Catholic

Bisho; John Snyder said a Bos-

ton man confessed he was with

to intervene. because they believed * Tm eRe! UN eel AZ fay allan vase ge Disc dia eeixsrtsdiec 5; yas &

-. Hallandale, Fla., when Donald
manager

USA TobAy Nov:

SULLIVAN: Would. have been”: :
exequted today. . A sie | Ae

Sullivan in a homosexual bar in
Schmidt, an assi manager,
of a restaurant near. Miami,
was murdered in April 1973.

But the church cotldn’t pro-
vide further deinils because
the priest could be excommu-
nicated for revealing details of
a confession. Hy :

Sullivan has been .on death
row for 10 years and three
weeks, 8 term eded only
by convicted felon Cary? Whit-
tier Chessman. He spent 11
years, 10 months and‘qne week =~
on death row before going to
the gas Chamber in San Quen-
tin in May 3960. Paar ee

Friends say Sullivan, 36, has
been planning for the future,
taking college business courses eee
as he awaited his execution ori- aa
ginially planned for 7 a.m. to- *
day in: Florida State ‘Prison
near Starke. : ; sae

+ FURS

"But for $91 They
Neednt Have

Detective Inspector A. L. Acosta: He liked to play a
long shot even though he wasn’t betting on horses

man’s mouth literally from ear to
ear, pulling what was left of the
ace into a concave mask from Hell.

Stunned, the night watchman stared
inbelievably at the bloody mass—all
that remained of his close friend Fred
nust. Then he reeled down the stairs,
fumbled for a nickel and put through
2 call to the Miami Police Head-
juarters.

Within an hour, early that morning
—December 26, 1940—three of the
ceenest detective minds in the South
vere sifting the case, those of De-
cective Captain Eddie Melchen, his as-
sistant, Detective Sergeant Charles
schwelm and Raymond Mills, investi-
gator for the State’s Attorney.

The officers found the murdered man
ying on his bed in the plainly fur-
ished room; part of his living-quarters

3

Te taut gag stretched the dead

ob
‘Lat, (ed)

above the Crescent Bowling Alley
which Knust owned.

“Everything is just like I found it,”
W. C. Thompson said in an awed voice.

He had discovered the crime after
he left the used-car lot at No. 2560
Northwest Seventh Avenue, where he
was the watchman, to call on Knust.
For two years the two men had their
breakfast coffee together.

T= bowling alley was in grim con-
trast to the gory scene in thé room
above it.

A Christmas tree spread it’s colored
lights over the remains of package
wrappings. One large, heavy box was
still the main attraction even if it had
been opened. The tag attached to it
read: “To Uncle Fred, The Regularest
Guy Who Ever Ran An Alley, From
All The Boys And Girls.”

i

Le

LX

By R. R.

Special Investigator for

Harding

OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES

insiue were seven matched pipes.
And they had cost not one penny less
than $50.

That’s what Uncle Fred’s friends
thought of him.
. The pipes had been given him dur-
ing the festive celebration on Christ-
mas night when over 200 bowlers
gathered to have fun in Uncle Fred’s
place. And they had fun, lots of fun.

Turkey dinners with all the fixin’s
nestled comfortably behind most of the
belts present and everybody thought
everybody else were pretty swell

people.

For Uncle Fred was loved by these
folks not merely because he was a
former champion at their game and
owned the place, but because he prac-
tised a code all too rare in this day:
Live and let live; the Golden Rule,
you might say. If a fellow was on his
uppers, okay, we all get that way once
in a while. Uncle Fred was good for
a fin, or he’d pick up the phone and
call somebody he knew about a job
for you, or he’d convince you gently
and without offense that hitting the
liquor never got anybody anywhere,
and then slip a banknote into your
hand.

That was Uncle Fred, or, to be
formal about it, Frederick Knust, 64,

lo etek

proprietor of the Crescent and, for five
years in the ’20’s, champion ten-pin
bowler of the Mid-West.

But upstairs the picture was dif-
ferent—horribly different.

Uncle Fred lay sprawled on his bed,
his face so distorted and blood-covered
that even veteran Captain Melchen
sucked in his breath in an involuntary
gasp. The entire top of the man’s
head was a pulp. And the mattress
under him was sopped with blood.
His hands had been tied.

Who would do such a thing? As far
as anyone knew, Uncle Fred didn’t
have an enemy in the world. What
manner of fiend would cudgel him to
death so brutally for a trifling $91?
Oh, yes, that part of the deduction
was simple. The officers found the two
money bags empty by the bed. Slips
of paper with notations of how much
money was in the bags lay beside them.
And fifteen dollars more—in nickels—
had been rifled from the “Sky Fighter”
amusement toy downstairs. Even the
ugly death weapon was present: A long,
heavy crowbar.

That crowbar had done its work
well. The medical examination of the
body which, incidentally, was pro-
nounced to have been dead four hours

oD—1


ae oe oti Pete e

“T think we have your man, Stanton.”

“What makes you think so?” asked
Melchen.

“We found a note in his pocket with
the address of Taylor,” said Coste.
“What more do you want?”

“Nothing!” exclaimed Melchen.
“We'll be right up.” a

It seemed that several complaints
had come into Jacksonville police
headquarters that some tool-burglar
had been stealing tools in all parts of
town. Coste ordered a watch on all
pawnshops and picked up Stanton,
who was trying to pawn his latest
theft.

When the address of Taylor was
found on him he refused to make a
statement. He neither denied or af-
firmed that he knew young Taylor.

Detective Love, of the Miami de-
tective bureau, and State Investigator
Mills, went to Jacksonville and started
back to Miami with Stanton.

“Better come clean,’ said Mills.
“Taylor has told everything.”

“I. don’t know any Taylor,” said
Stanton.

“What about that address found in
your pocket?” asked Love.

“I don’t know how it got there,”
said Stanton sullenly.

Mills and Love decided to stop off
and give Stanton a few beers. Stanton
drank several bottles and became a
little more communicative.

“Why did you kill Fred Knust?”
went on Mills. :

“Who said I killed him?” flared
Stanton.

“Taylor said so!” replied Love.

“Why, that young punk!” snarled
Stanton. “I told him...” Then he
caught himself and stopped. But it
was too late.

“So you didn’t know Taylor!” said
Mills.

“T ain’t talking,” retorted Stanton.

_ For the next two hours they rode
in silence.

*“How about another beer?” asked
Stanton.

“Okay,” said Love. They stopped
and Stanton had two more bottles.

“You guys have been good to me,”
said Stanton, after he had gulped the
second bottle, “and I’m going to tell
you something.”

i as aaa said Mills.
1t.

“I admit I know Taylor, but the
young punk didn’t do anything but
hold the flashlight.”

“What did you kill Knust with?”
demanded Love.

“I didn’t know I killed him,” said
Stanton. “I hit him a couple of times
and thought he was just out for a
while. He should have listened to me
when I asked him for the money. If
he had given me the dough I wouldn’t

“Let’s hear

document detailing a domestic life of
wild, unchecked emotions.

In addition to alleging her hus-
band’s brutality, MayBelle described
how Dennis Kelly had refused to give
her money for small personal ex-
penditures.

56

COMPLETE DETECTIVE CASES

have touched him.”

“Why should he have given you the
money?” asked Mills.

“I didn’t like ‘Pop’ Malloy’s brother,
who had charge of the pin boys,” said
Stanton. “He was always riding me.
So I decided to get even.”

“And in order to get even with
Malloy, you killed an innocent man,
eh?” said Mills.

“Well, that’s the way I felt about
it, but I tell you I never meant to kill
the old guy!”

They rode for an hour in silence.
Stanton dozed and began to mumble
to himself. Neither Love nor Mills
could distinguish what he said.

“How about some more beer?” asked ,-

Stanton, coming to life.

“Okay,” said Love. They stopped
and Stanton had two more bottles.

“For coppers, you guys ain’t bad,”
said Stanton. “I seen much worse
and I should have killed some of
them.”

“Thanks,” said Mills. “What hap-
pened to the weapon you used on
Knust?”

“It was a small crowbar,” said Stan-
ton. “You'll find it in the palmettos,
about a_block north of the bowling
alleys. I threw it there after we left.
A block beyond you should find two
pairs of red rubber gloves, also in the
weeds.”

Well, the mystery of who killed Fred
Knust was cracked. But Stanton
had not told all about himself. Not
by a long shot!

When his fingerprints were returned
from the Washington Bureau of
Identification—the FBI—they showed
that John A. Stanton was in reality
John A. Rosewell. More, he had had
a criminal record since the age of
fifteen.

He had been in Leavenworth,
Dannemora and other prisons. His
record hold-up was in Youngstown,
Ohio, in 1922. There he got away
with an $8,500 payroll, and subse-
quently served time for the job. In
brief, Stanton, or Rosewell, had spent
most of his life in prisons.

“Do you think you have a streak
of insanity in you?” asked Mills.

“Hell—no!” exploded Stanton.

However, he was a liar, knowingly
or otherwise. The records showed
that he had been in the insane ward
of Dannemora for some years.

| o bebde. Rosewell and his young
y stooge, Taylor, appeared in Cir-
cuit Court on pril 10th. Taylor had
waived trial, pleading guilty to the
charge, and threw himself upon the
mercy of the court.

Rosewell, at the very last moment,
decided to plead insanity and ask for
a jury trial. This was granted. Two
alienists disagreed as to his form of

insanity. One said he was just
irresponsible, with no sense of morals,
while the other said he might be sane
one moment and insane the next.

On May 20th, before the trial
started, I spoke to both Rosewell and
Taylor. Rosewell sat,almost next to
Taylor, with but one chair between
them. I took the chair in the middle
and asked Rosewell, “Well, what do
you think of your chances?”

His face was prison-pale and a sly
grin lighted his face. “I’m not worry-
ing about anything; I’ve had a hell of
a life and I have no regrets.”

“You mean you wouldn’t like to
start over again and go right?” I asked.

“Well, I don’t know about that.
Maybe there’s something wrong with
me,” he grinned.

I turned to young Albert Gurney
Taylor. He sat with his hands finger-
ing his face nervously. One of the
alienists had testified that he con-
sidered Taylor a border-line case of
intelligence. To me he seemed to be
a nice, normal boy who had been led
astray by a born criminal.

“How do you feel, Albert?” I asked.

“T’m frightened,” he said. “If I ever
get out of this, Pll never get into any-

thing else! You don’t think they will

put me in the death chair, do you? I
swear to God all I did was hold the
flashlight.”

The jury was out less than two
hours. As they returned to the jury
box, Rosewell gazed at them as if he
were seeing a movie and enjoying it.
A grin covered his ashen face.

“We find the defendant, John A.
Rosewell, guilty of murder in the
first degree,” said the foreman in a
low voice.

When Judge Barns sentenced him to
die in the electric chair, at the State
Penitentiary in Raiford, Rosewell
smiled and said, “Thanks, Your Honor
—is that all?”

Then he turned his head toward the
courtroom audience to see what they
thought of it. Nothing met his eyes
but stony stares and silence.

He seemed disappointed—like an
actor who had failed to get the ex-
pected applause.

At this writing, it is not yet definite
what the outcome will be for Taylor,
however, it is the official consensus
that he will get a suitable sentence.

As to the mysterious post cards, °

the third and last came soon after the
apprehension of Rosewell and Taylor.
It read:

You mugs had a lot of luck on that
Knust murder case!

The police do not know who the
sender was—and what’s more they
don’t care!

(Jackson is a fictitious name to save
an innocent person from further em-
barrassment.)

CRIMSON RIDDLE OF THE RUNAWAY

WIFE .

“I think I can handle this end okay,”
Sheriff Wilkes said when the officers
had finished reading the letter. “I
have some questions to ask several
people and we'll have.to look further
to find MayBelle’s body.”

When the officers had gone, Wilkes
called in Tom Proctor, the experi-

(Continued from page 37)

enced, clear-thinking prosecuting at-
torney who had read MayBelle’s
letter earlier in the morning. They
settled down for a discussion of the
startling events of the last few hours,
Wilkes bringing him up to date on
the visit of the two Hannibal officials.

Sheriff Wilkes flipped the pages of

nero

—

MayBelle’s letter.
being ‘denied the
ligion’ looks like th
ing over her
church. I doubt
could have h
people were sayin
and Newton.”

Tom Proctor tur
chair. “Oh, yes, t
was a lot of gossi
fact, it is said, tl
Reverend Newton t
in the church and f
to preaching arc
churches, but I oft
much Dennis Kell
course, he might ha:
thing definite and
his own hands.”

“He denies that w
in this letter is tru
said abruptly. “He
trouble.”

“Then why did ]
all?” Tom Proctor
either leaving some
going to somethin;
attractive. Those ;
reasons for doing w

“And either we
think he had rea:
Wilkes pointed out.
the $2,000. I want t
money is now.”

“One thing,” Tc
“when did Dennis I
MayBelle was missi

“T knew you'd :
said, smiling faintly
morning about se
said he found the n
explanation is that
start talk in case Mz
or turned up in ¢
morning.”

“Where did he sp:
Tom Proctor asked

“He spent it at ho
Belle slipped out
eleven while he \
kitchen doing
work.”

“T think we’ll
house and sez....
Wilkes said. “We v
ing a murder case
there this morning.’

Sheriff Wilkes an:
torney Tom Procto
Kelly house.

“T think we’d b
over,” Sheriff Wilk
Kelly. “We may be
clue as to how your
might have killed h
a chance of overloo}

Dennis Kelly pau
then said, “I’ll cert:
I can to help you.
murderer of poor \

A thorough sear
home failed to
Neither did the clc
car made by Sheriff
Proctor engaged De:
versation in the ho

Back in his offi
sheriff turned to 1
there any reason n
a woman killed May

“No,” Tom Procto
why would any wo
her?”

“Why do wome
Wilkes asked.

“Women usually
way or the other,” '
“but Dennis Kelly \
ful, wasn’t he? T
other woman in his

=

_ammll

Fred Knust’s great
love _was bowling
and his life revolved
around alleys like
the one shown here

With the skull badly
smashed and hands
tied, the body of
Knust is shown Just
as,it was found by
police. The muti-
lated head is omit-
ted in deference to
the reader’s feelings

at the time of Thompson’s discovery,
revealed not one but six skull fractures.

Obviously, the motive for the crime
was robbery and, in view of Uncle
Fred’s place of affection in the com-
munity, probably robbery only. That’s
what made it so damnably deplorable.

In the words of his brother, William,
a Miami real estate broker, “But,
gentlemen! Fred would have given $91
to anyone so hard up he had to kill
for it! I’ve known him to give as much
as five hundred to a man, with no
strings attached.”

Mute testimony, final proof, of what
the people of Miami’s Northwest sec-

oD—t

tion thought of Frederick Knust was
evidenced when more than _ 1,000
persons attended his last rites.
Miami’s largest florist establishment
was forced that day to seek additional
flowers from several of its competitors.
Its stock had been sold out.

Melchen and Mills concurred that
whoever had done the murder was no
novitiate to theft and violence; the
skillful manner in which the door and
“Sky Fighter” machine were opened
indicated that. And there had been no
telltale prints on the crowbar.

Melchen slammed into action, It was
characteristic of him to “slam” into

Down on His Luck.

This Miami Bowling - Alley Progitetor
Never Refused a Loan to Any Man

Yet He Was Bru-

tally Bludgeoned to Death the Day

After Christmas

everything he did. His speech, his
movements were terse, brusk. He
wasted no time with anyone. He sum-
moned James Barker, his finger-print
expert.

_. “Jimmy, beat it out there to the
Crescent. Somewhere around there’s
got to be a print. If there ain’t, this
is gonna be a tough nut to crack. Go
over the door that was cracked, go
over that machine. Get me somethin’
to work on!” he snapped. Soon as
Barker had double-timed it from his
office, the Captain called in two other
detectives, Wesley Shannon and Roy
Hancock.

for

He Gladly Would Have Given Away

Money Which

“You two cover the bus station
and around the depot,’’ Melchen
ped out. “Ask all the drug st
hamburger’ joints and such like in
vicinity whether anybody came in
mornin’ tryin’ to unload a_buncl
nickels for foldin’ money. If you
a description, check with the train
bus people.”

Alone, the Detective Chief snat:
a black cigar from a box on his
lit it and began nervously drum:
his fingers upon the arms of his c
This case looked bad; no witne
no clews—so far—and, in Mian
top season, thousands of 5!


irds, drifters, crooks, killers and what
oes with them eased into town for
varmth and fat pickings. And here
vas another custom-tailored murder
) deal with. The Captain swore softly
») himself. His was maybe the most
xacting crime-detection post in the
ountry, for he not only had to stand
uard over Miami’s permanent popula-
on but also over the tourists and
jugs who in the Winter swelled the
ity census to three times normal.
An hour or so later, Detective Shan-
on burst into Melchen’s smoke-filled
ffice. He wore the expression of the
at who has just made dinner of the
et canary.

“Chief!” he said. “A guy changed five
ucks in nickels for a fin at the bus
tation drug store at seven-thirty this
iornin’! Little guy, he was. The soda
ork gave me a good description. An’
‘hief—he got on the eight o’clock for
acksonville, him and a young guy
ith freckles who seemed to be travel-
VY with him!”

Melchen silenced him with a gesture,
rabbed the phone at his elbow and
ialed the number of the Florida Motor
ines. He rasped out a single question:
It’s ten minutes to twelve. Where is
our bus that left for Jacksonville at
ight? Nearing New Smyrna, eh?
hanks.” Bang went the receiver, to
ec uncradled again the next instant.

“Gimme the chief of police in New
Symrna, but quick!” he snapped to the
long-distance operator, then, rapidly,
he scribbled down Shannon's descrip-
tion of the money-changer. ss

“Hello, Chief?” he said intd the
mouthpiece. ‘Listen. There’s a guy
on the Jax bus I want pulled off. Short,
late fortyish—” He replaced the re-
ceiver on its hook. He’d given’ the
New Smyrna officer everything he
could and the latter promised to call
him back the minute the man was in
custody. ‘

EN minutes later came the sad

news. There was no such person on
the bus; no one even faintly answering
the description. Melchen turned dis-
gustedly to his subordinate.

“In flew a dead duck,” he said sig-
nificantly. “That guy, if he exists, if
that soda jerk hasn’t been takin’ it in
the arm, could have got off at any one
of fourteen different stops.”

Shortly before two o’clock Finger-

print Man Barker barged in, elated.°

Not only had he found a perfect thumb
impression on the rear plate of the
“Sky . Fighter”—the removable part
that opened into the nickel cache and
which never would be touched by one
playing the game—but he’d also found
the same print on the wood rear door.
The alley exit that had been jimmied!

At last they had a finger-print to work
with, though Melchen admitted to him-
self that checking a single print would
be an arduous undertaking—even if-it
was on file. He knew that only a com-
plete set of ten prints may be checked
through the high-speed sorting ma-
chine used by the FBI in Washington.
Individual prints must be compared
by hand.

The case stood at a standstill for
a week. Melchen had done all that
was humanly possible with what he
had to go on, which was virtually noth-
ing. The description of the little man
who had “disappeared” from the
northbound eight o’clock bus had been
put on the State-wide teletype. The
thumbprint had been airmailed to
Washington after it was definitely es-
tablished that no mate to it existed in
local files. What puzzled Melchen most
was why had only a single thumbprint
been found at the Crescent? Could it
be that the murderer had worn gloves;
a pair torn in one place?

Three hundred and sixty miles north
of Miami a dark-eyed man with the
olive complexion of a Latin sat scan-
ning a Miami newspaper. He reread
the column-long article and looked
again at the typed theft report on the
desk at his elbow. Detective Inspector
A. L, Acosta was interested. The typed
page, bearing the legend “City of Jack-

‘account of the Knust killing.

sonville Police Department,” related
in terse detail how a portable but ex-
pensive acetylene outfit had been stolen
the night before—January 2—from a
Broad Street garage. L. C. Gilstrap,
the night attendant, had been slugged
unconscious with a monkey wrench.
On the handle of the tool detert*---<
had found one print of a thumb. Gil-
strap still was in the hospirai, sus
unconscious, with a _ possible brain
concussion. He’d been found prostrate
on the garage floor that early morning
by his boss, who noted the disappear-
ance of the torch.

The piece in the Miami paper that
held Acosta’s attention was a rehash
It did
not omit an allusion to the thumbprint
clew.

P sceminees ACOSTA was the perfect
antithesis of his contemporary
down the line, Eddie Melchen. He
acted with slow deliberation charac-
teristic of his race, which was Cuban-
Spanish. But from his heritage he had
the true instincts of a gambler and a
real gambler has hunches. The In-
spector had one now. He put through
a call to Miami.

“Hello, Eddie,” he greeted amiably,
“how you been? Listen, Eddie, some-
thing funny happened here last night.
I want you to send me that thumb-

A thumbprint was the only clew left
by the murderer when he looted this

“machine which

is examined by In-

vestigator Raymond Mills and Sergeant

Charles

Schwelm, with flashlight

Frederick Knust, shown with a championship
trophy he won.for bowling: His code was live

and

let Hve but he died a violent death

oD—7

Wed., Oct. 30, 1946

MURDER CLIMAX:S Smee OF wY¥STERI US EVENTS IN WHITE CITY SECTION

‘furder vas added to the list of eanaeticnet events which
have put White City residents in a state of nervous tension
during ie last 48 hours when Erich Emil Spiller, 6. yerr old
Operator of a roadside chili stand on the South Dixie highway,
died about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in Fort Faeroe Memorial Hospital
of gunshot wounds inflicted by a mysterious killer as Spiller
counted cash in his establishment,

Spiller, a former merchant seaman born in Germany, who was
tae have come £o Fort Pierce last spring, wie het with
what sheriff's oreresads believe was probably a .38 caliber
pistol. He ated without ideutityine his ceuetae.

No motive for his murder has been asSigneéu and Hm sheriff's
offichals said they had no clue to the identtity of the killer.
Sy : Spiller was app rently shot through the shoulder, neck and jaw,

4

as he counted about $11 in cash behind the counter of his Sleepy

Hollow Chili Bowl, some 300 yards south of the White City
crossing on the Dixie Highway. Investigating officerslater

found the money undisturbed and no apparent attempt had been


STEWART, Lacy, black, 17, electrdcuted. Florida (St. Lucie County) October 2, 1918,

Aa aie “pettron book cs ne pas 9 Tee age Thee a

- WPMC Oct. 25,. 19),8

Lacy Stewart, Killer of Emil Spiller, Executed at Raiford(head)

oe e : \

Raiford, AP - Lacy Stewart, a negro sentenced at Fort Pierce
for murder, was put to death in the @lectric chair here today.
He made no statement. The switch was thrown at 9:05 aeme
and death was pronounced at 9:1}
Steward killed Erich Spiller, Beer Parlor Operator, at

White City a few days after the negro escaped from a state

prison camp near Fort P,erce on Oct. 28 19.6

Pe : He had been serving a lO‘year sentence imposed in

Volusia County, May 10, 1946, for breaking and entering.


made to enter the establishment, in which Spiller also lived

alonee

Witnesses said the morta lly wounded man made his way first
to the nearby house occupied by T.J. Lassiter, but the Lasssiters,
fearing an atten at robbery by the young negro on wh o
escaped Monday from the local state road camp here, refused to
admit him and Lassiter went for help at @ neighbor's houB6. occupied
by Mrs, Tura Worth, a teacher in the White City school, where he
called for help. Mrs. Worth suinmoned help from E.E. Stranghoener,
who was at the F.H. Conrad residence next doore

Stranghoener said he found the wounded man in the Worth

yard while Mrs. Stranghoener telephoned police. He said State

pire BARB I
ree

fw
Highwa ymaer Patrolman C.M. Floyd, who arrived first, questioned

Spiller, who told him only he had been shot from outside his place
butapeigentay did not know who might have fired the shot. He said
Spilier was asked if he had any enemies or had had any arguments
recently but wave fio helpful informatione

Spiller was taken to the hospital in a Yates amtulance

a few minutes after Stranghoer fond hime

Deputy Sheriff John Merritt said he and Sheriff B.A

Brown found the bullet which apparently passed through the
murdered man's body a flattened against the opposite wall,
and found tracks outside the open window of the building,

- Indicating the assaliant was a man, and that he probably fired
the shot lefthanded. NO weapon was founde

Little was known locally about Spiller, whoapparently

first came here about last April. For a time he operated
smali > : —
amburger place in the Ritz theater building, and built tte
chil.stand in White City several months agoe Yates Furperal Home,
where the body was taken, said his wife and daughter in New York
- 8 4 a
City had been notified and were on their way here.

The murder climaxed a series of crimes in the White City
area, inagurated Monday by the escape of 8 17 year old negro
convict from the prison camp on Oleander Avéeée Two burglaries,
one a daylight act Tucsday morning, preceeded the shooting.

R.C, Hayneswobth, supsrintendent at the road camp, said Wednesday
’ . . rod
the negro had not been caught but all roads suprounding the section

‘were still bein: watched. We said he did not believe the negro

could be involved in the later depredations at Whitte City because

\chase os :
the tn . « {Fold of file makes impossible to read) e« e ie gs ae

STEWART v. WAINWRIGHT 248

Roy Allen STEWART,
Petitioner-Appellant,

v.
Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, Secretary De-

partment of Corrections, State of
Florida, Respondents-Appellees.

No. 86-5800.

United States Court of Appeals,
Eleventh Circuit.

Oct. 6, 1986.

Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Southern District of Florida;
Kenneth L. Ryskamp, Judge.

Before HILL, KRAVITCH and ED-
MONDSON, Circuit Judges.

ORDER GRANTING STAY OF
EXECUTION OF DEATH
SENTENCE

Petitioner Stewart, under sentence of
death is scheduled, pursuant to warrant, to

‘be put to death by electrocution at 7:00

a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday,
October 7. He appeals denial of relief by
the district court on his petition for the
writ of habeas corpus. He also moves that

‘this court stay execution of the sentence.

The district judge denied habeas corpus
relief with a detailed opinion. However,
thereafter the district judge granted appel-
lant’s motion for a certificate of probable
cause to appeal.

Local Rule 30 of the rules for the Elev-
enth Circuit Court of Appeals governs our
response to the motion for stay. Rule
30(a)(7) reads as follows:

(7) If a certificate of probable cause is
granted by the district court or by this
court, the panel shall grant a temporary
stay pending consideration of-the merits
of the case if necessary to prevent moot-
ing the case; provided, however, the pan-
el may, after hearing, deny a stay if it
makes written findings that:

(i) the appeal is frivolous, or is lack-
ing any factual basis in the record, or
is squarely foreclosed by statute, rule,
or authoritative court decision; or

(ii) the petition is successive, and the
requirements for dismissal are met.

In view of the fact that the district court
has issued a certificate of probable cause to
appeal, unless this court can, after full
hearing, find that the appeal is frivolous or
lacking any factual basis in the record or is
squarely foreclosed by statute, rule or au-
thoritative court decision, we must grant a
Stay so that the appeal can be fully con-
sidered.

The premises considered, IT IS OR-
DERED THAT

1) Execution of the sentence of death
upon petitioner is STAYED until further
order of the court.

2) The Clerk shall give immediate notice
to all parties and those government offi-
cials of the State of Florida required to be
notified of such a stay.

HILL, Circuit Judge, specially concur-
ring:

I concur in the stay for the reasons stat-
ed in the order.

I write separately to suggest that, until
further instruction by the Supreme Court,
execution of death sentences should be
stayed. The Court has granted certiorari

Synopsis, Syllabi and Key Number Classification
COPYRIGHT © 1986 by WEST PUBLISHING co.

The Synopsis, Syllabi and Key Number Classifi-
cation constitute no part of the opinion of the court.


3336 STEWART v. DUGGER

APPENDIX—Continued

MR. GILLIS: All I said was that I stut-
tered when I said that.

THE COURT: Oh, I see.

Will the attorneys and the court reporter
please come side bar.

(Thereupon, Counsel for the respective
parties and the court reporter approached

the bench and the following proceedings
were had:)

MR. STELZER: Challenge for cause.

MR. SHERMAN: Objection, Your Hon-
or. All he said at the end was I don’t think
that the death penalty—he doesn’t think
that he would vote for the death penalty.
He doesn’t think it is deserved of anyone.

Under an atrocious crime, he could consider
it.

THE COURT: He finally said he
wouldn’t vote to impose the penalty, but he
said that under the facts of Charles Man-
son, he could.

Over objections of Defense, Mr. Gillis is
excused for cause.

Id. at 436-39.

Adm. Office, U.S. Courts—West Publishing Company, Saint Paul, Minn.


249 STEWART v. WAINWRIGHT

in McCleskey v. Kemp, — US. —, 106
S.Ct. 3331, 92 L.Ed.2d 787 (1986) (granting
certiorari), and in Hitchcock v. Wain-
wright, — US. —, 106 S.Ct. 2888, 90
L.Ed.2d 976 (1986) (granting certiorari). In
those cases, the petitioners assert that the
people and institutions of Georgia (McCles-
key) and of Florida (Hitchcock) are inade-
quate to constitutionally administer the
death penalty. The petitions in those cases
somewhat resemble claims of the unconsti-
tutional application of a constitutional
law,! but they do not assert any particular-
ized, individual, intentional discrimination
inflicted upon either petitioner. See Wash-
ington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 96 S.Ct.
2040, 48 L.Ed.2d 597 (1976). Rather, the
petitions appear to me to assert that
“government, created and run as it must be

1. Georgia’s death penalty statute is constitution-
al, Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 96 S.Ct. 2909,
49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976), as is Florida’s, Proffitt v.

by humans, is inevitably incompetent to
administer” the death penalty. See Gregg
428 U.S. at 228, 96 S.Ct. at 2971, 49 L.Ed.2d
904 (White, J., concurring.)

This court rejected petitioners’ claims to
the writ of habeas corpus so premised.
McCleskey v. Kemp, 153 F.2d 877 (11th
Cir.1985) (en banc); Hitchcock v. Wain-
wright, 770 F.2d 1514 (11th Cir.1985) (en
banc). The Supreme Court has granted
review of those cases. Should petitioners
prevail, execution of the death penalty will
be unconstitutional if administration of it
be by a government created and run by
humans.

While that issue is under consideration
by the Court, it may well be that all death
sentence executions should be stayed.

Florida, 428 U.S. 242, 96 S.Ct. 2960, 49 L.Ed.2d
213 (1976).

Adm. Office, U.S. Courts—West Publishing Company, Saint Paul, Minn.


‘i f/f
PTC: ? Ad eK

Witness for the

watched a man die Friday morn-
ing. Then I went to Denny’s for

I waffles.

It wasn’t right, when I thought about
it, midmeal. I had just watched a man
die.

I know. | wasn’t Supposed to care.

uommmmmencwms KOY Allen Stewart
: “was a coldblooded
killer. Fifteen years
ago, he was con-
victed of raping and
murdering a 77-
year-old =woman.
Who cares about
scum like that?

Sg Well, | didn’t.
TERRY NEAL Then Stewart
————————— looked me in the
TALK OF eye, if only for

TALLAHASSEE millisecond. At
least I think he did
anyway. He was only a few yards away.
He was looking at me. And all I saw
was a scared, pathetic-looking man. I
gave myself a mental slap to remember
I was looking at a killer.

The other reporters in the viewing
chamber of the execution room at Flor-

ida State Prison all said he looked

Ulan qu

strong and calm. But most of them
have done this before. But ] was an
“Old Sparky” virgin. It was the first
time I ever sat in a room with 30 other
people and watched a guy get strapped
to a three-legged chair knowing he was
moments from death.

Perhaps I was thinking not so much
about how Stewart was acting, but what
he must have been thinking.

Would it be Strange to live, essen-
tially cut off from human existence ina
solitary Death Row cell for a decade
and a half, only to suddenly be con-
fronted by a room full of people who
were about to watch your chest heave

and smoke spew from your burning
flesh?

I guess, compared to some of those
who came before him, Stewart may
have looked calm. But | knew he
wasn’t. He couldn’t have been.

After watching a man die, I tell you
one thing, I will never ever think of the
déath penalty the same way again.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve

een a supporter of the death penalty.
Still am, I suppose.

But Friday was an important day for

me. Mast people are too proud to ever

Stewart

critically challenge beliefs they have
strongly held for a long time. I’ve never
had a problem with that.

I still support the death penalty, but
only philosophically. Philosophically,
it’s great. In reality, it sucks.

I really have no problem with some-
one who takes a life having their life
snuffed out also. I don’t fee nearly as
sorry for Roy Allen Stewart as I do for
Margaret Haizlip, by all accounts a
saint of a woman whose life ended
because she was nice enough to invite
Stewart into her home for a sandwich.

But life isn’t about philosophies and
concepts. It’s about reality. And reality
tells me that the death penalty, as it is
applied, isn’t much about Justice. Capi-

tal punishment as we know it is a joke,
a bad one, but a joke nonetheless.

It’s about illusion (saves money) —
criminals who commit horrific acts 10
or 15 years ago using up all the tax-
payer’s money in appeals. Executions
average about six times the cost of life-
time incarceration.

It’s about a roll of the dice: One guy
gets the spark for being the lookout
during a murder. Some drive-by
shooter spends a decade in the Big
House.

It’s about pt tough-on-crime poli-
tics. I don’t know about you, but |
don’t feel much safer now than I did in
1976, when the capital punishment was
reinstated in Florida. —

Only 33 people have been executed
since the reinstatement. There are 337
on Death Row.

Former Herald reporter Dave Von
Drehle summed it up so well in a
Tropic article a few years ago: ‘Capital
punishment has not been a terrible,
swift sword of vengeance. It has been a
slow, crazy jumble of chance. It hasn’t
selected only the very worst animals. It
has taken out a nearly random selec-
tion of losers.”

Losers like Roy Allen Stewart.

execution: Death penalty not about justice

; a ,
Ninth

Florida’s electric chair.

PESOS: j

OLD SPARKY:

OS


a
Xo

s

&\

+5 S Va 27 / IY 39

eA

Al a7

Killer fights
to block
execution

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — Lawyers
for convicted killer Ronald J.
Straight readied a last-minute ap-
peal to the U.S. Supreme Court on
Monday after an appeals court re-
fused to halt his scheduled execution
today.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap-
peals in Atlanta turned down
Straight’s appeal late Monday but
granted a stay until noon today to al-
low time for lawyers to take the case
to the nation’s high court. Straight
had been scheduled to die at 7 a.m.
EST.

Earlier U.S. District Judge John H.
Moore II refused to stop Straight’s
electrocution. The U.S. Supreme
Court rejected an earlier emergency
request and formal appeal Monday.
The state Supreme Court rejected
his appeal earlier Monday.

Straight, 42, was condemned for
the Oct. 4, 1976, slaying of Jackson-

ss ville furniture store operator James

N. Stone. Stone was hit with a ham-
mer and stabbed 18 times before his

\N body was placed in a box and

~

~

4° dumped into a river.

Straight’s co-defendant, Timothy
C. Palmes, was executed on Nov. 8,
1984.

Meanwhile, the llth U.S. Circuit

UPI

Ronald Straight was scheduled
to die today for a 1976 slaying.

Court of Appeals granted an indefi-
nite stay to William Thomas Zeigler
Jr., who also had faced execution to-
day in Florida for the Christmas Eve
1975 slaying of four people, includ-
ing his wife.

Later, the state Supreme Court va-
cated an appeals court stay and the
state petitioned the U.S. Supreme
Court to let Zeigler’s execution go
forward.

If the U.S. Supreme Court over-
turns Zeigler’s federal stay and
Straight fails to win a reprieve, Flori-
da could have its first double execu-
tion since 1964. The last double exe-
cution in the nation was in 1965 in
Kansas.

SA

"FROM Sor =

Ot

a rtAst

; Se CKawms

™ Killer executed: Ronald

Straight, branded a “snake” anda

devil” by prosecutors, was executed

yesterday at Florida State Prison for
the 1976 slaying of a businessman
who was forced intoa makeshift cof-
fin and tortured for 30 minutes with
a hammer anda knife. Straight, 42,
was pronounced dead after receiy-
Ing a single 2,000-volt surge of cur-

rent from Florida’s “Old § ‘
electric chair. nae

. Florida killer dies in electric chair

Fs STARKE, Fla. — Ronald Straight was execuied in
x. Florida Ss electric chair Tuesday for the 1976 slaying ofa
Se ee who was tortured with a harnmer and knife
a minutes, then stuffed into ~ wood
“dumped into a river. ‘ “ on ae
‘« Straight, 42, was pronounced dead at 2:12 ’
: ight, 42, d dear :12 p.m.’PST af-
.. ter a single, 2,000-volt surge of current. P

The U.S. Supreme Court turned down his final appeal

- Tuesday afternoon. JAC AnMeak: Bee
: SJ -21- $76 Ps 4-9 Bee News Services

One execution
stayed; appeal
seen on other

Straight’s execution still set
for tomorrow, barring stay

By Bruce Krasnow
Staff writer

STARKE — As Florida’s first double execution since
1964 neared, attorneys for one Death Row inmate ob-
tained a stay of execution last night and another appeal
for the other inmate was expected to be filed today.

Scheduled to die at 7 a.m. tomorrow in the electric
chair at Florida State Prison were William Thomas Zeig-
ler, 40, of Winter Garden and Ronald J. Straight, 42, of
Jacksonville.

Attorneys for Zeigler obtained a stay of execution last
night from Circuit Judge Gary L. Formet Jr., who was in
Jacksonville to hear their motion.

But Assistant State Attorney Stephen Kunz said he and
Deputy Attorney General Richard Prospect would appeal
to the Florida Supreme Court today, seeking to have the
Stay of execution set aside.

Gov. Bob Graham routinely signs death warrants for
two condemned at the same time, and the prison super-
intendent usually schedules both to die at the hour. But in
the past, at least one of the two inmates has gotten a Stay.

This time, both were on their second death warrants.
Graham signed warrants for both in 1982, but they re-
ceived stays.

Straight is condemned for the Oct. 4, 1976, stabbing
death of James N. Stone, who owned Scott’s Furniture Co.
in Jacksonville. Stone was beaten with a hammer and
Stabbed repeatedly before his body was sealed in a wood-
en box and dumped into the St. Johns River from the
Buckman Bridge. Also convicted in the murder was Tim-
othy C. Palmes, who was executed Nov. 8, 1984. ;

Straight maintains he is innocent. In a recent letter to
the Times-Union, he said Jane Albert — the key witness
against Palmes and himself — killed Stone. Mrs. Albert,
Palmes’ live-in girlfriend, was a bookkeeper at the furni-
ture store and an admitted accomplice. Prosecutors
granted her immunity in exchange for her testimony. ‘

The Florida Supreme Court was to hear an appeal on
Straight’s case today.

Zeigler was convicted of the Christmas Eve 1975 mur-
ders of his wife, Eunice, and handyman Charles May Jr.
He was given life terms after being convicted in the
second-degree slayings of his wife’s parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Perry Edwards Sr., of Moultrie, Ga. All four were found
dead in the furniture store owned by Zeigler in Orange
County. .

Prosecutors said he killed the wife to collect more than
$500,000 in insurance money, then shot May to make it

(See PRISON, Page B-3)

’ Florida Executes P93 :
2nd Man in Killing

' Of Store Owner.
: ~ $F Chronic
Starke, Fla. .

. A man convicted of beating
1 and stabbing to death a furniture
store owner who refused to give

_. him a job was executed in Florida's .

| electric chair yesterday, the second
man to be put to death for the
crime.

Ronald Straight, 42, had been
granted a five-hour stay yesterday
‘morning by U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Lewis Powell, but the order
expired at 5:01 p.m. EDT.

His co-defendant, Timothy

Palmes, was executed on Nov. 8,

_ 1984, for the murder of James

| Stone, a Jacksonville businessman

{ who was beaten with a hammer and
stabbed 18 times.

Florida revived capital punish-
ment in 1979. Since then, 16’killers
have been died in the electric chair
here. - ; ;

Prosecutors said the two men
killed Stone because he refused to
give them jobs collecting delin-
quent accounts at his store.

Both men said they were not
guilty, and they blamed Palmes’
girlfriend, Jane Albert, who was
given immunity from prosecution,
for the murder.

Associated Press

FLORIDA EXECUTES
2D MAN IN MURDER

Victim Is Said to Have Turned
Down the Killer foraJob ~

C

STARKE, Fla., May 20 (AP) — A
man convicted of beating and stabbing
to death a store owner who refused to X
give him a job was executed today in
Florida’s electric chair, the second
man to be put to death for the crime.

The murderer, Ronald J. Straight,
had originally been scheduled to die at
7 A.M. but had been granted a five-hour oh

/-&

stay by Justice Lewis ¥. Powell Jr. of

the United States Supreme Court. The
order expired at 5:01 P.M. Justice KY
Powell had said the Justices needed
additional time to study Mr. Straight’s v
appeal because of “lingering doubt
about his..guilt.’’

“Mr. Straight’s co-defendant, Timo-
thy Palmes, was executed Nov. 8, 1984,

for the murder the two committed Oct.

4, 1976. The victim, James Stone of
Jacksonville, was beaten with a ham-
mer and stabbed 18 times. Mr. Stone’s
body was put ina hand-made coffin,
weighted and dumped into the St. Johns
River.

He Winks and Chews Gum

_
\Y
Mr. Straight, who entered the death ~
chamber chewing gum, winked at wit-
nesses and stared at a priest who met »
™,

| with him earlier. The priest ofered a si-

lent blessing. .
Asked if he had a final statement,
Mr. Straight said: ‘‘No, sir. Nothing.”
A chin strap was fastened over his
jaw and a black hood was placed over
his face. The prison superintendent,
Richard Dugger, gave the signal to the PN
hooded executioner, and Mr. Straight’s
body stiffened as 2,000 volts of. elec- .
=

| tricity surged into him.

A prison doctor pronounced Mr.
Straight dead at 5:12 P.M.

Prosecutors said the two men killed
Mr. Stone because he refused to give
them jobs collecting delinquent ac-
counts at his furnitue store. Both men
said they were not guilty, and they
blamed Mr. Palmes’s companion, Jane
Albert, who was given immunity from
prosecution, for the murder.

Mr. Straight, 42 years old, turned
down a traditional last meal and drank . -
only chocolate milk.

He had spent 20 years in prison on
seven separate criminal convictions.
When he left prison in 1976, Mr.
Straight went to live with Mr. Palmes
and Miss Albert, who was a bookkeeper -
at Mr. Stone’s furniture store.

The victim’s sister, Vicki Stone Ett-
linger, said last week that she was an-
gered that Mr. Straight had been able
to live for 10 years after the murder.


seawaay oF sua uc wad AUITU.

Prison officials say double execution unlikely

(From Page B-1)

look as if the store were being robbed. The parents
were killed to cover up the other shootings.

Zeigler’s trial, a year later, was moved to Jack-

sonville because of heavy pre-trial publicity in the
Orlando area. Circuit Judge Maurice Paul ordered
.,, the two death sentences despite a jury recommen-
dation of life.
.. Besides the motion filed for Zeigler in Circuit
,., Court yesterday, his attorneys also filed a direct
5. -appeal Friday in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
;,-in Atlanta. That appeal was still pending last night. .
., In collateral attacks, Zeigler’s attorneys also
5 filed a petition in the Florida Supreme Court,
claiming they had new evidence in the case.
ou) The last time two inmates were executed in Flor-
ida on the same day was May 12, 1964. Emmett C.
Blake of Levy County: was executed .at 8:49 a.m.,
‘,,and Sie Dawson, convicted of a Gadsden County
", murder, went to the chair at 9:08 a.m.

Those were also the last electrocutions in the
State before they resumed in 1979 with the execu-
tion of John Spenkelink under new death penalty
+, laws.

- . Robert P. McLendon, a retired prison official
.,who worked many executions, said double, triple
‘,-and quadruple executions were not uncommon in
Florida.
» “Back in those days we would bring in the first,
_, Set him in the chair, do the execution. The medic
_, would pronounce him dead, we'd take him out the
. back door and bring in the next,” McLendon re-

called.

According to records he keeps, Florida has had
22 double executions and nine triple executions.
Three times, the state has executed four in a row.
That hasn’t happened since March 23, 1942.

Richard Dugger, superintendent of FSP and the
man who has supervised 14 of the 15 recent execu-
tions, doubts that both inmates will remain sched-
uled to die at 7 a.m. .

Last monti., for instance, two men were execut-
ed and both, Daniel Thomas and David Funchess,
received short stays. Thomas’ lasted five hours and
Funchess’ lasted 10 hours.

“With the way courts are granting stays, even if
one gets a five-hour stay, they’re going to be sepa-
rated,” Dugger said. “It may happen in a few days
of each other or in a few hours of each other, but
I think it’s unlikely” that one would come immedi-
ately after the other.

If the unexpected does happen, Dugger said, the
execution routine will be the same, with the man
whose warrant was signed first, in this case Zeig-
ler, being the first into the death chamber. .

In the next few months, there is likely to be a
brief surge of executions because of a May 5 US.
Supreme Court decison saying it is constitutional to
exclude death penalty opponents from capital ju-
nes.

More than a dozen executions in the country

- were stayed pending the outcome of the case.

The decision has led officials-in Texas to take
steps to specifically avoid multiple executions.
A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of

Corrections said having more than one execution a
night would be cumbersome because each inmate
can have five of his own witnesses view the lethal
injection process.

In Florida, the 12 citizen and 12 media witnesses
are the same no matter which inmate is electrocut-
ed.

And even though execution dates in Texas are-
set by county judges, two or three have been sched-
uled at the same time in coming months.

To make things simpler, Texas corrections com-
missioner Lane McCotter has asked the judges to
contact his office before setting an execution date.

“Our executions are after midnight and before
sunrise. so it’s late and there’s always a lot going
on,” the Texas spokeswoman said. “It wouid just
make things a little simpler around here not to
have more-than one.” ;

If a double execution does go tomorrow, Jack-
sonville will get a historical footnote. The last dou-
ble execution in the country also involved a Jack-
sonville man.

That one took place June 22, 1965, in Kansas
when two 23-year-old former Army soldiers were
hanged. James D. Latham and George R. York, of
Jacksonville, went AWOL from Fort Hood in Texas.
They later confessed to the murders of seven peo-
ple in Florida, Tennessee, Illinois and Kansas.

Two of those killed were woman from Valdosta,
Ga. Their bodies were found the morning of May 30,
1961, near Orange Park.


SOUTH FLORIDA®T
Stano
shows. |
remorse

to the.

entinel

UESDAY® MARCH 24, 1998

-|

no

end

‘Victims’ relatives jeer,
glare during execution

By MICHAEL GRIFFIN

Tallahassee Bureau

STARKE — Serial killer Gerald Stano, un-
_ repentant to the end, died in Florida’s elec-

tric chair on Monday to the

‘angry jeers and silent f
‘glares of families who |
would not let him forget | 4

his victims.

John Maher, holding a-

‘picture of his sister, Mary,

sat in the front row of the |: ee
witness chamber, only a |.

plexiglass window separat-
ing him from the man he
has hated for 18 years.

“Our eyes met and he looked down at the.
picture for a second,” said Maher, 39, of Chi-

Stano 2 he

cago. “He had no reaction, no remorse or

guilt for what he did.”

Raymond Neal, 40, whose twin sister, Ra-
mona, was killed by Stano in 1976, sat a few
seats away and made no attempt to conceal
his joy. “Die, you monster,” Neal said as the
hooded executioner turned the knob at 7:11

PLEASE SEE STANO / 4A


The thug used
a screwdriver
to effect entry
to the bowling
alley and used
a crowbar for
slaying the old
watchman who
slept upstairs.

“Not old Fred,” answered the bowling alley employee. “l’r
ably just overslept.”

Still calling for Knust to open up, the two men walked to the
back and found that a heavy rear door had been unscrewed
from its hinges.

Both men had entered, still calling for Knust; but there was
no answer. When they reached the old man’s room, which had
been walled off on an upper balcony above the alley, they saw
the reason. He would never answer again. The employee im-
mediately phoned “Pop” Malloy, the owner of the alley, and the
salesman had phoned the police.

Malloy could add little that would help the detectives. The
Alley had been closed about eleven on Christmas Eve, and it
was the custom of Knust to lock up and keep the day’s receipts
with him until the next morning, when they could be banked—
if it wasn’t a Sunday or holiday.

“How much did Knust have last night?” asked Mills.

“T’d say about $80,” answered Malloy. He pointed to a
canvas sack on the floor. “Empty, as you can see,” he fin-
ished,

Mills nodded, looking around the bare room. There was

33

sqaete ess
Wess

Wed

st

The victim. who died of many skull fractures,
was found trussed, hand and foot, in his bed.
The blood stains on a magazine led the police
to deduce he had fallen asleep while reading.

*

plenty of evidence of a struggle. The pockets of Knust’s trousers

rome «=—shad been turned inside out. An empty cigar box on the floor, its

lid half off, claimed Mills’ attention. He pointed to it.

“We kept change in that,” offered Malloy. “Bills in the sack.
«Looks like it’s all gone.”

Mills nodded, still looking the room over, On a table was a
‘stack of popular magazines. One lay on the floor, near the dead
man; its cover stained with blood. Mills picked it up.

“T ooks like he was reading in bed,” he hazarded.
Malloy told him: “He liked to read in bed.”

Mills
on but:

“The
sometir
switch

mornin
“T see
Mill
throug
decided
“We
chance
Bel
Miami

two slo’

hundr
box—
Any s
ON,
a |

M

under
light |

The
weeds
identi


employee. “Prob-

men walked to the
1 been unscrewed 4

ust; but there was
s room, which had
the alley, they saw
The employee im-
f the alley, and the

he detectives. The
istmas Eve, and it
p the day’s receipts
could be banked—

asked Mills.
He pointed to a

u can see,” he fin-

room. There was

—

oe Dace
a

my skull fractures,
H foot, in his bed.
vine led the police
pep while reading.

ets of Knust’s trousers
ir box on the floor, its
yinted to it.

loy. “Bills in the sack.

On a table was a
near the dead

Mills walked over and tried the dangling light. He snapped it
on but nothing happened. ‘

“The switch is downstairs,” explained Malloy. “The old man
sometimes fell asleep and burned the light all night. I had a
switch put in downstairs so I could throw it off when I got here
mornings so it wouldn’t burn all day.”

“T see,” nodded Mills. “He was absent minded, eh?”

Mills turned the magazine over in his hands and ruffled
through the pages absently. “I think I'll hold on to this,” he
decided.

“Well,” said Schwelm, “let’s give the fingerprint boys a
chance up here and look around downstairs.”

Below, Sergeant G. E, Baldwin, a criminologist from the

Miami Identification Bureau, was at work in the alley on the ee

two slot machines which had been broken open.

“Looks like they were smashed with a hammer or crowbar,”
offered Baldwin, “Not much herg—just part of a palm print.”

“Check that rear door,” suggested Schwelm, “and the room
upstairs. The prints on the machines may be those of any of
hundreds of customers. I’d rather find a print on that cigar
box--or something the killer touched upstairs in Knust’s room.
Any sign of the murder weapon ?”

“No,” answered Baldwin, “not yet.”

“T'}] get a couple of men to hunt around,” nodded Schwelm..

ILLS sought the electric light switch that controlled the
reading light above the dead man’s bed, and located it
under the stairs. The switch was open, and he knew why the
light had not responded when he had attempted to turn it on.
Then, with the discovery of a hammer and a chisel in the
weeds outside the alley, the hunt quickened. As Malloy did not
identify either as belonging on the premises, Mills speculated:

Det. Sgt. Deas at
right, picked up a
suspect who was
once fired by the
alley’s proprietor.

ah,

“They were brought along for the purpose, no doubt, anc
thrown away after the job was done. How about the twine ?D
you use any like it anywhere around the alley ?”

Malloy said that he didn’t.

“Then this, too, was brought along—and for only one pur
pose,” concluded Mills. “Evidently a carefully cased job, planned
in advance, with all the necessary tools brought along.”

“That hammer,” said Schwelm, ‘doesn’t look like the murder
weapon. It’s too clean.”

Mills shook his head. ‘Used to (Continued on page 106


a ]

STANTON,

John A., wh, elec. FL (Dade) May 18, 1942

Special Investigator Ray Mills
i) reconstructed the crime from a
If bloody book and an open switch.

This ‘hammer and
chisel were found
nearby: the gloves
were worn by the
killer to eliminate
any sign of prints.

44

The bed was a shambles. Dr. Edwin C. Thomas, Dade County
physician, came to his feet and faced the group of Miami city
detectives, held silent by the sheer brutality of the crime.
“Offhand,” he shrugged, “I’d say he’s been dead since three
or four this morning. Several skull fractures, as near as I can
i tell without an autopsy.”
Monte Gurwit “In which case,” said I. R. Mills, special investigator for the
State Attorney’s office, “this is deliberate and premeditated
HE victim was lying on his stomach in the tumbled bed, murder.” He indicated the bound hands and feet.
his wrists, elbows and ankles trussed with heavy twine. Detective Sergeant Charles P. Schwelm touched the knots
A towel had been rammed into his mouth as a gag. His at hands and elbows, at the ankles. He looked up at Mills.

head was a bloody mass of savage wounds, plainly indicating ‘‘This is queer,” he observed, quietly. “The wrists and elbows
that he had been beaten to death by:some heavy instrument. are tied with one kind of knot—but the ankles are tied with

DETECTIVE WORLD, September, 2946

another.” M

4

ing of the s

“One mat
bows—while

“You thinl
in on this?”

“Tt looks tl
in the funct
conscious ac
sense. And-
door downst:
man could u

All know1
coming, for t

The room
Crescent Bo.
Twenty-fifth
watchman, n
harmless old
ber 26, 1940
of America,


nomas, Dade County
group of Miami city
y of the crime.

een dead since three
res, as near as I can

| investigator for the
te and premeditated
ind feet.

n touched the knots
looked up at Mills.
re wrists and elbows
ankles are tied with

An old watchman
in a bowling alley
was bludgeoned to
death by this man
who looted the till
and slot machines.

Captain James
Barker, right,
proved a palm print
matched the killer’s.

another.” Mills nodded understand-
ing of the shrewd observation.

“One man tied the wrists and el-
bows—while a second tied the feet.”

“You think there were two killers
in on this?”

“Tt looks that way. A sudden change
in the functioning of a purely sub-
conscious act like this doesn’t make
sense. And—there’s that heavy back
door downstairs. I don’t believe one
man could unhinge that in the dark. Who found this man?”

All known information on the crime was instantly forth-
coming, for the detectives had been busy.

The room where the dead man lay was over the popular
Crescent Bowling Alley, near Northwest Seventh Avenue and
Twenty-fifth Street. The dead man was Fred Knust, the night
watchman, nearly seventy years old. He was known as a kindly,
harmless old man. The timé was 8:25 on the morning of Decem-
ber 26, 1940; and the place was the gay southern winter capital
of America, Miami, Florida.

A salesman from a used car lot near the bowling alley had
come for his usual morning bottle of cold pop. It was after eight.
but the place was still closed.

He knocked, but there was no answer. Then, one of the en
ployees of the bowling alley arrived, coming to work

Both men were puzzled as to why Knust hadn’t opened up,
as usual, “Maybe,” grinned the salesman, “Fred had a little tox
much Christmas yesterday.”


—— ata

A8 Saturday, April 23, 1994

|

@ Killer of neighbor who
Offered him a sandwich
15 years ago finally goes
to electric chair.

By Terry Neal
and Manny Garcia
Knight-Ridder Newspapers

STARKE, Fla. — Roy Allen
Stewart waited 15 years for this
one minute.’ |

A black-hooded executioner,
with holes for eyes, hit a button
at 7:10 a.m. Friday, sending
2,000 volts of electricity through
Stewart’s body.

At 7:11 am., a doctor said
Stewart, the convicted killer of
77-year-old Margaret Haizlip of
South Dade County, was dead..

Stewart started down the path
to the electric chair on Feb. 21,

1979, when Haizlip, his neigh-

bor, invited him in for a lun-
cheon sandwich.

He wasn’t a good guest — Hai-
zlip caught him stealing her
watch. He attacked her, stripped
her, kicked her, raped her, bit
her savagely on the hip and
strangled her with an electric
cord.

He survived three previous ex-
ecution warrants with 15 years’

worth of court appeals, and his —

family maintained his innocence
throughout. .
But friends of Haizlip — a
Sunday school teacher who came
to Miami in 1920 with her hus-
band, James — were satisfied
that a case that shocked even
this hardened town finally had
come to closure.

“I remember the day I heard = |

about. it,” said Charles Ousley, a
lifelong friend from Perrine. “I
was devastated. She didn’t de-
serve to die like that.

Stewart’s execution “took a

long time coming. Too long. But,

yes, I definitely believe justice
has been done.”

SS —

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‘
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‘ gold watch from a cabinet.

. ing and raping Haizlip, but said
he left her alive.

first this year and 33rd since the
. U.S. Supreme Court's 1976

> EXECUTION: Roy Allen Stewart,
electric chair Friday for the 1979 murder of neighbor Mar-
garet Haizlip, 77, whom he beat, raped and strangled.

“put to death at the Florida State

Florida killer.

<a

put to death |

STARKE, Fla. — An inmate
was put to. death in Florida’s -
electric chair Friday for killing
a 77-year-old neighbor who had
invited him into her home for
a sandwich and wound up being
raped and strangled.

Roy Allen Stewart, 38, was

Prison. |

His final appeals were
turned down Thursday by the
U.S. Supreme. Court.

Stewart was executed for
the 1979 murder of Margaret
Haizlip, who was beaten, bit-
ten, raped and strangled.

Witnesses testified Haizlip
had invited Stewart into her
home for a sandwich. Stewart
said she became angry and con-
fronted him after he took a

Stewart acknowledged beat-
The execution was Florida’s

ruling allowing states to resume
use of the death penalty.

Set _Y — 23-9

Florida Inmate Is Executed

STARKE, Fla.—An inmate was
put to his death in the electric chair
Friday for raping and strangling a
77-year-old woman in 1979. Roy
Allen Stewart, 38, was executed a
day after the U.S. Supreme Court

» turned down his latest appeal.
. . — Associated Press

USA TODAY * MONDAY, APRIL 25, 1994 + 3A
sane

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L.4A.Times |

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(NV)

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Florida Executes
K iller of Woman

STARKE, Fla., April 22 (AP) — An
inmate was executed in the electric
chair here today for raping and stran-
gling a 77-year-old Sunday school
teacher in her home.

Roy Allen Stewart, 38, died at day-
break, one day after the United States
Supreme Court turned down a round
of appeals without comment, except
for the standard dissent from Justice
Harry A. Blackmun, who opposes
capital punishment.

Mr. Stewart was convicted of mur-
dering Margaret Haizlip of Perrine.

. She was beaten, raped and strangled

with an electrical cord in 1979.

Witnesses testified that Mrs. Haiz-
lip had invited Mr. Stewart, a neigh-
bor, into her home for a sandwich.
Mr. Stewart said she became angry
and confronted him after he took a
gold watch from a cabinet.

In his testimony, Mr. Stewart ac-
knowledged beating and raping Mrs.
Haizlip. But he said he left her alive.

The defense argued that the ques-
tion of Mr. ‘Stewart's sanity at the
time of the crime had not been consid-
ered and that the state had failed to
turn over letters favorable to Mr.
Stewart, including one from a former
prosecutor.

ee ul


By Bill Bergstrom

Y¥ _ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
| -°.  STARKE
The scheduled execution of Roy
Allen Stewart, convicted of raping
and strangling. an elderly’ woman
from a pioneering South Florida

_. family, was blocked late Tuesday.
_ by a federal judge in Miami.

The 48-hour stay came less than
11 hours before Stewart’s sched-

_uled execution at 7 a.m. today at

Florida State Prison in Starke.

_-. Stewart, 38, had been on the

brink of execution for the fourth
time after the state Supreme Court

- lifted a stay earlier Monday.

_ U.S. District Judge Kenneth
Ryskamp_ denied arguments by

' Stewart's attorneys to set aside his

conviction and sentence. But he

. granted the stay to allow time for
' an appeal to the llth US. Circuit

Court of Appeals in Atlonta

He also said Stewart's sanity at the
time of the slaying hadn’t been
considered. ' .
-. “We are asking the court to
grant a stay and direct the attor-
ney general to turn over to the.
defense” the letters, Kissinger said.

Gov. Lawton Chiles was imme- |
diately contacted about the Stay -
and the execution was expected to
be rescheduled later this week,

‘Said Carolyn Snurkowski, director
of criminal appeals at the Attorney

General’s Office. ;

Stewart was convicted in J uly
1979 of the February 1979 murder
of Margaret Haizlip of Perrine. The
77-year-old Sunday school teacher

Was. beaten, bitten, raped, and

strangled with an electric cord. |

_ Stewart gave police two written
confessions and one taped ‘confes-
sion after his arrest..

' Florida governors signed death
warrants for Stewart in 1984, 1986,
1990 and, most recently, March 9,
1994. Each time, he won new
hearings,


Y

_ BARTOW, Fla:—Three 16-—
- year-old boys’ have been charged
with murder in the shooting death

USA TeDAY

FLORIDA 7-/2.-96.

TALLAHASSEE — Roy Stew-
art, 34, scheduled to die in elec-
tric chair today, received 45-day
stay of execution. He was sen-
tenced to death for ’79 murder of
Margaret Haizlip, 77. ... PALM

f

of an ice cream truck driver, police

‘said Tuesday.

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‘Execution
_ From page IC x

- volts of electricity surged into him at

Second man executed |
in store-owner killing |

By GREG MYRE
The Associated Press
STARKE — Condemned killer
Ronald J. Straight died in the electric
chair Tuesday, the second man exe-
cuted for the torture-murder of a
Jacksonville furniture store owner
who refused to give them a job.
Straight, 42, was strapped into the
oak chair shortly after 5 p.m. when a

temporary reprieve expired, becom- -

ing the third inmate executed this
year at Florida State Prison.

His execution marked the first time
the state had put a second man to
death for a single crime since Florida
revived capital punishment in 1979.
Since then, 16 killers have been died
in the electric chair here.

Straight, who entered the death
chamber chewing gum, offered _no
struggle as two prison guards escort-
ed him to the chair. He winked at the
witnesses and stared at the Rev. Jo-
seph Maniangat, who had met with

him earlier in the day. The priest of- ,

fered a silent blessing to Straight.
Asked if he had a final statement,

the prisoner said, “No, sir. Notiing.”
With that, a chin strap was fastened

placed over his face.

gave the signal to the hooded execu-
tioner, who received $150 cash for
the job.

See EXECUTION on page 3C

_ Powell later vacated the stay and de-

over his jaw and a black hood was f nied the emergency plea.

~-

Superintendent Richard Dugger _ Palmes, 37, was executed for the

Straight’s body stiffened as 2,000

5:06-p.m. The cycle lasted about 90
seconds, after which Straight
slumped slightly and wisps of smoke
rose from his Navy-blue pants.

A prison doctor pronounced the in-
mate dead at 5:12 p.m.

“He was really very peaceful. He
was ready: to accept death,” said
Maniangat, who heard Straight’s con-
fession, gave him communion and ad-
ministered last rites two hours before
the execution.

Straight, who had always main-
tained his innocence in the Oct. 4,
1976 murder of furniture store owner
James N. Stone, was granted a five-
hour stay Tuesday morning by Su-
preme Court Justice Lewis Powell.

Straight’s co-defendant Timothy

murder of Stone on Nov. 8, 1984. Pros-
ecutors said the two men killed Stone
because he refused to give them jobs
collecting delinquent accounts at his
store.

Straigh{ has spent 20 of his 42 years
in prison on seven separate criminal
convictions. He met Palmes while
serving time for burglary at Union
Correctional Institution at Raiford.

“I think he’s getting just what he
deserves, only 10 years too late,” said™
James D. Stone, 59, the victim’s uncle.
He drove to the prison with his 10-
year-old son to “represent the fam-
ily” during the execution.

Another inmate who had been
scheduled to die with Straight, Wil-
liam Thomas Zeigler Jr., who was
convicted in four killings on Christ-
mas Eve 1975, won an indefinite stay
Monday from the 11th US. Circuit
Court of Appeals in Atlanta. The U.S.
Supreme Court denied a request by
Florida Attorney General Jim Smith
to dissolve the reprieve.


1} mes

UW

Slail ar |

Straight executed ‘10 years too late,’ Stone’s uncle says

‘(From Page A-1)

Daniel Thomas fought officials as-

they attempted to secure the four
leather straps of the chair around his
body. Yesterday, prison officials
waited until all the straps were tight
before removing the restraints on
Straight’s hands and wrists.
Assistant FSP Superintendent
Hamilton Mathis, secured the straps
and placed an electrode on Straight’s
shaven right leg.
»°Straight took the gum from his

mouth and placed it in a towel handed,

to him by prison Superintendent
Richard Dugger, who asked Straight
if he wanted to make a last state-
ment.

’ “No sir, nothing,” Straight said.

_ He was breathing heavily as offi-
cials drapped a black leather mask
over lis face.

.. Dugger picked up the direct-link
telephone to Gov. Bob Graham in Tal-
lahassee and asked whether there
would be a last-minute stay. There
§ .

it

was none.

A moment later, Dugger nodded to
the hooded execuiioner who pulled a
lever discharging 2,000 volts of elec-
tricity into Straight’s leg and head.

A blue wisp of smoke rose from his
right leg as a piece of his pants
rubbed on the electrode.

The current was turned off about
two minutes later, and Straight was
pronounced dead at 5:12 p.m. by the
prison doctor.

Another inmate scheduled to die
with Straight, William Thomas Zeig-
ler Jr., who was convicted in four kill-

_ ings on Christmas Eve 1975, won an

indefinite stay Monday from the 11th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Su-
preme Court denied a request by
Florida Attorney General Jim Smith
to dissolve the reprieve.

In the Straight case, Stone was
stabbed 18 times with a machete and
beaten with a hammer. He was then
bound and stuffed into a wooden box
that was dumped off the Buckman
Bridge into the St. Johns River.

Ms. Albert told prosecutors that —

Straight and Palmes — who met in
prison — were upset with Stone be-
cause he wouldn't give them jobs.

During the execution yesterday,
James D. Stone, an uncle of the vic-
tim, stood and watched the building
where the electric chair is housed as
he held the hand of his 10-year-old
son, James A. Stone. The elder Stone
was wearing a T-shirt with the in-
scription: “1 down, 133 to go.”

The shirt was one of those printed
by Jacksonville police after the 1979
execution of John Spenkelink, who
was convicted of the death of a trav-
eling companion. The 133 refers to the
number of prisoners on Death Row at
the time of Spenkelink’s execution on
May 25, 1979. There are 243 inmates
on Death Row today, including two
women.

Stone, 59, said yesterday that he un-
derstood the prosecutor’s decision.
However, he said he still was bitter
that Ms, Albert might be walking the

streets of Jacksonville.

“T think all three should have been
on Death Row for what they did,” he
said. “I think he [Straight] got exactly
what he deserved — only 10 years too
late.”

Stone and his son were among
about 15 death-penalty supporters
who gathered in a cow pasture across
from the prison just before the execu-
tion. After a guard motioned from a
watch tower that Straight had been
executed, they cheered and clapped.

On the other side of the fence, eight
people stood in silent vigil. One, Sister
Hannah Daly of the Gainesville Min-
istry of Justice and Reconciliation,
had been at Straight’s side Monday
night and yesterday.

Holding back tears, she said
Straight had received the last rites
and was at peace with himself.

“I was with Ron this morning and
this afternoon,” she said. “I think he
was tired of all this. He knew what
his chances were [of getting a stay).

He was very, very peaceful.”

Tat he

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Poi

Three down and 27 to go. That's 27 killings over

the next seven months — and that’s only to maintain
the status quo. Forget cutting into the backlog. ° a.

_ © With Tuesday's execution of Jacksonville killer

Ronald Straight, the state of Florida has managed to_
kill three condemned men so far in 1986. But the _

courts send 30 new inmates to death row every year.

The math is working against the state. It would

require the execution of four inmates a month for

the rest of the year just to maintain the current
packlog of just over 240 waiting inmates. °

But that won’t be a problem much longer. It

- seems that with each new decision handed down by

the U.S. Supreme Court on the death penalty, the
prospect of Florida’s staging more frequent, even
multiple exercises in state-sanction vengeance be-
comes more likely.

As Attorney General Jim Smith, now a candidate
for governor, told the Washington Post recently:
“Unless there is a dramatic change in public opin-
ion, we will reach a point where there will be more
than two a month. The day is coming where the next
governor of Florida — and I hope it will be me — is
going to be signing a lot of death warrants.”

Nobody should appreciate the mathematical di-
lemma more than Gov. Bob Graham, who owes his
political popularity to his zest for the death penalty.

In 1979, when Graham ordered John Spenkelink
— the first Florida Death Row inmate to be killed
since the resumption of executions — into the chair,
there were 132 people on death row. Today, there
are 243 inmates still waiting.

Under Gov. Graham’s much touted theory that
killings deter killings, that number ought to be
shrinking, not growing — particularly in light of the

‘ ‘ ‘

Supreme Court's apparent determination to clear_

‘

away as soon as possible the few remaining legal
roadblocks to mass executions, _ 7

é¢ ¥

~~ At least one former Florida leader doesn’t buy —

Graham’s deterrence theory, When LeRoy Collins

was governor of Florida — one of this state’s most

‘respected leaders, by the way — he reluctantly or-

dered 24 men into the electric chair. And all the
while, he pleaded with the Florida Legislature to
eliminate a death law that Collins personally

abhorred.

Earlier this week, Collins pointed out in an opin-
ion piece in the St. Petersburg Times that the
murder rate in Florida has increased substantially
since 1972, and that Florida’s death law remains a
“freakish thing” that is visited almost exclusively on

the “poor and the friendless.”

“Citizens of Florida, I say the death penalty is
Florida’s gutter of shame,” Collins wrote. “We have
more people on our death row than any other state.
We also have the higher percentage of our people in
jails and prisons than all but a few states. These are
signs of failure. They are calling for constructive ac-
tion, not inhuman violence by state action to satisfy
society’s revenge.”

But it is very likely that Florida will only sink ever
deeper into its “gutter of shame,” as the high court
gives leave to execute two, four, six or more inmates
a week. That’s because men of conscience, like Gov.
Collins, are no longer welcome in Florida politics.
His kind has been replaced by ambitious politicians
who gleefully boast of their eagerness to kill, who
stringently accuse their opponents of lacking suffi-
cient zest for the business of death.

In terms of sheer numbers, those politicians will
find plenty of death work waiting for them when the
campaigns are over. The question is, how long will

Floridians be able to stomach that kind of carnage?
y

¢


Stone’visited yesterday far

— Ron Geil stat!
the execution
i inp the 1976. x: ling of Stone’s

whe cn gt ot £t oO om com

¥ ci ag =>

‘Peaceful’

Straight

put to : death .

By Bruce Krasnow

and Mark Journey. . |
Staff writers :

STARKE — Ronald Straight ran

day afternoon in Florida State Pris-
on’s electric chair for a murder he.

decade ago. . :

Straight, 40, chewed gum as he en-
tered the death chamber at the prison
near Starke. He sat in the oak electric
chair and winked twice — once at the
Rev. Joe Maniangat, a Catholic priest

fs

Spalding, an attorney who heads the
state office that handled Straight’s

appeals.

great,” Maniangat said afterward.
“He was really ready for death, He

went in peace.”
Straight was executed for the stab-

N. Stone, a Jacksonville furniture

Palmes, was executed Nov. 8, 1984.
Straight’s execution marked the
first time the state had put a second
man to death for a single crime since
Florida revived capital punishment in
1979. Since then, 16 convicted killers
have died in Florida’s electric chair,

_ 58 nationwide.

A third accomplice, Jane Albert,
Stone's bookkeeper at the time of the
killing, had admutted luring Stone into
her apartment where, she said,
Paimes and Straight Killed him. Ms.

bitte nade <del ie in. shed tehaee

£

out of stays and was executed yester-

committed in Jacksonville almost a-
__fast of steak and eggs, the standard

“He was great, he was really.

eters _ at the time.

ny
>t t
a

The convictions of Straight and

*Palmes rested primarily on the testi-

from Macclenny, and once at Larry —

mony of Ms.. Albert, who was given
immunity. “yl
Prison. spokesman Vernon Brad-
ford said Straight did not request a fi- .
nal meal and turned down a break-

fare for inmates who request nothing

‘special for their last meal. Another

meal was offered before noon but
Straight only drank chocolate milk,
Bradford said.

Straight was originally scheduled
to die at 7 a.m. yesterday. The execu-
tion was stayed late Monday night by —
the llth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in Atlanta so a final appeal could be
made to the U.S, Supreme Court.

Shortly before 11 a.m., as the seven

media and 12 citizen witnesses were

store owner, on Oct. 4, 1976. A co-.
~ defendant in the case, Timothy

bing and bludgeoning death of James

pulling up to the gates of the prison, -
word came from Supreme Court Jus- —
tice Lewis F. Powell that the execu-
tion had been stayed another five ©
hours.

Then, shortly after 4 p.m., word
came from Washington that the court
would not block the execution.

A little more than an hour later,
Straight was escorted the 30 feet
from his holding cell to the death
chamber. His head was shaven and
he was wearing a white long-sleeve
shirt and navy blue dress pants.

He was placed immediately into
the electne¢ charr,

Last month, condevaned inmate

‘Sane STRALGHT Pace A.)

a

4

QU ain i rin
.

:

"986T-Oe-5 (TeAnd) etd *oeTe “el “eatum “pteuoy ‘LHDIVULS

a a ee! aa |e

Ee ey Y

U.S. Executions Since 1976

Nine men have been executed in the United States since the Supreme Court
lifted its ban on capital punishment in 1976.

Jan. 17, 1977: Gary Mark Gilmore, 36, by firing squad, at Point of the
Mountain, Utah, the first death row inmate executed in the United States
in a decade. Convicted of murdering a Provo, Utah, motel clerk, he
refused to appeal and twice attempted suicide.

May 25, 1979: John Spenkelink, 30, in electric chair at Starke, Fla.,
for murdering male traveling companion in 1973.

Oct. 22, 1979: Jesse Walter Bishop, 46, in gas chamber in Carson
City, Nev., for killing a Baltimore man in Las Vegas. He rejected an
appeal. .

March 9, 1981: Steven T. Judy, 24, electrocuted at Indiana State
Prison for rape and murder of young mother and drowning of her three
children. x

Aug. 10, 1982: Frank Coppola, 38, a former Portsmouth, Va.,
policeman, electrocuted at Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond for
1978 beating murder of a Newport News woman. Supreme Court
overturned lower court's stay of execution.

Dec. 7, 1982: Charlie Brooks Jr., 40, convicted murderer, in
Huntsville, Tex., the first prisoner executed by injection in the United
States. He was the first black executed since resumption of the death
penalty. tig

April 22, 1983: John Louis Evans 3d, 33, in Alabama’s Atmore Prison.
Convicted of killing Mobile, Ala., pawnbroker in front of victim's children.
Three charges were needed to kill him, touching off complaints that

- electrocution was cruel and unusual punishment. =

Sept. 1, 1983: Jimmy Lee Gray, 34, in Parchman, Miss., gas chamber
for murder of a 3-year-old girl; first execution in Mississippi since 1964.

Nov. 30, 1983: Robert A. Sullivan, 36, electrocuted in Starke, Fla., for
abducting and killing motel clerk after robbery in April 1973. Gov. Bob

Graham rejected a clemency appeal from Pope John Paul Il.

Source: United Press International

> ¥.,

:-s» «| décision he made earlier this month to

put Mr. Sullivan to death. 44,

_ Last-ditch legal maneuvers by Mr.
Sullivan’s attorneys failed twice in the
last month, the final effort concluding
late Tuesday in Washington. |

After the United States Court of Ap-
peals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta va-
cated its one-day-old stay of execution,
the United States Supreme Court voted
7 to 2 against rehearing Mr. Sullivan’s
appeals, thus removing the last legal
obstacle to execution. In a written com-

‘v{ment to the High Court order, Chief

Justice Warren E. Burger issued a blis-

co = tering attack on Mr. Sullivan and his
> ... | lawyers. :

“T emphasize that this case has been

=! in the courts for 10 years and is here for
‘|the fourth time,’”’ the Chief Justice
| wrote. ‘‘This alone demonstrates the
“..] specious suggestion of a ‘rush to judg-
-{ment.’ The arguments so often ad-

~-:| vanced by the dissenters that capital

punishment is cruel and unusual is
dwarfed by the cruelty of 10 years on
death row inflicted upon this guilty de-
fendant by lawyers seeking to turn the
administration of justice into the sport-
ing contest that Roscoe Pound de-
nounced three quarters of, a century
a 0,””

aie: Pound, who died in 1964, was a
judge, law professor and a leader in the
reform of court administration.

‘Your Rights Don’t Run Out’

Steven G. Gey, the New York City at-
torney who had pursued the latest re-
lief efforts for Mr. Sullivan, disagreed
with the Chief Justice.

“Regardless of what Chief Justice
Burger said, your rights don’t run out
in 10 years,’’ Mr. Gey said. ‘‘As long as
we can continue to find lawyers for
these people, they’ll have their rights
protected.”’ ioe >

Mr. Gey said that the 7-to-2 Supreme

‘Court vote and Chief Justice Burger’s

se eee ie aa Set. ia ti mast BP beph ih a este ORS: :
einer! EPR REBEL INA La CELE LON ET GO ES GE OME RI A NGS ET IN NIE i NE

ase Pierre thn we vite at 2

as

harsh language added substance to a
growing perception that the High Court
is less and less inclined to rehear argu-
ments in capital cases.

Mr. Sullivan, born July 20, 1947,
never knew his parents. He was
adopted two weeks after his birth by a
couple in Nashua, N. H. They later di-
vorced, and he moved to Belmont,
Mass., with his adoptive mother, Stella
Sullivan.

A recent article in The St. Peters-
burg Times quoted friends and neigh-
bors as saying the divorce created bit-
terness and frustration at home. Kath-

erine E. O’Brien, one of Mr. Sullivan’s |

elementary school teachers, remem-

bered him as ‘‘trustworthy, honest and} <0 .<3 25:5

‘reliable.’’ Robert L. Blaney, principal
of the school, Winn Brook Elementary,
said he had ‘‘fine character traits,”’ de-
spite a “rather difficult home life.”’

Worked Way Up to Manager

Mr. Sullivan studied business admin-
istration at the University of Miami but
dropped out in 1971. He took a job at the
Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge in
Homestead, south of Miami. He
worked his way up to the position of
manager. In August 1972, however, he
was prosecuted on charges of stealing
from the lodge; he pleaded guilty and

was sentenced to five years’ probation}

and ordered to refund the $6,000 he had
stolen.

On April 8, 1973, the state contended,
Mr. Sullivan and Reid McLaughlin, a
friend, staged a robbery at the lodge,
bound and gagged Mr. Schmidt, drove
him to the Everglades and murdered
him. o,

Mr. Sullivan asserted that he did not
commit the crime. But investigators
accumulated volumes of : evidence
against him, including the adhesive

y tape used to bind the victim, the tire
iron used to kill him and credit card re-

resembled Mr. Sullivan’s.

Sullivan at the trial and is now a free
man on parole living in Massachusetts.

Called a Model Prisoner

In prison, Mr. Sullivan had been a
model prisoner, say prison officials
and Catholic priests who had worked
with him over the last few years.

It was the Catholic Church’s minis-
try at the prison that eventually per-
suaded two Catholic bishops in Florida
to take an interest in Mr. Sullivan’s ef-
forts to avoid execution. Bishop René

SES SITS SAR Tae

for Mr. Sullivan.

a}

ceipts of Mr. Schmidt’s that had been] ....
signed in a handwriting that closely;

In. exchange for a lighter sentence, ||”
Mr. McLaughlin testified against Mr. |

hm

oni al RE ts Le 0 oat tensa

H. Gracida, formerly head of the Talla- J. + ©
hassee diocese, came to know Mr. Sul-
livan well, and later Bishop John J.
Snyder, of the St. Augustine-Jackson-| ..-.,
ville diocese, joined Bishop Gracida as} ">.<.
-anadvocate ae

LA Fk WS SHAY Agee Sent eg LSPS, wee Oe Pe Re -, 7" 3
PERN EL ee Sk TP ENE ALOIS hg ag RI EE ELT tN One Bs Fie
- 2% a . ° rt


THE SUN, Thursday, December 1, 1983

May God bless -
us all,’ Sullivan
says near death

EXECUTE, from Al

Late Tuesday night, however, the U.S. Supreme
Court refused Sullivan a stay of execution by a 7-2
vote. The condemned man’s attorneys filed new ap-

peals in U.S. District Court.in Jacksonville and the |

Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee yesterday
oe but neither court would block the execu-
on. - ’ i Tee at Sese  e Ceicieg: id2
Sullivan was sentenced to death for the April,
1973, robbery and murder of Donald Schmidt, an
assistant manager ‘at a Howard Johnson’s restau-
rant in Homestead, south of Miami. .~ =. see 9
Mr. Schmidt’s credit cards and watch were
found on Sullivan when he was arrested. Sullivan
claimed he was at a homosexual bar 40 miles away
at the time of the murder and had witnesses to
prove it. eM

A private investigator found two persons who

claimed Sullivan was in the bar when Mr. Schmidt |

was killed, and a Boston man also reportedly con-
fessed to his priest that he saw Sullivan in the bar.

Bishop John J. Snyder of St. Augustine said the
man was afraid to come forward because his fami-
ly does not know about his homosexuality. Catholic
clergy pleaded for clemency, and the pope joined
that plea. | aki aaa. aie

But Bishop Snyder dismissed yesterday the re-
port of a man with an alibi for Sullivan as a rumor
and, in an interview on “CBS Morning News,” de-
nied that any priest had done anything to violate
the confidentiality of the confessional... - >

A priest who was with Sullivan in his final hours
‘said he remained calm and even jovial at the end.

His final meal was a 32-ounce steak, french fries,
fresh strawberries and milk. : ree

Although visibly distraught, Sullivan never re-
sisted his captors. He was led into the death cham-
ber without manacles, drawing long breaths as he
sought to compose himself before delivering a final
statement. |

‘As witnesses, who had been led into a room ad- -

_jacent to the chamber about 15 minutes earlier,

watched, the prisoner was silently strapped into the -

oak chair.

One of the witnesses, the Rev. Vincent Daily of
St. John-St. Hugh Parish in Roxbury, Mass., raised
his fist in a gesture of support as guards strapped
Sullivan’s head into place. Sullivan acknowledged
| the priest with a nod. . on “ i

About 30 anti-death penalty demonstrators out-
side the prison prayed, sang and wept when word of
the execution came through. = = > at s

Some of those waiting outside supported the ex-
ecution. “We want the victims’ families to have a
decent life. And they can’t if these cases drag on,”

said Robert Waldo of Grand Rapids, Mich., whose -

10-year-old granddaughter was kidnapped and
bludgeoned to death in Palm Harbor three years
| ago. Her killer is one of 206 inmates still awaiting

OTT T TUTA

SULLIVAN

a

LOR ee ORD CR 6 gb A Cte A ne De eRe PW me

‘May God bless

us all,’ murderer
says near death

From Wire Services

Starke, Fla. — The Sean of Death
Row is dead.

Robert A. Sullivan, 36, who had

lived in death’s shadow longer than
any condemned prisoner in the United

'_ States, was executed yesterday, 10

years and 18 days after he was sen-
tenced to die.

He was the first prisoner in 44

years to be put to death in Florida’s
electric chair, and the ninth in the
United States executed since 1972.
Four guards escorted Sullivan into
the death chamber at Florida State
Prison at 9:59 a.m. and strapped him

‘into the oaken electric chair. Metal

contact plates were secured to his
shaven head and his right leg.

Then, his blue eyes watering, Sulli-
van took a microphone and read in a
clear voice from the 62d Psalm writ-
ten on a legal pad: “And in God alone

is my soul at rest, because my hope

comes from within.”

To others on death row, Sullivan
said, . despite what is about to
happen to me, do not quit.” He also

thanked Pope John Paul II for “his ~

personal intervention asking that my
life be spared.”

“T hold malice to no one,” Sullivan
concluded. “May God bless us all.”

Then a black hood was lowered
across his face and the executioner,
also hooded, threw a switch sending
2,000 volts of electricity through Sul-
livan’s body for two minutes.

Sullivan twitched, then was still.
He was pronounced dead at 10:16
a.m., six minutes after Governor
Robert Graham gave the go-ahead
for the execution, ending a week of
frantic legal and religious appeals
that reached to, the U.S. Supreme

‘Court and the Vatican and won the

condemned man a brief stay.
See EXECUTE, A14, Col. 6

as wy de . T) mina {Tha A mss = ~ RM an)
electrocuted Florida (Dade County) on Nov. 3

biuy } § aN

nt 2,0 nated Press Intemational
- Rose ‘Schmidt, widow of the man for eae murder Robert Sullivan was ex-
: pecnted, embraces her ag wt hep in Cincinmatt after. Jearning of. the secu: a

: “one Associated Press |
ppmoesats of Cocital conichanent grieve « D ide Florida, es Prison after

emeted bee of the electrocution.
Sua" bs :

fe eens

Se

: ae

Ss pone) Fathom 54


SULLIVAN, R. A. ("Bobtt), white, electrocuted Florida (Dade) 11-30-1983,

oye tee
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CHICAb TRIBUNE — you. 30, /989

High egugt OKs Florida execution

c

Ts UGE ental ch ae la eee tion. ro t .. is.cruel and unusual is dwarfedih:
Gigs vs By aot Elsasser : WeELIVAN’S ATTORNEYS. the cruetty of 16years on: bee
f 4 : 3 Chicago Tribune : turned to the Supre:ne Court after Row inflicted upon: this guilty: de-
eae .. | © WASHINGTON—The U.S. Su-_ their emergency plea to the U.S. fendant. by lawyers seekin to turn. .
5 Sagas ~preme Court late Tuesday rejected Court of Appeals in Atlanta: was the -adininistration of: justice inte
: Week 3.4 Jast-minute. appeal to stay the vere pes Pn ge See Tall Sporting contest... 5... bees
ue - execution of Robert Sullivan after ni ee:

n an unsigned opinion, the Su- -

a Te pleas to Florida Gov. Bob Graham preme Court said that, after, 10« BUT JUSTICE, William Brennan.

fog, Dy Roman Catholic. bishops and years of “repetitive and. careful said Sullivan raised. a .su 3
: ‘Pope John Paul i] had failed. - review by both stata and federal claim concerning, the constitution.
ieaet vse The court ruling, x a vote of 7-2, courts ..., there must come an end ality of his death:sentence, =»
oe ol eleared the way lor Sullivan to die to the process of consideration and: .. “In particular;”’ Brennan wrote;
rye cise ® “eo eh ty the electric chair for the 1973 reconsideration.” « ~ “Sullivan. alleges that: a ication’
ef yee... murder of Donald Schmidt, assis- Chief Justice Werren Burger | of .the Florida death pe: Stat.
Pree ene urs ‘ Tickets ae “stant manager of a Howard said in a separate, concurring ute violates the’ 4 al’ prot
— fo» "= Johnson’s restaurant in Gpinion that the latest appeal was clause becauséit--discriminates — .
Pech roe © Momestead’ Wa, The execution the fourth time Sullivan's case has against capital: defendants. solely -
: was scheduled for 9 a.m. {Chicago been before the high court. on the basis of their race and the
: time] Wednesday at Florida State ~ “Thisé alone demonstrates the ° race of their victims.” 0s eS se
; eae ‘Prison in Starke. ‘ specious suggestion ‘of ‘rush to Sullivan, who ays ‘he is. inno Sing
Rjcr ais os athe ‘ Sullivan, 36, has been on Death jucgmhent,’ ” Burger said. “The ar- cent, has said’ Florida. officials >."
% oy _ Row more than 10 years, longer ument so often advanced by.the want “to show ‘that. they. will exé-

i er hs _ “than any other inmate in the na- dissenters that capitel punishment. cute a middle-class white boy.”.: -

why

ree | | tHe DAY fRRALO — ARLINGTON = ATS y (eb ines
Pay eS ts a eae Top court won’t block execution//-.: 33
ROY ante tas é hele : j ome Cot -d late Tuesday night
ge ee __ WASHINGTON — The US. Suprsme Court refused late Tuesday night
PS en sare to block the Wednesday morning execution of condemned killer Robert A.
eee, SSS ret Sullivan, who has been on Death Row longer than any inmate in the
’ Wag ve eka cup, aation, The execution of convicted killer Robert A. Suilivan, 36, was re-
; seer eS us ee : scheduled for 9 a.m. Chicago time Wednesday despite a plea for merey
‘ ; from Pope John Paul II and a final appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court
: 5 : . late Tuesday night. Earlier Tuesday, in a telephone poil. a majority of the

LS. Cirevi f Appeals in Atlanta vacateda —*y
ree ae ie 12 judges of the 11th U.S. Circvit Court ol Pp ssirsba pane he
en asi iti ars atrsnsnt 2d ath oy icakipsaomcgy ens $ had postponed Sullivan's scheduled execution ‘at 7 a.m. T oe

ER SAS EE: EEE EES: ‘ : re vied abeioe hatch another appéal from the condemned ‘man
Zeit j -prompiting the »mergency appeal to the nation’s high court. Sullivan WAS.
convicted in 1973 ior the savage roobery-killing of a motel clerk. He has:
‘ ld oe _ ate

3

+

anon ; si Yov. 14.1973
Fores’ a seen on death row since N
’
5
~ '
ron t

rami corte gets PE ra RE AE ee PU open


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ballistics expert.

On Barrow’s person was found more than
$500. Incidentally, he died with his shoes
off. They were on the floor of the car.
We were compelled to lock the sedan
in the jail yard, as souvenir hunters threat-
ened to tear the machine to pieces. The
streets around the jail and the Conger
Funeral Parlor, where the bodies lay,
were jammed by the curious.

After arriving in Arcadia, I informed
State authorities of the successful trap.
An hour or so later, I received this tele-
gram from the Governor of Louisiana:

Sheriff Henderson Jordan
Arcadia, La.

You are to be congratulated upon the capture
of two of. the most notorious outlaws in the
Southwest. It is only by such diligence and
action as you have shown that crime can be
stamped out,

O. K. Allen, Governor

A Coroner’s jury reported that afternoon
that the outlaws had been killed by officers
in the line of duty. During the night, the

| bodies were removed to Dallas by relatives.

Darby, the undertaker, once a victim of the

Barrow gang, assisted in the embalming.

County officials from Fort Worth, Texas,

requested permission to fire test shots from
the 16-gauge shotgun found in Barrow’s
lap.. The discharged cartridge cases were

given to George Lacy, Houston, Texas,
He compared the firing
pin marks of the cartridge cases with
those on discharged shells found at the
scene of the murder of the two Texas
Highway Patrolmen.

The markings were identical. The test
substantiated previous evidence that Barrow
and Bonnie Parker had killed Patrolmen
Wheeler and Murphy.

The trail of the “Bloody Barrows” had
been brought to a conclusion. A few days
after Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker had
been buried, a Texas jury added what
might be.called an exclamation mark. Ray-
mond Hamilton was sentenced to death in
the electric chair for the murder of the
prison farm guard.

The doggerel elegy that follows was writ-
ten by Bonnie Parker. It had been given to
a Dallas newspaper with the understanding
that it would not be published before her
death.

You have read the story of Jesse James,
Of how he lived and died.

If. you still are in need of something to read,
Here is the story of Bonnie and Clyde.

Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang.
I’m sure you all have read

How they rob and steal,

And how those who squeal,

Are usually found dying or dead.

There are lots of untruths to their write-ups,
They are not so merciless as that;

They hate all the laws,

The stool-pigeons, spotters and rats.

They class them as cold-blooded killers,
They say they are heartless and mean,
But I say this with pride,

That I once knew Clyde

When he was honest and upright and clean.

But the law fooled around,

Kept tracking him down,

And locking him up in a cell,

Till he said to me,

“IT will never be free,

“So I will meet a few of them in hell.”

This road was so dimly lighted
There were no highway signs to guide,
But they made up in their minds

If the roads were all blind

They wouldn’t give up till they died.

The road gets dimmer and dimmer,
Sometimes you can hardly see,

Still it’s fight, man to man,

And do all you can,

For they know they can never be free.

If they try to act like citizens,

And rent them a nice little flat,

About the third night they are invited to fight
By a submachine-gun rat-tat-tat,

They don’t think they are too tough or
desperate,

They know the law always wins,

They have been shot at before

But they do not ignore

That death is the wages of sin.

From heartbreaks some people have suffered,
From weariness some people have died,

But take it all in all,
Our troubles are small,
Till we get like Bonnie and Clyde.

Some day they will go down together,
And they will bury them side by side.
To a few it means grief,

To the law it’s relief,

But it’s death to Bonnie and Clyde.

Bonnie Parker’s apparent desire to be
buried beside Clyde Barrow was denied.
Their graves, in different cemeteries, are
miles apart.

Henry Methvin was soon captured. He
was tried in Oklahoma and sentenced to
life imprisonment. In March, 1942, he was
‘paroled.

(Continued. from page 15) from New
Jersey.

He telephoned the race track. “Those
men weren't picked up here,” was the reply.
“We haven’t had any gas thefts so far dur-
ing the meet.”

The Captain next studied the jail record
for December 13th. No prisoner had been
released that day. Was the tip a hoax?

» “That’s what I think it is,” Mills replied,
when he heard the facts.

‘I’m sending out tracers.on the men re-
leased, anyway. The tipster might have
been covering his tracks. The pair from
New Jersey might be the men he meant.”

Mills asked if the job hunters had been in
jail.

“That’s out,” Melchen: replied, shaking
his head. He had checked on that possibility
the day of the murder. Rosewell and Sher-
man had not been in jail, either.

“J. didn’t think so,” Mills answered. “The
call was a phony. Too many facts do. not
jibe.” ,

Brooks Company, 141-D State St., Marshall, Mich.

“Then we’re right back where we started

MURDER OF THE BOWLING CHAMP

.

‘from,” Melchen said.

“I think we’re at the end of the trail, the
right end,” was the other’s reply.

“Who?”

“Let’s work it out and see if we get the
same results,” the homicide investigator
suggested. “There were no clues around
and that itself is a clue.”

Melchen lighted another cigar. “You’re
right there. We know we want a profes-
sional.”

Mills paced the room. “Yet I think we can
narrow it down. The season always brings
a lot of thieves who fail to register, but we
can eliminate them. The one who pulled
this job had to know something about the
Crescent. He had to know that Knust slept
in the balcony and that he kept the re-
ceipts hidden in his room. I think that
clears those job-hunting blonds. I doubt
if they learned-all that in one night.”

“That brings us back to your original
thought that it was an inside job.”

“Right,” the investigator agreed, “and I
think you’ll name the same one I do.”

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he and Rose
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theory was sti
Sherman jy,


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cigar. “You're
want a profes-

et I think we can
yn always brings
register, but we
one who pulled
ething about the
that Knust slept
kept the re-
he I think that
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one night.”
to your original
side job.”
yr agreed, “and I
1e one I do.”

a anew snob

Melchen joined Mills at.a window. ‘The
pin boys may be good in their line, but ‘I
don’t think they’re smart enough to have
pulled a murder and then have covered
their tracks so well that a dozen of my
best men couldn’t get anything on them
digging day and night.”

“That's it,” Mills said. “The owner had
no reason to kill him. Knust was an ex-
cellent manager. That leaves Rosewell.as
the only person not accounted for. “But
with $600 in his pocket, why should he rob
the place and kill Knust?”

“Only Rosewell or Sherman can supply
the answer, and it may be the wrong one for
us,” q
Throngs of merrymakers hurried along
Flagler Street on New Year’s Eve. The
Santa Claus display had been changed and
the window now featured smart evening
gowns amid gaily colored balloons.

The closing hours of the year brought a
faint hope to Mills. He stood at a window
of his office gazing down at the street. In
his hand he held a telegram from the Chief
of Police of Sherman’s home town. The
youth had arrived there.

While celebrants were still wending their
way homeward early the next morning,
Mills and Captain Melchen boarded a train
for the town where Sherman lived.

M@ MILLS WAS silent as the train clicked

off the miles. He knew he was following
the slimmest lead of all. If he were wrong,
the case would remain a mystery. But what
could Sherman tell him?

The youth was indignant in his cell. He
was slim, with hair that tumbled over his
eyes, and he looked even younger than his
twenty years. “What’s the idea?” he de-
manded.

Mills studied him. He noticed the weak
chin. He decided on his favorite tactic of
trying to jolt the truth from a suspect by
surprising him.

“Quit your clowning,” he snapped; “we’ve
got you hooked right for the Knust job.”

“Who’s he?” Sherman retorted.

Mills pulled out a sheet of paper from
his pocket. Would a bluff work?

“It’s no use,” he said, waving the sheet of
paper in the air. “Here’s the statement
of a milkman who saw you and Rosewell
leave the back of the Crescent.”

The youth stared, as if fascinated, at the
piece of paper. Suddenly he slumped in a
chair. The ruse had worked.

“You're right,” he whispered. “I was:in
on the robbery, but I did not kill him. Rose-
well did.”

The two officers eased back. The case
had been broken.

The captive said he met Rosewell in the
rooming house and the older man had urged
him to help rob the bowling alley. “He told
me that there would be nothing to it, just
like walking into an open bank. I held the
flashlight while he unscrewed the back
door. Knust woke up and Rosewell hit him
with a crowbar. He kept hitting him again
and again, and then he made me hold
the light while he tied him up. I became
sick. I never thought he would hurt
anybody.” :

But Sherman cut short any elation the
officers felt. He said that after the murder
he and Rosewell took a bus to West Palm
Beach where they separated. “He gave me
$20,” he added.

“Where is Rosewell now?”

“I don’t know. He told me he would get
in touch with me sometime. I wrote my
name and address on a card for him.”

“Did he say anything after he killed
Knust?” .

“Something about the old man had it
coming to him.”

The Captain was thoughtful. The revenge
theory was still a possibility.

Sherman was brought back to Miami,

where he was held for murder. The search
for Rosewell was intensified, ....

In Jacksonville, 351 miles north of Miami,
Detective Inspector Alonzo L. Acosta read
the alarm. He frowned as he studied the
description of the wanted man. “Sounds
familiar to me,” he said.

The Inspector picked up several reports
on his desk. His face cleared as he read
the details of the arrest of John A. Smith,
of Church Street in Jacksonville. He had
been picked up while attempting to steal
tools from a parked car.

“Bring Smith in,” Acosta directed, He
looked up as a slight man was led into the
room. “Hello, Rosewell,” he greeted him.

The prisoner glanced around the office
and then stared at the Inspector. “If you’re
talking to me, my name is Smith.”

Acosta telephoned: Mills. “I think we
have your man, but he won’t talk.”

“Search his wallet,” the homicide inves-
tigator directed. “See if he has a card with
Sherman’s name written on it.”

A moment later the reply came over the
wire. “Nice going. He has.”

“He’s my man,” Mills replied.

The investigator left immediately with
Detective Love for Jacksonville. On the
automobile ride back, the prisoner still in-
sisted his name was Smith not. Rosewell.

Mills conferred with State’s Attorney
Worley. “We still have to get the death
weapon to clinch the case. I think I can
crack him by playing on his vanity. First,
I’m going to give him a good meal.”

Accompanied by Detective Love, he took
the prisoner to a near-by restaurant and
ordered an elaborate dinner.

“I thought you were smart,” he told Rose-
well after coffee was served. “It took brains
to figure out a perfect job like this, but
now you’re making yourself look silly. After
all, Sherman and your landlady will iden-
tify you. So you might as well talk and tell
us where you hid the crowbar. I’d like to
know where a smart fellow like you would
hide it.” ;

Rosewell smacked his lips as’ he drained
the cup. “Say, you’re okay,” he said ad-
miringly. “I was sore because I got caught.
I thought that phony story about the $600
would throw everybody off the trail. You
didn’t ‘catch any small fry when you got
me, either.”

M@ HE THEN confessed that his correct

name was John Stanton and that he had
been released on parole from Sing Sing
Prison in New York only six months before
the murder. :

“I was sent away for a ten to twenty rap
for a robbery in Brooklyn. I’ve been a thief
since I was sixteen.”

“How. many years have you served. in
prison?” Mills asked.

“Let’s see,” Stanton said slowly. He bor-
rowed a pencil and scrawled some figures
on the tablecloth. “In the last forty years
I spent thirty-four of them in prison,” he
finally replied.

“And you call yourself smart!” Mills re-
sponded, f )

Stanton said that he had committed more
than seventy armed robberies. “Years ago
it was easy to get a gun,” He stated. “You
just walked into a store and put your money
on the counter with absolutely ino questions
asked.” He said his biggest haul was in
Youngstown, Ohio, in 1922, when he escaped
with an $8,600 payroll. “They never caught
me for that particular job,” he added.

He took the State’s Attorney’s investigator
to a lot two blocks away from the Crescent,
reached into a clump of bushes’ and brought
up a package containing ‘the crowbar he
had used to kill Knust. He also had
cached a screwdriver, a hacksaw blade and
wrenches. The package was tied with the
same kind of cord that had been used to

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bind Knust.

“Where did you get this?” Mills asked.

“Over in Miami Beach,” the prisoner re-
plied. “It was while I was working for the
plumber. Some upholsterer was fixing fur-
niture and I swiped a small roll. I figured
it might come in handy and couldn’t be
traced to me.”

He directed the officer to a junk yard
where he had hidden the rubber gloves
used by him and Sherman. The thumb
on one was torn. “I ripped it with the
screwdriver while breaking into the place.
That’s how I must have left part of my
thumbprint around.”

“Why did you kill Knust?” Mills asked.

“Because he tried to steal money from the
pin boys.”

Mulloy, the owner of the Crescent, sup-
plied a possible answer to Stanton’s remark.
He recalled that the latter had objectéd to
the deduction of the compulsory social se-
curity payment from the salaries of all
employees.

“And so he held that as a grudge against
Knust,” Mills commented.

Stanton said that he had lured Sherman
into helping him with wild tales of untold
riches. “I guess I turned his head. He’s a
good kid. He got cold feet at the last minute,
but I forced him to go through with it.”

Both men were indicted for first-degree
murder. Sherman immediately pleaded
guilty to second-degree murder. Stanton

went on trial on April 10th, 1941. The de-
fense pleaded insanity, but psychiatrists
appointed by the Court held him sane. He
promptly was convicted by a jury without
a recommendation of mercy.

On May 20th of that year, Stanton was
sentenced to die in the electric chair at
Raiford State Prison by Circuit Court Judge
Paul D. Barnes. His plea for a new trial
was denied by the State Supreme Court,
which ruled: “Medical testimony with the
defendant’s history depicts him as a shrewd,
calculating, selfish, egotistical and dom-
ineering individual with criminal inclina-
tions so strong that he is callous to all laws
and morality.”

Almost a year later, on May 18th, 1942,
he was electrocuted at Raiford.

Sherman, who officials felt was a dupe
for Stanton, was sentenced to twenty years,
but later was given a conditional pardon
and immediately joined the United States
Army, where he is serving overseas.

The bowling fans of Miami have united
to honor the memory of the kindly victim
of the outrageous crime. A silver loving-
cup called the Fred Knust Trophy is
awarded each year to the winner of the city
championship.

Nore: For obvious reasons, the actual names
of four of the persons mentioned in the fore-
going article have been withheld and fictitious
ones substituted: namely, Martin Sherman,
William Jordan, Henry Liming and Robert
Dixon.—Eb.

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(Continued from page 41) served only to
increase the desire. They became nervous,
fidgety. Reber was searched again, but with-
out results.. As the desire mounted, the
entire house was ransacked by the nicotine-
hungry fugitives. They were debating the
advisability of venturing out in quest of
cigarettes when McCord raised a hand and
stood listening.

In the ensuing silence, the carefree laugh-
ter of children was faintly audible. The
sounds increased in volume as the men
listened. McCord strode to a window.

“Who’re those kids out in the yard?”

“Why, they’re the neighbor’s children,”
Reber answered. “They often play here.”

“That simplifies things,” McCord said
complacently, turning to face the captive.
“Now, listen; you’re going to send those
kids after some smokes. Just call ’em to
the door, give ’em the money and tell ’em
what you want. Make a single sign or
say one unnecessary word and it’ll be your
last one,” he finished ominously.

Reber nodded. Beckoning the two boys
to the door, he did exactly as the fugitive
had ordered. No signs. No innuendoes.

The wanted men moved about nervously,
awaiting the return of the children. They
had been gone perhaps ten minutes when
Whittman suddenly stiffened.

“Hey, look! There’s a couple o’ guys
comin’ up on the porch,” he whispered.

The startled exclamation was followed
by a loud knock on the door. Both escapees
leveled their guns at Reber.

“Not a peep out of you,” McCord warned.

Reber sat still, not moving a muscle.
Again the knocking shattered the tense
silence of the room. Then the fugitives
breathed easier as the sounds outside in-
dicated that the men: were leaving. There
followed another ten-minute wait. The
strain on the escaped convicts was growing
visibly. They were still pacing the floor
when the midday calm was broken.a second
time. This time by a voice calling:

“All right, you men in there, You’re
surrounded. You’d better come out with
your hands up.”

The fugitives cringed as though each
word were a blow. Peering excitedly from
the window, they soon spotted the source
of the ultimatum. Standing almost directly
across the street,-a man, wearing the white
apron of a grocer, was calmly directing
armed men to points of vantage.

Reber, still sitting calmly in his chair,
was forgotten. McCord whirled from the
window, a look of desperation on his face.

“Come on, Whitt. Out the back way.”

Rushing through the house, the fugitives
ripped open the back door and dashed out.
The crash of a rifle greeted them as they
burst into the open. The gun was in the
hands of Edward Dietrich, a furloughed
Army corporal who had joined the posse.
He steadied himself, took aim for a second
shot. Too late. The men disappeared into
a cornfield a short distance from the house.

This time, however, their freedom was
short-lived. Throwing a cordon around
the field, members of the posse began beat-
ing the area like big-game hunters. Whitt-
man was the first to be flushed. Surprised
by a man who came upon him suddenly in
the thick-growing corn, he put up a half-
hearted struggle, but was quickly subdued.

McCord was taken soon afterward. He
came into the open with his hands up.

Returning the fugitives to the Reber home,
members of the posse gathered around.
The grocer, still clad in his spotless apron,
was receiving congratulations from all sides.

“What beats me,” one of the possemen
marveled, “is how you happened to know
the crooks were hiding out in Ray’s house.”

“That's an easy one,” the grocer replied.
“You see, it was like this: We all knew
these men had escaped the other day. The
radio told us that. Then, too, I sort of sus-
pected they were in this neck of the woods.
And when Reber sent those kids after
cigarettes—that cinched it.”

“But how?” several men chorused. “What’s
so remarkable about sending for cigarettes?
We all do that.”

“Nope. Not quite all,” the grocer answered
“Reber doesn’t. I happen to know he never
smokes cigarettes.”

AD NIE stn <st owe:

4

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eee


JOHN A. ROSEWELL:
"I've had a hell of a life
and | have no regrets .. .""

—_

Op Se:
Be;

mt

DETECTI\
‘his hous:
derer’

COMPLETE DETECTIVE,
September, 1941,


Tempe. pee
Toone Florida/Mmeatrocs*

Inmate | T

i R

executed ..

beam acme

for murder: ::

It was the first death’ ‘”
in Florida’s electric: t.
chair this year and the °””
33rd since 1976. ee ae

An Associated Press Report.

STARKE — An. inmate electro- «
cuted Friday for Killing a 77-year:;.
old Sunday school teacher accepted.
his fate, said a minister who spent
the final hours with the condemned «
man. tT Figy

Roy Allen: Stewart was: PIOr.;
_ hounced dead at 7:11 a.m. at Flori--
da State Prison in northeast Florida. ..

He was executed for the 1979,
murder of Margaret Haizlip, mem-
ber of a family that helped pioneer
the Perrine community south of Mi :
ami. 3 ! ah

She was beaten, bitten, raped
and strangled. si

“He was prepared to. die,” said
the Rev. Fred Lawrence of the First«

) re 4

United Methoa-
ist Church in. |
Gainesville,
“He was better
prepared for fi
his death than |’
Iams for |
.mine,”
Lawrence.
and the Rey.
Larry McAlis- < 4
ter of Scranton, «4. in ?7Q"
“S.C, sat outside Stewart in ’79 |
Stewart’s cell’ overnight as file?
“talked and rambled about life, =
said Gene Morris, a Departnent ay i
Corrections spokesman. ie

two sisters and a brother.

a a & GE

He was also visited by his mothe :;
er and stepfather, Barbara and:
Hampton Hodge of Sumter, S.C., and

The execution was the first this”
year in Florida and the 33rd since’:
Florida reinstituted the death penal-'
ty in 1976 and the 223rd nationwide. °
It came 15 years after Haizlip was’
brutalized and murdered. oe

Stewart’s final meal was lobster,
baked potato with sour cream,
tossed salad and iced tea. ‘

After Stewart was strapped into~
the oaken death chair, he nodded to ©
Lawrence, who was sitting in ‘the ”
front row of 33 witnesses on the oth"
er side of a thick window. hal

“I appreciate all you’ve doné: I
love you,” the inmate said. Second§™

| later a black mask was lowered™

over his face and he was electrocut-

In a pasture outside the prison: °
compound, competing protesters‘”
maintained vigils. About 10 protest- ©
ers demonstrated against the death ms
penalty. Four supported it. rot

“The taxpayers ought not have

to pay to keep these people alive for
10 or 15 years,” said Mark Hamm»
of Valdosta, Ga., one of the four::

—T> g
IRS ON € y

pee a see / IZ _

4/23/1794


2 ee.

. : yesterday for killing. a 77-year-ol

ra . From news services

‘Stewart exe .
for. 1979 murd

STARKE. —_ “An ‘inmate dxeciite

c Sunday school. teacher-accep d his
=. fate; said:a minister. who spent the
2 final hours: with the: condemned
— mah. |
3” Roy Allen ‘Sicwart:* Was¢- pro-
: “nounced dead at 7: 11a. m. at Flori-
<> da State Prison...
¥ He was executed. for the 1979
murder of Margaret aizlip of
- Perrine: ‘She : ‘was beaten, © bitten,
™~ raped. and. strangled: 3
(~~ “He “ was’ ‘prepared to die,” said
~ the Rev. Fred: Lawrence of the First
United Methodist Church in Gaines-
e. ‘He was. better. prepared for
his oie thas { am. for mine.”

J us Shiga


Ulesly e. $8
Sl. Pete Tues

‘Coa ee arate

Stewart %

executed

By RON WORD.

Associated Press

STARME S Ti eee
‘trocuted Friday for taped
year-old Sunday school teacher: ac-

cepted his fate, said a minister who.

spent the final hours wi
demned man., | «,° 8 tena

- Roy Allen, Stewart ate
Was) pro-

nounced dead at 7:11 a.m. at. Flori.

da State Prison in northeast-Flori-.

He was executed for the 1: ;
: 979.

murder of Mar "iy ope Pape
member of a: ear one Haizlip;..a

south of Miami. She was beate
a raped and sorbed. ae
€ was ie,” saic
the Fede prepared to die,” said
First United Methodist Church j
Gainesville. “He was better Bc.
pared for his death. than I am for

mine,’

_ Lawrence and the Rev. Lar
McAlister of Scranton, S. ie. ed
outside Stewart’s cell overnight as
‘he “talked and rambled about life,”
said Gene Morris,a Department of

Corrections spokesman, on

vie ) ily: that /helped .
‘Ploneer the Perrine. peuiniaite ;

red Lawrence’ of’the. |

He also was visited by his
mother and stepfather, Barbara
and Hampton Hodge of Sumter,

S. C., and two sisters and a broth-

The execution was the first
this year in Florida, the 33rq since

Florida reinstituted the déath pen-

alty in 1976 and the 223rd nation-
wide. It came 15 years after Mrs.
‘Haizlip was murdered.

After Stewart was strapped in-
‘to the oak chair, he nodded to
‘Lawrence, who was sitting in the
front row of 33 witnesses on the |

* ‘oth€r'side of a thick window. .

“T appreciate all you’ve done. I
love you,” the inmate said. Sec-
‘onds later, a black mask was low-
‘ered over his face and he was
electrocuted.

- In‘a pasture outside the prison
‘compound; competing protesters
maintained’ vigils. About 10 pro-
testers demonstrated against the
death penalty, Four supported it.

_ “The taxpayers ought not have
‘to pay to keep these people alive
for 10 or 15 years,” said Mark
Hamm of Valdosta, Ga., one of the
four. ss woigl ;
Florida governors signed death
warrants for Stewart in 1984,
‘1986, 1990 and, most recently,
March'9. :

. Stewart’s final: appeals were
‘turned down Thursday by the U.S.
‘Supreme Court after a federal
‘judge in Miami delayed the execu-
tion from Wednesday until Friday.


The Orlando Sentinel, Saturday, April 23, 1994 D-3

a

4
Condemned inmate accepted : :
a ai a : a a
impenaing eath, minister says
| Roy Allen Stew art bitten raped and strangled. was brut murder ,

‘ “He was pre ared to die,” said er Hle was strappe into
killed * Sunday school the Rev. eg PL ence of the the oaken death chair, he nodded
teacher in 979 First United Methodist Church in to Lawrence, as sitting 10

Gainesville. erauwes perer, PIC” the front row 0 33 witnesses on
ASSOCIATED PRESS pared for his death than I or =the other side fa thic window
mine.” “i appreciate you've done
TARKE — An nm te electro- Lawrence and the Rev. Larry Jove you,” te inmate said Sec
cuted Friday for 3 1-year McAlister of Scranton, C., sa onds later plack mask was low
old Sunday school teacher accep” outside Stewart cell overnight as ered over his face and he was ©'e*
ed his fate, 4 a minister who he ‘talked and rambled about trocuted.
spent the final hours with the life” said Ge Morris, a Depatl- In a pasture outside the prison
man. ment of Corrections spokesman. compound, competing protess*rs

Roy Allen Stewart was PTO: He also was visited by his moth- maintained vigils. About 10 pre
nounced dead at 7:11 a.m. EDT at & and stepfather, Barbara and testers demonstrated against the
Florida State Prison in northeast Hampton Hodge Sumpter, 5-C» death penalty. Four suPP® ed it
Florid two sisters and a brother. Florid governors signe death

He was executed for the 1979 The execution, the first this warrants for Stewart In 4, 1986

murder of Margaret Haizlip, 4 year in Florida and the 33rd since 1990 and March 9, 1994.

member of @ family that helped . Florida reinstituted the death pen- Stewart ate a final meal of lob-
pioneer the Perrine community alty in 1976 and the 223rd nation- ster, paked potato with sour
south of Miami. She was beaten, wide, came 15 years after Haizlip cream, tossed salad and iced tea.

so — = ~


5 LW 3228

The United States LAW WEEK

10-7-86 —

JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS

SEPTEMBER 11, 1986

Orders In Pending Cases

\-130 Moore v. Blackburn, Warden. The appli-
ation for stay of execution of the sentence of
eath, presented to Justice White and by him
>ferred to the Court, is granted pending appeal
) the United States Court of Appeals for the
ifth Circuit.

The Chief Justice would deny the application
or Stay.

-6-5426 (A-186) Brogdon v. Blackburn, War-
en. The enter for stay of execution of the
entence of death, presented to Justice White and
y him referred to the court, is granted pending
he disposition of the petition for writ of certiora-
i. Should the petition for a writ of certiorari be
enied, this stay terminates automatically. In the
vent the petition for writ of certiorari is granted,
his stay shall continue pending the sending down
f the judgment of this Court.

56-5436 (A-87) Glass v. Blackburn, Warden.
“he application for stay of execution of the sen-
ence of death, presented to Justice White and by
iim referred to the Court, is granted pending the
lisposition by this Court of the petition for writ
f certiorari. Should the petition for a writ of
ertiorari be denied, this stay terminates auto-
natically. In the event the petition for writ of
ertiorari is granted, this stay shall continue
vending the sending down of the judgment of this
Sourt,

Rehearing Denied

35-140 Bowers v. Hardwick. The petition for
-ehearing is denied.

SEPTEMBER 16, 1986

‘
Order In Pending Case 1

4-205 Riles v. McCotter, Director, Texas De-
oartment of Corrections. The application for stay
of execution of the sentence of death presented to
Justice White and by him referred to the Court is
Jenied.

Justice Brennan and Justice Marshall
dissenting:

Adhering to our views that the death penalty is
n all circumstances cruel and unusual punish-
ment prohibited by the Eighth and Fourteenth
Amendments, Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153,
227, 231 (1976), we would grant the application
‘or stay in order to give the applicant time to file
i petition for a writ of certiorari, and would grant

the petition and vacate the death sentence in this
case. 7

SEPTEMBER 22, 1986

Order

On September 22, 1986, Justice Powell issued
the following orders.

4-224 Davis v. Wainwright.

Upon consideration of the application of coun-
sel for the petitioner and the response filed
thereto,

It is ordered that the execution and enforce-
ment of the sentence of death imposed upon the
petitioner and scheduled for September 23, 1986

at 7:00 a.m., be, and the same is hereby stayed
until 3:00 p.m. September 23, 1986.

A-225 Hardwick v. Wainwright, Secretary,
Florida Department of Corrections. Upon consid-
eration of the application of counsel for the peti-
tioner and the response filed thereto,

It is ordered that the execution and enforce-
ment of the sentence of death j d upon the
petitioner and scheduled for September 23, 1986
at 7:00 a.m., be, and the same is hereby, stayed
until 3:00 p.m. September 23, 1986.

OCTOBER 3, 1986

Order In Pending Case

A-252 Stewart v. Wainwright, Secretary, Flor-
ida Department of Corrections. The application
for stay of execution of the sentence of death
presented to Justice Powell and by him referred
to the Court is denied.

Justice Brennan and Justice Marshall
dissenting:

Adhering to our views that the death penalty is
in all circumstances cruel and unusual punish-
ment prohibited by the Eighth and Fourteenth
Amendments, Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153,
227, 231 (1976), we would grant the application
for stay in order to give applicant time to file a
petition for writ of certiorari, and would grant the
petition and vacate the death sentence in this
case.

Justice Stevens, with whom Justice Brennan,

The Supreme Court’s journal of
proceedings, which contains the offi-
cial minutes of the Court, is repro-
duced virtually verbatim in U.S. Law
Week. The principal omissions from
Law Week's reproduction of the jour-
nal are the admissions to, and suspen-
sions and disbarments from, the Su-
preme Court Bar.

The bulk of the journal consists of
certified orders lists, containing the
Court's action on petitions for certio-
rari, appeals, and a wide variety of
other matters. Frequently, the
Court’s disposition of one of these
items is accomplished by a short opin-
ion, which may be either signed or
per curiam. These opinions, as well as
any concurrences and dissents, are
printed in full by Law Week as part
of the journal of proceedings. In addi-
tion the journal contains any other
action taken by the full Court as a
body, and these items also generally
appear in Law Week.

Citation to Supreme Court action
reported in the journal should be to
the Law Week page at which the
journal item appears, and not to Law
Week’s summary of orders.

0148-8139/86/$0+.50

Justice Marshall, and Justice Blackmun join, dis-
senting from the denial-of the application for stay
of execution.

Roy Allen Stewart was convicted of first-de-
gree murder in Dade County Circuit court and
sentenced to death. The Florida Supreme Court
affirmed the conviction and sentence. Stewart v.
State, 420 So.2d 862 (Fla. 1982), cert. denied,
460 U.S, 1103 (1983). The governor signed
Stewart's death warrant. Stewart filed a petition
for post-conviction relief under Florida Rule of
Criminal Procedure 3.850, alleging ineffective
assistance of counsel. The court stayed the execu-
tion, held an evidentiary hearing, and denied the
petition. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed.
Stewart v. State, 481 So.2d 1210 (Fla. 1985).

The governor signed a second death warrant
scheduling the execution for 7:00 A.M. on Octo-
ber 7, 1986. Stewart then filed a post-trial motion
and application for stay of execution in the Flor-
ida Supreme Court, arguing that the States ad-
ministration of the death penalty violates the
Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment because cap-
ital punishment is imposed disproportionately on
prisoners whose victims were members of the
white race. This question is similar to those pre-
sented in McCleskey v. Kemp, No. 84-6811, and
Hitchcock v. Wainwright, No. 85-6756, cases
that are to be argued before this Court on Octo-
ber 15, 1986. The Florida’ Supreme Court denied
Stewart’s motion and application for stay, ruling
that “Stewart did not raise this claim in his
ober 3.850 motion, and he is procedurally

arred from raising it in this petition.” Stewart v.
Wainwright, No. 69,338, slip op. at 2 (Sept. 25,
1986). Stewart then filed a second motion for
post-conviction relief and application for stay in
circuit court, raising the McCleskey/Hitchcock
claim. The circuit court denied the petition and
stay application. State v. Stewart, No. 79-6621,
slip op. at 2 (September 26, 1986). The Florida
Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s find-
ing of a procedural bar, reasoning that Stewart
had shown no justification for his failure to raise
the McCleskey/Hitchcock claim in his first mo-
tion for post-conviction relief. Stewart v. State,
No. 69,387, slip op. at 2 (Oct. 1, 1986).

On October 1, 1986, Stewart filed an applica-
tion for stay of execution pending filing of a
petition for certiorari with this Court. A majority
of this Court today denies that application. Be-
cause this denial may rest, in part, on an incom-
plete application of the doctrine of procedural
default, as recently set forth in Smith v. Murray,
U.S. __, 106 S.Ct. 2661 (1986), I respect-
fully dissent.

Smith requires that, before refusing to consider
a state prisoner's constitutional challenge to his
conviction and sentence on the ground of proce-
dural default a federal court must answer two
separate questions: (1) As a matter of state law,
is consideration of the claim foreclosed by a valid
rocedural bar? and (2) As a matter of federal
aw, notwithstanding the state procedural bar,
would rejection of the claim result in a “funda-
mental miscarriage of justice?” Smith v. Murray,
—_—, U.S. __, 106 S.Ct. 2638, 2668 (1986).

In Smith, a state prisoner failed to raise, on
direct appeal of his conviction and sentence to the
Virginia Supreme Court, his constitutional chal-
lenge to the prosecution’s use of the testimony of
a psychiatrist, to whom the prisoner had related
information about a prior incident of deviant
sexual conduct on a school bus. This Court,
reviewing the denial of Smith’s petition for feder-
al habeas corpus relief, held that the prisoner had
failed to demonstrate cause for his noncom-
pliance with state procedural rules. The Court
then proceeded to the second inquiry of whether
application of the doctrine of procedural bar
would offend principles of justice:

“As we noted in Engle and reaffirmed in


jJatt

———

ENIPACHION

URGENT ACTION PROGRAM OFFICE « P.O. Box 1270 « Nederland, CO 80466-1270 « 303-440-0913 « FAX: 303-258-7881
EXTRA 20/94 Death Penalty 8 April 1994
USA (Florida): Roy Stewart

Roy Stewart is scheduled to be executed in Florida on 20 April 1994
despite doubts about his guilt of the crime for which he was
sentenced to death.

Roy Stewart, white, was sentenced to death in July 1979 for the
murder of Margaret Haizlip, white, in February 1979. According to
information received from his current attorney, Stewart was convicted
on his own confession, which he retracted at trial, and the testimony
of a witness. The witness agreed to testify against Stewart in

In a letter to the state governor’s office requesting a clemency
hearing, Stewart’s attorneys argue that there is no physical evidence
to link Stewart to the crime and that new evidence proves he is
innocent. This evidence includes the testimony from a former
prosecutor, who represented the state for six years at appeal level
which refers to inconsistencies with Stewart’s confession and the
actual physical evidence of the crime. The prosecutor has stated that
his doubts about Stewart’s guilt increased as he became more involved
with the case and that his desire to express his concerns resulted,
according to him, in "threats" from another prosecutor within the
State Attorney’s Office. According to Stewart’s attorneys, both

State prosecutors who prosecuted Stewart at trial also Oppose his
execution.

Although Stewart had a clemency hearing in 1983, according to his
attorneys none of this new evidence was available at that time. (In
Florida clemency hearings are held relatively early on in the
Judicial process. The state governor fioids 4 hearing in each case
after a death sentence has been confirmed by the Florida Supreme
Court).

While Amnesty International is unable to comment on the Substance of
the claims of innocence in Roy Stewart’s case, it strongly supports

the call for, at the very least, a clemency hearing for these issues
to be considered.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION


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The United States LAW WEEK

55 LW 3229 fi Say

Carrier, “(i]n appropriate cases’ the principles
of comity and finality that inform the concepts
of cause and prejudice ‘must yield to the im-
perative of correcting a fundamentally unjust
incarceration.’ Murray v. Carrier, supra
—iU.S., at , 106 S.Ct., at 2654, quoting
Engle v. Isaac, 456 U.S., at 135. Accordingly,
‘where a constitutional violation has probably
resulted in the conviction of one who is actually
innocent, a federal habeas court may grant the
writ even in the absence of a showing of cause
for the procedural default.’ Murray v. Carrier,
supra, , 106 S.Ct, at 2650.
“We acknowledge that the concept of ‘actual,’
as distinct from ‘legal,’ innocence does not
translate easily into the context of an alleged
error at the sentencing phase of a trial on a
capital offense. Nonetheless, we think it clear
on this record that application of the cause and
prejudice test will not result in a ‘fundamental
miscarriage of justice.’ Engle, 456 U.S., at 135,
102 S.Ct., at 1576. There is no allegation that
the testimony about the school bus incident
was false or in any way misleading. Nor can it
be argued that the prospect that Dr. Pile might
later testify against him had the effect of
foreclosing meaningful exploration of psychiat-
ric defenses. While that concern is a very real
one in the abstract, here the record clearly
shows that Dr. Pile did ask petitioner to discuss
the crime he stood accused of committing as
well as prior incidents of deviant sexual con-
duct. Although initially reluctant to do so,
ultimately petitioner was forthcoming on both
subjects. In short, the alleged constitutional
error neither precluded the development of true
facts nor resulted in the admission of false
ones. Thus, even assuming that, as a legal
matter, Dr. Pile’s testimony should not have
been presented to the jury, its admission did
not serve to pervert the jury’s deliberations
concerning the ultimate question whether in
fact petitioner constituted a continuing threat
to society. Under these circumstances, we do
not believe that refusal to consider the de-
faulted claim on federal habeas carries with it
the risk of a manifest miscarriage of justice.”
Id., at 2668.

In this case, Roy Allen Stewart predicates his

, application for a stay of execution on a claim that

“because the State of Florida has applied its
Capital sentencing statute in an arbitrary and
Capricious manner by allowing race to determine,
In significant part, who will receive the death
Penalty, his sentence was imposed in violation of
the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the
Constitution of the United States.” * As noted,
his claim is similar to the claims advanced by the
Petitioners in McCleskey v. Kemp, No. 84-6811,
and Hitchcock v. Wainwright, No. 85-6756.

As a matter of Florida law, it appears that
Stewart's claim is procedurally barred. No one,
however, has yet carried out the second inquiry
mandated by Smith: whether as a matter of
federal law the refusal to consider his claim on
the merits would constitute a “fundamental mis-
Carriage of justice’ if, as Stewart asserts, the fact
that his victim was a member of the white race
was a critical element in the decision to impose
the death sentence upon him. No federal court
has yet decided whether this claimed racially
discriminatory factor, in the Court's words in
Smith, served “to pervert the jury’s deliberations
Concerning the ultimate question” whether he
Should be put to death.

__* Application for Stay of Execution Pending Filing and Dispo-
Sition of Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of
Florida, filed in the Supreme Court of the United States on

- October 1, 1986, App. at 10 (Brief to the Supreme Court of

Haha on Appeal from the Denial of Motion for Post-Conviction
lief).

Today the Court dectines to grant Stewart's
application for stay of execution even though his
procedurally barred claims, if true, raise pro-
foundly serious and as yet unresolved questions
about the federal constitutionality of his capital
sentence. Arguably, the Court's decision is justi-
fied by the facts that this case comes to us as a
request for review of the Florida courts’ denial of
collateral relief and the “fundamental miscar-
riage of justice” inquiry can better be performed
by a federal district court in a federal habeas
corpus proceeding which Stewart may now com-
mence. Nevertheless, in order to make sure that
this critical inquiry may be pecfarmed before the
case becomes moot, | would stay Stewart's execu-
tion until the Court has decided the McCleskey
and Hitchcock cases.

I respectfully dissent.

OCTOBER 6, 1986

85-7165 Grandison v. Maryland. The petition
for a writ of certiorari is denied.

_ Justice Marshall, with whom Justice Brennan
joins, dissenting from denial of certiorari.

Petitioner Anthony Grandison was sentenced
to death by an improperly instructed jury and did
not have the benefit of representation at his
sentencing hearing. Because | believe that the
jury’s instructions under the Maryland statute
improperly shifted to petitioner the burden of
disproving the appropriateness of his death sen-
tence, and that the denial of a request for legal
representation in the sentencing phase of a bifur-
cated capital proceeding constitutes a violation of
the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, I dissent.

Petitioner was tried for murder, conspiracy to
commit murder, and use of a handgun in the
commission of a crime of violence, for hiring
someone to kill two witnesses scheduled to testify
against him in his trial on federal drug charges.
The jury found petitioner guilty on all charges
and sentenced him to death. Petitioner claims
that the Maryland capital sentencing statute and
the verdict sheet provided to the jury improperly
imposed upon him the burden of ee 3 at the
sentencing phase. | continue to believe that this
issue is worthy of review. See Huffington v.
Maryland, —— U.S. (1986) (Marshall, J.,
dissenting from denial of certiorari); Stebbing v.
Maryland, 469 U.S. 900 (1984) (Marshall, J.,
dissenting from denial of certiorari).

The State argues that petitioner’s claim is
foreclosed by a state Court construction of the
statute holding that the prosecution bears the
burden of persuasion. Sce Foster v. State, 304
Md. 439, 476-480. 499 A.2d 1236, 1256-1257
(1985). In this case, however, the jury was pro-
vided with a verdict sheet that unambiguously
directed the jurors to return a sentence of death
unless mitigating circumstances outweighed ag-
gravating circumstances. The Maryland Court of
Appeals may construe the statute to avoid any
constitutional difficulty. But the trial court's
instructions and the verdict form submitted to the
jury must reflect that Construction. Here, the
verdict form did not; the constitutional infirmity
therefore remains undiminished.

it

At his aban der cvsi nn ae asserted the
right to represent himself under Faretta v. Cali-
forntt 42) U.S. 806 (1975). Petitioner was rn
formed of his.right to counsel, the dangers of self-
representation, and the advantages of having
counsel to assist at trial and sentencing. Petition-
er nonetheless chose to proceed pro se. He was

0148-8139/86/$0+.50

granted the right to have “standby” counsel, but
conducted his own defense. The jury returned a
verdict of guilty on all counts.

At the first scheduled sentencing proceeding,
petitioner asked the court to appoint the lawyer
who had served as standby counsel to represent
him in the sentencing proceeding. He also sought
a continuance, since neither he nor his counsel
was prepared to go forward. The court refused to
terminate petitioner's self-representation, stating:

“Once the decision is made regarding self-
representation, if it is properly made prior to
trial, the request to change rests solely within
the discretion of the trial court. The right must
be timely asserted. It must be asserted before
the trial starts. Of course, this is not timely
asserted. Whether we continue with it or not,
what I am inclined to do about self-representa-
tion is leave it just like it is, and let [standby
counsel] take over and handle the proceeding
as standby counsel with Mr. Grandison’s per-
mission. Grandison will still be the attorney.”
Pet. for Cert. 8-9.

Moreover, the court instructed standby counsel,
“Keep in mind, Mr. Crawford, you are not the
attorney in this. Mr. Grandison is his own attor-
ney. You are just kind of a law clerk.” Pet for
Cert. 9. The court granted an eight-day continu-
ance; at the reconvened sentencing hearing, it
again made clear that Grandison was represent-
ing himself, albeit with the assistance of standby
counsel.

Assuming for the sake of argument that in a
non-bifurcated criminal proceeding a trial judge
could in some circumstances deny a defendant
who initially asserted his right to represent him-
self the right to later change his mind and pro-
ceed with counsel, such a rule would not imply
that a waiver of counsel in the guilt phase of a
capital proceeding requires a defendant to pro-
ceed pro se, against his will, in the sentencing
phase. The Maryland Court of Appeals cursorily
dismissed petitioner's claim that, because capital
sentencing constituted a separate trial, he was
entitled to make a new decision about whether he
wanted counsel or not. Grandison v. State, 305
Md. 685, 752, 506 A.2d 580, 613 (1986). I find
this claim worthy of considerably more attention
than the Maryland court gave it.

In Bullington v. Missouri, 451 U.S. 430
(1981), this Court held that the Double Jeopardy
clause applied to the sentencing phase of a bifur-
cated trial. It did so because it found that a
sentencing hearing was like a separate trial. “The
presentence hearing resembled and, indeed, in all
relevant respects was like the immediately pre-
ceding trial on the issue of guilt or innocence. It
was itself a trial on the issue of punishment.” Id.,
at 438. Under the Maryland statute, Md. Crim.
Law Code Ann. §413 (1982 & Cum. Supp.
1985), sentencing is similarly a separate adver-
sarial proceeding, see §413(a). It may require
selection of a new jury, see §413(b)(2)(i)-(iv).
Evidence is offered, §413(c)(2); the jury is in-
structed, §413(c)(3); and the jury deliberates and
determines sentence. The Maryland proceeding is
in all respects a separate trial on the issue of
punishment. The waiver of the right to counsel at
the first “trial” on guilt or innocence should
therefore have no more bearing on a defendant’s
right to counsel in the sentencing phase than it
would on that defendant's right to counsel in a
separate trial on related crimes. It should under
no circumstances irrevocably bind a defendant in
the sentencing phase.

The trial court articulated no basis for refusing
petitioner's request to appoint counsel. Even at
midtrial in a non-bifurcated proceeding, a trial
court's unexplained refusal to permit a defendant
to revoke his assertion of the right to self-repre-
sentation would surely constitute an abuse of
discretion. A trial court cannot insist that a de-


One of the most compelling arguments against the use of the death
penalty is the risk that innocent people may be executed. Serious
miscarriages of justice in capital cases have already occurred in the
USA and will do so again. A research study issued in 1987 and revised
and updated in 1992 found 350 cases between 1900 and 1985 of
defendants wrongfully convicted in capital or potentially capital
cases. The study identified 23 wrongful executions over the period
1900 to 1991.

International standards provide quarantees to protect people who may ° °
have been wrongfully sentenced to death. For example, United Nations
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 1984/50, on

Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the

death penalty, adopted in May 1984, recommends that "capital

punishment may be imposed only when the guilt of the person charged

is based upon clear and convincing evidence leaving no room for an
alternative explanation of the facts".

Florida has the third largest death row population in the USA - as of
6 January 1994 there were 332 prisoners under sentence of death. The
last person to be executed in the state was Michael Durocher on 25
August 1993. The method of execution is electrocution.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send faxes/express and airmail letters or
telephone:

- urging Governor Chiles to grant clemency to Roy Stewart;

- urging Governor Chiles at the very least to hold a clemency hearing

so that Roy Stewart’s case may be thoroughly reviewed in light of the
doubts concerning his guilt.

APPEALS TO: [Salutaiton]
The Honorable Lawton Chiles [Dear Governor ]
Governor of Florida

State Capitol

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

(Telephone: 1 904 488 4441) (Faxes: 1 904 487 0801)

COPIES TO:

Miami Herald

1 Herald Plaza

Miami, FL 33101 (Faxes: 1 305 376 8950)

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.

Postage costs: airmail letters cost 50 cents a page (2 02.) to most Article 9 - “No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest,
countries; aerogrammes are 45 cents each: airmail postcards cost detention or exile.”
40 cents to most countries. Mail with colorful stamps may not reach
its destination. O Send your appeals in English unless you are fluent with the
language. ‘
The name of Amnesty International may be used, although letters ;
written in a private or professional Capacity are often more O Please take action as soon as you receive this Urgent Action |
effective. appeal. Carefully read the recommended action and send a tele-
gram or airmail letter immediately to one or more of the *
Telegrams and letters should be brief and courteous. Stress that addresses given. Other letters can be sent afterwards.
your concern for human rights is not in any way politically
Partisan. Refer to relevant provisions in international law. such as O Correct salutations include: Dear Sir - for local authorities. pri:
the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: commanders, police chiefs; Your Honor - for judges: O
Article 3 - “Everyone has the right to life, liberty. and Admiral. General. Captain, etc. - for military officers: Your
the security of person.” Excellency - for most minister-level officials and state presidents:
Article 5 - “No one shail be Subjected to torture or to in closing use “Yours sincerely” or “Respectfully” for any
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” authority.


--<ve

Straight gets last chance for death stay

From staff and AP

STARKE — Attorneys for Ronald J. Straight
readied a last-minute appeal to the U.S. Supreme
Court last night after a lower court refused to block
his execution, scheduled for this morning at Florida
State Prison.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta
turned down Stiaight’s appeal late last night but
granted a stay until noon today to allow time for at-
torneys to take the case to the nation’s high court.
Straight had been scheduled to die at 7 a.m.

Earlier, U.S. District Judge John H. Moore II re-
fused to stop Straight’s electrocution after a hear-
ing centering on the inmate's original sentencing
criteria.

The U.S. Supreme Court last night rejected a
separate emergency request and formal appeal in
behalf of Straight on a 7-2 vote, with Justices Wil-
liam J. Brennan and Thurgood Marshall voting to
spare his life.

The Florida Supreme Court rejected his appeals
after a hearing yesterday morning. Straight’s attor-
neys already had filed papers in U.S. District Court
in Jacksonville.

Straight, 42, of Jacksonville, was condemned for
the Oct. 4, 1976, slaying of Jacksonville furniture
store operator James N. Stone. Stone was hit with
a hammer and stabbed 18 times before his body
was placed in a box and dumped off the Buckman
Bridge into the St. Johns River near Orange Park.

At Florida State Prison yesterday, Straight did
not request a last meal. He will be brought a break-
fast of steak, eggs, milk, orange juice and coffee.

Straight’s brother, Raymond, came from Phila-
delphia this weekend to visit him. No other family
members have scheduled visits, according to prison
spokesman Vernon Bradford.

Two visitors were scheduled to visit Straight last
night: Father Joseph Maniangat of Macclenny and
Sister Hannah Daly of the Gainesville-based Minis-
try for Justice and Reconciliation.

Straight appeared nervous yesterday afternoon,
walking around his cell, unable to sit down or relax,
Bradford said.

Meanwhile, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
granted an indefinite stay of execution to William
Thomas Zeigler Jr., who also had faced execution
today for the Christmas Eve 1975 slaying of four
people, including his wife, in an insurance scam.

Later in the day, the state Supreme Court grant-
ed an assistant attorney general's request and va-
cated a Circuit Court stay for Zeigler. That left
Zeigler protected only by the Atlanta stay as the
prosecutor petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to let
the execution go forward.

Zeigler had been granted the first stay late Sun-
day by Circuit Judge Gary L. Formet Jr. in Duval
County. Assistant Attorney General Richard Pros-
pect asked the state high court yesterday to set it
aside.

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Zeigler’s
federal stay and Straight fails to win a reprieve,
Florida could have its first double execution since
1964.

Prospect told the state justices that contrary to
defense claims, that when the judge overrode the
jury’s recommended life sentence and imposed a
death sentence, he did so on the merits of the evi-
dence, he said.

In another hearing later, attorney Vernon Da-
vids, who defended Zeigler during his 1976 trial, told
the court he had other, new evidence that could ex-
onerate his client. He said a couple who had passed
the scene of the crime described gunfire that could

Ronald J. Straight

William Thomas Zeigler Jr.

not have been the result of one man shooting. In-
stead, he said their testimony could show that at
least three shooters were involved in the crime.

Prospect said he doubted the evidence. He also
said that because 10 years had passed since the tri-
al, any new evidence should not be allowed.

In Straight’s case, attorney Michael Mello asked
the state Supreme Court for a stay and evidentiary
hearing. But the court quickly denied the request.

Straight’s co-defendant, Timothy C. Palmes, was
executed on Nov. 8, 1984.

Both Straight and Palmes claim they are inno-
cent in the death of Stone and claim Jane Albert,
the key state witness who was granted immunity
from prosecution, was responsible for the killing.

Zeigler was sentenced to death for the murders
of his wife and a customer, Charles Mays Jr., at his
Winter Garden furniture store. He was given life
sentences for the deaths of his wife’s parents, Mr.
and Mrs. Perry Edwards Sr. of Moultrie, Ga.

Prosecutors say Zeigler killed his wife to collect
more than $500,000 in life insurance money and then

shot Mays to make it appear that his wife was
killed in a robbery.

cme

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—m FFs

oy

KSONVILLE, FLORIDA ‘WEDN ES DA MAY 21, 1986 e
By Bruce Krasnow at the time.
and Mark Journey The convictions of Straight and
Staff writers Palmes rested primarily on the testi:

James D. Stone and son James A. Stone wai
of Ronald J. Straight, who had been convict
nephew, James N. Stone. Straight was pro

r

~ Ron Bell/staff

ted yesterday for the execution
ed in the 1976 killing of Stone's
nounced dead.at 5:12 p.m.

STARKE — Ronald Straight ran
out of stays and was executed yester-
day afternoon in Florida State Pris-
on’s electric chair for a murder he
committed in Jacksonville almost a
decade ago.

Straight, 40, chewed gum as he en-
tered the death chamber at the prison
near Starke. He sat in the oak electric
chair and winked twice — once at the
Rev. Joe Maniangat, a Catholic priest
from Macclenny, and once at
Spalding, an attorney who heads the
state office that handled Straight’s
appeals,

“He was great, he was really
great,” Maniangat said afterward.
“He was really ready for death. He
went in peace.”

Si it was executed for the stab-
bing and bludgeoning death of James
N. Stone, a Jacksonville furniture

' Store owner, on Oct. 4, 1976. A co-
defendant in the case, Timothy

Palmes, was executed Nov. 8, 1984.
Straight’s execution marked the
first-time the-state had put a second
man to death for a single crime since
Florida revived capital punishment in
1979. Since then, 16 convicted killers
have died in Florida’s electric chair,
58 nationwide.
A third accomplice, Jane Albert,
Stone’s bookkeeper at the time of the
killing, had admitted luring Stone into
her apartment where, she said,
Palmes and Straight killed him. Ms.
Albert was Palmes’ live-in girlfriend

mony of Ms. Albert, who was given
immunity.

Prison spokesman Vernon Brad:
ford said Straight did not request a fi-
nal meal. and turned down a break-
fast of steak and eggs, the standard
fare for inmates who request nothing
special for their last meal. Another
meal was offered before noon but
Straight only drank chocolate milk,
Bradford said.

Straight: was originally scheduled
to die at 7am. yesterday. The execu-
tion was stayed late Monday night by
the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in Atlanta so a final appeal could be
made to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Shortly before 11 a.m., as the seven
media and 12 citizen witnesses were

pulling up to the gates of the prison,

word came from Supreme Court Jus-
tice Lewis F. Powell that the execu:
tion had- been stayed another five
hours.

,. Then, shortly after 4 p.m., word

came from Washington that the court
would not block the execution.

A little more than an hour later,
Straight was escorted the 30 feet
from his holding cell to the death
chamber. His head was shaven and
he was wearing a white long-sleeve
Shirt and navy blue dress pants.

He was placed immediately into
the electric chair.

Last month, condemned inmate

(See STRAIGHT, Page A-8)

Straight execu

ted ‘10 years too late,’ Stone’s uncle says

(From Page A-1)

Daniel Thomas fought officials as
they attempted to secure the four
leather straps of the chair around his
body. Yesterday, prison officials
waited until all the straps were tight
before removing the restraints on
Straight’s hands and wrists.

Assistant FSP Superintendent.
Hamilton Mathis, secured the straps
id placed an electrode on Straight’s
ven right leg.
traight took the gum from his
ith and placed it in a towel handed
him by prison Superintendent
Richard Dugger, who-asked Straight
if he wanted to make a last state-
ment,

“No sir, nothing,” Straight said.

He was breathing heavily as offi-
¢ials.drapped a black leather mask
over: his face. ’

‘. Dugger picked up the direct-link

e ne to Gov. Bob Graham in Tal-
and ‘asked whether there

be a last-minute stay. There

was none.

A moment later, Dugger nodded to
the hooded executioner who pulled a
lever discharging 2,000 volts of elec-
tricity into Straight’s leg and head.

A blue wisp of smoke rose from his

tight leg.as a piece of his pants
rubbed on the electrode.
’ The current was turned off about
two minutes later, and Straight was
pronounced dead at 5:12 p.m. by the
prison doctor. ’

Another inmate scheduled to die
with Straight, William Thomas Zeig-
ler Jr., who was convicted in four kill-
ings on Christmas Eve 1975, won an
indefinite stay Monday from the 11th
U.S, Circuit Court of Appeals. The Su-
preme Court denied a request by
_ Florida Attorney General Jim Smith
to dissolve the reprieve. .

In the Straight case, Stone was
stabbed 18 times with a machete and
beaten with a hammer. He was then
bound and stuffed into a wooden box
that was dumped off the Buckman
Bridge into the St. Johns River.

Ms. Albert told prosecutors that
Straight and Palmes — who met in
prison — were upset with Stone be-
cause he wouldn’t give them jobs.

During the execution yesterday,
James D. Stone, an uncle of the vic-
tim, stood and watched the bui
where the electric chair is housed as
he held the hand of his 10-year-old
son, James A. Stone. The elder Stone
was wearing a T-shirt with the in-
scription: “1 down, 133 to go.”

The shirt was one of those printed
by Jacksonville police after the 1979
execution of John Spenkelink, who
was convicted of the death of a trav-
eling companion. The 133 refers to the

number of prisoners on Death Row at-

the time of Spenkelink’s execution on
May 25, 1979. There are 243 inmates
on Death Row. today, including two
women.

Stone, 59, said yesterday that he un-

derstood the prosecutor’s decision. .

However, he said he still was bitter
that Ms. Albert might be walking the

_ Streets of Jacksonville.

“T think all three should have been
on Death Row for what they did,” he
said: “T think he [Straight] got exactly
— he deserved — only 10 years too

te,”

Stone and his son were among
about 1§ death-penalty supporters
who gathered in a cow pasture across
from the prison just before the execu-
tion. After a guard motioned from a
watch tower that, Straight had been
executed, they cheered and clapped.

On the other side of the fence, eight
people stood in silent vigil. One, Sister
Hannah Daly of the Gainesville Min-
istry of Justice and Reconciliation,
-had been at Straight’s side Monday
Night and yesterday.

Holding back tears, she said
Straight had received the last rites
and was at peace with himself.

“I was with Ron this morning and
this afternoon,” she said. “I think he
Was tired of all this. He knew what
his chances were [of getting a stay].
He was very, very peaceful.”

o
{S :
S ‘
@

v Qs

5

NN Hanging at Bradentown. “

N Tampa, June! i4—iry Suber, colored, aged! r,

ON ™, 28, Who- kiliedhls father, A: Corey, eleven { o

\ months ago, rear Filenton, tn Order tad | 5

\ Ca rob him of HQ. whiten Corey had hidden | { “

: In his house, was hanged teday ato noon | | tx}

™ in the county: Jail at Rradentown. hia ts | re

_ Y the second legal hanging fn Manatee coun. -
ty. as Dn

Ke \ Two hundred” hegrovs Assembled ahoue | | =
~~. the “Jail, but? good order) was Preserveu, |
&. S ~ and no undue excitement Gceurred, Suber || !
; OX § Was baptised <in: the Jail) halt an hour hee =
aX -fore_the hanging hy a _culoredt -nuinister,_ | ‘10
Who In the absence of the usual facllitdes, |) O
NX) Placed thy condemned man's head) under | —
& spigot and* turned on the water, |

P |


Manatee River Journal, June 21, 1907,

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4

SOUTHERN COALITION REPORT

2

i

Electrocuting an innocent person is never having to Say you're sorry.

et

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Mo

SULLIVAN

confinued from page 1
prayed for those who sought his death.
We finished our prayer and ordered food
together. In an informal communion, we
broke bread and drank soft drinks and
orange juice. Bob ate with the relish of a
man who enjoyed food and also who knew
he would not have need of it the next
day. So our time together came to an
end. Susan and Father Boyle would be
remaining with Bob for a contact visit.
Father Boyle would then be with Bob
throughout the night. I had a few minutes
of private conversation with Bob before
leaving.

“Bob, I haven't told anyone else this but
I regard it to be true of you. I think you
are dying the death of a Christian
martyr. I mean that in the sense you
have triumphed through the strength of
the Spirit in circumstances designed to
conquer you. You have provided a wit-
ness to all of us of the power of recon-
ciliation. You are able to pray for Bob
Graham, for Jim Smith. I know I should
but I am too full of anger to do so. I pray
for the anger to subside and the recon-
ciling presence of the Spirit to reside
with me as it does within you.

Your witness has been a powerful one
not only to us but to many. The letters
you have written to folks all over the
world, the interviews you have given to
newspapers and television, the presence
you have shared with the other men on
death row, it has been and will continue
to be a powerful beacon shining in this
darkness surrounding us. I want to thank
you for being my friend.”

The following morning, we drove back
to the prison. Susan and I made a joint
press statement, then we joined the pro-
testors of the execution. I was pleased to
see Bishop Snyder join us. We assembled
in a circle, held one another's hands, and
participated in a worship service in the
cow pasture across from the prison.
When we concluded, we all faced the
prison and waited. It was 9:45. Bob had
approximately 15 minutes to live.

I stood next to Bishop Snyder, my hand

on his shoulder, leaning on him for supp-
ort. The white hearse drove by to enter
the prison. It would not be long now.

The memories of Bob assaulted me. In
particular, I dwelled on his friendship
with James Hill. James was 25 years old
and on death row. His severe retardation
made it difficult for him to comprehend
his environment. He had stopped taking
his medication for epilepsy and suffered
several attacks, one of which broke some
of his ribs. Bob had taken him under wing
and helped him adjust. Bob patiently
taught James to read and write. Over the
months a real dependency had grown as
James looked to Bob on a daily basis. Bob
had arranged for them to cell next to one
another. It was a touching and moving re-
lationship.

Bob had told us the night before that he
had intentionally provoked his recent
D.R. (Disciplinary Report) in order to be
moved to Q Wing. His absence from the
cell next to James would force James to
deal with life without Bob for awhile. Bob
wanted this dry run to occur so James
could be somewhat prepared if the Gov-
ernor signed Bob’s death warrant. Bob
was trying to wean James so he could
survive without him.

I thought this story was illustrative of
the man the State of Florida was about to
kill. No matter what happened ten years
ago, Bob had become a caring, giving
human being with much to offer. It was
insane to kill him now, and it was so
cruel. How would anyone ever make
James Hill understand?

The word passed quickly from the press
that Bob had been killed. A short while
later the white hearse appeared, gleam-
ing in the bright Florida sun. I was so
tired, so spent. I felt vacant inside as I
watched the hearse pass by. After a few
words of comfort for and from friends,
Bruce, Chuck and I went back to the
motel.

November 30th, 1983, had come and the
State of Florida had taken the life of my
friend. There was little to say or do...
simply to rest so I could endure.

JOHN ELDON SMITH
NO FAIRNESS, NO JUSTICE

Robert Wayne Williams died in Louis-
iana’s electric chair on Wednesday, Dec-
ember 14th. He was the first person to be
executed in that state since 1961. The
next day, John Eldon Smith became the
first person executed in Georgia since
1964.

Over a two-day period just before
Christmas, two people were executed in
the South. The lottery-like process by
which it was decided that these two hu-
man beings would die should cause us all
to rethink the question of capital pun-
ishment.

Smith's case perhaps best illustrates the
arbitrary nature of the death penalty se-
lection process. In 1975, three persons
were convicted of the murder of a couple
in Bibb County, Georgia. The evidence at
the trials showed that John Eldon Smith .
and his wife, Rebecca Machetti, along
with a friend named John Maree, killed
Joseph Akins and his wife, Juanita. Akins
was Machetti’s former husband and fa-
ther of her three children. Apparently,
the killing was planned so that Machetti
could collect her former husband's insur-
ance proceeds. Rebecca Machetti and
John Maree are presently serving life
sentences. John Eldon Smith was exe-
cuted by electrocution.

We would like to believe that the sys-
tem that has reached such a disparity of
punishment is, after all, a system based
upon principles of justice. Unfortunately,
the sad facts of the case demonstrate that
it is nothing more than a system based
upon principles of chance. As Judge
Joseph Hatchett of the Eleventh Circuit
Court of Appeals stated in his dissent in
Smith's appeal before the Court: “This
case again illustrates the difficulty, if not
the impossibility, of imposing the death
penalty in a fair and impartial manner. It
is a classic example of how arbitrarily
this penalty is imposed...The fairness pro-
mised in Furman vs. Georgia, (holding
the death penalty unconstitutional as app-
lied at that time) has long been forgotten’
The State of Georgia tossed the dice, and
John Eldon Smith’s number came up.
John Maree, one of the co-participants in
the crime, was the key to the prose-
cution’s case against Smith and Machetti.
The State's case against Maree was vir-
tually airtight, including evidence of his
own confession, his handprints from the
victim's automobile, and an eyewitness
placing him at the scene of the crime.

By contrast, the cases against Smith and
Machetti were weak. Without Maree’s
testimony, Smith might never have been
brought to trial. And yet, for the same
crime, Maree has a life sentence, and
Smith has been executed.

Regardless of our judgement about the
morality of the deatif penalty in general,
all of the technical legal explanations in
the world simply fail to convince us that
John Eldon Smith has been treated fairly,
that is, that he was more deserving of
death than either Machetti or Maree. All
of us take some assurance in the hope and
belief that at the heart of our system of
justice lies the most fundamental legal
and moral principle: the principle that, all
other things being equal, individuals will
be treated with equal fairness and equal
justice. And yet Maree, against whom the
evidence was the strongest, is alive and is
already eligible for parole, while Smith is

dead. Maree lives because the evidence
against him was substantial, and because
the prosecutor needed his testimony to
convict Smith. All other things are equal,
and yet Maree has a life sentence, and
Smith is dead.

But John Eldon Smith's death is tainted
with an even more insipid miscarriage of
justice. Both Smith and Rebecca Mach-
etti, another of the co-defendants, were
originally sentenced to death for their
part in the crime. Of course, Machetti too
would have been another victim of the
prosecutor's deal with Maree but for the
fact that, on appeal, the federal court
overturned her conviction. Machetti was
given a new trial because in the county in
which she was originally tried and con-
demned to die, women had been system-
atically and unconstitutionally under-rep-
resented in the jury pool. John Eldon
Smith was tried in the same county by an
all-male jury drawn from the same un-
constitutional jury pool. On retrial before
a jury pool which included women in fair
numbers, Machetti was given a life sent-
ence.

No reviewing court ever denied that
Smith was tried and convicted by an un-
constitutional jury. The logic of equal jus-
tice compels us to ask how it can be that
Machetti has a life sentence, and Smith
has been executed.

Courts explain that the disparity is due
to the fact that Smith's lawyers failed to
raise the unconstitutional jury issue at
the appropriate time in his appeal. In
other words, Smith was executed because
his lawyers failed to say the right things,
at the right time. As a result, Smith is
dead, because of factors completely be-
yond his control. Once again, Smith is a
victim of bad luck.

The State of Georgia was faced with

continued next page:

GRAY

continued from page 2

intervene and alter the conversation.
Jimmy looked John straight in the eye
and said: “It has been my experience that
most of the time”, and Jimmy hesitated
as if he wanted to be quite sure of the
remainder of his thoughts, “no, I guess all
of the time, it has been my experience
that those who talk about God the most
love the least.”

Once again Jimmy had left me speec-
hless. He quickly moved on so John
wouldn't take his saying as a direct re-
buke, but I sat turning his sentence over
in my mind. It seemed to sum up what
was wrong with institutional religion in
this country and especially the brand I
constantly encountered among folks in-
volved in prison ministry. As for himself,
Jimmy would not wear his religion on his
sleeve. It was enough to live out his belief
in the Christian faith without killing it
through verbiage. His quiet faith remind-
ed me of John Spenkelink.

At 12:18 a.m. on September 2nd, the
warden informed the media that Jimmy
Lee Gray was dead from the cyanide gas
of the Mississippi gas chamber. This was
approximately eight hours after the fore-
going conversation between Jimmy Lee
Gray and Joe Ingle.


<a

ysis

aL

ff

7

SOUTHERN
COALITION

Oi? pager Sn wis EE o's dat Smet e Ce a
are 6S PRES eea Sane sire EN 48 2

REPORT

ON JAILS

& PRISONS

VOLUME 11, No. 1

BOB SULLIVAN, A WITNESS FOR LIFE

The following events occurred on the
afternoon and evening of November 29,
1983. The events preceeded the execution
of Bob Sullivan at 10:00 a.m. on the follow-
ing day. This account is excerpted from a
manuscript now being prepared by Joe
Ingle.

We left on the three hour journey at
about 4:30. There was still no word from
the court. Before leaving town I made
one last phone call to Scharlette and
Jimmy Lohman at the Florida Clearing-
house office. Jimmy gave me the bad
news.The entire 11th Circuit Court of
Appeals had decided not to hear Bobs
case and the stay of execution was diss-
olved. The lawyers were ready and had
already filed the legal papers to the Su-
preme Court. No one held any hope for
them though.

Chuck MeVoy and Bruce Robertson of
the 1st Presbyterian Church in Talla-
hassee drove with me across the state
toward the prison. I was tired, worried
about Bob, and glad Chuck was able to
drive. Bruce slept most of the trip in the
back seat and Chuck and I talked. We
also listened to the radio until we finally
heard the news. The execution was set
for 10:00 a.m. the next morning. I had no
doubt this was a final time and date.

We arrived at the checkpoint outside
the prison. The security was tight and
the prison well lit under the sky full of
stars. A cold wind blew as I stood and
awaited clearance. I paced, made aimless
conversation with Bruce and Chuck,
talked to the guards, but mostly just
looked at the prison and the sky. The
heavens were so full of radiant beauty
with twinkling stars. The prison, on the
other hand, had the artificial light of
manmade death silhouetting it. The con-
trast was overpowering.

I finally received clearance and Bruce
and Chuck dropped me off at the guard
tower. The guard opened the gates for
me and I strode through the chainlink
fence with the razor wire gleaming under
the glare of the spotlights. I felt calm, yet
desolate as I went in to meet Bob.

After signing in and being searched, I
entered the room. Susan Cary and Mar-
garet Vandiver, friends of Bob, and three
priests were already there. They rose
and greeted me. I turned to Bob, placing
my hand on the glass separating us in
greeting.

In contrast to the initial moment I had
seen him the previous night, Bob was
composed. He had seen the evening news
on the networks which carried our mock
execution before the Governor and the
cabinet. He was pleased and grateful we
had been so effective. We also discussed
the service Dan Berrigan had led at First
Presbyterian Monday night. He had read

r EAE

accounts of it and again was thankful for
all the people who rallied about him in his
hour of crisis.

The six of us were animated in our dis-
cussions. We had moved toa plane which
transcended the legal reality and its im-
pending doom for Bob to a religious level
where, as Bob put it so well, “My death is
a victory.” This perspective was possible
because Bob had made a total transfor-
mation in the last 24 hours. He had inte-
grated the reality of his execution with
his genuine Christian faith and saw his
killing in that light. Thus Bob kept us
bouyed throughout the evening, joking,
sharing stories, expressing his deep app-
reciation to us all for what had been done.

Midway through our visit the news
came from the U.S. Supreme Court that
his appeal had been rejected. The vote
was 7-2. “It was expected”, he said res-
ignedly. At that point one of the priests

WINTER. 1964

suggested we read the 62nd Psalm, which
begins:

“In God alone there is rest for my soul,
from him comes my safety;
with him alone, for my rock, my safety,
my fortress, I can never fail.”

As | listened to the priest articulate the
words, I was deeply moved. It seemed
the psalmist was expressing thoughts so
applicable to our situation! The only
succor we had was with God. The poli-
ticians—especially the Governor—had de-
cided to sacrifice Bob at the altar of the
god of political expediency. His opinion
was that of a man in “delusion”, the de-
lusion being that it was his to be God and
decide who should live or die. The Gover-
nor clearly had failed to keep his heart
detached from his riches and his political
ambitions. His apostasy was to play God,
to pretend omnipotence in the name of
civic duty and thus he was the one tried
and found wanting. His righteousness

was seifirighteousness, his hypocrisy an
affromtt tto(God and would be repaid as his
works deserve.

As Bol andi II ttalked, I realized how
much I wouliii miss him. My eyes occa-
sionally watered but I was determined to
keep tie upbeat mood he so clearly de-
sired. Att ane point, he looked at me and
asked: “Wihat do you think my epitaph
should be?” I was unprepared for such an
inquiry. “Bob, that is a personal decision.
I wouldiitt begin to advise you about it.”
He modidiedi and we talked about other
things. A. few «minutes later Bob looked
up andi said: “I've got it. How does this
sound”? The cause is just.” I leaned back
in my ewir and surveyed him. This man,
chunky iin stature with blue eyes and a
sparklimg wit, wanted to leave his state-
ment: albout the death penalty as a re-
membrame: wf this life. It was typical of
his eenwern for others in his predicament.

I agrewd it was an excellent epitaph.
We tnuddled together and prayed for
strength, for the grace of our Lord. Bob
continued on page 4

THE EXECUTION

of
ROBERT WAYNE
WILLIAMS

In the early morning hours of Decem-
ber 14, 1983, the State of Louisiana ex-
ecuted Robert Wayne Williams. It was
the first execution in this state in more
than 22 years, and it was & graphic illus-
tration of what is wrong with the death
penalty laws in this country.

Williams, a 31-year-old black man, had
been convicted of the 1979 killing of Willy
Kelly, a 67-year-old security guard at a
Baton Rouge supermarket.

From the beginning, there were &
number of disturbing aspects to the case.
Williams’ court-appointed attorney — acc-
ording to the records — spent a grand
total of eight hours preparing for his
trial. A trial such as this should have en-
compassed up to 3 weeks of preparation.
Williams was tried and convicted by an
all-white jury, and several potential jur-
ors who expressed only qualified oppo-
sition to the death penalty were excluded.

In addition, the sentence was excessive
when compared to others in Louisiana.
There have been several Louisiana cases,
including some from Baton Rouge, where
the facts of the crime were relatively
similar or worse, and the defendants did
not receive death sentences. Given the
nature of the crime, Williams’ mental
stress, his drug and alcohol abuse, and his
minor criminal record, the death sentence
was clearly excessive. Williams always
maintained that the shooting was an ac-
cident, even in a coerced confession, and

Family and friends of
Prison on the night of
stands third from the right.

he thought he had a defective gun.
Because of these factors, on four diff-
erent occasions Williams came within a
single vote of having the death penalty
lifted. The Louisiana Supreme Court
ruled 4 to 3 against him, and the entire
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejec-
ted his claims by a vote of 6 to 5. He
missed cert. in the U.S. Supreme Court
by a single vote, and the Louisiana Board
of Pardons voted 3 to 2 against reco-
mmending clemency. So instead of selec-
ting the most obvious case for Louisiana's
first execution in 12 years, as the law is
intended to do, the choice fell on Williams.
Williams had been scheduled to die on
October 25, 1983, but on October 23 he
received a stay from the 5th Circuit
Court, pending a decision by the U.S.
Supreme Court on the issue of propor-

Robert Wayne Williams outside Angola
Williams’ execution. Williams’ mother

photo by Howard Zehr

tionality. The state of Louisiana appealed
that decision to the Supreme Court, and
on November 7 the court lifted the stay.

At that point, it was obvious that the
courts were in no mood to hear further
arguments in this case, regardless of the
merits. Attorneys for Williams continued
to fight on his behalf, and attention was
focused on Governor David Treen, who
nad the authority to grant a reprieve or
te commute Williams’ sentence to life in
prison.

Hundreds of letters and telegrams
were sent to the governor asking him to
spare Williams’ life. Religious leaders,
representatives from Amnesty Interna-
tional, and even presidential candidate
Jesse Jackson met with the governor,
urging him to stop the execution. But the
governor, a lame duck who had recently

continued on page 3

| . e


| “A special lubricant solution was ap-

.%(Dade):.on Noveitber. 30, 19

——— , -

SULLIVAN, Robert Austin, white, ‘electrocuted Florida

B36

iy
Arye a4

. Ke + ‘eis 4 ik i 1 A:
THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1983

= —: ee ae

too easy to visualize what Robert Aus-
¥ tin Sullivan was going through as he .
4 . awaited his execution at the Florida
a @ State Prison at Starke... -. © » ~~
' *- He had described his fears to me
‘. dozens of times, in letters and in per-
~~ son: choking down his last meal, feel-
}<.> ing the razor as it shaved his head and
200)... Jeg, feeling the leather belts cinch

my e¢yes. Would there
face in that crowd of
only eyes hardened
against me? Ptr Be 32 ;
Mr. Sullivan slept

&

country. Mr. Sullivan didn’t blink at

my questions: What do you imagine it

will feel like? Do you dream about it?

‘Will you fight the guards when they .

come to get you? His direct answers,

delivered with a slight stutter, and his
wide eyes told me he thought about
these things alltoooften. -.

A week later, I was back on death

f row taking photographs. In response

; to questions from Mr. Sullivan, I told

if him gently that the Supreme Court’

had rejected his appeal the day be-
: fore. He said his lawyer hadn’t both-
; ered to call him. Mr. Sullivan’s photo-
graph shows him behind the bars of
his cage, a portly young man standing
. inhis underwear, looking wistful. ~~

| In May 1979, Mr. Sullivan pee:

é across the prison yard at the dim
movements in the death house as
John Spenkelink was executed. Later,
he wrote a long reconstruction of the
incident filled with disturbing detail:

plied to his shaved head and leg to in-
crease the conductivity and to reduce
3. ”

A few weeks later, the Governor
signed Mr. Sullivan’s first death war-
rant. I edited the diary he kept during
i that week of tension. It showed what a
, hell he had been through: dreaming
p - of his childhood, of running through

the summer evening after dinner to
play baseball — only to wake in a
sweat wondering how much time was
left. A judge gave him a reprieve 38
hours before the execution.

In 1981, I visited him. He was in

A pain from an abscessed tooth and

” back problems, but he was full of

plans for his appeals. He seemed
more mature; the stutter was gone.
if This year, his letters were less opti-

3 mistic. “Quite frankly, my status has

; grown much worse,’’ he wrote in
$f “Needless to say, many
ww thoughts are racing through my

‘ mind. Death is among them. I am
compelled to face the possibility of a
+ ,horrible death, one that boggles the

_¢- mind:’’ In the spring; he was alarmed |
Great by the execution of John Evans in

a Alabama, particularly by the mal-
‘\ functioning electric chair that took 13

minutes to kill him. The happy smil-
ing face Mr. Sullivan always drew

é ee

Y next to his signature disappeared. _

es ’ When he wrote to tell me of his sec-.
ae | ond and final death warrant, he pro-
Pa jected an air of strength. ‘‘This war-

; rant is a very serious matter. Be-
: cause I view my friends and my sup-
porters as my family, I must honestly
tell you that this friendship has
helped me more than words alone can
express. Because of my friends I have.
never walked alone, nor do I now.”
~ News reports said that Mr. Sullivan
was calm during the night before his
execution but that he broke down and
cried several times im the death
chamber. His last words, according
to one witness, were: “‘I hold malice
to none. May God bless you all.”’ . :
say I have'tried to blot out the scene

Seah
oe

Stephen Gettinger wrote “Sentenced
to Die, a study of capital punish-

Mend Fe
ment. ksteniss ae

At 10 A.M. Wednesday, I found it

_ Youand, |
High Prices’

|, Nader. .

Awaiting Execution -

ishes us all: executi utioners, observ: servers,

f./)\ ByStephen Gettinger 9.4 Bet A

¥

those who ignored it. :
Albert Camus wrote: “The devas-
tating, degrading fear that is imposed
on the condemned for months or
years is a punishment more terrible

" 7S) ai
with images of the murder of which

Mr. Sullivan was convicted: Donald.’
Schmidt, assistant manager of a res-

taurant, kidnapped from his office at
midnight, driven out to a deserted
spot in the woods, kneeling blind-
folded while a shotgun blew his head
open. But there is the nagging chance

a a eae =. than death. For there to be equiva-
that Mr. Sullivan may not have done
it: His evidence that he was not in-
volved, while questionable, was never
given a full examination in court.
Aside from that, the firm belief grows
that one nightmare does not cancel
out another. The horror inflicted on
36-year-old Robert Sullivan dimin- -

to punish a criminal who had warned
his victim of the date at which he

and: who, from that moment onward,
had confined him at his mercy for
months. Such a monster is not en-
countered in private life.” <7 i),

lence, the death penalty would have °

N 0 Shields’

Qadir ¥-

By Jay Angoff.

WASHINGTON — The price of Cal-

‘vin Klein jeans, Cuisinarts, Lenox -

china, Danskins, Apple computers,
London Fog raincoats, Izod shirts,
Van Heusen shirts, Pioneer stereos,

Cricketeer suits, Seiko watches and ~
many other name-brand products is

likely to rise dramatically if the Ad-
ministration prevails in a case before
the Supreme Court today.

In Monsanto v. Spray-Rite, the Jus- ©

tice Department in effect is urging

the Court, which will hand down its :
decision later this term, to legalize,

certain kinds of price-fixing — specif-
ically, arrangements between manu-

facturers and retailers to fix a prod-
uct’s retail price. If such agreements -.

were legal, manufacturers could pro-
hibit retailers from selling their prod-
ucts at less than the manufacturer’s
suggested retail price. Consumers
would be forced to pay the list price
everywhere. ; :
Today, if you shop around, you can
find Izod shirts for $16, but if the Ad-
ministration prevails, you will have
to pay the list price of $27. One model
of the popular Seiko watch is sold for
under $100 at discount stores; the Ad-
ministration would have you pay $250.
Calvin Klein jeans can be found for
less than $20 at some stores; tomor-
row, at least $36 at all stores. A
Prince Classic tennis racquet costs
$45 at a discounter; tomorrow, $70
everywhere. ;
According to the K-Mart Corpora-
tion, a major discounter, legalizing
such price-fixing could cost
ers $23 billiona year. . ; :
Technically, the Administration is
not asking the Court to automatically

legalize retail price-fixing, but rather”

to judge it under the “‘rule of reason”
— to allow defendants to raise, and
force plaintiffs to rebut, all possible
justifications for the particular
agreement in question. As a practical
matter, this increased burden of
proof would make bringing a retail
price-fixing case prohibitively expen-
sive, and would allow manufacturers
to dictate retail prices with impunity.

Since 1911, the Court has consis-
tently held retail price-fixing per se
unlawful =~ that is, illegal regardless
of the excuse offered for its use — be-
cause of its “pernicious effect on
competition”’ and “lack of any re.
deeming virtue.’’ It would seem diffi-
cult to argue with the Court, since
price-fixing raises prices to buyers
and prevents businesses that want to

_ charge lower prices from doing so,
forcing them into line or out of busi-.

ness,

Jay Angoff is a lawyer with Public
Citizen’s Congress Watch, a con-

sumer organization founded by Ralph | partment goes without prosecuting, :
wy eae : ane suet sank hm. _,.the more manufacturers

at 2 =

\ Justice Department prosecute retail |

C} wn Ww.

;
a,
x
ae

Now, however, the Administration
maintains not only that retail price-
fixing may not restrain competition
but that it can actually promote
competition! If retailers can charge
the higher, fixed price that retail
price-fixing allows them to, the Ad-
ministration theorizes, they will use
their excess profits to advertise and
to provide special services — f
showrooms, dramatic

dictate and enforce fixed retail
prices. The president of Phillips-Van
Heusen — makers of Van Heusen
shirts, Cricketeer suits and Geoffrey
Beene sportwear — told the Mens-
wear Retailers of America that he
will not sell to discounters or to stores
that sell to discounters. The makers
of London Fog raincoats and Izod
shirts, among many others, have
made similar although less public
threats. More companies will make
and act on such threats, and more
consumers will be forced to pay full
price, as long as the people running
the Justice Department do not en-
force the law against retail price-fix-
ing — that is, as long as the Reagan
Administration runs the Govern-
ment. pies +

a product’s value. Consumers may
not want such frills, only the product
itself, but the Administration would
force them to pay for the frills.

If the Administration prevails, cus-
tomers may have to pay for more ad-
vertising. While the Administration
believes that ads benefit consumers |
by conveying socially desirable infor- >

Pat

ABROA

; On the S:

Wake Mir ee

aire dae. By As
would inflict a horrible death on him |

BOSTON, Dec. 4 — Not ma
Presidents have defined their vali
by a single act as unmistakably
President Reagan did last week.
an abrupt veto he undercut his o:
Administration’s efforts to curb t
right-wing death squads in E} Sal:
dor. He considered protection of t:
turers and murderers a price wor
paying for ‘‘victory.”_~

Mr. Reagan has had three amb:
sadors in El Salvador, and each
turn has condemned the dea
squads. The current Ambassadc
Thomas Pickering, spoke out on No
25, criticizing the Salvadoran Gover
ment’s failure to act against office
known to be involved with the killer:

- “The future of your society is

stake,’”’” Ambassador Pickering tc
Salvadorans. ‘‘No one wants to live
a country where no efforts are ma:
to find out who dumps bodies in g
stations and parking lots. No o:
wants his children to grow up in fe
that almost anything they say may
taken as ‘subversive,’ ”’

Five days later President Reag:
cast his veto. He killed a bill, pass
unanimously by Congress, to exte:
two-year-old legislation tying U.

| military aid to progress on hum:

rights in El Salvador. As a conditi
of continued aid, the legislation 1
quired the President to certify eve
six months that; El Salvador w
making effective efforts to e&
abuses and, specifically, to bring t
murderers. of eight Americans
trial

The immediate reason for Mr. Re
gan’s veto was plain. He has certifi
human rights progress in El Salvac
four times in the last two years, ¢
spite continuing death squad activii
This time the activity was so f!
grant, the facts so overwhelmir
that his own people would not ha
held their noses for another certific
tion.

‘In the present circumstances
Secretary of State Shultz told repo:
ers after the veto, ‘‘unless there we
a change between now and the midc
of January, I think it would be ve
difficult to sign a certification.”’ T:

_ next one would have been due in mi
January. ~-

The veto sent a signal that could rn
be missed. Ronald Reagan is n
going to let anything that happens
EI! Salvador stand in the way of a
for its armed forces — not even te
rorism that is supported by elemen
in those forces and that is tearing t!
society apart.

That message destroys the ho;
that the United States could bring «

” fective pressure on El Salvador toe

mation about a product’s price and °
quality, much advertising — Brooke
Shields’ informing television viewers
that nothing comes between her and
her Calvins — does not necessarily
square with the Administration’s
thinking. Further, there is no guaran- .
tee that retailers will use the extra
profits to advertise or on special serv-
ices — they may simply pocket them.
The Court probably will not adopt
the Administration’s view, both be-
cause doing so would overrule more
than 70 years of case law and because
the Court need not decide the legality
of retail price-fixing in general to de-
cide the Monsanto case. Moreover,
Congress recently prohibited the Jus-
tice Department from arguing in
other cases that some price-fixing
should be lawful. © ‘
But there is either Con-
gress or the courts can do to make the

price-fixers. And the longer the de-

will try tot «


; pocket

2 to Captain
?” he asked.
and shook his
sually buy in

or nodded in
' cord in his

iat he had
ot the receipts
igs hidden in
as if robbery
oin machines,
and a “Sky
been smashed
ed. The killer
ne rear. The
2d from’ the

WRAY

Iding the door |

i by Sergeant - ;
of the Miami:

fe dusted the
gray powder. '
|, “not a print.”.
explored the

[f robbery was _

victim trussed
to death?” he
rything -points
ind so I don’t
d have picked
ere for Christ-
is the slowest
ce of this kind.
than robbery
ordinary thief
and run.”
other, William
te broker who
is certain his
Other em-

ployees said he was well liked and was

called “Uncle Fred,” as a term of affec-

tion, by customers and the hired help.
The first possible clue was offered by

.B. A. Mulloy, who operated the sports

center under lease from William Knust.

_“Maybe it was. those two fellows who

were around here Christmas Eve look-
ing.for a job,” he suggested. “They
might have heard that Knust kept the
receipts in his room and planned the
robbery.”

Mills and Melchen were _ instantly
alert. ‘Who were. they?” ‘

Mulloy shook his head.: “I don’t know,”
he replied. “They dropped in here about
five-thirty in the afternoon and asked
for work. They said they were broke
and wanted to earn enough money to
buy a Christmas dinner. I wéduld. have
given them work, but I had my full crew

ie i 4

4

on even though it was a slow night.”

“Anything unusfial about’ the pair?”

“Well, they came back again. that
night between eight and nine o’clock. We

don’t encourage men like that to hang ~

around .here, but they sat quietly in a
corner and so we let them stay.”
Captain Melchen wanted to know if
they were still there at closing time.
“J didn’t particularly notice.” The

. Crescent’s owner was silent fora few

moments, then his eyes brightened.

“Say, that’s another thing!” he exclaimed.

“There was.some funny business with
the windows that night. I didn’t think
anything of it at the time. I was. getting
ready to close when I found some of
the side windows open. They should

have been closed, but I thought the boys
overlooked them in the excitement of
getting away for the holiday, so I latched

‘them myself. A short time later, just

before I left, I found one of them open

again.” ;

“Someone at the alleys that night
might have been planning the job,”
Melchen observed. He pulled a piece of
paper from his pocket. “Those job-hunt-
ing strangers could have been casing this
place for bigger game than a day’s work.
Describe them to me.” ‘

Mulloy creased his brow in thought.
“Can’t tell you much. Both were young,
around twenty, average height and
weight, and they had blond or sandy-
colored hair. They were wearing trousers
that needed pressing and had no coats or
hats.”

At Captain Melchen’s orders, Sergeant

. John Deas and Detective Frank Love left

to search through the rooming-house dis-
trict for the pair. Their description was

@The murderer ordered his
companion to hold the light
while he took down the door
ILLUSTRATION BY BRULE


party after the
ive and haven’t

»ckets.
“9

Zular salary and
‘tomers dropped

“Where

gave me cash |

it when you
9”
) his head and
face. “I didn’t
passed a harsh
3 a grand man.”
.ot know where
‘d missing em-

last saw Dixon .

closed for the

a similar story.
red their thumb-
e that had been
. “TI don’t think
them,” he said.
ilibi stands up,”
he detailed men
‘ments. _

two job seekers
other detectives
r employees and
results to Mills.
‘e names. Most
ared since they

' tails.
‘and became very friendly.

.. firm’s: books.

had been dischasged” or voluntarily left
\their job at the center. ,
“T’ve traced one fellow to five different

‘ addresses, only to find that he left Miami
six months 8£05") one of the detectives

said.

A report came in from'the men check-
ing.on the alibi. of. Jordan and Liming.
Both men had been at a party. .. The
others there said it did not break. up

until six o’clock that morning. ;
Captain Melchen glanced at Mills, “A

very convenient time,’ he remarked.
The homicide .investigator nodded.

“They could have fixed up a story. We’ll:'

know more after we find Dixon. Liming

-and Jordan claim. they do. not know
where he is, but perhaps they do. Sup-.

pose we release them and have a couple
of your men shadow them. If they make
a break, it.will be a give away.”

A report from Detective Love - sent
Mills and the Captain to a rooming house
on Northwest Second Avenue.

“Perhaps this is. something,’ Love
greeted the two officers. ‘The landlady
at this house told me two of her roomers
packed up and left early this morning.”
He turned to Mills. “This may. stack up
agairist your theory. One of the men

_ at one time worked at the Crescent.”

The landlady quickly supplied the de-
“They lived here’ for two months
They left
before six o’clock this morning. . They
didn’t say where they were going.”
“Had you expected them to leave?”
“Well, yes,’ was ‘the. disappointing

y reply. ‘‘They had been talking for several

weeks about leaving. They were not able

to get the kind of work they wanted °

and I knew ‘it would be only a short
time before they would go.”
The landlady furnished a description

--of the men. She said the one who had

worked at the alley was John Rosewell,
a man in his fifties. His roommate had
been Martin Sherman, about twenty.

‘“‘We’ll add them to the list,” Mills said
as the detectives left the house..
description: was placed on the teletype
machine and flashed to other cities in the
South.

At the Crescent, Mulloy examined the

derstand he quit to take a better job.”
“Any bad feelings?”
‘None at all. I don’t,.kKnow Sherman;
he never worked here.”

That night Mills reviewed all infor=%

mation with State’s Attorney: Worley.

“We have five possible suspects, with |
» . 10 evidence against any,.of: them,” the’
investigator related.

us a weak alibi, but it hasn’t broken *
down yet. They could have slipped away
from the party and returned before any-

~~ body really missed them. Or Dixon might

be the answer to our problem. He could

vie
ik

@Seated (left) is killer, and
(center) his dupe. Right (stand-
ing) is Investigator |. R. Mills

The.

“T un-.

ay

Fe ‘Rosewell worked here
- only a few days,” he reported.

ees Captain Melchen’ s men are scouring
the city for a trace of him,”..{) fi

_ “What have you got on Rosewell ‘and
Sherman?” . Worley, :asked.

“Nothing,” Mills ‘admitted:. “They both:
came. here ‘last fall looking for: works.
They met atthe rooming * house and.
Rosewell: seemed to take , an interest in
the boy: He-quit one job’ so Sherman
could get it. Both .were quiet, and
friendly with other ‘roomers. , Rosewell
jumped around from job to job, but usu-
ally. to better himself. His last job was
with a plumber. © He left there Several :
days ago.”

The Proésecutor shuffled some’ papers
on his desk and made notes. “What hap-~:
pened?” he inquired.

“Rosewell told the plumber some triend

sent him a $600 windfall he had given -
up all hopes of collecting.” The plumber | Me

said he was sorry to see him go, as he ;
was a good mechanic.”

“He got the money before the murder,”
Worley commented. When the. investi-
gator nodded in ‘agreement, the Prose~
cutor continued, ‘‘That just about puts
him out of the picture.
town for Christmas and left the follow-
ing morning. He-probably invited Sher-
man to go along with him. Those job
hunters. who came back to the Cn
look like the best. bet.”

“Still I want to clear.up one minor
point.”

Worley glanced at his crack investi-
gator. ‘‘What’s that?”

“Some fellow in the neighborhood said
he met Rosewell on Christmas ‘Day and
the latter said he was going to a near-by
doctor’s office. I checked with the doc-
tor,:but' the physician doesn’t remember
treating anyone of his description.”

The Prosecutor pointed out that Rose-—
well could have ‘changed his mind.

“I. know,” Mills agreed. . “It isn’t im-
portant ‘and the time element: has no
bearing. on the case, but ‘it’s just one Of:
. those loose ends I like to tie down.” ..

He told Worley that no trace had been
found of the blond. ‘job ‘hunters’. He
produced the twine that. had, been: used.:,
to bind Knust. “I did a little research
on this. It’s the kind of cord used by
upholsterers. I’m going to work on that
angle in.the morning.” re

The searth for Dixon,. came’ to an
abrupt end the following day. when he

‘reported ‘for. work. He was rushed to.

at Mills and, Captain Melchen.

“The pin boys gave ©

“Police Headquarters for questioning.

The stocky youth stared’ in’ surprise
“Twas
out of town. visiting my family,” he said.
“T always. go-home for a day or, two:
every Christmas. I didn’t: know: that
-Mr. .Knust was dead until I: arrived at
the Crescent this morning.” ' 4

A telephone call partly subatenitiated :
hfs. story.’ His parents said he, had. been,

oat thein, home: at the’ time of the murder.

alibi,” he remarked.

The search for the blond strangers was
redoubled when a storekeeper not far
from the Crescent revealed that the day.
after the murder two men’had come in

_and asked, him to change some pennies

and nickels into bills. They told the store
‘owner that they had won the money in a

t poker. game.

ae tee

ny ape 3 a Sa My! 74
OR |: A RS, ee ee N edie or 2

He ‘stayed in .

*’ know they are from Néw York.
‘>in jail at the same time when I over-

_ ‘What was the color of their hair?”
he was asked.

_ The man shook his head. He had not

'paid-any attention to them. He fre-
quently . received’ requests to make
_change. -

“ «Mills continued probing into the back-~
ground of Rosewell and Sherman. “TI
don’t. want to overlook any bet,” he ex-

‘plained. He learned that the latter had

told fellow roomers he lived in a small
town in Tennessee. He had mentioned
the name of the town.
“Chief ‘of Police there and asked him to
let him know if Sherman came home.

“Rosewell probably gave him carfare
home from the $600 he got, ” the investi-
gator commented.

The. case marked time as all leads
ended in blind alleys.

Several men who usually could be
_found at least one evening a week at the
Crescent, failed to.appear after the mur-
der. Melchen’s sleuths were put on their
trail, only to find that the men had been
frightened away by the story of the
murder.

Most of the upholstery shops in Miami
used ‘the same kind of twine with which
Knust had been bound. “If this keeps
up, we’ll have to suspect everybody in
the city,” Mills remarked.

Three days after the murder, the in-
vestigation turned into a new channel.
Melchen was in his office on the second
floor at Headquarters, reading reports,
when his telephone rang. As he reached

. for the receiver, the Captain glanced at

the clock. It was 7:15 P.M.

‘Detectives’ office,’ Melchen said into
the mouthpiece.

“T can give you a tip on the murder
of the bowling champ,” came the reply
over the ‘wire.

The Captain pressed a buzzer signaling

one of his men to trace the call. “Who
are you?” he asked.
“Never mind,” was the answer. “Two

“ men:you had in jail did it. I heard them

talking about robbing an old man at a
bowling alley. One of them said it would
be an easy job.” i

“Who are they?”

The caller hesitated and: finally said
that. he did not know their names. “I do

heard them. They had been picked up

at Hialeah for vagrancy. They were

caught siphoning gas from: parked cars.
I ‘was let out on the 13th and they still
were in.” :

“When did you hear them talking?”
“It was a.couple of days before I got:
out.

«I think it was December 9th.”
, “What did they look ‘like?”’

The answer was a sharp click. The
mysterious tipster had hung up. Melchen

bit off the end ‘of a cigar and-sent for~
; See records. He telephoned the news
have done ‘it alone or with ‘the’ other. Captain . Melchen shrugged. at the’ in= -

, ‘ah “5 * formation.. “Families usually uphold ‘an °

ills. “This.might be the break,”. he

: sald: Bs

“The detective who had-been trying to
trace the call, reported back. The con-
nection had been broken. off too soon.

The Captain scanned the county jail
records for December. No. one had been
in jail for stealing gas, but several
vagrants were released the week before
Christmas.. One was. from New York
and. two were (Continued on page 84)

Mills wired the ©

I was:

15


STANTON, John A., white, elec. FLY (Dade

12

County) on May 18, 1942

® The killer didn’t know that he carried his death warrant in his pocket

ANTA CLAUS arrived in town

riding a huge surfboard laden

with the latest fashions in beach
togs against a backdrop of papier-
maché palm trees covered with fake
snow. Crowds strolling along busy
Flagler Street paused to smile be-
fore the novel window display. It
was Christmas night, 1940, in
Miami, Florida.

While visitors window-shopped

or sauntered through windswept
Bayfront Park, Staring across palm-
fringed Biscayne Bay, the towns-
people celebrated the Yuletide
quietly.

It was shortly before midnight. when
L. A, James left the movies with his wife.
He was employed in the fashionable
Crescent Sports Center at Northwest 7th
Avenue and 25th Street. The establish-
ment was closed for the holiday. As he
passed the one-and-a-half story build-
ing that housed ten bowling alleys, he
noticed that a lamp was lighted in the
balcony. A man was seated at a corner
window smoking a pipe and looking out
into the street. '

James smiled and waved to him.
“Merry Christmas, Uncle Fred,” he
shouted.

Frederick Knust removed the pipe
from his mouth and acknowledged the
greeting. A former national bowling
titleholder and a member of a wealthy
and prominent family, he was the man-
aging director of the Crescent. During
his six-year rule he had built up an ex-
clusive clientele, Thinning gray hair was
the only sign of his sixty-four years of
age. A bachelor, he occupied a balcony
apartment at the luxurious center.

At eight o’clock the following morn-
ing, James reported for work. He found
the front doors locked, and peered in-
side. Usually Knust was waiting for
him. Thinking that the manager might
have stayed up late the previous night,
he sat down on the front porch and read
the morning paper. A half-hour later he
was joined by W. C. Thompson, a sales-
man for an automobile firm next door,

“Perhaps he’s around in the. back, fret-
ting over his prize flowers,” Thompson
suggested, and walked to the rear. A
moment later his cry brought James to
his side. The back door of the sports
center was open, hanging askew from its
hinges. ‘

“Uncle Fred!” This time James’ voice
was filled with alarm. The name echoed
and re-echoed through the interior with-
out a reply. The two men exchanged
glances and then ascended the carpeted
stairs leading to the balcony apartment.

A short time later James raced down
the steps and picked up the office tele-
phone.

The call to Police Headquarters
brought Detective Sergeant Charles F.
Schwelm to the scene, He glanced
around the room. Knust lay dead on his
bed, his skull battered. A towel was
stuffed into his mouth and the ends

J / ap Ves :

pulled to the back of his head and tied
into a taut knot as an effective gag. His
hands and feet were bound by cord. He
was partly on his side with his face
pressed into a pillow,

The room had been thoroughly ran-
sacked. A chest kept at the foot of the
bed was open and its contents strewn
about the floor. Three pairs of trousers
had. been tossed, crumpled, on the bed
with the pockets turned inside out. Two
small canvas bags lay next to an empty
cigar box. Py

Schwelm briefly questioned James and
Thompson. “So he was alive just before
midnight,” he remarked. “Murder on
Christmas night, and one of the most
brutal I have ever seen.”

a i So
ployees sai:
called “Unc
tion, by cu

Mills showed the twine to Captain B ane bean

Melchen. “Recognize this?” he asked. nnter unde

The Captain inspected it and shook his a be

head. ‘Not the kind you usually buy in = i .

a store,” he said, ae tor
ing. for a

The homicide investigator nodded in
agreement and placed the cord in his
pocket.

Schwelm reported what he had
learned. He said Knust kept the receipts
overnight in the canvas bags hidden in
the cigar box. It looked as if robbery
was the motive. Even two coin machines,
a penny weighing ‘scale and a “Sky
Fighter” skill machine, had been smashed
open and the coin boxes rifled. The killer
gained entrance through the rear. The
screws had been removed from’ the

MURDER cx.
BOWLING
CHAMP

Twenty minutes later the wail of a
siren heralded the arrival of Detective
Captain Edward Melchen, of the Miami
police, and I. Raymond Mills, chief homi-
cide: investigator for State's Attorney
G. A. Worley.

Tall, husky, with deep-set penetrating
eyes, Mills is one of the best known de-
tectives in the South. He has worked on

murder cases in such diverse sections of -

the Eleventh Judicial Circuit as palatial,
fun-loving Miami and the somber, for-"
bidding*looking Everglades.

He searched the room while Dr, Edwin
C. Thomas, Dade County physician, ex-
amined the body. The skull had been
fractured in several places and there
were six separate gashes in the scalp,
The doctor took a pair of scissors from
his bag and cut the twine binding the
dead man’s hands and feet, carefully pre-

, serving the knot. He handed the pieces
to Mills. The cord had been tied so
tightly that it had cut into Knust’s flesh,’

DAVID WRAY

hinges, and the lock was holding the door :

up.
The officers were joined by Sergeant

Jerry E, Baldwin, head of the Miami:

Identification Bureau. He dusted the

room with dark’ and light gray powder.
“Clean job,” he commented, “not a print.”’.

Mills frowned as he explored the

simply furnished room. “‘If robbery was _

the motive, why was the victim trussed
up and then bludgeoned to death?” he
asked thoughtfully. “Everything -points
to an experienced thief and so I don’t
understand why he should have picked
last night. The receipts were for Christ-
mas Eve, which usually is the slowest
night of the year for a place of this kind.
There’s something more than robbery

.behind this crime. An ordinary thief

would have slugged him and run.”
The murdered man’s brother, William
nust, a, Miami real-estate broker who
owned the building, was certain his
brother had no enemies. Other em-

ya

might have
receipts in
robbery.”
Mills an
alert. “Wt
Mulloy s}
he replied.
five-thirty
for work.
and wantec
buy a Chri:
given them


eee ee wie ees

immediately placed on the. air,
Mills spoke to Mulloy. “I want,a list
of all your former employees for, the

past year. Maybe one of them held a.

grudge against Knust. I also want to
question your present help.”

Two hours later, the State Attorney’s
investigator returned to his office. The
list of suspécts had grown to five. Three
of the pin boys at the sports center had
failed to show up for work. Two of
them, William Jordan and Henry Liming,
were tall, husky youths, while the third,
Robert Dixon, was stocky. Their descrip-
tion was broadcast along with those of
the two job-seeking strangers.

Mills questioned other employees about
the missing trio. All were certain that
Knust had never quarreled with any of
them. ° }

Meanwhile, Captain Melchen tackled
the railroad and bus depots. He con-
ferred with Sergeant Deas. “According
to the doctor, Knust was killed between
three and five.o’clock this morning. The
killers probably left town right after
the murder. It was too early to take
a chance on thumbing a ride, so they
either left by train or bus.” —

“They,” Deas repeated. “Why do you
think the job was pulled by more than
one?”

“The only light in the balcony room
is a lamp. at the window,” the Captain

explained. “The killer couldn’t have
tied up Knust so well in the dark. He
would have been afraid to have the win-
dow lamp on, so my guess is that some-
body held a flashlight for him.”

Sergeant Deas checked a timetable. A
bus for Jacksonville, Memphis and Cin-
cinnati had left at six o’clock, that morn-
ing. Telegrams were sent to police chiefs
along the route, while other detectives
interviewed ticket agents at the various
terminals in the city.

Late that afternoon one of the officers
searching for the missing employees,
telephoned Captain Melchen.. i

“T’ve just located Jordan and Liming.
They’re in a tavern downtown! Been
there most of the day. The bartender
said they had a bankroll.”

He was directed to bring the pair to
Mills’ office on the fifth floor of the sky-.
scraper county building.

The investigators studied them as they
were led into the room. The pin boys
were unshaven and looked as if they had
not slept the previous night. Liming
trembled as the officers stared at him.
Ata gesture from Mills, Jordan was taken
out of the room.

“Why didn’t you report for work?”
Liming was asked.

The pin boy held a hand against his
forehead and moaned. ‘My head,” he

‘complained. ‘“We did too much cele-

brating. We went to a party after the
place closed Christmas Eve and haven’t
been home since.”

He had $44 in his pockets. ‘Where
did you get this money?” :

“We were paid our regular salary and
most of my regular customers dropped
in Christmas Eve and gave me cash
presents,”

“You mean you got it when you
killed and robbed Knust?”

The youth jerked up his head and
color flooded his dark face. “I didn’t

- kill him. I never even passed a harsh
word with him. He was a grand man.”

Liming said he did not know where
Robert Dixon, the third missing em-
ployee, had gone. He last saw Dixon
when the sports center closed for the
holiday.

The other youth told a similar story.
Sergeant Baldwin compared their thumb-
prints with a partial one that had been
found at the crime scene. “I don’t think
it was left by either of them,” he said.

“Lét’s see how their alibi stands up,”
Captain Melchen said as he detailed men
to check on their statements.

While the hunt for the two job seekers
and Dixon continued, other detectives
checked the list of former employees and
telephoned their meager results to Mills.
The list.contained twelve names. Most
of the men had disappeared since they

aaa es:
ie
mine
Nate
as
Ait

{

had been c
their job ai

“T’ve trac
addresses, «
six months
said.

A report
ing on the
Both men
others the:
until six o’

Captain |
very conve

The hor
“They couk
know more
and Jorda)
where he i:
pose we re!
of your me:
a break, it

A report
Mills and tl!
on Northw

“Perhaps
greeted the
at this hous
packed up
He turned
against yo.
at one tim

The land
tails. ‘The
and becam
before six
didn’t say

“Had yo

“Well, y

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to get the
and I kne
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worked at
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been Marti

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from the p:

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(center)
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Foe Df

— INVENTORY #

OFFENDER: SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION
nae: Fall Teuuet ry ae
SEX: ™ Dee + lem (7E2 OP G-
OFFENSE : sy | 2
DATE EXECUTED:

COUNTY : WE Upk —~ Swawere (6.

AGE:

Pd RH tind td

VICTIM:
NAME :
RACE :
SEX:
AGE :

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

DAY OF WEEK
EXECUTED:

OFFENDER
RESIBENCY :

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF CRIME:

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF TRIAL: |

MEDIA ACCOUNT
OF EXECUTION:.

EXECUTION Margen TIME OF Ait

METHOD: EXECUTION: Pi
STAYS OF

EXECUTION:

EXECUTIONER:

NITNESSES: 2066 (es (¢

RITUALS:

LAST WORDS:

OTHER INFORMATION:

. S : os Ap Oo
| . Le ious kere lo. Poteey i ye
ficeviows "9 a ti

Florida ——

N.0. fic. 8-1-1890 3:2 i nie of execuhiny
of Kelly Stewar¥ at Live Oak on 7/3/ Says if Was
first SuWennee County execution in Twelve hg

Do you have one there’ circa 1878 ? phe

THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville)

Tuesday,

26 October 1948, page 13.

Fort Pierce Negro

Executed at Raiford

killed Erich Spiller, beer
partor operator st White City » few
days after the negro escaped from
a. State prison camp near Port


OB Ube usual Gevutiotha: ede fo Leen
@ deathly stUlacns prevailed in the
pce. After the iast prayer, durtuxg
he prisener secmed much alected,
his dying dei tion ty
In ai tet and rambling
he declared Dis tnnwceace and
that he knew nothing wuatever
the murder. Notwitnstarding these
lo he devlinad to answer aguea-
and severe! Umes vconirmucted
Pats that he had inade previously
ea th.
ms couciusion of hie speech be gave
7. familiar to the colored por-
audience, and requested thuse
to unite with him tn singe.
745 the straps were placed, ant bn
| Upon the trap, et NOUR Waa
2 ted, and the black cap drawn
i teing wus ready und the signal
Mm, and at I:a¢ the drop fell. tn
vatnutes Mike Bievens was no
dis epicit wa» gone Ww aiuwor be-
" tribunal. The argro wogeit
Bg ony muened ami screamed
: Trop Sore eheuted an
bd their to the doomed man
tie manner. But when the bodx
placed tn the ceffin all oxcitement
away. The crowd slowly: disperse<,
| the execution of ‘Mike vens whe
ing. pt the past.

tags Tascuact
Miss Firma Weaver, of Dltnots, whe r:
APpolited pecretary.

WAS BKEN WITH A WOWAN,

As Durrant Fetered the Duowr «¢
VMmashnnae! Chagch.

BAN FRANCIBCO), Cal. Sepicnber I®
Durrant. in’ the Emmasnuet Laaptt:
eburva, pale, agitated with blowdsnut eye
and tis hair dishy@eled, hig coat as
hat of, and with every evidence of weal
Rese, “as presented to the jocy girte
by the prosecution ag he appeared aft
his alleged travels from the Nerm
school on the afternoon of April &
bas been shown -by four witneanes thi
he left the sehool wih Dlanche Lampe
on that afternous and by three athe
that he rode with 4 young haly of he
description cut ty the church and enter
i. Krom the Ume he cotered the chure
about 4:32, it ls the thoory of the prosec’
Von that he waa occupied untill 5 u’clor
tm perpetrating the murder. At & be w:
ia the church by another witner
George Th. King, the church orgaiust. w?
eccupted the stand ail of todug.

The murderer of Blanche Lamont, aft
having killed her, locked the doer to ti
«gn broke the lock and tovk the kro!

e door and threw them under ti

;

there wus a down te the bas
ment. it was down this rear th:

if

CHa

‘
i
HH
ce

:
i


Por br

STEWART v. DUGGER

APPENDIX—Continued

THE COURT: Let us take it in the two
part question.

Do you feel that your feelings about
capital punishment would prevent you from
reaching a decision as to the guilt or inno-
cence of the defendant in the first trial?

MR. GILLIS: No.

THE COURT: Do you feel there are no
circumstances, no matter how atrocious or
heinous or cruel, that could be presented or
shown to you that would warrant you in
recommending—and only in recommenda-
tion—to the Court that the death penalty
be imposed?

MR. GILLIS: No, ma’am.
Trial Transcript at 425-26.

MR. SHERMAN: Is it that you really
understand no set of circumstances that
you could impose the death penalty, or any
other reason why you don’t want to serve
on this jury?

MR. GILLIS: I mean, in the Manson
case, I would think about it hard in some-
thing like that. But, I just don’t think I
could.

MR. SHERMAN: But, you would consid-
er it in the Manson case?

MR. GILLIS: Sure, I would, but I don’t
think that—

THE COURT: What?

MR. GILLIS: I would consider it, but I
don’t think that I could do it.

THE COURT: You don’t think you could
do it?

MR. SHERMAN: But, you are not sure?
Would it be fair to say that you have to

hear the facts and then maybe you could
consider it? Is that a fair statement?

esr : 3
a SeASaSA 3495 24 2505080549094 04 lalate DDD RAAT ITAL ELV LUST SLT ST IN OV OT STOTOTOV OV OV OTT OtST ELST OEOT OTOL ETS!

3335

MR. GILLIS: Yes, sir.

MR. STELZER: Mr. Gillis, can you-envi-
sion any set of circumstances in this case
where you could look at that person and
say that, “I recommend that he be sen-
tenced to death in the electric chair.”

Can you do that?

Mr. Gillis: If I saw gross and gorey
pictures.

THE COURT: What did he say?

MR. GILLIS: If I saw a lot of gorey
pictures and they turned my stomach and
everything, I guess I could.

MR. STELZER: What if the law makes
no mention of gorey pictures at all, and in
the law it has nothing to do with gorey
pictures as to whether or not you will rec-
ommend death or life imprisonment?

MR. SHERMAN: I will object to the
form of the question.

THE COURT: Form is improper. Sus-
tained.

MR. STELZER: Can you form in your
own opinion whether it will relate to death
penalty, and follow the law even if the law
is totally different than what you think?

MR. GILLIS: I really don’t think that
any case deserves the death penalty except

on—I stuttered when I said that.

THE COURT: What did he say?
MR. STELZER: Say what you said.
MR. GILLIS: (No response.)

THE COURT: Say what you said, I want
to hear it.

MR. STELZER: Would you tell, Your ©
Honor, the comment that you made.

MR. SHERMAN: I object, Your Honor.


A SEDRERRELOERETS SieN9
cEPREEEEEEE ce

STEWART v. DUGGER 3333

In contrast, Stewart did challenge the
constitutionality of the comments discussed
in part I-A of this opinion in his direct
appeal to the Supreme Court of Florida.
See Appellant’s Brief to the Supreme Court
of Florida, R-15 at 8; Stewart v. State, 420
So.2d 862, 863 (Fla.1982), cert. denied, 460
U.S. 1103, 103 S.Ct. 1802, 76 L.Ed.2d 366
(1983).3 Stewart thereby properly _pre-
served this claim for federal habeas re-
view.4

I]. IMPROPER EXCLUSION OF A
POTENTIAL JUROR

[3] Stewart contends that the exclusion
for cause of a potential juror (Tom Gillis)
constituted a violation of Witherspoon.
The venireman’s comments 5 unambiguous-
ly show that his views would “prevent or
substantially impair the performance of his
duties as a juror in accordance with his
instructions and his oath.” Wainwright v.
Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 424, 105 S.Ct. 844, 852,
83 L.Ed.2d 841 (1985). The factual finding
by the trial judge that this venireman could
not perform his responsibility as a juror in
a capital case should be given deference
under Sumner v. Mata, 455 U.S. 591, 597,
102 S.Ct. 1303, 1306, 71 L.Ed.2d 480 (1982);
see Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. at 426-

dural default precluded our consideration of
these other Caldwell issues. Having raised
these issues by our own motion perhaps led us
to their resolution and caused us to overlook the
procedural bar.

3. Despite appellant's failure to object to com-
ments by the trial judge concerning the legisla-
ture and the death penalty, the Supreme Court
of Florida nevertheless addressed the merits of
this claim.

4. In addition, although we do not decide the
merits of any additional Caldwell claims, we
observe that, contrary to our former opinion, a
defense attorney's comments which may mis-
lead the jury as to its role in the sentencing

30, 105 S.Ct. at 853-55; 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)
(1982). No Witherspoon violation occurred
in this case.

III. INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE
OF COUNSEL

[4] Stewart asserts that he was denied
effective assistance of counsel in violation
of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668,
104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). We
reject this claim. The physical evidence
available to the state in this case was over-
whelming. Additionally, Stewart confess-
ed to police. In the face of this evidence,
defense counsel, at trial, argued that Stew-
art was innocent. Even after the jury re-
turned a verdict of guilty, counsel used a
portion of his allotted time during sentenc-
ing to argue that Stewart was innocent.

Stewart now contends that the reliance
upon a claim of innocence, to the exclusion
of all else, was ineffective and resulted in
defense counsel’s failure to investigate
Stewart’s background sufficiently. Stew-
art claims that evidence of his mental con-
dition, background, and character would
have changed the result of the sentencing

proceeding. He relies upon a psychological .

examination conducted four years after his

process will not implicate Caldwell. Caldwell

refers to state-induced error. See Caldwell, 472-

U.S. at 330, 105 S.Ct. at 2640 (“In the capital
sentencing context there are specific reasons to
fear substantial unreliability as well as bias in
favor of death sentences when there are state-in-
duced suggestions that the sentencing jury may
shift its sense of responsibility to an appellate
court.”) (emphasis added). Thus, the claim that
a defense lawyer misled the jury is more proper-
ly brought under the rationale of ineffective
assistance of counsel rather than as a violation
of the Eighth Amendment. See Stewart v. Dug-
ger, 847 F.2d at 1497 (Kravitch, J., dissenting).

5. The relevant portions of the trial transcript
are set forth as an appendix hereto.


seteniarae,
sae

WES IN By q

% ask \ CERES

3 3533334 b.. EP DEEPRERRRREASARDR
A tii: ANGIE

3334 STEWART v. DUGGER

conviction which concludes Stewart had
been mentally ill his entire life. Stewart
also claims that witnesses were available to
defense counsel who could have “evoked a
Sympathetic response” from the jury had
they been contacted by defense counsel.

Trial counsel made a Strategic decision
that in light of the atrocious nature of the
offense, Stewart’s only chance of avoiding
the death penalty was if some seed of
doubt, even if insufficient to constitute rea-
sonable doubt, could be placed in the minds
of the jury. This court has repeatedly rec-
ognized the impact such an argument may
have upon a jury. See Johnson v. Wain-
wright, 806 F.2d 1479, 1482 (11th Cir.1986)
(citing cases), cert. denied sub nom.
Johnson v, Dugger, — US. —,, 108
S.Ct. 205, 98 L.Ed.2d 157 (1987); Smith v,
Balkcom, 660 F.2d 573, 580-81 (5th Cir.
Unit B 1981), modified on other grounds,
671 F.2d 858 (5th Cir. Unit B 1982), cert.
denied, 459 U.S. 882, 108 S.Ct. 181, 74
L.Ed.2d 148 (1982). Every court which has
ruled upon Stewart’s claims has recognized
that under the circumstances of this rape
and murder, defense counsel had little with
which to work in arguing against death.
Trial counsel cannot be faulted for attempt-
ing to make the best of a bad situation.

Defense counsel presented a logical and
well-constructed argument inviting the jury
to believe that the defendant left the victim
alive and another party, said to be a dope
addict, committed the murder. This was a
classic attempt to create lingering doubt in
the minds of jurors as to Stewart’s guilt.
See Johnson v, Wainwright, 806 F.2d at
1482; Smith v, Balkcom, 660 F.2d at 580-
81. Counsel was not constitutionally defi-
cient for devoting his resources, both in
terms of argument time and pre-trial inves-
tigation, to such a Strategy.

SESS S SSS ENS SSS TST SS

Sateleteleseses

[5] Even were we to find trial counsel’s
conduct in this regard to fall below the
performance standard of Strickland, no
prejudice has occurred. Stewart now prof-
fers the testimony of additiona] character
witnesses who he claims should have been
called to testify at trial. We are not per-
suaded that these witnesses would have
had any significant impact upon the trial.
Such testimony would have merely been
cumulative. The evidence which Stewart
now claims should have been presented to
the jury would not have had an effect on
their verdict.

IV. RACIALLY DISCRIMINATORY IM-
POSITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY

[6] Finally, Stewart claims that the
death penalty is imposed in a racially dis-
criminatory manner in the State of Florida.
In light of the Supreme Court’s decision in
McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 107 S.Ct.
1756, 95 L.Ed.2d 262 (1987), this claim is
without merit. See Ford v,. Strickland,
734 F.2d 588, 541 n. 2 (11th Cir.1984),

For the reasons set forth herein, the
judgment of the district court is

AFFIRMED.

APPENDIX

THE COURT: Mr. Gillis, you have heard

all of the questions that the attorneys have
been asking and the—

MR. GILLIS: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Now seated—

MR. GILLIS: I don’t believe in capital
punishment at all.

THE COURT: Under any facts or cir-
cumstances?

MR. GILLIS: No, ma’am.


Floe:pa
STATE

OFFENDER:
NAME: €&d Subee

RACE : B

SEX: M™

OFFENSE; “uUedeg

DATE EXECUTED: Jue !4y'/7°7
COUNTY: Auwatee CO.

AGE:

VICTIM: oe
NAME : A,
RACE: 8
SEX: pA
AGE: |

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:
BACKGROUND ©
INFORMATION!) + ay

Comey
avel €

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED: July 1706

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

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DATE EXECUTED: Juwe a, 1407

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RACE: R

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BACKGROUND
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DATE OF
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DAY OF THE

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,

scided the detective.
food and money, and
gh to eat.” He remem-
: circus man had told
rell was sick. \
10 doubt Powell loved
. It showed in his voice,
have to go out for a
car,” he said. “About a
it up if I’m late.”

ided and put the baby

d till they were in the
said: “A baby that age
aonths old, isn’t it?—
ul expense. I remember
nto all kinds of dough.
> sniffles, it was croup.

doesn’t look too well,

ed miserably. “Don’t I
rse, she is a wonderful
and all, no matter how
they all cry sometimes.
; what’s wrong with
up half the night with
getting enough to eat
‘e seemed to have for-
it Brunen and the gun.
gently, “Yeah. I can
iy a guy would kill to
his wife and kid .. .”
in’t!” Powell screamed.
never touched him, I
ar him!” Suddenly his
nd he started to sob;
hs that shook his whole
weeks of listening
as a relief to tell
rent words and
ed out of his mouth,
iceman listened, pity-

) it ain’t any use. You
( tell the minute I saw
outside the door. I
; it. They’ve got the
Only I wouldn’t have
t want to. But he kept
and coming around to
saying, ‘You’d let your
‘ouldn’t you, and your

ne to handouts for grub
hrough the winter. He
nothin’ to worry about.
suspect me, but you,
lear. ... Nobody’ll ever
n your wife. I’ll fix it,
»f everything so all you
pull the trigger.’
cry, I can’t do it. Not
It’s murder!’ But he
He knew I was des-
iey. We owed rent, we
, the baby was sick. He
you a thousand bucks
over.’ I thought, God
housand bucks! That’s
re clouds roll over for
couldn’t do with that.
I held out. I ain’t that
o goes around shooting

sten, you'll be doing the
. knockin’ him off. He’s
uiserable for my sister
le-family. He’s mean,
g, nothing’s ever right.’
why I finally done it.

unt of the money I
id, but because Harry
best friend. I was in

of hundred bucks, he’d
‘en we were flat

m, Charles Powell
aus of the murder. “I
cuzzle against the glass
I knew nobody could
- with the train passing.

But I got panicky right away and I
started running without even waiting
to see if I’d gotten him. r

“T took the gun apart while I was
running. Harry was in his car, driv-
ing slowly along the road. He opened
the door for me and I jumped in.
Harry said, ‘Be quiet and keep your
nerve.’

“T didn’t answer. We were heading
toward Camden, and he drove very
fast. Once we almost knocked some
guy over. When we came to the
bridge over the creek, he stopped the
car and said, ‘We got to get rid of the
gun.’ He stepped out and threw it in
the creek, then drove on.”

OHR was picked up and rushed

to Parker’s office, where he was

shown Powell’s confession. “It’s a lie,
Parker, it’s a lie!” he cried.

On December 12, 1922, Harry C.
Mohr and Mrs. Doris Brunen, his sis-
ter, went on trial for the murder of
John Brunen. Justice Samuel Kal-
isch presided.

Charles Powell turned state’s wit-

It was his daily custom to stop in for
a soft drink and have a chat with
Knust. Thompson’ knocked, first
lightly, then hard. No _ answer.
Thompson was puzzled. It was the
first time the aged night watchman
had not been on the job.

Thompson went around to the back
entrance. He found the door locked.
Again no answer to his pounding. He
became suspicious and walked around
to the front again. There he found a
young man named James, an em-
ployee of the alleys, waiting to go to
work. eae

“Seen Old Man Knust this morn-
ing?” asked Thompson.

‘No,” said James. “I just got here
but I can’t get in. Wonder what’s the
matter.”

“T don’t know,”.said Thompson, “but
I intend to find out!” .

“Maybe he’s sick,” suggested James.

“I hope it’s nothing’ worse,” said
Thompson, as they walked around to
the back door.

Here’s Thompson’s story in his own
words:

“We found the hinges off the back
door, and then James and I went up to
the roof and pounded on the skylight.
No answer. We went around to the
back door, forced it to one side and
entered the alleys. James shoutedy
‘Hey, Fred—where are you?’ Every-
thing seemed awfully quiet.

“We knew where Knust slept—in a
little alecove—and we went there. The
sight that met our eyes made us both
gasp. We found Knust in his bed,
flat on his back, a gag in his mouth
and with both hands tied behind him.
We could see that he must have been
terribly battered,

“The towel gag,” went on Thomp-
son, “had been pulled so taut that it
had stretched his mouth almost from
ear to ear. Then James and I left and
called the police.”

The first to arrive was Sergeant
Charles Schwelm, of the detective

i bureau, followed a few minutes later

FACTS FROM OFFICIAL FILES

ness and told the court his pathetic
and tragic story of hunger and temp-
tation. Neighbors of the dead man
testified to having seen the coupe
parked near the house on the night
of the murder, and then the state pro-
duced a surprise witness.

It was Albert Fletcher of Beverly, a
quiet little man who had come for-
ward to aid justice.

_He told of driving his car on the
night of the murder. It was raining
Med hard, and his wife and son were
with him. Speaking distinctly, he
emphasized the bad weather and the
necessity for careful driving.

“Td heard a noise a few minutes be-
fore, and my son thought I blew a
tire. I got out of the car and inspected
the tires, but they were all right.

“And after I drove on, I was just
passing Grier’s nursery, a little south
of the Cambridge station, when this
Ford coupe came speeding along at a
terrific rate and nearly crashed into
me. I thought, ‘Anybody drives like
that in this rain is crazy. He’ll have
an accident before the night is over.’
So I wrote down his license number.”

He passed a paper to the prosecutor.
It was Number 69564—the license

.number of Mohr’s coupe!

In less than three hours the jury
filed in with their decision. Mrs. Bru-
nen was completely cleared and ac-
quitted. Harry C. Mohr was found
guilty of first degree murder with a
recommendation of life at hard labor.

A report had been circulated that a
pistol would be passed to him in the
event of his conviction and that he
would attempt to shoot his way out
of court. But not a trace of expres-
sion was visible on his face as he rose
calmly and was led back to jail. He
was later sentenced to life imprison-
ment in the Trenton penitentiary.

Charles Powell, tried at the same
time, drew a 20-30 year sentence, and
was transferred to the State Hospital
for the Criminal Insane after three
alienists reported he was a paranoic
and in need of medical attention.

(Walter Simms is a fictitious name
to save an innocent person from em-
barrassment.)

NIGHT HIDES A BLOODY SCORE

(Continued from page 27)

py Detectives Charles al and Roy
ancock. Then came jieutenant

James O. Barker, Chief of the Identi-
fication Bureau, and his assistant,
Sergeant Gerald Baldwin.

“This is the most brutal murder in
the police history of Miami,” said

“| knew a
fellow back in my home town who always
took time out to offer up a prayer. be-
fore he pulled a stickup on anybody.”

DETECTIVE ROY HANCOCK:

Sergeant Schwelm. “This man was
not shot to death—he was unmerci-
pg hacked by some blunt instru-

e By

“It looks like it might be the work
af a negro,” said Detective John Deas,
who specialized in Miami’s negro
cases. “Negro killers usually become
panicky and keep striking blows at
their victims long after they are
dead.”

Lieutenant Barker took fourteen
different sets of fingerprints. None
had any record either in Miami or at

FBI headquarters at Washington.

Further investigation showed that
the sole motive was obviously rob-
bery. Approximately $80 was taken,
most of which came from the money
bag that Knust kept in his room. The
bag contained the receipts from the
previous day’s business at the alleys.

Several “skill” games had also been
broken into and rifled, although $1.70
in Knust’s pants, i in the room,
had been overlooked.

The only clues found by the police
were one bloody bar towel, one dirty
handkerchief and some heavy twine.
The towel was the gag, and the hand-
kerchief may have belonged to Knust
or the murderer or murderers, while
the twine was used to do the binding.

Detective Deas went to work
promptly on his theory that it was the
work of a negro. He quizzed a num-
ber of citizens in the vicinity of the
Crescent Bowling Alleys and one said
that he had seen a giant negro lurking
around the front of the building just
after the alleys had closed.

“I had just come out of the alleys,”
said this witness, ‘and this colored
man was standing in front of the
building. The light struck his face
and I could not help but notice that
he had a nasty scar clean across his
left cheek. I also noticed that he was
a very big man. As I stepped out, he
walked away into the darkness.”

Fifteen minutes later Deas was
scouring the negro section. He was
looking for a giant negro named Jack-
son. This man was somewhat of a
loafer who made a living selling Bolita
tickets to his colored brethren. He had
no major criminal record but he had
a habit of using his fists too freely
with all who crossed him or those he
fancied had crossed him. He had been
booked at headquarters on several
occasions on assault and_ battery
charges.

Deas found Jackson asleep. His wife
answered the door and Deas asked her
where her husband had been the night
before.

53


-CAPTAIN EDWARD MEL-
CHEN: He found a brand
new method of handling a «
-man who wouldn't “talk.

ALBERT GURNEY TAYLOR:
How he dreaded to make
the return trip te Miami!


“That's what I’d like to know,” she
said. “He don’t tell me nothin’!”

Deas walked into where Jackson
was sleeping and aroused him. When
asked where he had been ‘the night
before, the giant negro said he had
been drinking and couldn’t recall.

“You better start recalling,” sug-
gested Deas. ;

“I don’t know what you’re talking
about,” he grunted. “You ain’t got
nothin’ on me!”

“Get dressed,” ordered Deas. “You
are coming to headquarters. Maybe
then you'll be able to do some fast
recalling.” ae :

Two hours of grilling failed to make
him recall anything.

“I jus’ don’t remember where I was
last night,” he kept saying. “What
you all want me for, anyways?”

“ “Just murder,” said Deas. “That’s
all.”

“Man,” exclaimed Jackson, “I ain’t
never killed nobody!” ;

For the time being they put him
in the county jail until he was able
to recall,

Meantime, the police department
received its first of three mysterious
post cards. It was addressed, simply,
Police Department, Miami, Florida.
And it read:

You mugs will never find out who
killed Knust! i

It was typewritten and the spelling
was correct. More, it was postmarked
Miami and had been mailed from the
main post office. Five sets of finger-
prints were found on this card and
none were of any value. The police
were puzzled. They did not know how
to find the writer, nor did they know
whether it was the work of a crank,
a prankster or the murderer. So they
set it aside and worked on other clues.

VERY member of both the uni-

formed police and the detective
force were ordered by Chief of De-
tectives Scarboro to be on the lookout
for all possible clues. “Find the in-
strument that .killed .Knust,” said
Scarboro, “and you'll have something
to work on,”

Unquestionably .Knust had been
beaten to death by some instrument
but what it was or where it was still
remained a mystery. No mere fists
had beaten the face of the old man to
such a pulp, that was a certainty.

Detectives Papy and Hancock got a
list of former employees of the bowl-
ing alleys. They were mostly pin
boys, raging in age from mere boys
of fifteen to middle-aged men.

Two former employees held their
attention, especially a young man
named Taylor who had worked as a
pin boy for just one night. This fel-
low was recalled as rather quiet and
taciturn and somewhat mysterious.
He had come from out of town the
night before he had obtained the job
as pin«boy and had not returned to
work.

The other man was much older and
his name was Stanton. He had worked
there as a pin boy for several months
and was known in the neighborhood
as a windy and mean-tempered per-
son. He liked the ladies but it seemed
that the ladies did not care for him.
He used to sit in the’ neighborhood
juke tthe for hours telling all, who
would listen, about his successes with
women. No matter how tall a story
other men would relate he would al-
ways top them with a taller one.

For a man with little money—pin
boys do not earn much—he was very

54

COMPLETE DETECTIVE CASES

gracious with his tipping. He would
order a ten-cent bottle of beer and
leave the change from the quarter as
a tip. But the one who served him
had to be a girl.

This Stanton had left the employ
of the Crescent Bowling Alleys six
weeks previous to the murder. He
had not been seen in the vicinity
since. However, no one recalled him
as a vicious man—one who would
commit murder. His main trouble ap-
peared to be that he was merely windy
and talked too much.

Then the second mystery post card
appeared at police headquarters. It
was also mailed from the main Miami
post office and read:

You guys make me laugh. If you,-

catch the guy who killed Knust he’ll
have to walk in and surrender.

This time the card had been writ-
ten with a Royal typewriter, The first

had_ lived there for several weeks.

“When did he check out?” asked
Hancock.

“Tm not sure,” said the clerk. “Most
of them just go and say nothing. They
pay by the night, as a rule, and I
don’t pay much attention to them—
unless they try to me.”

While Papy and Hancock were
quizzing the clerk, a lodger named
Joe Smith stood beside them.

“T think I know the man you are
looking for,” said Smith. “He left
a few days ago. He was a dishwasher
at Clayton’s restaurant and I used
to walk to the post office with him.
He wrote a letter to his wife almost
every day.”

“Did you happen to see the en-
velope?” asked Papy.

“Yes,” said Smith. “A week ago he
asked me if I would mail a letter to
his wife for him and I did so. It was

This picture of FRED KNUST was taken while on a fishing trip. He had no reason
whatever to suspect that he was destined to be singled out for a terrible death.

had been with an Underwood. How-
ever, there are thousands of such
typewriters and tracing each one
would have been practically impos-
sible. So the police just filed the
second card with the first and waited.
They figured that the sender would
sooner or later get too bold and tip
his mitt. Nevertheless it was the
judgment of Chief Scarboro that the
writer was just a person with a weird
sense of humor who was riding the
police.

Papy and Hancock located a man
who recalled young Taylor.

“T remember that I drove him
downtown one night and he told me
that he was staying at a house some-
where along N. W. Second Avenue.
He said he was through at the alleys
and wanted to get another job.”

“Where did you let him off?” asked
Papy. ~

“At the post office. He said he
wanted to mail a letter to his wife.”

Papy and Hancock spent a full day
ringing door bells along N. W. Second
Avenue. They covered five blocks,
both sides of the street, and they
called on at least 300 houses. During
this house-to-house’ canvass they
flushed out two pickpockets and one
check-raiser. This was mere luck and
had nothing to do with th2 Fred
Knust murder case.

Near twilight the two detectives
came to the Horn House, at 35.N. W.
Second Avenue. This was a flop-joint
where down-and-outers could get a
bed for 25c a night.

The clerk searched the register and
found that a man named Taylor

addressed to Priscilla Taylor, Etowah,
Tennessee.”

“What sort of a fellow was he?”
asked Hancock. “I mean, did he ap-
pear tough or mean?”

“No, he seemed like a nice kid. He
didn’t look much more than 20 years
old. He never said much and he
didn’t drink or gamble, and he never
mixed with anybody that I know of.
He was rather slim and had brown
eyes and wore his hair in a kind of
pompadour.”

“This guy sounds more like an angel
than a killer,” mused Papy.

“You never can tell,” said Hancock.
“I knew a fellow back in my home
town who always used to pray before
he stuck up anybody. He was also
nice and quiet, had big brown eyes
and didn’t drink or gamble. We
better check on this Taylor lad.”

The detective reported to Captain
Edward Melchen, of the detective
bureau, and told him about young
Taylor. Melchen looked up Etowah,
Tennessee, found it was a small town
of about 500, and that the name of the
chief of police was Clyde Rogers.

“Please hold Albert Gurney Tay-
lor,’ wired Melchen, “as murder sus-
pect. Will arrive Etowah tomorrow.”

Paina ner Poo by Ray Mills, chief
investigator for the state attor-
ney’s office, Captain Melchen arrived
in Etowah the following night.

“Where’s Taylor?” asked Melchen.

“Oh, he’s back on the farm, about
three miles from here,” said Chief
Rogers.

“You mean you didn’t hold him?”

serra 6 ex:

Nh arty

i
¥
‘

ere

“Oh, no,” said
“ve known that
he promised me he
you got here. Wi-
and he’s upset.”

“Did he confe:
Melchen.

“T asked him it
trouble while work
he just said maybs
he suspected of?”

“Murder of a ‘
said Captain Melch

“Not that boy,” ;
“If he’s in any tro
that someone else le
just a nice, easy-go:

The three officers
farm. They four
sitting on the fron
wife. They had be
short time and Tay]:
to Miami in search

Chief Rogers int
Miami officials.

“T’ve known you :;
a long time,” said C
if you’re mixed up
in Miami I would ;
the truth.”

“Td rather not
Taylor.

“Did you work
Bowling Alley?” as
chen.

“Yes, sir,” replied

“How. long did y
_ “Just one night.
into Miami and hap;
way. There was as
that said pin boys v
went in and took the

“Why did you q
asked Melchen.

“T had to earn m

“Did you know Fr
night watchman?” \

“No, sir. I never
If I chanced to see
place, I didn’t know

“You heard he wv
hour or so afte- ‘
you?” asked Mill

“No, sir.”

“IT think you ai, ..
back,” said Captain }
want to see a lawys
any talking, that is
do you prefer to talk
get back to Miami?’

“Must I go back t
Taylor, turning to C

“I am afraid you
the chief. “And I a
the truth when you
positive that you dic
to do with whateve1

Early the next rv
officers and Taylor
During the first fe
said nothing. Nor
attempt to question
another plan.

“I had an idea }
talking all at once,” s:
chen, after it was ov
began to discuss th
derers we had appre!
go to the chair. We
acting and it proved
chology.

“When we stopped
on Melchen, “I could
wanted to get somethi

“Tll tell you all I k
lor, “if you won’t let
me. I’m afraid of hi

“What man?” askec
“The man who ma

flashlight the night
bowling alleys,” said


4

| there for several weeks.
did he check out?” asked

t sure,” said the clerk. “Most
ist go and say nothing. They
he night, as a rule, and I
much attention to them—
sy try to gyp me.”
baoy and Hancock were
the clerk, a lodger named
h stood beside them.
k I know the man you are
‘or,” said Smith. “He left
‘s ago. He was a dishwasher
yn’s restaurant and I used
to the post office with him.
a letter to his wife almost

ou happen to see the en-
asked Papy.

said Smith. “A week ago he

. if I would mail a letter to
‘or him and I did so.

It was

ishing trip. He had no reason
igled out for a terrible death.

d to Priscilla Taylor, Etowah,

sort of a fellow was he?”
ancock. “I mean, did he ap-
gh or mean?”
2 seemed like a nice kid. He
ok much more than 20 years
» never said much and he
‘ink or gamble, and he never
ith anybody that I know of.
rather slim and had brown
i wore his hair in a kind of
ur.”
guy sounds more like an angel
killer,” mused Papy.
iever can tell,” said Hancock.
a fellow back in my home
10 always used to pray before
< up anybody. He was also
i quiet, had big brown eyes
in’t drink or gamble. We
heck on this Taylor lad.” |
etective reported to Captain
Melchen, of the detective
and told him about young
Melchen looked up Etowah,
ee, found it was a small town
- 500, and that the name of the
police was Clyde Rogers.
se- hold Albert Gurney Tay-
red Melchen, “as murder sus-
‘ill arrive Etowah tomorrow.”

)MPANIED by Ray Mills, chief
vestigator for the state attor-
fice, Captain Melchen arrived
‘oh the following night.
Taylor?” asked Melchen.
back on the farm, about
att _ from here,” said Chief

mean you didn’t hold him?”

“Oh, no,” said the Etowah chief.
“lve known that boy for years and
he promised me he would come when
you got here. His mother just died
and he’s upset.”

“Did he confess to anything?” asked
Melchen. :

“T asked him if he was in any
trouble while working in Miami and
he just said maybe he was. What’s
he suspected of?”

“Murder of a 70-year-old man,”
said Captain Melchen.

“Not that boy,” said Chief Rogers.
“If he’s in any trouble, you can bet
that someone else led him into it. He’s
just a nice, easy-going kid, that’s all.”

The three officers drove out to the
farm. They found young Taylor
sitting on the front porch, with his
wife. They had been married but a
short time and Taylor had hitch-hiked
to Miami in search of work.

Chief Rogers introduced the two
Miami officials.

“I’ve known you and your folks for
a long time,” said Chief Rogers, “and
if you’re mixed up in any mess down
in Miami I would advise you to tell
the truth.”

“?’d rather not talk now,”
Taylor.

“Did you work for the Crescent
Bowling Alley?” asked Captain Mel-
chen.

“Yes, sir,” replied Taylor.

“How. long did you work there?”

“Just one night. I had just got
into Miami and happened to pass that
way. There was a sign in the window
that said pin boys were wanted, so I
went in and took the job.”

“Why did you quit that night?”
asked Melchen.

“T had to earn more money.”

“Did you know Fred Knust, the old
night watchman?” went on Melchen.

“No, sir. I never heard his name.
If I chanced to see him around the
place, I didn’t know who he was.”

“You heard he was murdered an
hour or so-after Christmas, didn’t
you?” asked Mills.

“No, sir.”

“T think you are holding something
back,” said Captain Melchen. “If you
want to see a lawyer before you do
any talking, that is your privilege. Or
do you prefer to talk more when you
get back to Miami?”

“Must I go back to Miami?” asked
Taylor, turning to Chief Rogers.

“I am afraid you must, boy,” said
the chief. ‘And I advise you to tell
the truth when you get there. I feel
positive that you did not have much
to do with whatever happened.”

Early the next morning the two
officers and Taylor left for Miami.
During the first few hours Taylor
said nothing. Nor did the officers
attempt to question him. They had
another plan.

“T had an‘ idea he would begin
talking all at once,” said Captain Mei-
chen, after it was over. “Mills and I
began to discuss the various mur-
derers we had apprehended and seen
go to the chair. We did a fair bit of
acting and it proved to be good psy-
chology.

“When we stopped for lunch,” went
on Melchen, “I could see that Taylor
wanted to get something off his chest.”

“T’ll tell you all I know,” said Tay-
lor, “if you won’t let that man hurt
me. I’m afraid of him.”

“What man?” asked Mills.

“The man who made me hold the
flashlight the night he robbed the
bowling alleys,” said Taylor.

said

. questions and come with me.’

FACTS FROM OFFICIAL FILES

“What was his name?” asked Mel-
chen.

“IT knew him as Stanton.”

“Where is he now?” asked Mills.

“T don’t know. Honest, I don’t.”

“Suppose you tell us the whole
story,” suggested Melchen.

“l’'m afraid of Stanton,” said Taylor.

“Don’t worry about him,” said Mills.
“We'll take care of Stanton.”

“Well,” began Taylor, “I met Stan-
ton at the bowling alleys the night I
worked there. I didn’t have any place
to sleep so he took me to the Horn
House and I got a bed for 25c. The
next day I got a job at the restaurant,
washing dishes. I kept living at the
Horn House and so did Stanton, who
kept working at the alleys for a few
weeks more. I didn’t see much of him
at the Horn House but I’d run into
him once in a while. He seemed to
stay out all night. Anyway, it was
Christmas night or a little after mid-
night when he came in and woke
me up.

“He said, ‘I want you to come to
the alleys with me.’ I asked him what
for and he said, ‘Don’t ask so om

to)
got dressed and went with him. It
must have been after one o’clock in
the morning when we reached the
alleys and everything was dark. He
had a brown bag with him and we
went around to the back door.”

‘Did Stanton tell you what he was
there for?” asked Melchen.

“Not until then,” said Taylor. “I
asked him what he was going to do
and he said, ‘What do you think, you
dope? We’re going to rob this joint
and get even with old man Malloy.’”

“You mean ‘Pop’ Malloy, the
owner?” asked Mills.

“No, he meant Malloy’s brother, who
had charge of the pin boys,” replied
Taylor. “So when he told me what
he wanted to do I said I didn’t want
to do it. Then he said, ‘When I give
orders, I’m used to having them
obeyed, or else!’ I was scared of him
and didn’t know what to do. Then
he said, ‘All you have to do is hold the
flashlight while I do the dirty work.’

“He put on a pair of red rubber
gloves and began to unscrew the
hinges of the door with an automatic
screw-driver. When he got the door
open, we went in and I held the flash-
light. He began by taking the money
out of some of the skill games in the
place and he said he would give me
half of whatever he got. I told him
I didn’t want any of the money and
he told me to shut up and keep the
flashlight steady.

“Then we heard a voice from the
front of the alleys. It shouted, ‘Who’s
there?’

“Stanton said to me, ‘Come on, we
got to stop that old mug from holler-
ing. Then he went to the brown bag
and took out a handkerchief and a
small crowbar. He put the handker-
chief over his face and went to the
front where the voice came from. I
didn’t know who it was but I found
out later in the papers that it was
Knust, the old night watchman.”

“Did you help Stanton kill Knust?”
asked Mills.

“No, sir,” said Taylor. “I swear I
never touched him! All I did was hold
the flashlight.”

“While he murdered the old man?”
asked Melchen.

“T didn’t know he was going to kill
him,” said Taylor. “When the old
man saw us he wanted to know what
we wanted. Stanton said, ‘I want

that money you keep in the bag!’

“The old man shouted, ‘You better
get out of here. You won't get any
money from me!’ Then Stanton went
up to him and told him to lay on his
back so he could tie his hands behind
his back. But the old man got mad
and told Stanton to get out before he
called the police.”

“Then what happened?”
Melchen.

“Ym not sure,’ continued Taylor,
“but the first thing I knew Stanton
was hitting the old man over the head
with the crowbar and swearing at the
same time. Finally I saw blood and
the old man didn’t move. I just
thought he was unconscious. When
he didn’t move any mere Stanton put
a gag in his mouth and tied his hands
behind his back. Then he found the
money in the mdney bag and we left
the alleys.”

“Did Stanton divide the money with
you?” asked Mills. “He got between
$80 and $90. How much did he give
you?”

“He just gave me $20. I never knew
how much he got. I just wanted
enough to get back to my wife in
Etowah, that’s all.”

“Where did you leave Stanton?”
asked Captain Melchen.

“We went back to town and caught
an early bus for the north. I bought
a ticket to Etowah and Stanton
bought one for West Palm Beach.”

_ “Where did Stanton say he was go-
ing?” asked Melchen.

“He didn’t say. He just got off the
bus and told me to keep my mouth
shut or I would get hurt. I went on
to Etowah and that’s all.”

They stopped at Jacksonville just
long enough for Captain Melchen to
phone chief of Detectives E. L. Coste
to be on the lookout for James
Stanton.

“He’s about five-feet-six and be-
tween 40 and 45,” said Melchen. ‘Has
steel-gray eyes and is very pale.”

“Okay,” said Chief Coste. “We’ll
be on the lookout.”

asked

HEN Taylor was placed in the

county jail, Detective John Deas
became curious about his colored sus-
pect, Jackson. The giant negro had
just spent his time in his cell, catching
up on lost sleep. Deas was now con-
vinced that he had absolutely nothing
to do with the murder of Fred Knust
and was curious as to why he was
afraid to tell where he was on the
night of the crime.

Jackson’s belated confession as to
his whereabouts furnished. the only
comedy relief to an otherwise cruel
and sordid affair.

“Boss,” said Jackson to Deas, “I done
told you once that I ain’t nevah killed
nobuddy!”

“Then why not tell where you were
on that night?” insisted Deas.
**TListen, Boss,” said Jackson, “if I
tell you all where I was, will you
promise not to tell my wife? That
gal’s a hell-cat, sure enough! See that
scar on my face? Well, suh, she done
that with a carving knife three years
ago, just because she heard I was out
with another gal.” ‘

“So you were out with another gal
the night of the murder?” asked Deas.

“That’s right, suh—but if my wife
heard that I’d get killed myself!”

They released Jackson.

Two days later Captain Melchen
received a long distance call .from
Jacksonville.

“This is Chief Coste,” said the voice.

55


i

STEWART, Roy Allen, white, elees-FL (Dade) April 22, 1994.

Florid: .
execute.
= Stewart |

@ He is electrocuted
for the 1979 rape and”
murder of a 77-year-
old Dade County
widow.

By DAVID GREENBERG

Sun staff writer

STARKE — After serving nearly 15
years on Florida’s Death Row, Roy Al-
len Stewart was executed Friday morn-
ing for murdering a 77-year-old Dade
County widow.

=

oo delle Oca Hla3lay p

Stewart, 38, was
condemned to
‘death ‘in 1979 : for
| killing Margaret
@ Haizlip, a Sunday-
- School teacher and

member of a pio-
| neering family in
| Perrine, a commu-
nity south of Miami.
Haizlip was beaten,
bitten, raped and
then strangled with an electric cord
: Feb. 22, 1979.
““<cThe execution took place at 7:10 a.m.
at*Florida~State Prison near Starke.
Stewart; who seemed resigned, alert
and responsive, had little to say before
_ the execution. :
He looked around as prison officials
“Strapped him into the chair, nodding at
some witnesses and talking briefly to
the officials.

___ When asked by Florida State Prison
Superintendent’ Everett Perrin if he
had any last words, Stewart, the 33rd
inmate to die in Florida’s electric chair

_ Since the death penalty was re-estab-
lished in 1977, said, “No. I just want to

- thank Rev. Lawrence. I appreciate all

_ you've done. I love you.”

_As Stewart made his remarks, he
See EXECUTE on Page 2B

Stewart


continued from Page IB

turned toward the Rev. Fred Lawrence of
the First United Methodist Church of
Gainesville, who was sitting in the first row

of witnesses. rane be
_ Lawrence, who spent several hours with

Stewart before the execution, said after- -

- ward that the inmate was ready. He de-
clined to<share any of Stewart's specific
commentsj4i= os, et eb

-, “He was very strong,” Lawrence said. “He

never flinched a second. He was prepared to
die, but he felt like he did not deserve to die. |

He was composed throughout the night. He
had 15 yearstoprepare.”
Department of Corrections spokesman
Gene Morris said Stewart ate all of his last
meal, consisting of lobster, baked potato
with sour cream and butter, tossed salad

and iced tea. Most often, inmates nibble at —

their meals or don’t touch them at all.

. “Throughout the evening, he had visits
from family from South Carolina, clergy and
attorneys,” Morris said. “He was quite calm.
He had a good visit with all his family mem-
bers. It was quite sentimental. After the vis-
its, he watched TV. He talked and rambled
with the officers in his cell area — just about

Jife in general.” . :

Stewart's family members — numbering
13 —.stayed away from the prison during
the execution. Morris said the only relative

‘of Haizlip that the prison system is aware of...
_ lives “in California. and could <not ‘be
contacted. .

Stewart's stay of nearly 15 years on Death
Row is well over the average time an in-

_ Mate waits for execution — 9.4 years. He

managed to survive death warrants signed
by Florida governors in 1984, 1986 and 1990.
Gov. Lawton Chiles signed the current death
warrant March 9.

’ Most inmates are executed on the second

death warrant, although some have made it

to seven, Morris said. Only one, Michael
Durocher, who in August was the last in-
mate to be executed in Florida, was electro-
cuted on the first warrant.

But Stewart’s attorneys said the 15-year
legal process does not mean this execution
was just.

“I don’t think he ever really got a fair
shake iri the court system,” said Susan Cary,
a Gainesville attorney who works with
Death Row inmates. “Even the prosecutor,
Calvin Fox, a staunch death-penalty ad-
vocate, said the death penalty was not
appropriate in this case. That’s unheard
as

Fox has made no public statements abput
the case, but Stewart’s defense attorneys say
the attorney general has a letter from the
former prosecutor that should have Been
turned over as evidence before the
execution. _ ;

Courts as high as the U.S. Supreme Court
disagreed with Stewart’s attorneys.

Stewart had served no time in prison be-

_fore being sentenced for Haizlip’s murder,

Cary said.

He dropped out of school in South Caroli-
na when he was 16 because his father be-
came ill, so Stewart stayed home to take
care of him for three years.

“His mother told me that his dad wouldn't
let anyone but Roy feed him or take him to
the bathroom,” Cary said. “When he died, it
was traumatic for Roy. He tried to commit
Suicide by taking some of his father’s left-
over medicine.”

‘Stewart developed a drug problem after
that and was involved in a bungled armed-
robbery attempt, Cary said.

Shortly after that, he was arrested for the
Haizlip murder. He’s been in prison since he
was 23.

According to witnesses, Haizlip invited
Stewart into her house for a sandwich. She
became angry when he reportedly took a
watch from a cabinet. Stewart gave police
two written and one oral confession after he
was arrested.

eS POR aT nS

ee Sh OS eh ce inten tha Pikes : f i Peat aw ee Pet LS Me i, earn eee
RARE OR ay SM OTR CAL ROR ie on SNe a) GaN erat ; AGES VOR DIET
PT ODER ROE EAS NES RISO cae: inet dsr elite alma tepals eit Tien. faces pilin en Vive tg yh ONES Tan

Ses. is is ae Rhone oe! ram, io)
. Cc o. oe, wha co/10 iam ee

NRE mean ene
eae EEG vee . om eek LA Ler z 5 aa

ee

re =

te Co ete a
bsrta hover (vs N crenceanen ia

w

lates TW ®,
4 .


“an airplane and dogs were... had » he velieved, forced the
5 a. Get ees . escapee out of that vicinity.
ba args | ‘ ek ~

YG | eee WW ee

Oct. 31, 196
(para #2 of page one met A Deputy Sheriff Edgar Brown said

the theory(suspicion of Stuaré)being followed, ~based on

circumstantial evidence so far, was that Stuart may have shot

eT | : Spiller from a point some 50 feet outside the stand as Spiller

either counted cash oh the counter or was reaching in a refrigerator,

oe tq
A cheap, blue felt hat, identidal to those issued to convicts

Nee ee f -.. at the camp, was found beside a stump at that point, and ; 24
pen aa ; fs footprints leading away from the scene through a plowed field

“f bore hesl marks identical to those on snoce(StuarB\was bélicved

to have one (Deputies attempted to pick up the trail, bu

a ie without success) : he dee gee
sWicv re 1716, & (GD erstrrn of “1 tyler
aay Rast p pithy Ghruiff B.A ey

J saten ov i (SS

Loar Ca plore oA

eeu Se

rane Mo mae woods & ee Tee So Lar
oe V\ Opera: ins eS, Gan f. bud uf a
o . oe ea ne | ia Ardea sys Wr +
7 F : : Jf, ne JT fliny —
I tf 4. asthy CWretnrn Weter eh fe fF a

oli tind ite eeO YA


STOVER, Clyde, black, hance Pa late om

NEGRO STOVER
1S ALLEGED 70

SINE CONFESSED
DOUBLE KILLING

CAHOON LEAVES. TODAY FOR kip ville,
| FLORIDA WITH PR SONER. | )

si

Sheriff Kennerly, of Putnam County, /

Now” ats Awaiting: Arrival. [24e
- ‘of Ne 0, noe ;
ibe . | Gti

From a telegram received | ‘hy | Chief
Frederick OF Roach, of “the local polica
| depurtment, ‘from: Lieut, Wn Cahoon, f'
‘now In Hifzabethton, Tenn., ‘the neKro pe
“yde Stover; tho Is allaged to rigor abil.
fessed to the murde® of IL, G, and ment st,

; Gardner, of ‘Spririgneld, ‘}, Mass.,| en? } ward wan
Weolake, Mla,..on.or’ about: Jan ae = Wan caonaide,
will not fight “extradition and'j whl that. section «
| tovleave’ for Jacksonville, at: onge.’ ..  bemigs orgunizca —

I Tleuts: Cahoon..xtated_ in tologiails. uring —auch—atres

hat: ho: hoped - to) be. able :t6- -Jeave:Mliza-} new. coune) ab: the
_bethton- with the prisonefiat 19 ,o'clogks atreet needed
‘thiv; morning.; arriving “here. ‘sometime ir }~"Phis- league also” inte.
tho “forenoon; of : ‘Sunday: yAccotding “to; ‘new, sewerage, » Sieg ‘slay
Taeute Cahoon) the earo has -consessed:.to: ratreet ‘Nghts * and beh, ot.
‘having committed % ( the’ horrible}sdouble | ments‘ an that“section\of the

enn ee we gt

rea a 4t-th

“BROAN WGZT “Keonn thy, . of Putnam. made-up of. business mon and thes,
-county,— ived bere. exterday--morning-und- thoy -expect-to-get- ‘result ~fror.
to, make? plan#-Yor the’ return'/of ‘Stover| now”.councll . which, LW; Bo, ate 7.

tot Dalatkacrdtestatd-that-Ale=reahlente | iext une : rR RTE

‘of atipactionsofienet niato worn ereatly | ghee ERC

ed) over®:the captures oThay ah eritt

ould-not-disetine-tho “matter; OC TTODEDIC “brOthere “on varcampink™ trip. shot: ‘them
mobs eviolences/ uti declared 2h iwould \try.|'in® the: back, thes

geity: In} becaunp: they forced: nim: to, dance ut: -the.

par tee sascha 6 -point-of-a-gun. Ong? wan sho, the nostro

cep in alleged: to have confessed,” aa Ve was

a z leabotnion.y” Tour: Be Ger PF Sey ‘de ‘butohering : ‘a pie. some: ‘distancn,. fromthe
Stover, the; nogro ° ‘artented ‘hp fe avednes- featip. The other, was’ Killed,” ha- sald .¥
dayvan a: suspect” in <oonnec cur “with' the | sbort time. later at. ond
pmurder-near=Wetx = Gt = ee
‘Gardner, of / Springfe)d,; Mass..conferred.| Ro!

Gardner, of, ‘BoringNeld,. Mass. “confessed |: ov

‘brooks,: that hoktkilled ‘Gardner ‘ands also (‘He

his? brother. sMornce..B/ hohe taa Hr | 9
Iniselog.’ | ai ches rae RAR ey Mest 8 a
=_The-nt : lloteg: yaclit-tor-the-


CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DATA SHEET

= >
F lordh 787
STATE INVENTORY #
OFFENDER: SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION
waME: Clyde S7ovee (TITLE, DATE AND PAGE)
RACE: & Tapp Te bur c
ae ep 2 IFSP
OFFENSE: “Ueder an Bh eS 4:3 ?
DATE EXECUTED: Jere /!)/ 97S |
COUNTY: Filo Co- 2 a90-19/3" =
AGE: Z2-f-194S. feed

Dafa PIL BS

VICTIM: y
a Hoare C- Credle hh lowzo Caedn
Ww

Un

AGE:

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

DATE CRIME = (rvey( Merl Ago
COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

DAY OF THE Ke
WEEK EXECUTED: '
OFFENDER
RESIDENCY:

Che 7

MEDIA ACCOUNT Zk fDi mae euT AaTes fd fichiag
Po bleu

+ pPuo9aAyN TO
tiv wes A gude—-HE GAVE ROR a
ot ee eo. Youce FOULOWeO

tin mROUSk GemRein 4 TEND.

OF CRIME:


ae oe ars
ae — STov Ba LORS BRAPDOED ip Pa LATOR |

MEDIA ACCOUNT

OF EXECUTION:

mernop: A977 TIME: AM
4d M@2 (2

STAYS OF

EXECUTION: —~—

EXECUTIONER;

WITNESSES: PRESLENWCE OCF A LARGE CROLDO.

RITUALS:

LAST WORDS:

OTHER INFORMATION: he © CAPTURED.
a{a ee, To Evi2zAQETHTOY , lenny. WERE HE WAR

= LL AIS
HE HAQ 1D HIS POSSESHIDA SHIRTS ANDO COU 7
MARKED "H.G." alu —HADd SEED REPORTEOQ tr naar
Mh PARTIAL. COMFESSIONS DELARIDNO THAT We \S ht
MeS WHO 1S WASTED % ADITMS HAVING PILOTED
THe S680THERS THOM JAcwsonsv tire. uP THE OcKiswann
River le APPEAeS BLICTED 4 NEFVOUS 4 HAS

MAQE His WILL.

No Appeal,

STOVER, Clyde, black, hanged at Palatka, FL, 6-12-1915.

"Palatka, Flaey Febe 19, 1915-The body of H, B. Gardner of Springfield, Massey who,
with his brother, Alonzo G, Gardner, of Baltimore, Md,, was killed and robbed while
on a hunting trip near here several weeks ago, was found today near the scene of
their camp by a searching party. Guards were placed over the body until an inquest
can be held tomorrow, after which it will be sent to North Adams, Mass, The body

of the brother was found about two weeks ago and Clyde Stover, a negro, was arrested
at Elizabethtown, Tenn., in connection with the killings, The authorities allege
that Stover piloted the yacht on which the Gapdners made the trip up the Ocklawaha
river and later shot and kibbed the brothers," ADVERTISER, M,ntgomery, Alabama,
February 20, 1915 (7/2e) oat

"Knoxville, Tennessee, Feb. 12, 1915-Clyde Stover, the negro arrested yesterday at
Elizabethton, Tenn,, suspected of the murder of A, G. and Horace B, Gardner while
on a yachting trip in Flarida in January, confessed early this morning to Sheriff
Ausbrooks of Elizabethton, that he was the negro wanted, according to a telephone
message just received from that officer.

"The negro said the Gardners had made him dance at the point of a gun that morning
and a little later, accompanying A, G. Gardner from the camp to butcher a pig, he
shot him in the back, He then returned to the camp,he said, and when Horace Gard=
ner asked him to go with him some distance from the camp on a mission, did so, and
shot him in the back with a rifle. He says he left the body lyipg where it fell,
Clothing in the grip the negro had marked "Ae Ge" led to the negro's confession.
Sheriff Ausbrooks will start for Jacksonville with the negro Friday." ADVERTISER,
Montgomery, Alabama, February 13, 1915 (12:2.)

"Knoxville, Tennessee, Feb, ll. - Clyde Stover, the negro arrested here yesterday
on the charge of murdering Alonzo G, Gardner of Baltimore while he was on a hunting
trip in Florida, told the police tonight that he piolted the yacht used by Alonza Ge
and Horace B Gardner in their journey up the Ocklawaha River, but that then he left
them they were both alive.

"No explanation was made as to why he brought the yacht back to Welaka alone, An
officer from Jacksonville is expected h re tomorrow to take the negro back. The
body of Alonzo G, Gardner was found lgst Sunday, but no trace has been found to the
whereabouts of the other brother, who also is believed to be dead."

ADVERTISER, Montgomery, Alabama, FeBruary 13, 1915 (11/h.)

SULLIVAN, Robert Austin, white, 36, electrocuted Florida K on November 30, 1983.

Sullivan

‘From Page 1A

Rev. Joe Ingle, director of the Nash-
ville, Tenn.,-based Southern Coalition
on Jails and Prisons, said Sullivan did
not appear troubled or frightened early
today, even after the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled Tuesday night it would not
intervene to spare his life.

“Bob was not surprised,” said Ingle.

BIRMINGHAM NEWS,
November 30, 1983, page 1.

es Wer ie oie Y eige Sig eS e z 4 Be » -onhie ‘ nt
REGARD ih elee Be rl Me ike! Nig 5 ee me Sas LOM i GAOT aD CNN ge Fon EAE we LED. Ee Eg Nah >

on (Supreme Court's) vote was. ‘
“I think Bob is going to his death
$ unwillingly, of course, but with peace in
‘Justices won t- his heart and forgiveness for the gover-
nor for the murder he (Gov. Bob Gra-
ham) is committing,” Ingle said. id
aoe execution — Sullivan was on his third round of
appeals when the nation’s highest court
_\- STARKE, Fla. (AP) — With “peace in his heart,” | Se Oe eet ce
convicted murderer Robert Sullivan today waited the aalibeeac: 2% psec Sarin
-\, < “heside Florida’s death chamber, where he faced | ‘DEK: must Come 3 Cine a ee the
“in S22 * .execution despite last-minute legal maneuvers and fetis atari re enero ery d d
1a plea for mercy from Pore John Paul II. meee aoe said in an unsign lect.
‘Sullivan had been on death row for 10 years,
See than any other U.S. inmate. He was peing J 2 : oe say aby ioe vena
“held in a special cell a few steps from the room that Ne ert death a ay cea pe d
- houses the electric: chair where he was scheduled to mah sabia: eiosaeh, a haar cx Se
“die at 9 a.m. CST, barring a last-minute court order: unusual” are “dwarfed by the cruelty of
. The 36-year-old inmate was condemned for the a y say oo reat aid ong by
“April 9, 1973, shotgun slaying of Donald Schmidt, an’ |}. rrabhaeta ante? 5 ee kL?
~ assistant manager at a Howard Johnson’s restau- ola — f
“rant i in Homestead, south of Miami. aM t (the possibility for appeal) is
"Sullivan, the adopted son of a Harvard Fecuated definitely not closed. But it’s getting
surgeon, asked Florida State Prison officials for a perameny d oe said defense
2 ge ec ast meal of steak, french fries and fresh strawber- ab tinier Hai
“yaa fes¢ vies, said prison spokesman Vernon: a He Rep Ry ncogens _lectroeuted May
pane ae aoe ped Met eee ind hetore dawn. i» 1 death sentence was carried out in Flor-
ek EN Asa 3 See Sullivan, Pate 10A ida. Sullivan would be the ninth man »
: re i50 ; j executed in the United States since cap-
, : ize ital punishment was reinstated by the

. Supreme | Court 1 in A area
é © ern |

A Sen ee Pea coe aes sak STR ES roast. On Monday, the pope sent a message
tere ce beer Seon es 8 225". to Graham through Miami Archbishop
aS ie See ESS a Pie a ae ~... Edward McCarthy asking the governor

“=~ to spare Sullivan for “humanitarian
“> reasons.” Graham said he appreciated
“the Pope’s concerns, but ee the

~ appeal.

cence, saying he was in a bar 40 miles
away from the isolated Everglades

2 the head.
=... A private investigator found two
people whe claimed ber bee was ina

, “He wanted to know what the ,

Sullivan has ‘maintained his inno- |

where Schmidt was S shot four times in

— |

Sullivan

$2

homosexual bar when Schmidt was
killed, and a Boston man also report-

edly confessed to his priest that he saw f

Sullivan in a Hallandale bar. ««: «
Bishop John J. Snyder of St. Augus-

tine said the man was afraid to come }

forward because his family does not

know about his homosexuality. Catholic f

_Clergy pleaded for clemency, and the
" pope joined that plea. v- a
Sullivan, a Catholic, was with three
priests, a lawyer and a legal aide in a
visiting area of the prison late Tuesday
night when he learned of the Supreme
Court decision. The whereabouts of his
adoptive parents, who are now

- divorced, was not known. His father,

Dan Sullivan, lives in Nashua, N. H.

BE AIK Page
Sullivan’ S attorney had turned to the .
Supreme Court after the 11th U.S. Cir- [~~

cuit Court of Appeals refused Tuesday
to give Sullivan another chance to
argue his case. The Atlanta-based court
lifted its temporary stay Tuesday,
clearing the way for prison officials to
execute Sullivan in the oaken electric

chair where 196 people have vores since

1924. se ntkay yer

JK Kies

Sullivan’s S attorneys argued fo

appeals that his trial lawyers didn’t
investigate their client’s alibi, that the

system of administering a death pen- |...’
-alty discriminates against people con- [
“victed of killing whites and that Sulli- }-»:
“yan’s sentence wasn’t compared to}. -
= those handed down in subsequent mur- fF:

ng (oh

der cases.


Inmate tom:

and tending gardens and as a cafeteria worker at the high

school. According to his friend Ralph L. Jacobs, he was “an _-

above average student.” © ee Eo

In the 1965 Belmont High yearbook, classmates de-
‘scribed Sullivan as a “wholesome and natural personality
.. «hard worker at all he tackles . .. distinct individual.”

HE WENT OFF to study business administration at
the University of Miami. One of his friends there, a physics
major named John M. Harding Jr., remembered him as the
“chief motivator and primary organizer” of intramural
football, volleyball and softball teams at Allen House, an
apartment complex in which they lived.

The events that led Robert Sullivan to death row began
to unfold in 1971. He left the University of Miami — never
graduated — and went to work for Howard Johnson’s in

Homestead. He became an assistant manager, then was.

promoted to manager. He also began stealing.

Sullivan created fictitious employees as a way.to embezzle
money. In all, he stole $6,200. In August 1972 he was caught.
He confessed, pleaded guilty and received five years’
probation. The judge ordered him to return to New Eng-
land and to pay Howard Johnson’s back.

Sullivan decided, according to prosecutors, to pay
Howard Johnson’s back with vengeance. ~

He traveled to Miami with a friend, Reid McLaughlin.
They registered in a motel. On April 8, 1973, prosecutors
said, Sullivan turned to McLaughlin and said, ‘This is the
day we’re going to do what we spoke about.’ ”

He was talking about robbing the Homestead Howard

Johnson’s, taking the night manager to the Everglades and

killing him, Dade prosecutor George Yoss told the Florida
Cabinet at Sullivan’s clemency hearing in 1979. Yoss said

Sullivan had discussed:a similar deed while in college, :

calling it “a perfect crime.” ;

Sullivan and McLaughlin drove to the Howard John-
son’s that night, Yoss said. They waited until everyone had
left but the night manager, 39-year-old Donald Schmidt.

Sullivan pointed a .38-caliber pistol at him, robbed the
safe and took Schmidt’s wallet, money, rings and watch.
Then, Yoss said, they bound his hands with adhesive tape
and drove into the Everglades 50 miles northwest of
Homestead.

As they.led Schmidt out of the car, Sullivan grabbed a 3

tire iron, McLaughlin a shotgun. In his since-recanted
confession, Sullivan described what happened:

“Mr. Schmidt was walking ahead of me, and it was very
dark. He slipped down and lost his shoe in the mud and I
came back and he was sitting on the ground and I hit him in

2s

of
=f ‘

rag fé tb LA ~~!

od ee wy * fe

the back of the head with the tire iron twice.” “fi is }
Police detective: “Did Mr. Schmidt then fall down into

*< Chair Salute.
~\ Both of Sullivan’s
, @ prone position with his face down in the swampy area?”

-» Sullivan: “Yes, he did.”"* ~~ -

Detective:.“What did you do at that time?”

Sullivan: “I fired four rounds of the 12-gauge shotgun
into the back of his head.” a |

Detective: “For what purpose did you do this?” .

Sullivan: “To kill him.”.. Ba ‘

Schmidt’s Master Charge began coming back. Detectives
matched the charge signatures to Sullivan’s signature on a
document admitting. his previous thefts from ‘Howard
Johnson’s. :
Police found Sullivan and Reid McLaughlin in New

Hampshire on April 17, 1973. In their car, Yoss told the .

Cabinet, they found the adhesive tape that bound
Schmidt’s hands, the tire iron that smashed his head and

found $1,200 in cash wrapped with Howard Johnson’s ’
labels.

McLaughlin made a deal with prosecutors: He testified

#
f

; the shotgun that killed him. In their motel room, police...
Beginning in the summer of 1971,. prosecutors said, ~

against Sullivan and got a life sentence. Sullivan got a death

sentence from Dade Judge Edward Cowart.

A court-appointed psychiatrist concluded that the crime -
was a “sudden and impulsive release of aggression and an-
ger” whose origin was “hostile and angry feelings . . . toward
authority figures.”
__ The psychiatrist said Sullivan’s speech problem, along
with his mother’s dominance and father’s absence, had
scarred Sullivan with feelings of inferiority and made him
a homosexual.

In the same clemency hearing where George Yoss re-
counted Schmidt’s murder, Sullivan’s attorney Roy Black
told the Cabinet that “this one isolated act was not indica-

tive of his personality and character.” On death row, Black ~~

and others have said, Sullivan has been the same nice guy
everyone remembers from Belmont.

He had maintained a spotless prison record, Black said
in 1979. He took correspondence courses from the Univer-
sity of Florida, earning A’s in Human Relations 110,
American History 280 and General Psychology, among
others. He talked one despondent inmate out of suicide and
turned another to religion. ose

Sullivan has also kept up a voluminous correspondence
of 80 to 100 letters a month, sitting his 280-pound body on
the bare floor of his 6-by-9-foot cell and using his cot as a
desk. He has written articles for Rolling Stone magazine
and, recently, the Miami Herald, about his fight for life
on death row. He helped a Boston playwright with a work
entitled The Great Americar Bicentennial Electric

Wi ieecccnacaa om

those of other condemned inmates who

*

A

ig th ey ¥e

parents have died. His boyhood '
friend Ralph Jacobs started the Robert A. Sullivan Legal

; Defense Fund several years ago. The fund has held mon-

ey-raising raffles and publishes a newsletter noting recent A=

court decisions concerning capital punishment and the *~
; }:

status of Sullivan’s case.

'
77.4

THE NEWSLETTER’S August issue contained’a.,

~.. letter from Sullivan. He wrote that “I had no role whatso:::
A FEW DAYS after the killing, receipts from

ever in the robbery-murder of Donald Schmidt” and thato
he was wrongfully convicted “due to my extreme naivete
combined with trusting the wrong people.” sc
Sullivan claims he confessed merely to end a long night:
of interrogation, and that he was drunk. He says he was at
a homosexual bar in Fort Lauderdale called “Keith’s Cruise
Lounge” at the time of Schmidt’s murder, and that there “
are witnesses to support his alibi. His volunteer lawyers
from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, a tony New York firm whose.
‘partners include the father of tennis star John McEnroe, .

te.
> ae

argue that Sullivan’sprevious lawyers were incompetent.in., ve

not trying harder tofind the alibi witnesses.

Dos gag

The lawyers also say Sullivan’s constitutional rights ..

were violated after he was arrested because police failed ta™*
call an attorney named Thomas Murphy, as he had re.
quested. On this point, his buddy Reid McLaughlin is *
helping him. In a recent affidavit, McLaughlin affirmed
Sullivan’s statement that he had asked to talk to Murphy. :;
McLaughlin, incidentally, has been paroled from prison...
and is living back in Massachusetts. aan

Sullivan won astay of execution just 38 hours from the e

electric chair in June 1979 after Gov. Graham signed his ; —

first death warrant. Ultimately that appeal failed, and .
Graham signed another warrant for Sullivan on Nov. 8 of .
this year. ie
His lawyers will try to win another reprieve Monday
morning from the Ilth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in?
Atlanta. If that fails, they will try the U.S. Supreme Court.”
But because the case has already been through state and.
federal courts, Sullivan's prospects appear bleaker than”
have won stays.
He acknowledged 8 much in the August newsletter.” =
“Please do not misinterpret this letter to be a sign that®

, Iam giving up,” Sullivan wrote in a message to his friends.*

“I am not quitting. Nevertheless, because I am a realist, I do~

not know what the future has in store for me. ee

“T could be executed as early as November, which is very

frightening for me to ponder. oe
“T do want to personally tel] each of you how very nucle
I have appreciated your friendship and support. It has»
meant more to me than I could ever adequately express in”
words alone.” .

Robert Sullivan in a photo made during a 1977 interview.

Convict's fight
to escape death
nearing an end

@ Justice at work: a look at the
death penalty appeal process —
1-D. @

®
By JOHN HARWOOD
Ast. Petersburg Times Staff Writer

TALLAHASSEE — Robert Austin
Sullivan, 36, who is scheduled to die
“Tuesday in Florida’s electric chair, ©
+: seems out of place among the murder-

| ers on death row.
= He isa fat, baby-faced man with
2~ > wavy brown hair, and people who have
© known, him for years talk about how
“nice he is. His father was a doctor who
‘attended Harvard Medical School. He
= went to college, just like other mid-
3 dle-class boys from suburban Massa-

ae = chusetts.

« Friends can’t believe that Sullivan

os blew Donald Schmidt’s head off with .

-ia shotgun. But police found him and
™his buddy Reid McLaughlin with the
) _gun. He confessed. His buddy testified
against him. He was convicted and
sentenced to death on Nov. 12, 1973.
© “Sully,” as friends call him, has
~ @ lived on death row ever since — longer
2 than anyone else in the United States.
Sullivan now maintains that he is
innocent. Ina decade-long struggle to
40 avoid the electric chair, he has reached
“2 back for support to his hometown of
Belmont, Mass. (population 26,285).
The town has embraced him.

cb

Ay

IN THE OFFICE of Gov. Bob
Graham, who wants him executed, the
Sullivan file is thick with testimonial
letters from boyhood friends and
acquaintances. Those letters and court
documents give some measure of the
man who may become the second
prisoner executed in Florida since
_capital punishment was reinstated 11. >
“years ago.” 7

He was born July 20, 1947 to par-
ents he never knew. At 2 weeks, he was
adopted by Dan Sullivan, a surgeon in
Nashua, N.H., and his wife Stella, who
had helped put him through medical
school. They were trying to save a

failing marriage.

“It didn’t work,” recalled Julie C.
Lawless, an old family friend.

After the divorce, Stella Sullivan
took her son and moved to Belmont, a
small suburb of Boston. She bought a
house on Richmond Road across the
street from Mrs. Lawless.

“There was no joy in that house-
hold,” Mrs. Lawless wrote last month
in a letter to Sullivan’s lawyer. “Stella
became bitter, angry and almost
sadistic. ... (Bob) was shunted back
and forth between his parents and
became nothing but a pawn.”

Mrs. Lawless and other neighbors
remember him as a quiet, lonely boy
with few friends his own age. He grew
overweight and developed a stutter.
He found companionship with youn-

ger children, however, and with a
neighbor named Lynn Lowell.

Mrs. Lowell, then 28, was married
to an Air Force officer stationed over-
seas. “Day after day,” she remem-
bered, “Bobby would come over and
sit with me” on her front steps waiting
for the letter carrier.

“T think he thought of me as a sec-
ond mother,” she said. At the time
Bobby was 8 years old.

His fourth-grade teacher at Winn
Brook Elementary School; Katherine
E. O’Brien, remembered Sullivan as a
“trustworthy, honest and reliable
boy.” The principal, Robert L. Blaney,

AP

said he “possessed fine character
traits” despite “a rather difficult home
life.” John P. Caccamo, who also at-
tended Winn Brook, recalled Sullivan
as an avid baseball player who let “us
younger kids ... play with the big
kids.”

When Sullivan finished sixth grade
at Winn Brook in 1959, Blaney said, it
appeared he would become “a healthy,
thoughtful, kindly human being.”

Sullivan went on to Belmont Jun-
ior High School and Belmont High. He

earned spending money cutting lawns

Please soe INMATE, 6-B


3 ae >

ae Pane

a ym hen neerggege aE hy. ‘

4

Continued From Page 1

reporters who witnessed the execution.

Douglas Hoyte, another reporter,
said that before the execution, Mr. Sul-
livan read the witnesses a two-page
‘statement, pausing several times, ap-
parently to hold back his emotions. The
first page was the 62d Psalm. The sec-
ond page consisted of thanks to friends,
lawyers, opponents of capital punish-
ment, the Catholic bishops of Florida
and Pope John Paul.

In his final words before taking his
seat in the chair, he told his fellow in-
mates on the Florida death row, ‘‘In
spite of what is about to happen to me,
do not quit. ‘

“‘T hold no malice to none,”’ he con-
cluded. ‘‘May God bless us all.””

“His voice was very strong,’’ Mr. Ro-
selle said.

The execution of Mr. Sullivan, one of
280 people condemned to die in the

1 Florida electric chair, was the first in

this state in four years. It came 10
years to the month of Mr. Sullivan’s

| conviction for the 1973 murder of Don-

ald Schmidt, an assistant manager ata
Howard Johnson’s motor lodge in
Homestead, where Mr. Sullivan was
once a manager.

Nationally, Mr. Sullivan was the
ninth man to die under a death sen-
tence since the Supreme Court lifted its
ban on such punishment in 1976. Two
people, including Mr. Sullivan, have
been executed in Florida, and one each

“Jin Utah, Nevada, Indiana, Virginia,

Texas, Alabama and Mississippi. .
1,268 on Death Rows
According to the New York-based

N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense and Educa-
tional Fund, there are 1,268 people on

| death rows across the country, all but
13 of them men. Of the total, the fund}: @ 3.00) eo
said, 654 are white, 531 black, 57 His-|-~ =~. °*”

panic, 9 American Indian, 5 Asian and 2
of undetermined ethnic origin.
Gov. Robert Graham, who gave final

from his office in Tallahassee, had
been swamped with calls and letters
this week for and against the execution.

On Tuesday the Roman Catholic

Mr. Sullivan, a practicing Catholic who

~.«..| was considered a model inmate, had} ~~...
been counseled by the church’s prison| - |. ~

ministry for several years and in turn| :
‘| was a counselor for other inmates. In|-"
one instance he persuaded a fellow in-| ©

mate not to commit suicide. ;
Governor Graham, maintaining that

4

‘<:} Archbishop of Miami, Edward A. Mc-|'—
’|. Carthy, appealed to the Governor on| ._.. . eet
-~.°| pehalf of the Pope that the execution be)... 2--0- >
». 8] set aside for ‘‘humanitarian reasons.”

«| ‘the time has come for finality,”’ ac- Ae

orders for the execution this morning| °° =

’;... knowledged the concerns of the death-} °."
penalty opponents but stood by the
anh i Pita om 3

Pod, Men

wr a

La

-—- vil EF @Bw vvy - -———

Murderer Executed
Despite Plea by Pope
And Florida Bishops

By REGINALD STUART
Special to The New York Times

STARKE, Fla., Nov. 30 — Robert

=| Austin Sullivan, a convicted murderer

whose fight to avoid execution was em-
braced by Pope John Paul II and de-
plored by the Chief Justice of the

_ United States, died today in the electric

chair.

As supporters and opponents of the
death penalty staged orderly vigils out-
side the state prison here, a hooded

state executioner sent a two-minute,
_2,000-volt charge of electricity through

| Mr. Sullivan’s body at 10:11 A.M.

_ The jolts were activated with the
shift of a lever controlling electrodes

.. |attached to Mr. Sullivan’s head and
~ |Jower right leg. Both had been shaved

earlier in the morning to insure contact
with the electric charges.

Mr. Sullivan, 36 years old, was pro-
nounced dead at 10:16 A.M. The execu-
tion was carried out ‘‘very smoothly,”
said Vernon Bradford, state correc-—

| tions spokesman.

A group of 24 citizens, half of them
reporters, witnessed the execution, as
prescribed by law.

“If a man can die with dignity under
these circumstances, then he died with

34] dignity,” said Bert Roselle, one of the

Continued on Page 13, Column 2

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gery
mig ete

SULLIVAN, Robert Austin, white, 36, electrocuted Florida (Dade County) on 11-30-1983,

ate oF eee
ee Segre


THE HERALD. MIAMI. FLORIDs+.

bag. About $7 was removed from
desk drawers.

BINDING THIN Trousers of the tictim, which he
ynae removed and whicn were hang-
ling from the foot of his bed, were

not searched. for $1.70 was found in
them by
Knust had pact.ally undressed,
prepara: ory to ZuTg to Sieep, when

inveetizators.

"aye .* at tacked. He hag removed his
Killing of Night Watchman. trousers, shoes and socks but not!
: ¥ Viei i his shirt or his underwear.
calles Most Vicious In jMhetccuve Sergeant Charles F.
OP Many Years 'Schweim, who with Detective Joel
cv | McNetiand LR M. ‘3s, State investi-
~ yy ~ hand tow , | Bator, $s in charge of the Invest-
A bined: hanckercn ee gation, said that mbbery was the|
ang Peavy isang of “TAPPINR motuve for the crime He said the!
twine | Tapped police lice with theirs murder was ine moat brutal in his |
most snpor rant Clues in the k: K experience. |
of Fret Krust, 64, night watchman, | Became Saspicioas

Thompson, wiio customarily £066 |

quarters at the Cres. |

iLhis steeping

at to the atieva ears in Che morm ng !

% \ ey a, XN WwW. Seveuh for a ewia, bacare sutmeciaus when t

TW went ik wureer he waa unable to atouse the nignt | |

————— watchman. He chmbed ta the roaft |

—_ . a red asoouted an an attempt to al-

The boos, pressed URhtls CMe ce Qetemtion.  Woen he did not
the iwine and padis battered a’ veceive a response he returned to
ne head, was found face — (tne street, located James, who was |

to go to work, and Mey |
the rear of the building. |

!

Ww. C. Thompson. | waiting
went to

The west door, the hinges off, |
alley | further alarmed Thompson. He and |
James entered, went directly to)
Knust’s sleeping quarters, which |

were on a platform raised to the;
height. pf a mezzanine floor, and |:
found the victim.

Sergeant Schweim discovered eev-

across a bed ny
operator.of a used car lot adjoining
the alleys, and L. A. James,
employe.

(dammedy tightly | into the victim's |
mouth and tied in back of ‘of his neck,

the towel ‘prey ented any outcry for,
help “and mulled Knust's moans. as!

iby a heavy blunt instrument had.

en wounds on the heed. The left) to care for himself in fecing ¢ pa

eye was swollen and discolored. | attacker.”
The towel gag was drawn so tight ' B. A. Mulloy, owner of the steve,
ly that the mouth stret tched nearly | informed police he: usually left re-
from ear to ear. | ceipts with Knust on “slow

The wounds showed that blows “and that the latter took the povey
to his sleeping quarters. = “E72!
been rained upon the head from dif- | Investigators pointed out “thas -
ferent angles and apparently were! the robbery and attack was aimilar -

to that last week at the
struck after the victim had been OO er, 1261 S. W. ‘Twenty-eccond 3
bound and gagged. i street, when Cart Slade, 16-year-old .
Possibly Tortured | assistant manager and night watch=:.
Schweim is of the opinion that | man. during alterations to the thea”
Knust recognized his assailants;' !ter, was slugged and robbed of his *
that he possibly was tortured in an, revolver ard $11 after falling asleep.
effort to make him reveal the hid-| Knust was last seen alive sbout -
ing place of the money. “It ts evi-; midnight Wednesday by James ~
dent that Knust resisted.” the de-/ while returning to his home with .
tective sergeant sa:d, “and he wasi his wife from a mouon picture *
beaten into submission. The blows! mao
were des:h blows.” ; Iris belleved the murder oceurred >
A relauve of Krust said that “no paueen 1 a. m. and daylight
ene man killed him. He was a pow: No inquest into the death nes. :
erful man for his age and weil apie. been set.

na died_in the most vicious attack. ||
pol.ce sav, in man }ears—in, the
Miami area. {

The hands were tied In back of |
‘he hod. and the eibows were drawn ||
to the hack and fastened securely ||
with twine. The feet also were ted.

Knusté body was. still warm
when found shordy aftef daylignt. ||

Door Hinges Removed j

The killers entered the structure |!
hy removing the hinges from a door
on the west side of the building.
They fansacked desk drawers, lock-
ers, a trunk and several! sultcases
and broke open a “skill” game and
a penny weighing machine in their
search for loot. Taken from & money
bag. generally kept in a cigar box
in Knust's sleeping quarters, was
$79.77. A check wes left im the

ree


STANTON, John A., wh, elec. FL (Dade) May 18, 1942

State of Florida V. John A. a —— aos

Oscar J. Figarola
593-62-1889
11-05-91

wm SG

On December 26, 1940, in Dade County, -John A. Stanton alias John <n,

Raswell, and-Albert Gurney Taylor murdered’ Fred Knust by striking,
assaulting, beating, and killing with a deadly weapon, an iron
wreaking bar.

The victim , Fred Knust was a sixty four year old night guard for
the Cresent Bowling Alley, at North West 7th Avenue and 25th Street.
T Grant kaart December 26, 1940, sometime between 1 A.M. and daylight,
while Fred Knust was preparing to go ta sleep, Stantan and Gurney
broke inte his dormitory. Stanton and Gurney were believed tec have
entered by removing the hinges form the door aon the west side of the
building. The investigators Sargeant Charles F. Schweim, Detective
Joel Mcneil , and I.R. Mills , State Investigator, said th@/robbery

are

was the motive the crime. Detective Schweim was of the opinion
that Knust probably recangnized the assailants. Detective Schwein
quoted as saying, " It was evident that Knust resisted", and that, @)
he was beaten into submission". The blows re death blows.
<e at

reveal the location of where his money was kept in that building

total Knust’s killers took,%$79.77 from the money bag and about

dellars from the victims desk drawers. The body was found tied

tightly with twine, and badly beaten. His hands were tied in the

of his beady and his elbows were drawn to the back and alse tied ;
tightly. In his mouth was stuffed a towel to prevent anyone from
hearing his calls for help.

@ylor held a Flashlight on the deceased while the defendant
co faneded him to turn over. At that time the deceased asked how they

Detectives believed that Knust/was tortured to death sa he would G

had\.getten in his place and started to raise up whereupon defendant

struck him several fatal blows over the head with the ago bar. ~,
Stanton and Taylor then robbed the place and fled a daspanty cit) ‘a
The deceased was found the next morning, dead. Of) cant ’

Stanton was admitted to a hospital because of his Sheéch defect
and marked retardation. After his admission he became halucinagetic
and claimed that he was hearing voices in his head. In the trial
Stanton was described as heing, "shrewd, calculating, selfish,
egotistical, and a domineering individual with,mriminal inclinations
so strong that he was callous te all law and m lity”. His case
histea referred to by his medical experts showed evidence of his
hallufiftatians and imagining he heard voices caging him ta da

in;things.

Stanton never claimed that he committed the crime u yr any
iallucinatian. He said the deceased had cheated him of Der
sum of money and he was therefore justified in the robber ; and that
when the deceased resisted gm being tied up he was justified in the
assualt. The medical experts said that the defencant knew at all
times what he was doing and also the penalty he would have ta pay;
that he knew right fram wrang, and that he was conscicus of his deed
and the prebable punishment. Since he knew what he was doing, the
jury agre 2 Lnsane ano was competent toa stand
trial. " offenders of legal pesponsibility are ammendaptTe ta the
Same standard of law".


®). prepared for his crime with the greatest of detail. His
motive was robbery. He armed himself with a deadly weapon. He broke
and entered as a thief in the night. He masked to avoid recognition.
He wore rubber gloves toa avoid detection and fled to a distant point
after the deed was dane. "The deed was planned and executed with a
degree of self possession and wickedness equal only to the atrocity of
the crime itself." His only excuse to a court of justice is a lack of
will power to restrain his rampant desire. We hold the evdence
sufficient to sustain the verdict of the jury.

"It appears that the defendant was subject to irtagistible
imptuse or moral insanity. We have held, "the irresistible impulse or
maral Ain y doctrine is not recognized in this state as an excuse
for ul act.”
victim, Fred Knust was a powerful 64 year old man, whom
according tq a relative was well able to ‘ake care of himself.
Accord nust’s relative, he believed that it must have taken
man to have done this to him.

n Stanton was born in Johnston, Pennsylvannia, on July 3th
His father was bern in the United States and was a miner. His

mother was born in Ireland. He had four brothers and three sisters and
all of them were in good health. After he finished school he worked in
a mine with his father. He had worked on different jobs but had never
held any of them very lang. At one point he was sent to a hospital
because of a nervous disease of three months.

Stanton had been arrested on Febuary i4th, 1924 for holding up @
taxi cab driver. He received a sentence of ten to twenty years in
prison. He had a speech defect and marked retardation. He was
transfered to the Dannemora State Hospital, on April 18, 1925. “
Stanton revealed in his signed confession that he beat a " murder rap
" when he was 16 years old because " he wasn’t guilty”. If Stanton
spoke the truth, he had been out of jail only from three toa five
years, since he was 16. The last sentence i5 years, was finished
only six months before the murder of Knus

During the course of the investigation , detectives learned that
John Stanton had worked at the alleys as a pin bey until six weeks
before the murder and robbery. Additionally, they found out that
Stanton liked ta show-off his unusual strength by bragging to others
he worked with, that he could strike a "death blow" with the edge of
his right hand by hitting a person in the face.

In early January of 1941, John A. Stanton admitted ta the police
that he had thrown the pinchbar with which he allegedly killed Fred
Knust that night of December 26, 1940 and the two pairs of glaves and
hankerchiefs used by him and Taylor as masks.

John Stanton was covicted of First Degree murder and sentenced toa
death by electrocution. At the execution Stantan’s lawyer thought
that the last thing he would t would be a minister. Stanton
replied, " The hell with a oifiyers get me the beer and let him take
care of himself".


Mulloy. “Knust’s?”

- other states and were hired for a sho

~ where Fred a a ‘a futile,

but fatal attempt to hide his

dink:

Pe

ND

=,

“Seal @ =
fee

ae

—_ ne
ee es

PO eee

Mills were not inclined to
contention. The slaying ‘and

scale for one man. By
Schwelm picked’
money-bag. “Whose ist

Mulloy shook his head, “ 4
the day’s receipts. Knust used to
them overnight on slow days, and giv
them to me in the morning. When
I counted that money last night there
was close to $80 there.” 7

“Who knew he ke on money up the discussion,
here?” Schwelm asked? pr Coptai the list.

“So far as I know,” replied Mulloy, tain Melchen
“l’'m the only other person who a thestion that required
that.” he could not stay long.

Schwelm’s jaw clenched. This was” with him Detectives
an inside job, he reasoned. How | else”
could the killers know that the night
watchman kept money in his room?
How else co nd they have opened ‘1
right door, at just the right hour -

0" Kon all the pin boys, Schwelia es ‘well that
catch him asleep? Schwa was con. rae ito check ‘returned to Knust’s the fundamental “urge~of
vinced the killers must have known ~ sleeping quarters: to'see what progress many criminals“is’the de-~
Knust, his habits, his duties in regard “Detective Love was “h Raving. in, hog
to the day’s receipts, and must have” peer ac for’ sane ih
been familiar the “Th
place. And a person
that information woul
either an employee, an ex-em nloy
or a frequent customer. :

lay his cleverness.

“employer's money from robbers.

sire for self-importance. To him the
. “trade-mark” was the direct result of © ~
»the killer’s egotism. It represented an’
geimgusent gesture to mock pursuers a

tate. Investigator Mills, in t
i just:h y \t : : meantime, had begun grilling the pin
“Did 2 x nies?” "prints, hi ‘boys and as many of the former pin

asked Schwelm, ~~ { i NAN. <4 4 b er, s could be located. All, how-
“T never knew of. any, “6 answers : as ed. to give convincing

Mulloy without hesitation. “He ) g and ed. is

a lonely man and spent’ most. of ~ “That ‘ ey il’ repli After hours of questioni

and the customers. He was w
Most of the pin: boys, ‘it devel

time here, chatting with the int'be a bar ig Shera Ga! is no Aiiee had been gained.
ine! ; : \ Benwiglin

re) t.

were “floaters.” “They came. from

& cent ig. chances’ are that by
time, after which they usually” baie Sil
wander elsewhere,

to work?” asked Schwelm.

“We don ort Ru the full force e on till: :
night,’ oy explained. the
morning the boys alternate so tha
they can sleep late every third morn= But. : ‘yet.
ing. We Spee | at One 8; which. he 3 e st “we've. elm d ho
26 S Ric, : 5

hwelm reminded him. “I’m

“There's still: the | ‘customers,”’
going

check on then Eby now.” ah
efully to L. A.’

‘oun; 2? Mills Satie: to
4 fh think they’re all inno- °

rae

tricks with
lot of one-

always lik«

, “Where
ed.

Soleo i

to have Jc
questionin;
and Papy
rage with :}
At the san
where Mor
of his hc
might pro


re

blow of. which woul di be. ry one of those blows. But Ba teta knew the ouclk eed
break the néck, let alone: ‘dislocata ‘was ah: intentional death-blow, That’s re questions than it answered. How
‘But—there’s no wound, no’ k - why, I'm ape oe rapeene ;
ere, a two

} show such a. blow had’ fall
neck!’ eerie hy *

asserted, “by something soft but
erful, like & man’s hand.” He: Se the i ‘See
“as an idea came to him. “That could ” motive. A nce. h i Sa can. find fingerprints,” he sug-
“have been done by a blow with th “had pra “I. doubt. that you will, but
side of the hand. That’s a blow in- turned the place upside-down. He ,i yhow.”. ,

iu-jitsu! As a matter of fact, I.don’t ‘had oa ransack desk ‘drawers, tes Mulloy, the owner. of. the
w of any other way it could be cke trunk, and several suitcases, oe eys, had been notified at once of

| “done to put out one—and only one— search ' fo: ‘loot, 7 ‘the tragedy, and he came ate set
, f the vertebrae. It must have been : ide ls 2 , “This isn’t the work of: a e
‘done by the outer edge of the kill e 1ey. icked. ,killer,” he asserted huskily, as he
- 4” was empty. ‘viewed ‘the mutilated. body of his

han ;

“But,” broke. in Detective Love, he ‘faithful employee. ‘“Knust. was sixty-
“why should the killer bother with tossing it: on the Bea four, but he was still husky: No one
fancy blows when he had a bludgeon?” “probably aa ler .couldn’t. find: the man: could do that to him. ere must

That was a disturbing question. The este: so he torturéd Knust to have been at least two’ killers.”

. jiu-jitsu blow did seem superfiuous. “him.show him where tt Sergeant Schwelm and Investigator
i iia Seer lai NO See Beene

Sergeant Schwelm put into words
athe conclusions of a “This is no®~
accidental killing,” he asserted with:

Detective Mc-
the victim to

wvelm suddenly.
ve us a lead.”
d cut thelropes,
1e complicated

ills, meanwhile, . oe ee
> head wounds. ; ee "
VIVACIOU:

%
1as been dislo-
phe frig
lace.”
ge on the

lislocated cent
not be an ee
ontinued.. “The ©
olows rained on ~
unt peony


ade a futile,
to hide his
‘om robbers,

have to find out who his accomplice
was. Maybe in a day or so he'll talk.”

HE ‘next morning, Saturday, De-
cember 28, a nervous young woman
. presented herself before Sergeant
Schwelm.

Ethel Conn, a small, vivacious bru-
nette, came directly to the ‘point.

aots _ “Joseph Morse,” she declared empha-
eral ' tically, “did not kill) Knust.” j
nds, “Can you give us any good reason
Ors. | why he didn’t do it?” the sergeant
adi- | asked 77S, :
lers “TI -can,” she said.evenly. “The
dge “killer of Fred Knust must have had
‘ powerful hands, right?” she began.
elm decal’ partigaparntysed: ste Gant
arm: ‘18, p: rep ed. He can’t .—
ime even ralse at aeacr his shoulder. His
rm | right, han ough, is very’ strong.
the He’s, terribly “self-conscious of his
ru handicap, and that’s why he brags so
oth much about his ‘other arm.” :
ck! She gulped, fighting back the tears.
that “Joe would rather die than tell even
: of the police. So I figured it was’ my
de- aunty. ..6i2"
e. To him the

“What about the money?” Schwelm
asked softly.
JIU-JITSU “J gave it to him,” Ethel said.
blow and intricate knots ‘We’re planning to get married. We're
left behind gave lead to ™aking payments on a house.” The

2 tears were coming now. “Will you—
identity of John Stanton, 31) you set him + eet y

Schwelm nodded. The girl’s story

: ; 5 : Pate! imple he could see the ap=
tricks with his fingers, and knows dered early this morning,” Schwelm Was SO Simple hi
lot of one-arm wrestling holds. We began. parent truth. in. it. as

direct result of °
represented an”
mock pursuers
ness,

Mills, in the
srilling the pin
the former pin
ed. All, how-
ve convincing

a : ; Wea | : it”? Three days passed and nothing had

t always likes to show off his strength. Don’t know a thing about it, ce |
nga There Where is this Morse?” Schwelm Morse countered immediately. He ap- Cl ype Schwelm ent
ills confided to asked. ©... peared to be on the alert, ready for the list Mh icaivie’y — oy err ‘ar,
~ “He works only a few blocks from a barrage of questions. The officer they had located and questi all

’re all inno- : uestioned.
° that by this here,” James¥said, “in a garage on decided another approach was more but four of the former pin boys. |
it of the state.” - 22nd St.” ee gos nciwctta a Hind at
been assigned . Seizing ~ on ~ -thi pIneagre ead, “They say you'r és
‘ations ait ts Schwelm immediately. gave the order feats of strength, Morse,” Schwelm
suspicious per- to have Joseph Morsé,pickéd.up for said conversationally. This new line
ad been nega- questioning, etectives Lov Neil brought forth an immediate response. somewheres ,; :

and Papy were disp “You bet,” iene vag ac ou a a

rage with inst apparently relieved. “The muscles in ye

arms are like steel,” he snapped ‘recalled; “who used

At the same time th r
where Morse lived. A ers in a casual gesture.
’s lips tightened. ‘“That’s

of his home, Schwelm ‘t S ;
might produce some evidence ' he said dryly. He


sind

ei

racket. Certificates, purporting to en-
title the recipient to a wave are sold
for a small sum. Too late, the cer-
tificate holder discovers that she is
not entitled to the shampoo and set-
ting which are, of course, essential
to the treatment. By the time the
victim has paid for these additional
operations, she will have been re-
lieved of a sum more than adequate
to. cover the entire process.

Racket radio dealers sell instru-
‘ments with the advertised number of
tubes—but some of the tubes are
merely dummies which light up, but
which are of no service whatever.
Radio noise eliminators, peddled on

HEADQUARTERS

DETECTIVE

Morse affair he was wary of the
strong-arm lead. But James persisted.

“Stanton could do jiu-jitsu,” he said.
“He used to boast of it. He said he
could deal a death blow with the side
of his hand.”

Schwelm suddenly became inter-
ested. “Why didn’t you tell me about
this before?) What sort of a man is
he?”

“He’s medium size, stocky,” James
answered. “Blue eyes, light hair,
rather good-looking. Used to be a
circus roustabout, I understand, and
was a sailor once. Comes from Johns-
town, Pa. Must be about 40.”

Schwelm called in Detectives Han-
cock and Papy. “Find James Stan-
ton,” he ordered as he furnished them
with a description. “Try all the
plumbers in town. You've got to pick
him up.”

Earlier, in the absence of any other
leads, Schwelm had assigned Detec-
tives Love and McNeil to canvass the
neighborhood, checking on alley pa-
trons, and reporting all chance in-
formation that might come their way.

That afternoon Love burst into
Schwelm’s office. “Say, Sergeant,” he
cried, “there’ve been two fellows stay-
ing at a rooming house at 35 N. W.
Second Avenue, and they checked out
the morning Knust was killed!”

“Sounds good,” Schwelm said.

“And one of these fellows worked
in a restaurant,” Love _ continued.
“Remember the bar towel?”

Schwelm perked up. “What’s the
story on him?”

“Young kid, maybe 21. Worked in
a restaurant for the past month.
Comes from somewhere up North.
Name’s Albert G. Taylor.”

“Taylor!” Investigator Mills ejacu-
lated. “Why, he’s one of the pin boys
who can’t be found. Mulloy thought
he went back to Tennessee long ago!”

“What’s the dope on Taylor’s room
mate?” Schwelm asked.

“T couldn’t get much on him,”. Love
said. “Name’s James Stanton. That’s
all I could find out.”

“Stanton!” Schwelm reached for
his hat and coat. “Boy, you found out
plenty. Come on!”

At the rooming house little was
known of the two men. They had
checked in togethér in September,
and had occupied a large room on the
second floor. They had talked to none
of the other roomers, and had sud-

tenn nee

the street with elaborate demonstra-
tion apparatus, are worthless. A
Wildcat busses and share expense
travel agencies should be rigidly in-
vestigated. They have been known to
dump their passengers at wayside
points, steal their baggage, and inflict
other losses, inconveniences and in-
dignities.
‘ Unscrupulous garage operators tune
in on police broadcasts, hasten to the
scene of traffic accidents, and haul off
damaged cars without authorization—

afterwards charging the owner ex- —

orbitantly for towing and repairs.
Ignore the professional beggar. “Off
duty” he may live in a penthouse

denly checked out the morning of
December 26. All that was known
was that Taylor had worked as a bus
boy in a downtown restaurant.
Schwelm released Hancock and
Papy from their job of trying to lo-
cate Stanton, to go to the restaurant

and try to learn, if possible, where .

Stanton and Taylor might have gone.
Meanwhile, he covered the railroads
and bus lines, in hopes that some
driver or conductor might remember
having seen the two men.

A lengthy querying resulted in the
revelation that two men answering
the descriptions of Stanton and Taylor
had boarded a north-bound bus on
the morning of December 28.

A teletype alarm for the two men
was at once broadcast to the police of
surrounding states.

T the restaurant, Papy and Han-

cock picked up important news.

Taylor, they were told, had come
from Etowah, Tenn., a small town
near Chattanooga. They also learned
he had a wife there and each week he
had sent her a portion of his small
salary.

Schwelm was elated. Although
with about $35 apiece the two men
could go nearly anywhere in the
country, he nevertheless had a hunch
that Taylor would show up in Etowah.

Accordingly, he telephoned the
Etowah police chief. and told him to
watch out for the two wanted men.

For three days there was no word.
Then, on January 2, 1941, the Etowah
police official reported: “We've picked
up Taylor. He says Stanton got off
the bus at Jacksonville.”

“Good work,” said Schwelm. “Hold
EY adh we'll send two men up to get

im.”

Detective Captain E. W. Melchen
an@ State Investigator Mills left im-
mediately for Etowah. Schwelm noti-
fied the Jacksonville police of Stan-
ton’s reported presence in their city,
and at the same time the Florida State
Police inaugurated a search through-
out the entire northern portion of
the state. Underworld haunts were
scoured by plainclothes officers.

“Stanton can’t remain hidden for
long,” Schwelm asserted. “He muffed
his chance when he didn’t get out of
Florida. Florida is a peninsula—a
trap—and we have him bottled up.
We'll have him before the week is

TRADE MARK OF THE TORTURE FIEND

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 217

“HEADQUARTERS DETECTIVE 41

and ride to and from work in a
limousine.

Questionable patriotic associations
often use the names of prominent
citizens without their knowledge to
give themselves an aroma of respec-
tability.

Medical science is yet to discover a
drug which can remove the habitual
craving for alcohol or narcotics.

Racket auto driving schools. make
unqualified claims and promises—and
unlimited charges.

Finally, to the unemployed man or
woman: hold as suspect any “em-
ployment agency” which demands a
“registration fee” or prior payment.

over,” he promised.

He was right. The Jacksonville
policé on January 7 bagged Stanton
in a routine dragnet of suspicious per-
sons. Though his description: tallied
with that broadcast by the Miami po-
lice, he at first denied he was Stanton.

In searching him, however, the po-
lice found a scrap of paper with the
words, “Al Taylor, Etowah, Tenn.,”
written on it. That was enough to
make him admit his identity, and im-
mediately Miami was notified. Mills
and Love left at once to bring him
back.

In Miami, Taylor confessed Fred
Knust’s murder at once, placing most
of the blame on Stanton. “He woke
me up the morning of December 26,”
he said, “and asked me to go with him
to the Crescent Bowling Alleys. When
we got there he told me he was going
to rob the place. We awakened Knust
and I held the flashlight while Stanton
tied him up. Then Stanton beat him
with an iron bar to make him tell
where the money was hidden. We
checked out of our room and hopped
the bus. At Jacksonville Stanton
told me not to worry, that he would
al me when the heat would be
fe) tu

Taylor’s declaration that he was
unaware of the lethal intention of the
visit to the bowling alley, however,
couldn’t be reconciled with that part
of his confession in which he told po-
lice he and Stanton had left their room
prepared with the towel and twine.
The authorities averred he knew the
purpose of the trip.

On the other hand, John Stanton,
the man whose conceit impelled him
to label his crime with his trade mark,
remained callous and surly. He re-
peatedly insisted that he “had rights
and the State of Florida must give me
what I deserve.”

In keeping with his. statement, the
State of Florida placed the pair on
trial for first degree murder on April
10, 1941. Young Taylor was permitted
to plead guilty to the indictment and
testified against his accomplice. The
former sailor and jiu-jitsu expert,
Stanton, was found guilty and re-
ceived the death sentence. Albert G.
Taylor was condemned to life im-
prisonment.

Note: In order to protect innocent
persons the names Joseph Morse and
Ethel Conn are fictitious.


Sten aft Ga é\

Florida inmate executed for killing elderly neighbor

48 STARKE, Fla. — An inmate was put to death in Florida's electric chair
Friday for killing a 77-year-old neighbor who had invited him into her
home for a sandwich and wound up being raped and strangled. Roy Allen
Stewart, 38, was put to death at the Florida State Prison. His final appeals
were turned down Thursday by the U.S. Supreme Court. He was executed
for the 1979 murder of Margaret Haizlip.

DALLAS: MORNING
SAT. 423-94

MEWS


inicio innit
s
. ‘

_ FLORIDA

thorities stop a gunman, was given
a key to the city. Tuesday was de-.

The ‘state
Stay of

clared “Karl Zimmerman Day.”

FLORIDA ©

STARKE — A judge stayed
Wednesday’s execution of Roy
Stewart for 48 hours. Gov. Chiles
is expected to reschedule the ex-
ae ecution before Friday, Carolyn
\ Snurkowski at the Attorney Gen-

} eral’s office said. ... PANAMA

CITY — Stone Cantainer Carn

* THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 1994 » USA TODAY

USA TODAY - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 1994 : '

* Saturday, April 23, 1994. A-9

SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER

NATION DATELINES et:

Florida executes
rapist of aged woman

STARKE, FLA. An inmate was put to
death in Florida’s electric chair Friday

‘ for raping and strangling a 77-year-old

neighbor who had invited him into her
home for a sandwich.
Roy Allen Stewart, 38, was put to

, death at the Florida State Prison for the

1979 murder of Margaret Haizlip, who
was beaten, bitten, raped and strangled.

Witnesses testified Haizlip had invit-
ed Stewart into her home for a sand-

wich. Stewart said she became angry and

confronted him after he took a gold
watch from a cabinet.
The execution was Florida’s first this
year and 33rd since the U.S. Supreme
Court’s 1976 ruling allowing states to
resume use of the death penalty.

_—=—- - an a

~—s

Killer of Sunday school teacher executed

STARKE, Fla. — An inmate went to his death in the electric
chair today for raping and strangling a 77-year-old Sunday -
school teacher in her home.

Roy Allen Stewart, 38, was executed at daybreak one day
afer the U.S. Supreme Court turned down a round of appeals
without comment, except for the standard dissent from Justice
Harry Blackmun, who opposes capital punishment.

Stewart was convicted of murdering Margaret Haizlip of
Perrine. She was beaten, raped, bitten and strangled with an
electrical cord in 1979. é :

Witnesses testified Mrs. Haizlip had invited Stewart, a
neighbor, into her home for a sandwich. Stewart said she
became angry and confronted him:after he took a gold watch

from a cabinet. wy eons
\ San Mafe Co, CA.

Friday, April 22, 1994

The Times.

bei


Sun-Sentinel, Saturday, April 23, 1994

FT. LAUDERDA

| SOUTH FLORIDA |
Man executed for teacher’s Slaying

\
Death Row inmate accepted his fate, minister says after electrocution

STATE

better prepared for his death “T appreciate all you've done.
than I am for mine.” ‘ I love you,” the inmate said.
. Lawrence and the Rev. Larry Seconds later a black mask was

STARKE — An inmate elec- McAlister of Scranton, S.C., sat lowered over his face and he
trocuted on Friday for killing a. utside Stewart’s cell overnight was electrocuted.
_?7-year-old Sunday school ag he ‘‘talked and rambled In a pasture outside the pris-
teacher from Dade County had about life,” said Gene Morris, a on:compound, competing pro-
accepted his fate, said a minis- Department of Corrections testers maintained vigils.
ter who stayed with the con- spokesman. About 10 protesters demon-
demned man during his final He was also visited by his strated against the death penal-
hours. mother and stepfather, Barba- ty. Four supported it.

Roy Allen Stewart was pro- [a and Hampton Hodge of Sum- “The taxpayers ought not
nounced dead at 7:11 a.m. at ter, S.C., and two sisters and a have to pay to keep these people
Florida State Prison in north- >rother. —— ; _ alive for 10 or 15 years,” said
east Florida. The execution is the first this Mark Hamm of Valdosta, Ga.,

year in Florida and the 33rd _ one of the four.

He was executed for the 1979 since Florida reinstituted the Florida governors signed
murder of Margaret Haizlip, a ~- death penalty in 1976. It came death warrants for Stewart in
member of a family that helped 15 years after Haizlip was bru- 1984, 1986, 1990 and, most re-
pioneer Perrine in south Dade. _talized and murdered. cently, March 9, 1994.

She was beaten, bitten, raped After Stewart was strapped Stewart’s final appeals were
and strangled. into the oaken death chair, he turned down on Thursday by the

“He was prepared to die,” nodded to Lawrence, who was’ US. Supreme Court after a fed-
said the Rev. Fred Lawrence of _ sitting in the front row of 33 eral judge in Miami had de-
the First United Methodist — witnesses on the other side ofa layed the execution from
Church in Gainesville. “He was thick window. Wednesday until Friday.

By RON WORD

Associated Press Writer

> EXECUTION

Convicted killer executed

path to the his last meal: lobster, baked po- |
, electric chair tatoes with sour cream, tossed
on Feb. 21, salad and iced tea. He ate it
1979. That all

ee

1979 murder sent
Roy Stewart

, , _ was the day In the wee morning hours,

to electric chair tat “Hai Stewart prayed wih the Rev
TERRY MANNY GARCIA .invited Fr wrence of First Unite

reg tl neighbor Methodist Church of Gaines- :

4 et a ged ville.
+ , in for a .
ns luncheon Prepared to die

sandwich. Shortly after 7 a.m. Stewart

STARKE — Roy Allen Stew-
art waited 15 years for this one
minute. Roy Allen Stewart

A black-hooded executioner —_

with holes for eyes hit a button
at 7:10 a.m. Friday, sending
2,000 volts of electricity
through Stewart’s body. His
fists clenched. His _ chest
heaved. Then he went limp as
air and life rushed out. of his
body.
At 7:11 a.m., a doctor said
Stewart, the convicted killer of
77-year-old Margaret Haizlip of
South Dade, was dead.
Moments later, outside the
Florida State Prison a few miles
outside of Starke, a man in a
black pickup sped by a small
group of death penalty protes-
ters, screaming: ‘‘One less. One
less, baby!’’

Stewart started down the-

He wasn’t
a good guest — she soon caught
him stealing her watch. He at-
tacked Haizlip, stripped her,
kicked her, raped her, bit her
savagely on the hip and stran-
gled her with an electric cord.

He survived three previous
executior warrants with 15
years worth of court appeals,
and his family maintained his
innocence throughout.

‘‘We are very disappointed
in the judicial system of Flor-
ida,’’ said Moe McCutcheon,
who is married to Stewart’s sis-
ter, Betty. ‘‘He was innocent,
and he just basically got rail-
roaded by politics.”’

At about 5:30, Stewart got

walked calmly into the execu-
tion chamber and was quickly
buckled in to the three-legged
oak chair known as ‘Old
Sparky.’’ He looked prepared
to die. With pursed lips and
clenched hands, he peered
through eh oe into witness
chamber, ing eye contact
with a few people.

When asked if he had any fi-
nal words, he leaned into a mi-
crophone and responded, ‘‘No,
I just want to thank Rev. Law-
rence. I appreciate all you’ve
done for me.’’ Lawrence sat in
the front row and nodded back.

The current was applied and
smoke rose from a spot on his
right calf where an electrode
was attached.1

Boca Raw) News - Apel 33, G94


Roy Allen Stewart, 38, was exe-
cuted for the 1979 murder of
Margaret Haizlip. ate

Witnesses testified that the victim
had invited Stewart into her home for
- a sandwich. Stewart said she became

angry after he took a gold watch.

|
- raped and strangled. ©

- Compiled from reports by The Asso-

* ciated Press. ..:.2-4 |

Saturday, April 23, 1994

| Phoeniy

AZ

The Arizona Republic A9

' Florida killer

STARKE, Fla. — An inmate
‘was put to.death in Florida’s
electric chair Friday for killing
a 77-year-old neighbor who had
invited him jnto her home for
a sandwich and wound up being
raped and strangled.

Roy Allen: Stewart, 38, was
put to death at the Florida State
Prison.

His final appeals were
; turned down Thursday by the

U.S. Supreme Court.

Stewart was’ executed for

‘the 1979 ‘murder of Margaret
Haizlip, who was beaten, bit-
“ten, raped and ‘strangled.

Witnesses testified Haizlip
«had.invited Stewart into her
/ home for a sandwich. Stewart

LN A A A A I A ER RI FSO SO mM tee a

fronted: him*after he took a ©
<gold watch from :a. cabinet. .

: _ Stewart acknowledged beat- .
ing and raping}Haizlip, but said
' he left her alive.

-_ The execution was Florida’s
first this year and 33rd since the
U.S. Supreme Court's 1976
ruling allowing states to resume
“use of the death penalty. ©

— -

put to death B

said she became angry and con- |

Saturday, April 23, 1994/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Sun/11A

NY der of his 77-year-old neighbor,

\ Florida man executed
\yfor, woman’s murder

* ‘STARKE, Fla: — An inmate
yeas put to death in Florida’s elec-
Ww tric chair Friday for the 1979 mur-

vay argaret Haizlip, who had invited
‘him into her home for a sandwich
Si and wound up being raped ‘and
Ww strangled. Roy Allen Stewart, 38,
‘was put to death at the Florida
YW) State Prison. His final appeals
Te were turned down Thursday by the |
se U.S. Supreme Court. The execu- |
“tion was Florida’s first this year
-and 33rd since the U.S. Supreme

. Court’s 1976 ruling allowing states

‘to resume use of the death penalty


ad

-

--

d. The two offi-
roached the sus-
posite sides, guns

| were in the front
ered them out of
ed permission to
trunk was empty,
1 of the vehicle
marijuana. The
under arrest and
ew room at Sta-

mputer check on
covered that the
1 warrant out for
iudulent checks.
this, she began
ly. Terrified of
to make a deal,
a wrist-slap of
a. She knew who
woman, she said.
ie homicide divi-

same woman
sucet from Maggy
she was raped and

who worked with
roofing job, was
er at the Perrine
-ked as a barmaid.
e to stay, so she
a favor to her
e good money but
cocaine. He had
- about two weeks
he sensed her new
rried about some-
ypened. One night
th on cocaine, he
e did not mean to
He was burglariz-
said, when she at-
a iron. His name
ewart.
art now?” Maddrix

it to South Caroli-
raph test and passed

yntinued working the
e information about
_ The sleuths learned
eran burglar on pa-
Carolina. On March
ities contacted South

put out an im-

tion pickup on

or Dick Hall con-

tacted several police agencies where
Stewart was known to have had
records, to request copies of finger
and palm prints. Finally, Sergeant
Bloom at Homestead, Florida, turned
up a set under an alias Stewart had
been using while on the dodge. The
right palm print perfectly matched one
left on a chair in Margaret Haizlip’s
bedroom. The left middle finger
matched another print lifted from
her bedpost.

An all-points bulletin was issued
for the arrest of Roy Stewart for first
degree murder. His photograph was run
in a newspaper, producing a reaction
from a Richland County, South Car-
olina, resident. An informant there,
whose anonymity was closely guard-
ed, remembered Stewart and thought
he might be employed at a roofing com-
pany in Richland County. When Stew-
art showed up for work, Detectives
Billy Gilbert and Jack Sullivan took
him into custody. Unarmed, he of-
fered no resistance.

With South Carolina’s blessing, on
April 20,1979, Detectives Roadruck
and Singleton, of the Dade County
Sheriff’s Department, returned 23-
year-old Roy Stewart to Florida, to
face first-degree murder charges
concerning the death of Margaret Hai-
zlip.

At the Florida office of Dr. Souvi-
ron, impressions were made of Stew-
art’s upper and lower teeth. These were
rendered into models of die stone and
Valor took photographs. Each com-
parison measurements were taken and
pictures of Stewart’s impressions and
the bite marks were compared under
a microscope. It was determined that
the bite in the bologna found in
Maggy’s bedroom was made by Roy
Stewart’s lower teeth. The bite marks
around the nipples of her breasts and
around the pubic hair of her vagina had
been made by Stewart’s upper teeth,
as well as those on her thighs, but-
tocks and stomach.

In late June of 1979, Roy Allen
Stewart was brought to trail in Dade
County Circuit Court. Despite the
publicity, it was pushed to inside
columns of Miami newspapers and
hardly noticed. People were more
interested in another trial that was
taking place at that very same time,
in a courtroom just down the hall.
Theodore Bundy was on trial for the
coed murders. Ironically, Dr. Souvi-
ron testified at both trials about bite

marks. His testimony would prove in-
strumental in causing Bundy’s even-
tual execution.

At the trial, Detective Singleton tes-
tified that on their return flight from
South Carolina to Dade County, Flori-
da, Stewart told him and Detective
Roadruck that the widow invited him
into her Perrine home after he showed
up at her door on Wayne Avenue,
asking for a sandwich. When he used
her bathroom, he said, he noticed a gold
watch lying on the basin. He pocket-
ed it.

According to Stewart, when Maggy
had cause to use the bathroom, she
noticed the watch was gone and ac-
cused him of stealing it. She at-
tacked him. He said he killed her
while trying to defend himself. He
even accompanied the two detec-
tives to a forest off U.S. I where he
said he had discarded Mrs. Haizlip’s
watch. For many hours they searched
the dense vegetation, but failed to find
the watch.

The legal arguments and presenta-
tion of evidence in the trial lasted
three weeks. Finally the case went
to the Dade County Circuit Court jury
on July 2, 1979. After deliberating
only two hours, the nine-man, three
woman panel returned with a ver-

dict, Roy Allen Stewart was found
guilty of raping and murdering Mar-
garet Haizlip. The death penalty was
recommended.

“I agree and concur,” Circuit Judge
Lenore Nesbitt fired back. On July
5th she not only handed Stewart
the death sentence, but added life
imprisonment for rape. Additional-
ly, she tacked on 30 years for armed
robbery, since he was carrying a
pocket knife, and 15 years for bur-
glary.

At this writing, Roy Allen Stewart
is among 290 inmates sitting on Flori-
da’s Death Row. He has been await-
ing death by electrocution for fifteen
years, but may die of old age before
he ever will be strapped to that state’s
electric chair.”

Florida’s last execution occurred on
January 24,1989, when Theodore
Bundy was electrocuted. A reporter
covering the event wrote:

“His body stiffened spasmodically,
then a scant swirl of smoke trailed from
his head. His body remained taunt, with
the right foot raised slightly at the heel,
seemingly frozen there. There was a
brief pause, then another minute of
shock. In 30 seconds it was over. The
body was too hot to touch and would
blister anyone who did.” *

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25

‘Story | Dies inC hair
For Slaying St. John |

\
RAIFORD. Sept. g —George |
‘Ww. Story, who shot to death nis |
\divorced wife and her new hus-
iband, was electrocuted at
state prison today.
| A few days after the tormer Mrs. |
Story married Thomas . :
‘john, they were killed in 1949 in
‘a Jacksonville ice cream perlor
iwhere she worked. Btory wes con- |
victed of killing 8t. John He never |
(was tried for the siaying of nis |

ex-wife.

| eee
‘

~~


THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION (Jacksonville)
Wednesday, 9 March 1927, page 24.

Negro Killer |

Dies in Chair

Raymond Stone Prays for
Quarter Hour Before End.

Raymond Stone, negro, was electro-\
euted at Raiford prison far'm yester-
day for the slaying last fall of Alta-
far Rahman, Turk grocer, who was
fatally shot in an attempted holdup.

Stone met death in the electric
chair a week after his companion in!
the slaying. Lioyd O'Dell Salter, was’
electrocuted. Stone went to the chair |
at 11:48 a.m. yvesterday, while Salter,

was electrocuted at i1:03 am. Tues-!
day, March 1}. Both Stone and Salter:
were sentenced to death for slaying |
Rahman. Each ne€ro blamed the
other for the fata} shot at the time
of the trial.
+— Stone was extremely nerious when
taken into the death room and knelt
before the chair and prayed until J.
& Blitch, superintendent of the state
prison farm, tapped him on the arm.4
He bad prayed for nearly fifteen min-
utes, but when stopped) announced
that he “was ready to go."
The negro shook hande with offi-
cers before tre-weated himaelf in the
chatr. The switch was turned on by
Sheriff WH. Dowling and the newro
was pronounced dead tn three min. |
utes. Jacksonville relatives claimed!
the body. \
Besides Bheriff Dowling. Deputies:
R. G. Barker and J. E. McCloud; Re. |
Sweat, chief of the county road pa-
trol forces; Clyde M. Saucer, road pa-
trolman, and Lonnie D. Howell, coun:
ty solicitor, were among the Puval
county authorities who witnessed the
execution.

—- - = -——-——-


STORY, George W., white, electfocuted Florida (Duval) on 9-8-1952,

"Raiford, Sept. 8, 1952 (AP) - George W. Story, who shot to death his
ddvorced wife and her new husband, was electrocuted at the state prison
today. A few days after the former Mrs, Story married Thomas W. St,
John, they were killed in 1949 in a Jacksonville ice cream parlor where
she worked, Story was convicted of killing St, John. He never was
tried for the slaying of his ex-wife," TIMES-UNION, Jacksonville,
Florida, Sept. 9, 1952 (13/8.) .

iets je

To Kill and Be Killed

Concern about being identified as homosexual was also
said by various observers to be the reason that it was dif-
ficult to get alibi witnesses at the time of the trial.

Governor Bob Graham was not persuaded by any of this.
Bob Sullivan, continuing to proclaim his innocence, was
executed on November 30, 1983. Several days later over
200 people attended a memorial service in Belmont, Mas-
sachusetts.

Governor Graham’s words in announcing that the ex-
ecution had taken place were, “God save us all.”

Bob Sullivan’s last words before being executed were,
“May God bless us all.”

It is unlikely that we will ever know with certainty
whether Bob Sullivan committed the murder. But various
people, like Professor Ralph Walker of William Paterson
College, monitored his case for years and are convinced
of Bob’s innocence. Ea

We do not know what Governor Graham was thinking.
But some skeptics would agree with Sullivan’s claim
(printed at the beginning of this chapter) that his was not
a chance selection for execution. He stood out in terms of
social class, education and intelligence, the absence of a
criminal record and the support that he was able to garner.
He was not a threat to anyone in the prison and given the
characteristics of a number of other residents of death
row, he was an unlikely candidate for execution.

Sullivan’s case, like that of every death row inmate, con-
tains within it distinct moral and legal questions. Many of

these were explored in appeals over several years. Atten-
tion is called here to three of them.

1. Sullivan was executed. His co-defendant, Reid M¢
Laughlin, was given a life sentence and released from

56

al

Robert A. Sullivan

prisonin 1981. (In exchange for cooperationwith the state,
defendants are frequently given lighter sentences. This is
not unfair in that the cooperation might lead to two con-
victions whereas without the information, the state might
not be able to obtain one conviction, but the discrepancies
in sentencing often seem extreme.) The director of the
Florida Roman Catholic Conference commented that
such blatant inconsistency “offends everyone’s sense of
justice.”

Across the country there have been similar incon-
gruities. In 1974 two Texas prisoners killed an undercover
police agent. The man who fired the six shots which killed
the agent received a life sentence while the one that sat in
a nearby car during the shooting was executed. Critics of
the way capital punishment is administered point to this
lack of consistency as a major problem.

2. Sullivan’s attorneys unsuccessfully challenged
electrocution as the method of execution. When
electrocution was initiated in 1890, it was thought to be a
humane and painless means of killing. Now we are not so
sure. In an attempt to save Sullivan, his attorneys argued
that electrocution violated the constitutional prohibition
against cruel and unusual punishment and said that evoly-
ing standards of decency called for some other method.

Electrocution may involve excruciating pain as well as
Physical violence, mutilation of the body, burning of the
flesh, etc. Several recent executions required considerable
time. In 1985 it took an executioner in Indiana 20 minutes
and five surges of electricity to kill William Vandiver, who
had refused to appeal his death sentence, saying only that
he wished to die in peace. Alabama’s 1983 execution of
John Evans necessitated the better part of an hour,

57


*

To Kill and Be Killed

Background

Bob Sullivan was different from most of the death row
population. Different in that he was middle class. His
adoptive father was a Harvard-educated surgeon and he
had four years at the University of Miami. Bob had lots of
friends and an active social life.

There were some problems. The adoptive parents took
Bob because they wanted a child to help save a deteriorat-
ing marriage—a move that failed. They divorced when
Bob was six, and for a time he was shuffled between
parents. The situation was not perfect, but lots of children
have survived similar circumstance without major
problems, just as he seemed to (except for a fairly severe
stutter).

In describing him, friends, teachers and priests used the
following phrases: “strong and positive character traits;
“shy, quiet young man;” “kind, thoughtful and honest;” “a
fairly good student, but his quiet manner could lead one
to overlook his presence;” “caring and deeply concerned
person;” “ability to help many other people by his
diligence and talent;” “sensitive nature and willingness to
do for others.” There is no record of violence or trouble
of any kind in his background.

In 1965, upon completion of high school in Mas-
sachusetts, Bob enrolled in the University of Miami to
study restaurant management. While there, he was active
in organizing and participating in intramural sports, win-
ning several awards for his leadership.

After four years he left the university to take a salad
job, quickly moving up to become manager of a Howat

Johnson’s in Homestead, Florida. When his father had 4

52

Robert A. Sullivan

heart attack, he moved back to Massachusetts. In 1973 he

was offered an attractive job at the University of Miami
and he returned to Florida.

The Crime

On the evening of April 8, 1973, Donald Schmidt, assis-
tant manager of the Howard Johnson’s in Homestead,
(where Sullivan had previously worked), was robbed,
taken to an isolated target range, beaten with a tire iron
and shot in the head.

On April 17, Bob Sullivan and an acquaintance named
Reid McLaughlin were arrested and charged with the
murder. After lengthy questioning, Sullivan made a state-
ment implicating himself and McLaughlin. When Mc-
Laughlin was confronted with Bob’s statement, he
confirmed most of it.

Bob took the stand to repudiate his confession, saying
that at the time he thought that a very close friend, John
Luchek, had killed Schmidt and the confession had been
made to protect him.

In making the confession, Bob deliberately added false
information with the expectation that upon examination
it would be apparent that it was a sham. He also said that
he believed the police when they said that they were going
to get a confession one way or another.

Numerous inconsistencies were brought out at the trial,
but Sullivan had explanations for all of them. The explana-
tions did not convince judge or jury and a death sentence
was imposed. McLaughlin testified for the state and was
given a life sentence.

Many people were convinced that Sullivan was clearly

53


1h

To Kill and Be Killed

innocent or that at least there was a reasonable doubt
about his guilt. A legal defense fund was established in his
hometown of Belmont, Massachusetts and a group of
people went to work to prove his innocence. Private inves-
tigators were hired and additional lawyers volunteered to
work on his case.

Over time, other interesting developments were
reported by the Sullivan Defense Fund:

1. Several witnesses placed Bob at Keith’s Cruise Room,
a gay bar in Hallendale, the night of the murder. This is 40
miles from the Howard Johnson restaurant and, if true,
meant that Sullivan could not possibly have been the
killer, given the known facts about the time of death.

2. There was a suggestion of a setup in that a large num-
ber of rigid Howard Johnson’s standard operating proce-
dures were violated on the night of the murder (e.g. the
back door must always be locked and no employee is per-
mitted to remain alone).

3. Reid McLaughlin, an AWOL Marine and the co-
defendant, gave a variety of conflicting stories to other
prisoners and the police.

4. The manager of the restaurant, Frank Bardon, who
gave Sullivan’s name to the police as a suspect, disap-
peared during Sullivan’s arraignment and was later found
to have stolen $5,000 from the restaurant.

5. Rose Schmidt, the victim’s widow, filed a federal suit
charging that employees of the Howard Johnson’s were
responsible for engineering and carrying out the execution
of her husband. os

6. Potential witnesses died mysteriously; Sullivan s
defenders accused the police of altering records; in tw0
additional murders of potential witnesses, the victim’s left

54

Robert A. Sullivan

shoe was missing, as was victim Schmidt’s. A compilation
of such incidents were described in a lengthy booklet put
out by the Sullivan Defense Fund in July 1983.

Death Row

Meanwhile, Sullivan was a model prisoner and a popular
person on death row. By 1983 he had been on death row
longer than anyone else in the country. He was said to be
well liked by prisoners and guards, across racial lines. He
spent his time taking correspondence courses, teaching a
retarded inmate to read and write, assisting others with
their personal and legal problems, corresponding with
people (such as his fourth-grade teacher), and working on
appeals.

By the time of his scheduled execution in November
1983, he had garnered support from diverse sources. The
national press picked up on his case and hundreds of let-
ters and calls went to the governor. Seven Roman Catholic
bishops met with Governor Graham to plead for mercy
and to argue that there was serious doubt as to whether
Sullivan was guilty. Pope John II sent a special message
asking that the execution not be carried out, as did the
governor of Massachusetts.

Shortly before the execution, a man was alleged to have
confessed to a priest that he had been with Sullivan on the
night of the murder, but had not come forward before be-
Cause he was with Sullivan in a gay bar and did not want
his family to know that he was homosexual. He still refused
to give public testimony. (The prosecutor in the trial made
fr €quent references to Sullivan’s homosexuality and this
May have had some affect upon the reaction to him.)

55


To Kill and Be Killed

numerous jolts of electricity, with an electrode on the leg
exploding and being destroyed in smoke and fire. Observ-
ers described it as torturing him to death.

Thirteen states have now adopted lethal injection as a
means of execution—a method likely to grow in
popularity. Some opponents of capital punishment have
mixed feelings about this, believing that the more we
sanitize and medicate the process, the easier it will be to
continue with executions.

Aside from the brutality of the method used, there is the
considerable cruelty in the knowledge that death is com-
ing at a fixed time. To wake to the knowledge that there
will be no awakening tomorrow, that this is the last time a
meal will be eaten, that in an hour the executioner will
come and that life will be over in one hour —all comprise
a barbaric fiendishness. It is hard to imagine that in one
hour you will be dead or to face the count-down of such
an hour, thinking of the ten minutes left before they come
or visualizing that these straps on your arms are one of the
last things that you will see before they put the hood over
your face.

3. Sullivan was on death row for ten years. Tom Wicker,
a columnist for the New York Times, points out that if there
is one thing criminal justice authorities agree on, it is that
the one real deterrent to crime is swift and certain punish-
ment. This is not achieved with the death penalty and
never can be. Most of society would not deny a defendant,
facing a penalty as irreversible as death, the right to every
avenue of appeal and clemency. The process is painstak-
ingly slow because of the high stakes, crowded court dock-
ets, the fact that appeal work is often done gratis by busy
attorneys and the knowledge that mistakes are made.

58

[s

James Douglas Hill

The Retarded

October 30, 1980
Dear mom

Hi mom me. Hour are you doing to day? Fine i hope. i am doing
ok for now But i miss you so varry varry much that i can cry But iam to
Big to cry. Mom i cant wate to see you saturday and sunday Because I
miss you and love you and it make me happy wind i see you on saturday
and sunday. Mom how due you like that lady i draw? Mom that is all i
due in hear is draw are right you and Tina and go to Bed all the time and
look at this dam cage i amin all day long. Mom me, i dont no wind i will
call you But i no i will call you friday and saturday.

Mom me, how is every one doing at the house? Fine i hope. Mom
fell them all that i said hi to them and that i miss them to and that i will
See them soon. Mom tell fat man Hill thati said hito hem and that i miss
hem fo and that i will see hem saturday and for hem to take care. Mom
did regina have her Baby yet? i hope so. Mom i dont no any more to say

59


FLORIDA TIMES UNION
Jacksonville

9-19-1895, page 3.

OAK, Fie, September M.—Today,
Stevees, the tast of the three mur-
a Henry Lyburg. patd the penal-
crime. Not over four bundred
. Wero present. Interest tu sueh de-
spectaciea—has been greatly
The execution of topay differet]
“Httle from the two previous ones,
— was clrer and hot, and the
4 Begun to asremble carly.

Pimes-U nion correspondent visited
aprinmemer tn his cell and found him
cool and seif-puencased. From the
-he manifested a diginc!inution to an-
ir Questions and seemed uverse to
i Wteeession of the murier. In a rather
Ps way he protested his inne-
pe aad even declared . that he had
dy committee a crime ef any kind.
iy. Sherstr wave him a ciger, which he
yes with evident While vigor-
FY puffing the cighr, he thanked the
for his kindness and remarked to
im Unien correspondent, that Mr.
ykine hed trented him With great
, and. nigger gg feign tuinda

of t Prisoners,

e -t entered he LP he
f Sevens entered Into varnest conver-

tew moments inter the death march
the erll ta the scaffold was begun.
i and sadly the proceviaienh muved
@f the jail and acruse the yard. Not
{ was stirring oa the tre not a
wes heard from the chewed:

Died Game.

prisoner mounted the steps leading
je ecaffoid with firmness and aseur-
abd at exastiy 1 ociock he took
BStand upon the platform, squarviy
RK the people gathered Ww witness

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Bend for Itterature.

apector-genrral, Fred ©. Stinson, Hat
Creek, Mich., judxe advocate, R.
Oglesby, of ludianapolts, Ind. The iad
tamt-geteral wilh be namsd as Boon
headquarters have been established. 4
comimander-in-chief decided fo besht

Aatioual encampmecnt next year at Loe
vilie, Ky,

Resolutions were adepted cxprysel
gratification at the manner in whieh 1
reception of vieltora was cotiducted
Knoxville.

The Ladies’ Aid society of the Sons
Veterans, United States emmy, clected t
folowing named officers this events
Presitent, Miss Margure: Hiuwey, of .
inets; vice-president, Afies Nate Raya
ef Ohlo; treasurer, Mias Fula Jones,
Pennsylvania; enaplain, Mow A. BP. Day
OMrs. Davis nae been chaplain ever sii
the soctely organization), chief of ety
Mrs. Ada Yhannon, of Pennsylvania, T
Rewly-eleted council te composed of M
BE. R. HH. Davis, of Fevosytyanta; M
lewell, of Maseaachusetia, Misa f
Sraith, of lowa: Mra. Francesa Arnold,
Missourt, aid bliss Alfce Hoerner, of
diana. National tnspector, Mra. behaul
of Pennsylvania, National muster ob
tostalhug officer, Mise Freenimn. of €