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And They Say the Death
Penalty Is Applied Fairly...? |
Gregory Mills is scheduled to be executed on May
2, 2001. Mills was convicted in the murder of
James Wright. Mills'
codefendant received complete immunity for his
involvement in the killing in exchange for
testifying that Mills was the
shooter. The codefendant literally walked out a
free man. Of course he was later arrested for
murder and he is currently
in prison. As you will see in the below
information, Mills' jury recommended life
imprisonment, however Florida law allows
a judge to disagree with the jury verdict. Who
was the shooter? We don't know. But both men
were there. The first one
who agreed to testify against the other in court
was freed. The other was sent to death row. |
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Florida
Supreme Court Justice Anstead's Comments
A life hangs in the balance while this Court
considers whether it should openly
acknowledge its past mistake. In my view
the choice is obvious while we still have
time. A jury has lawfully determined that
Mr. Mills' life should be spared. We are
now called upon to recognize that a trial
court wrongfully ignored the jury's decision
and this Court erroneously approved
of that action. No one disputes that a
mistake was made.
Under our holding in Keen v. State, 775 So.
2d 263 (Fla. 2000), and countless other
decisions properly applying the Tedder
rule, it is apparent that there was a
reasonable basis for the jury's decision to
spare Mills' life and we should not hesitate
to
say so now. For example, in both Keen and
Mills, the jury was entitled to rely on the
more lenient treatment of a codefendant
as a valid reason to recommend life.
However, under our ruling today, Mills will
die while Keen will live.
In the past this Court has been quick to
accept responsibility for its mistakes,
especially if blind adherence to a flawed
decision will result in a manifest injustice
and the taking of a human life.
It is also important to note that the
injustice of the treatment of Mills has not
gone unnoticed by members of this Court.
Over the years, the major concern expressed
by courts, including the United States
Supreme Court, as to the constitutionality
of the application of the death penalty, has
been the fear that the penalty may be
applied arbitrarily. The arbitrary execution
of
Mills, whose case cannot be distinguished in
any meaningful way from that of Cochran,
Keen and countless other cases where
we have mandated adherence to Tedder, is
that fear come true. |
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These
two articles by the Associated Press say a lot....
Apr 17, 2001 - 07:07 PM
Murder Witness Who Changed Story Refuses
to Testify
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) - A key witness in a 1979
murder case refused on Tuesday to testify
about his changed version of a
slaying that could prevent a death row
inmate's execution.
Vincent Ashley was ordered by Circuit Judge
O.H. Eaton Jr. to appear in court Tuesday to
explain why he changed his
version of events. Ashley is currently in
state prison, serving a life sentence in an
unrelated armed robbery. He was given
immunity in James Wright's slaying for his
testimony against Gregory Mills.
"I'm not going to testify to nothing,
period," Ashley said.
Eaton reminded Ashley that his testimony
could result in a reduced life sentence for
Mills instead of death.
"I'm protecting my rights, protecting
my soul," Ashley responded. Mills,
43, is scheduled to die May 2 for the
shotgun slaying
of Wright, a 73-year-old Sanford man who was
killed in May 25, 1979 when he got up in the
middle of the night to
investigate the sound of burglars in his
front room.
Mills was convicted of felony murder and
sentenced to death. At the trial, Ashley
testified that after Mills crawled into the
house through a window, he did, too. Ashley
now says he never entered the house and that
he stayed outside the window,
said Todd Scher, Mills' attorney, who is
asking Eaton to throw out Mills' conviction
and sentence.
"Mr. Ashley cannot be believed,"
Scher said Tuesday. Attorneys tried on
Tuesday to get Ashley to testify in a
closed-door
session with the court reporter, who
later read a transcript of the session to
the judge. Prosecutors agreed to drop
all
charges against Ashley in the case if
he told the truth.
Ashley insisted that he didn't want to
"complicate things" any more.
"I might tell you anything now,"
he said. "I might tell you I
pulled the trigger."
After the hearing, Scher said he was
surprised that Ashley refused to testify.
"It clearly indicates that he didn't
want to put himself in jeopardy for
perjury," he said.
Scher argued that Ashley's comments
indicated that he was the shooter, not
Mills. Eaton replied that Ashley merely said
he
might say he was the shooter.
Assistant Attorney General Ken Nunnelley
argued that even if Ashley has changed his
story, the changes are insignificant and
wouldn't have caused the jury to acquit him.
The jury that convicted Mills recommended a
life sentence, knowing that Ashley got
immunity in exchange for his testimony.
But the trial judge sentenced Mills to
death.
The state Supreme Court last week refused to
stop Mills' execution. In sharply worded
dissent, three of the seven justices
said the execution would be not only an
injustice but also an arbitrary application
of the death penalty.
Eaton said he would issue his ruling on
whether the sentence should be reduced by
noon Wednesday. |
Apr 18, 2001 - 03:48 PM
Judge Denies Death Row Immates Request
for a Stay of Execution
SAMFORD, Fla. (AP) - Death row inmate
Gregory Mills should be executed next month
even though the star witness at his
murder trial changed his story, a judge
ruled Wednesday.
Circuit Judge O.H. Eaton Jr., denied a stay
of execution for Mills, who is scheduled to
die May 2. The changed story about
what happened offered by the witness,
Vincent Ashley, would not have made a
difference in Mills being
sentenced to death in 1979, Eaton ruled.
"There really is nothing new here,' the
judge said in an eight-page order.
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TAKE ACTION!
Please send letters immediately. Please note
that letters making reference to the specifics
of Mills' case are likely to be more
effective than letters of general opposition to
the death penalty. Please also note that letters
sent on paper through the regular
mail is known to carry greater weight then
letters sent via e-mail. FADP suggest you do
both. See above for case information.
Write to the Governor of Florida:
Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Telephone: (850) 488-4441 or
FAX (850) 487-0801
E-mail: fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us
Alternate e-mail: Jebbush@jeb.org
If you are writing from outside of Florida,
please send a copy of your letter to:
The Tallahassee Democrat
Letters to the Editor
P.O. Box 990
Tallahassee, FL 32302
(850) 599-2173
Fax: (850) 599-2295
<tdedit@taldem.com>
If you are writing from within Florida, please
send a copy of your letter to your local news
paper(s), along with a letter to the
editor marked "for publication." (You
might also try simply marking your letter to Jeb!
"for publication," and perhaps they'll
run
that! As always, FADP requests that if your
letter is printed, please send us an original of
the full page on which the letter appears,
to the address shown below.
DAY OF KILLING - ACTIONS
BE ACTIVE IN YOUR AREA.
Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
calls for high visibility actions in opposition
to this killing. Simultaneous
demonstrations are again scheduled for the
prison at Starke and five other Florida cities.
PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THE NEAREST VIGIL IN YOUR
AREA. Click
here for details.
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