Joe Spaziano, nicknamed "Crazy Joe" was granted a stay of execution from the Florida Supreme Court.. The court ordered a new hearing, that will be held no later than November 15th. Mr. Spaziano has refused to see a state appointed attorney, after…
Joe Spaziano is seeking clemency after the key witness in the trial doubts his testimony was accurate. Another investigation into the case 21 years later has been authorized by the Governor of Florida.
This is an article describing the admittance that a testimony previously given in trial of Joe Spaziano was false. Spaziano's lawyer Michael Mello has asked the governor to free Spaziano, while the police are certain that Spaziano is still the…
The article discusses Florida joining the lawsuit against the federal government to stop the federal government from mandating the appointment of lawyers to death row inmates for appeals. The article also accounts for the different opinions of state…
An article about Florida Gov. Bob Graham's speech at the dedication of the Vietnam memorial and how Graham ignored the last wishes of David Livingston Funchess, a veteran convicted to the electric chair.
Determining whether a person is competent to be executed should be left to judges and not governors. Psychiatrists have no real guidelines for examining the competence of a death row inmate.
Attorney Jim Green supports a bill filed by Rep. James Burke that would overturn Florida's law which allows judges to issue death sentences against juries' recommendations.
An article recounting the murder of Florida police officer John Kennedy, and the two trials and life-term sentencing of the accused murderer Willie Clayton Simpson.
The article describes how when looking to defend a inmate on death row a lawyer could be working around 18 hours a day for three to four weeks. It also alludes to how important it is that these lawyers continue to do this work as 50% of death row…
Newspaper report on the 1985 request for a new trial for Nollie Lee Martin, convicted of murder in 1978. Martin's lawyers, including Michael Mello, cite the defendant's pre-existing brain damage in their request.
Before Martins execution he was grated more time to study his case before making a final ruling. It could possibly be six months to one year before any final appeals in the case are resolved. With the time originally given it was highly impossible…