2 20 37 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/6eca399d0260866f3a206eb04303d188.jpg b97c5fd9df3332cd4c2c2b1e1937e5d6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Stop the bad rap on hypnosis Description An account of the resource The vice president of a Miami hypnosis center argues for the legitimacy and value of hypnosis. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource White, Leonor Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived White, Leonor, "Stop the Bad Rap on Hypnosis." Miami Herald, June 26, 1995, A6. Subject The topic of the resource The author argues that hypnosis deserves respect in court and out. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Re Herald staff writer Lori Rozsa’s June 16 article, A case built on hypnosis crumbles: I made it up, witness now says: I was upset to see my profession once again being put down. Ms. Rozsa, on June 16, told me that what she wrote was the absolute truth, per the state of Florida. My husband and I, along with the AFL/CIO National Federation of Hypnotists Local 104, thoroughly disagree. Primetime Live did a show less than a month ago in which a reporter checked out how and if hypnosis works. The results were all positive. If people would take the time to be educated, negative comments about hypnosis would be stated more respectfully. Hypnosis is constantly getting a bad rap. We have worked very hard at building a good practice and even have become unionized in the past year. My husband has been involved with hypnosis for more than 20 years. It seems a shame that all the good that we do day by day goes untold, and the minute that someone makes a mistake due to lack of education, it is magnified. The article stated that the hypnosis in this case was done in 1975. Twenty years make a big difference. For example, we know today that someone with a mental condition does not make a good subject, nor does his testimony hold up in court. None of this was mentioned. LEONOR WHITE Vice President, North Miami Beach Hypnosis Center North Miami Beach Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Ferrell, Claudine Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Stop the bad rap on hypnosis Description An account of the resource The vice president of a Miami hypnosis center argues for the legitimacy and value of hypnosis. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource White, Leonor Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived White, Leonor. " Stop the Bad Rap on Hypnosis." Miami Herald, June 26, 1995, 8A. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-26 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Miami, FL Subject The topic of the resource Hypnotism and crime https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/57864f6eef015ae70aee39be6d4408fa.jpg 75c7a50af141a9718863751efeb4bab9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Clearwater - Rather than prolong their client's stay on death row with legal appeals, the attorneys for Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano want him declared innocent and pardoned by the governor. "We have made the decision that after 20 years of being in the courts, Mr. Spaziano's best chance of justice lies with the governor," said Pat Doherty, one of Spaziano's attorneys. Doherty and Spaziano's other attorney, Mike Mello, sent a letter to Gov. Lawton Chiles this week informing him of their decision to file a petition for clemency. In the petition, they will ask Chiles to pardon Spaziano, Doherty said. Spaziano was schedules to die June 27 for the 1973 murder of Orlando nurse Laura Lynn Harberts. But Tony Dilisio, a key witness against Spaziano, told Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents that he was manipulated by investigators and his testimony was false. On June 15, Chiles called off the execution indefinitely. Dilisio has said he will sign the clemency petition, Doherty said. Chiles spokesman Ron Sachs said he did not know if the letter had been received. If it had, it would be sent to the governor's lawyers for review. Sachs described clemency as an act of mercy "approved sparingly, if at all, in capital cases." Normally, with a stay of execution, the attorneys would be scrambling to appeal the case. Doherty said he and Mello feel it would take a long time to prepare a new case to go before the court. At any time, Spaziano's execution could be rescheduled, and the case might not be ready. Many of the witnesses necessary to a new case are out of the country and it would take months, even years before a hearing could be set, Doherty said. "The problem is the courts have had 20 years to set aside this case and they have chosen not to do so," Doherty said. Besides, Doherty said, at this stage, the courts would be reviewing the case for technical violations in earlier trials. The merits of the case itself would not be discussed and so the courts cannot give Spaziano what his lawyers say he deserves, vindication. "We want him to walk," Doherty said. " He never committed this crime." The attorneys realize the strategy is risky. Chiles has granted stays of execution in the past, only to resign the death order later. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Guidon, John Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano to take case to governor instead of courts Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Henry, Kaylois Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived St. Petersburg Times Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-24 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Description An account of the resource Spaziano's lawyers want him to be declared innocent and pardoned by Governor Chiles. One of the key witnesses for Spaziano's original case admitted he lied in his original witness testimony. Clemency Joe Spaziano Mike Mello Tony Dilisio https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/e1e73fb6f70ae1c1efef46a0137c9125.jpg 3c4a32f78c43d01ad0696ad3a21399e0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Tallahassee- The Key witness against a motorcycle gang member sentenced to death in a 1973 murder case joined the condemned man Wednesday in asking Gov. Lawton Chiles for clemency. However, attorneys for Joseph Spaziano are losing hope that a Florida Department of Law Enforcement review of the police investigation and trial will convince Chiles to spare the 49-year-old member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Brotherhood. "If Joe sees the end of July, I'll be surprised," said Spaziano's attorney, Michael Mello, a University of Vermont Law professor. "I don't have any faith in the courts anymore in this case and it's really difficult for me to say that." Chiles indefinitely stayed Spaziano's execution and ordered the FDLE investigation earlier this month after the prosecution's star witness, Anthony Dilisio, came forward to dispute his original testimony in the case. Spaziano, nicknamed "Crazy Joe," was convicted of murdering and mutilating Orlando hospital aide Laura Lynn Harberts and leaving her body in a trash dump near Altamonte Springs in 1973. He was sent to death row in 1976 almost entirely based on the testimony of Dilisio, who at the time was an 18-year-old abuser of illegal hallucinogens and who first remembered Spaziano boasting of the murder while under hypnosis by police. Testimony induced by hypnosis no longer is allowed as evidence in Florida courts. The jury in the case, which recommended against the death penalty, was not told Dilisio was hypnotized. Dilisio, 37, now says he doesn't remember Spaziano taking him to the garbage dump and bragging "Man, that's my style," while viewing the mutilated bodies of two women. "Anthony just feels that he has to do what's right and that he was just manipulated by the police and he never saw any bodies," said Dilisio's attorney, Kelly McGraw of Pensacola. Spaziano's attorneys have long asserted that Dilisio was coaxed into "remembering" Spaziano taking him to view the bodies and believe their client was convicted only because of his membership in a motorcycle gang. In fact, Dilisio, a lay preacher who works in Pensacola restoring classic automobiles, now says he only vaguely remembers the trial or anything before his 21st birthday. McGraw said Dilisio told FDLE agents in a videotaped interview that the first time he saw the bodies at the dump was when police officers - not Spaziano - took him there. "I find that to be a recantation," McGraw said. Mello sent Chiles a nearly 200-page plea for clemency Wednesday, including Dilisio as one of the parties requesting clemency. However, Mello and McGraw questioned whether FDLE investigators would probe the methods used to convict Spaziano or simply try to discredit Dilisio's new testimony. "The investigation is beginning to smell more like a whitewash," Mello wrote to Chiles. Dexter Douglass, Chiles' chief legal counsel could not be reached for comment Wednesday and other attorneys for the governor said they could not comment on the clemency request. A spokesman for the FDLE also declined comment on Spaziano's case. Dilisio has agreed to submit to a lie detector test to prove his claims, a test FDLE initially requested but never performed after Dilisio agreed, McGraw said. Mello said he would not be surprised if Chiles signs Spaziano's fifth death warrant Friday after FDLE submits its report. Three previous warrants were stayed as the case worked its way through the legal system. A fourth, scheduled to be carried out June 27, was stayed after Dilisio cam forward. [Picture of Joseph Spaziano: Joseph Spaziano, shown here in 1976, was convicted in the 1973 death of a hospital aide.] Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Thiessen, Annika Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Clemency sought in death case Subject The topic of the resource Clemency Death penalty Description An account of the resource The article discusses a plea for clemency in the death sentence of a motorcycle gang member after the key witness for the prosecution recanted their testimony. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Metz, Kevin Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Tampa Tribune Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-29 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tampa, FL Clemency death penalty https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/6715c06b869de61f662a27f94577ecb1.jpg 794da5de01528a47fb544bd970173b99 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document TALLAHASSEE - Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano, convicted of the torture-murder of an Orlando woman and the rape of another, asked Florida's cabinet on Wednesday to set him free. Spaziano's lawyer faxed a request for a clemency hearing to Gov. Lawton Chiles, arguing that a key witness in the 2-decades-old cases now doubts his own hypnosis-enhanced testimony. The request comes the same week that Spaziano had been scheduled to die in the murder of 18-year-old hospital clerk Laura Harberts. Chiles stayed the execution two weeks ago after newspapers reported that Anthony Dilisio now doubts whether his testimony at the 1976 trial was true. Chiles ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Dilisio's claims. What began as an interview with the Pensacola man has expanded into a full-scale investigation involving dozens of witnesses. A report is scheduled to be released next week, but sources said Chiles could be be briefed as soon as Friday. The challenge facing Chiles is which Dilisio to believe - the would-be biker who testified at age 18 that Spaziano showed him Harberts' mutilated body; or the 37-year-old lay minister with a history of substance abuse who says he can't remember the body and doubts Spaziano is a killer. Dilisio also was an important witness tying Spaziano to the 1974 rape, for which the Outlaws motorcycle club member is serving a life sentence. Dilisio testified in a 1975 trial that Spaziano bragged about raping the 16-year-old Orange County girl, slashing her neck and eyes, choking her and leaving her for dead in the woods. Michael Mello, who represents Spaziano, said Wednesday that the Cabinet should free Spaziano because Dilisio was the strongest element in the two cases. A spokeswoman in the governor's general counsel office said that there would be no comment until the hearing request is reviewed. FDLE investigators and Chiles advisors have said previously, however, that Dilisio stopped short of recanting when questioned by investigators recently. Spaziano last requested clemency in March, but officials refused to grant a hearing. In preparing that request, Spaziano's state-appointed attorneys interviewed Dilisio, but he told them he could shed no new light on the case. Four months later, Dilisio said the hypnosis police used to coax memories from him was "witchcraft that poisoned a young, impressionable teenager's mind." Mello also hopes to raise problems with the rape case. Prosecutors had little physical evidence, such as the knife or sperm. Their case relied heavily on Dilisio and the victim. [Photograph; photo caption]: Joseph Spaziono's execution was stayed after a witness changed his testimony. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Jon Metrey Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano asks to be set free Description An account of the resource An article in the St. Petersburg Times describing how the main witness in the murder investigation may have been under "Hypnosis" from the police. Diliso, the chief witness in the 1975 trial says that the technique the police used to coax memories out of him was witchcraft. Michael Mello, Spaziano's attorney says that Spaziano should be set free. Florida investigators are reopening the case. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived St. Petersburg Times Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-29 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Florida Depositions--United States Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida Southeastern United States "Crazy Joe" Spaziano Clemency Gov. Lawton Chiles Laura Lyn Harberts Mike Mello newspaper stay of execution Tony Dilisio https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/afdd6ae7dde34478d4e55907efef8cfa.jpg ba7d2e9f4bd39064bab52bab732a838c https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/482feeecb838205c3104cb539b1ea4b0.jpg be10d9d54df35adf06a2665d6a7ef9ca Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document TALLAHASSEE - Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano, convicted of the torture-murder of an Orlando woman and the rape of another, asked Florida's Cabinet Wednesday to set him free. Spaziano's lawyer faxed a request for a clemency hearing to Gov. Lawton Chiles, arguing that a key witness in the 2-decade-old cases now doubts his own hypnosis-enhanced testimony. The request comes the same week that Spaziano had been scheduled to die for the murder of 18-year old hospital clerk Laura Harberts. Chiles stayed the execution two weeks ago, after newspaper reported that Anthony Dilisio now doubts whether his testimony at the 1976 trial was true. Chiles ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Dilisio's claims. What began as an interview with the Pensacola man has expanded into a full-scale investigation involving dozens of witnesses. A report is scheduled to be released next week, but sources said Chiles could be briefed as soon as Friday. The Challenge facing Chiles is which Dilisio to believe - the would-be biker who testified at age 18 that Spaziano showed him Harberts' mutilated body, or the 37-year-old lay minister with a history of substance abuse who says he can't remember the body and doubts Spaziano is a killer. Dilisio also was an important witness tying Spaziano to the 1974 rape, for which the Outlaws motorcycle club member is serving a life sentence. Dilisio testified in a 1975 trials that Spaziano bragged about raping the 16-year-old Orange County girl, slashing neck and eyes, choking her and leaving her for dead in woods. "I don't want to remember any of this," he told The Orlando Sentinel. "It was through the grace of God that this memory has been crased from my mind." Michael Mello, who represents Spaziano, said Wednesday that Chiles and the Cabinet should free Spaziano because Dilisio was the strongest element in the two cases. A spokeswoman in the governor's general counsel office said there would be no comment until the hearing request is reviewed. FDLE investigators and Chiles' advisers have said previously, however, that Dilisio stopped short of recanting when questioned by investigators recently. Spaziano last requested clemency in March, but officials refused to grant a hearing. In preparing that request, Spaziano's state-appointed attorneys interviewed Dilisio, but he told them he could shed no new light on the case. Four months later, Dilisio said the hypnosis police used to coax memories from him was "witchcraft that poisoned a young, impression able teen-ager's mind." But one officer who helped build the cases against Spaziano disputes the claim. Court files show Dilisio told rape investigators on Oct. 10. 1974 - seven months before he was hypnotized - that Spaziano took him to where he had left mutilated bodies. Retired Altamonte Springs police investigator James Martindale said Spaziano already was a suspect in the Orange County rape case when Seminole County detectives began looking at links to Harberts' killing and the dumping of her body at an Altamonte Springs dump. He remembers Dilisio as a scared teen who seemed to know more about the crimes than he let on. Martindale said he thinks Dilisio pretended that detectives had to draw the information out of him. "It was a game to him," Martindale said, "The hypnosis, in my opinion, did not solve the case. He [Dilisio] was just covering his tail." A transcript of a May 13, 1975, interview - Dilisio's last interview before hypnosis - shows he told investigators Spaziano had bragged about the Outlaws gang-raping hitchhikers he had picked up. He said Spaziano told him he killed the women, cut off their breasts and dumped them in an orange grove. When investigators pressed Dilisio, he said he could not remember and agreed to be hypnotized. "I never did," Dilisio said after being asked if he was involved in the killings, "That's why I'm saying, 'I go under hypnosis and you find out what I used to know that I don't know now.'" Dilisio said that's week that he did not remember the interview and would not read the transcript, which his lawyer has reviewed. "I believe the Lord didn't want me to read the transcript," Dilisio said. "That's not who I am now." Dilisio said he was a troubled teen with a terrible home life, including a bad relationship with his father and stepmother. The detectives were nice to him and he wanted to please them. "They treated me like I was special," Dilisio said. Mello also hopes to raise problems with the rape case. Prosecutors had little physical evidence, such as the knife or sperm. Their case relied heavily on Dilisio and the victim, whose testimony was troublesome. She had lied, first claiming Spaziano and another man kidnapped her at knifepoint. Later she said she willingly went into their vehicle to smoke marijuana. She also failed at first to identify Spaziano in a police lineup. First she told investigators she wasn't sure then said she really did recognize her attacker but was afraid to identify him. She told detectives she could never forget his "evil" eyes but never mentioned that her attacker had tattoos. Despite the troubles, the victim told jurors at the trial that she was absolutely sure Spaziano was the attacker. To this day, the woman, who lost vision in one eye, is positive Spaziano raped her. Chiles or a member of the Cabinet - the attorney general, secretary of state and commissioners of education, insurance and agriculture - could schedule a clemency hearing. The Cabinet could uphold the death sentence, commute it to life or pardon Spaziano all together. Spaziano has had six appeals of his murder case rejected by the state Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Appeals in the rape case have also been rejected. Debbie Salamone, Sharon McBreen, Beth Taylor and Christopher Quinn of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Murray, Daryl Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano asks Chiles, Cabinet for clemency hearing Subject The topic of the resource Torture murder and rape case Spaziano, Joe Chiles, Lawton, 1930-1998 Description An account of the resource Joe Spaziano was convicted of torture murder of an Orlando woman and raping another. But he was freed by a Florida Cabinet. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Griffin, Michael Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived “Spaziano asks Chiles, Cabinet for clemency hearing,” HIST298, accessed February 8, 2017, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/180. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-29 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Orlando, FL Chiles Dilisio Florida hypnosis murder Orlando Woman Outlaws rape Spaziano https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b601b5abc245366976383213c71e6251.jpg ed4d5c1d0b0224cadd80de606b5df972 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/98035e18bb07a601bc72b80256cf124b.jpg f7d7a5f70976067084c001ff0d21bfff Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Libka, Darby Text Any textual data included in the document ORLANDO - As his attorney makes a plea for clemency, investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are deepening their investigation into the 22-year-old murder case against condemned pris-oner Joseph “Crazy Joe” Spaziano. Gov. Lawton Chiles is being asked to absolve Spaziano of the charges that have kept him on Death Row since 1976. The former motorcycle gang leader was scheduled to be executed Tuesday, but Chiles granted an indefinite stay June 15 after the state’s main witness recanted key testimony. That witness, Anthony Dilisio of Pensacola, now says that what he testified two decades ago wasn’t true. He said he was coerced by the police- and his father- to make damning statements against Spaziano. Dilisio told The Herald this week that his memory is clearer about the time in his life when, as a teenager, he was the star witness in a sensational murder trial and a rape trial. He has offered to take a lie detector test, but the FDLE, which had scheduled one two weeks ago, has not contacted him since. Police and Dilisio said it was his father, Ralph Dilisio, who told investigators in 1974 to question him about the so-called “Garbage Dump Murders” involving five bodies found around a rural dumping ground near Orlando. Spaziano was having an affair with Dilisio’s step-mother, and Ralph Dilisio told police Spaziano has raped the woman. Ralph Dilisio who died in 1991, had told friends in the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office that Spaziano had bragged to him and his son about raping and mutilating women in the Orlando area. Police found the young Dilisio at a Key witness says his dad had grudge drug rehabilitation center. “I can now remember the room, the people. I can draw you a picture of it,” said Dilisio, who said that for 20 years he has erased from his mind his troubled teenage years. “My dad was out to get Joe because of my stepmother,” Dilisio said. “I remember the police told me my dad said this, and my dad said that, and was it true? He was the first one to tell me about it.” Officers had Dilisio, then 16, hypnotized him to help him remember details that said he’d suppressed because the memories were so traumatic. Under hypnosis, Dilisio told a macabre tale of Spaziano taking him out to a dump two years earlier and showing him two women’s bodies. One body was that of Orlando hospital clerk Laura Lynn Harberts, 18. The other was never identified. “I can remember them telling me how important this case is,” Dilisio said. In a 1974 rape trial in which Spaziano was convicted and sentenced to life, and in the 1976 murder trial in which he was convicted and sentenced to death, Dilisio was the key witness. He testified that Spaziano not only bragged about raping and killing women, but showed him the two bodies at the dump. Dilisio, now a lay preacher and auto restorer, now says it was all a fantasy. He said the first time he saw the dump was when police took him there, and he never saw any bodies. “That’s a bunch of crap,” he said. He said he doesn’t know whether Spaziano is guilty or innocent, but only that his trial testimony was unreliable. He said nobody threatened or coerced him to make the statements he’s now making. FDLE investigators videotaped an interview with Dilisio two weeks ago, which hasn’t been made public. “He told them he never went to the dump with Spaziano,” said Dilisio’s attorney, Kelly McGraw, who sat in on the interview with FDLE agents. “I don’t see how they can say that’s not a change.” Spaziano’s attorney, Vermont law school Professor Michael Mello, said he’s looking forward to reviewing the FDLE report, although investigators say it won’t be presented to the gover-nor any time soon. “My concern is that FDLE is picking back over case files and information that was so useless and unreliable that even a gung-ho prosecutor who was out the nail the president of the Orlando chapter of the Outlaws didn’t see fit to even try to get into evidence.” Mello sent a new clemency plea to Chiles this week, asking him to free Spaziano because the rape and murder cases against him were fraught with errors and were based largely on Dilisio’s now-questionable testimony. But investigators say they’re sure they got the right man all those years ago. “Everybody was solidly convinced,” said retired Seminole County sheriff’s officer Ray Parker, who now reviews old cases from the department. “There’s not a doubt in the world he did it.” Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Governor asked to free 'Crazy Joe' Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Testimony Chiles, Lawton, 1930-1998 Description An account of the resource 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 culprit. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rozsa, Lori Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Herald Section B, 5B Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant FL "Crazy Joe" Spaziano Anthony Dilisio attorney Florida Florida Death Row Lawton Chiles Michael A. Mello murder Ralph Dilisio rape testimony witness https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/af978903ba3814b14038dc08185d5deb.jpg ab5560e78a1613bfe3877accdd8d362e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document TALLAHASSEE - Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano, convicted of the torture-murder of an 18-year-old Orlando woman and the rape of another, has asked to be set free because the main evidence against him is being questioned. Spaziano's attorney asked Gov. Lawton Chiles for a clemency hearing, saying a key witness in the 21-year-old case now doubts his own hypnosis-enhanced testimony. Chiles stayed the execution two weeks ago after newspapers reported that Anthony Dilisio doubts whether his testimony at the 1976 trial was true. Chiles ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Dilisio's claims. What began as an interview with the Pensacola man has expanded into a full-scale investigation involving dozens of witnesses. The challenge facing Chiles is which Diliso to believe - the drugged-out would-be biker who testified at age 18 that Spaziano showed him Laura Harberts' mutiliated body, or the 37-year-old lay minister who says he can't remember his drug-using days and doubts Spaziano is a killer. Michael Mello, who represents Spaziano, said on Wednesday that the Cabinet should free Spaziano because Dilisio was the strongest element in the two cases. Chiles or any other member of the Cabinet - the attorney general, secretary of state and commissioners of education, insurance and agriculture - could call a clemency hearing. The governor, with tree members of the Cabinet, could commute Spaziano's sentence, pardon him or uphold the sentence. Spaziano last requested clemency in March, but was refused a hearing. In preparing that request, Spaziano's state-appointed attorneys interviewed Dilisio, but he told them he could shed no new light on the case. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Schmidt, Heidi Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Killer requests clemency hearing Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Dilisio, Anthony Clemency Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Associated Press Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Associated Press, "Killer requests clemency hearing" Description An account of the resource 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. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1997 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tallahassee, Florida Anthony Dilisio Clemency Florida Joe Spaziano Lawton Chiles Michael Mello murder newspaper stay of execution witness https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/1df19b43d9a143269f9138a2b80c7aff.jpg 0159d45e19dafe691231411ce755d86c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document A lawyer for death row inmate Joseph “Crazy Joe” Spaziano has blasted state investigators, calling efforts to reinvestigate his client’s 2-decade-old murder and rape convictions a “whitewash.” In a letter to Gov. Lawton Chiles’ general counsel, Vermont attorney Michael Mello said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is not conducting an objective, honest and competent “search for the truth.” Spaziano, who asked for clemency this week, received a reprieve from a scheduled June 27 execution after questions arose about the reliability of a key witness in his two cases. “Isn’t it enough that the state of Florida framed Mr. Spaziano twice already?” Mello asked in his letter to lawyer Dexter Douglass. Officials in Chiles’ office were unavailable for comment Friday. But FDLE spokeswoman Liz Hirst said her agency saw the letter, which was dated Thursday, but will not trade barbs with Mello. “That’s not productive or in anyone’s best interest,” Hirst said. “We are not really going to get into an issue with Spaziano’s attorney. That’s not the point of what FDLE is doing. What we are doing is a complete, fair and objective review under the direction of the governor.” Hirst said she expects FDLE will investigate for several more weeks before issuing a report to Chiles. As part of that report, Chiles is expected to view a videotaped statement from the key witness, Anthony Dilisio, 37, of Pensacola. Dilisio, now a lay minister, has told reporters in recent weeks that his testimony was manufactured by police. It is unclear what he told the FDLE about his 20-year-old testimony, which was enhanced by hypnosis. The videotape has not been released, angering Mello, who claims FDLE is sandbagging because the video shows Dilisio recanting. “If Mr. Dilisio is a flake, he’s your flake,” Mello wrote. Mello also criticized Douglass’ comments to The Orlando Sentinel that there was more evidence in the case than just Dilisio’s testimony. “If FDLE has dredged up – or manufactured – new witnesses against Mr. Spaziano, why didn't those witnesses testify at trial? The prosecution’s case was weak enough as it was,” Mello said. At the 1976 trial in Sanford, Dilisio, then 18, testified that Spaziano showed him the mutilated body of the woman he was accused of murdering in Seminole County. A year earlier, Dilisio also testified in a separate case that Spaziano bragged about raping a 16-year-old Orange County girl, slashing her neck and eyes, choking her and leaving her for dead. The Outlaws motorcycle club member was given a life term for the 1974 rape and sentenced to death for the first-degree torture-murder of Laura Harbert, an 18-year-old hospital clerk. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. LaRowe, Morgan Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano's lawyer slams state probe Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Mello, Michael Description An account of the resource Michael Mello confronts the FDLE on their weak case against Joe Spaziano. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Salamone, Debbie Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Salamone, Debbie. "Spaziano's lawyer slams state probe." The Orlando Sentinel. July 1, 1995. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-01 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida Dilisio FDLE Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles Joe Spaziano Michael Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c9d1053373f7f88a1d0b8cef293451b7.jpg f4f8d341dffb1d5290db2567c109bcfd Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The case of the hypnotized witness Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Kintz, Amber Text Any textual data included in the document Since 1978, 34 men convicted of homicide have been killed in Florida’s electric chair, a.k.a. “Old Sparky.” The 35th was to have been Joseph Spaziano, on death row for 19 years for the 1973 murder of Laura Harbets, a young hospital worker whose body was found in a Seminole County dump. <br /><br />In the 1975 trial, the jury, which was twice deadlocked but ordered to push on, recommended for a life sentence for the former president of the Orlando Outlaws Motorcycle Brotherhood. Florida is among the states allowing judges, in their robed wisdom and knowing they must run for reelection, to override sentencing juries. This one ordered death.<br /><br />In late May, Gov. Lawton Chiles issued a death warrant for Spaziano’s execution on June 27. On June 16, following an unprecedented outflow of editorial’s in the state’s major newspapers calling for either clemency or a new trial because of the flimsiness of the state’s case, Chiles granted a temporary stay of execution. <br /><br />Like previous chief executives of Florida—the state is second to Texas in the number of executions—Chiles does not hesitate to sign death warrants. He is not alone in his belief. Congress, the Supreme Court and Bill Clinton are now a united chorus for quickening the pace of executions. The president, calling appellate delays “ridiculous” and “interminable,” agrees with Republican death penalty champions that one appeal is plenty.<br /><br />The Spaziano case starkly counters this voguish faith in hurried justice. Twenty years were needed for doubts about Spaziano’s guilt to filter up to a governor and persuade him to pause and consider the defendant’s persistent claim of innocence.<br /><br />Among the glaring dubieties, the major one involves the fingering testimony of the state’s key witness, Tony Dilisio, a 16-year-old LSD and pot user when the crime occurred. When first questioned he offered only vague and uncorroborated accounts of what Spaziano allegedly said in general about murdering people. To jog the youth’s memory—no physical evidence was found to connect Spaziano to the crime—police interrogators called upon a hypnotist. Thus entranced, Dilisio now “remembered” that Spaziano had taken him to the dump to show him the victim’s body and brag of killing her.<br /><br />The jury was not told by Spaziano’s lawyer that the recollection of the dump site was induced by hypnosis. Florida now thinks better of allowing this sort of quackery into courtrooms. It was outlawed—though not retroactively—in 1985. <br /><br />Dilisio, now 37, agrees. Located by Miami Herald investigative reporters last month, he stated: “Surely they’re not going to let Spaziano go to the chair, to have his blood shed, on what a confused and scared kid said.” Dilisio added that he “could very well have been brainwashed. . . . With hypnosis, they plant things in your head.” <br /><br />The case turned on that planting. The prosecutor told the court, “If we can’t get in the testimony of Tony Dilisio, we’d have absolutely no case whatsoever.”<br /><br />As in nearly all death penalty cases involving questionable procedures and sketchy evidence, it was a lawyer of relentless energy who argued for Spaziano’s innocence. Michael Mello, a professor of Vermont Law School, author of two dozen law review articles on capital punishment, and one of a handful of specialists in post-conviction homicide law, is a former Florida public defender who has represented some 70 condemned men.<br /><br />Mello has practiced long enough to know that review courts, including the Supreme Court trade in questions of procedure and rarely on evidentiary issues of guilt or innocence. They are part of an increasingly busy assembly line, with death rows packed with nearly 3,000 people. <br /><br />Mello is an experienced professional skilled in unearthing evidence that persuades skeptics. This case, so riddled with questionable tactics, and based on one person’s sketchy testimony, prompts him to say: “I’m convinced Spaziano is innocent. I have never encountered a murder conviction that smells so rotten at its core.” <br /><br />Of his role in gaining the governor’s attention, Mello, who has worked pro bono on the case, is modest: “The execution was stayed because of the Miami Herald’s old-fashioned gumshoe reporting. It tracked down Dilisio and for the first time in 20 years he talked. It was not any defense lawyer or judge who stopped this execution. The Herald saved the legal system from itself.” <br /><br />True, so far. Spaziano could still get the chair. His hope for freedom is to be decided this month by the Florida Board of Executive Clemency, consisting of the governor and his Cabinet. One of its seven members is the attorney general, whose office is hellbent to see Spaziano killed. In a July 27 motion, it smear Michael Mello as “unethical” for having successfully publicized the case: He “lathered up the media to accomplish exactly what he wanted.” <br /><br />That’s quite a claim. It’s about as credible as the original—and now disavowed—testimony of the hypnotized teenage druggie. Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The case of the hypnotized witness Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McCarthy, Colman Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Washington, D.C. Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Hypnotism Chiles, Lawton, 1930-1998 Spaziano, Joe Mello, Michael Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "The Case of the Hypnotized Witness,” The Washington Post, August 5, 1995. McCarthy, Colman Description An account of the resource The article discusses the swiftness that the judicial system prefers the capital punishment system operate. Joseph Spaziano's case received a large amount of publicity and another appeal due to the vague testimony offered by a witness who had been hypnotized to "remember" what he had seen. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/0be3e32dc6a9d6814437f358d6df468b.jpg 99856a149382d94854b68c39279bddfd https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/8ef11cd3c33ed5a28133c6f34f4fb56d.jpg c3051289f1e5750061d4c3d0bcac89e2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Prosecutors in the Jeffrey Allen murder case lowered the charges to second-degree murder this week because of concern about proving premeditation in the trial that starts Monday. White River Junction District Court Judge Shireen Avis Fisher granted a motion from Windsor County State’s Attorney Patricia Zimmerman to amend the charge against Allen from first-degree to second-degree murder. Allen has admitted shooting his girlfriend’s ex-husband in a Bridgewater mobile home last Christmas Eve, but maintains it was in self-defense, his lawyer says. Second-degree murder “is easier to prove. Premeditation is not an element for second-degree cases,” Zimmerman said Friday. “That’s the only reason.” “They obviously didn’t think they had a prayer of convincing a jury on premeditation. There’s no other reason that I can think of,” said Michael Mello, a constitutional lawyer and criminal law professor at Vermont Law School. “They should not have indicted on first-degree murder to begin with.” Jeffrey Allen was arrested at the Daly Hollow Road trailer he shared with Marjorie Allen shortly after the early morning shotgun shooting of Richard Allen, 58, of Epsom, N.H. The two men are not related. Richard Allen allegedly broke into the trailer and punched Jeffrey Allen in the face after finding him in bed with Marjorie Allen, according to a state police affidavit. Jeffrey Allen then secluded himself for five hours in the trailer bedroom while Richard Allen talked to his ex-wife in the kitchen. She divorced her husband in 1992 after a violent and abusive marriage, according to court documents. Jeffrey Allen told police he believed the other man was drinking beer through the night and Richard Allen had yelled insults at him in a threatening manner. Shortly after 5 a.m., Richard Allen allegedly walked down the trailer hallway, opened the door to the bedroom, and was shot in the chest, police said. “There’s no question that Jeffrey Allen fired the weapon. We continue to maintain that he did so in self-defense, and that it was a fully justifiable shooting,” said Matthew Levine, Allen’s defense attorney. Mello, who said he was “loathe to criticize” Zimmerman, said the lesser charges “indicates that she’s pretty nervous about her case. And she should be. This is one of the strongest claims of self-defense that I have seen in a dog’s age.” He also said that the original first-degree murder indictment may have been an effort by Zimmerman to encourage a plea bargain by Allen. “One possibility, and prosecutors do this all the time in death cases, is they prosecute high in hopes that getting a first-degree murder indictment will strong-arm the defendant into a plea bargain,” Mello said. “If that was her aim in this case, it obviously didn’t work.” “I guess the difficulty I have is Mike Mello knows nothing about the case. I don’t see bringing first-degree murder charges an inducing a plea agreement,” Zimmerman responded. “The reality is you always know more about a case after you file charges (and hear from the defense) rather than before you file charges.” Zimmerman, who is expected to rely on the testimony of Marjorie Allen as a key part of her prosecution, said, “It’s the state’s burden to prove that it wasn’t self-defense.” Levine declined to reveal whether Jeffrey Allen would take the witness stand. “He won’t necessarily have to call the defendant,” Mello said. “What’s critical is that Mr. Levine be able to persuade the jury that the defendant subjectively believed that he was in imminent danger by the victim, and that that belief was reasonable.” And that will depend on the circumstances of the case, other lawyers agree. “Maybe the guy was terrified. Maybe he wasn’t. And if he was terrified, did have a reason to be terrified?" asked Harry Black, a defense attorney in White River Junction. “If Charles Manson is coming after me with a knife, I have a lot more reason to be scared than someone who I know is a reasonable person and can be talked out of it. I’d have a lot more justification in shooting Charlie.” Jury selection starts Monday morning, and the trial is expected to last less than two weeks. Allen faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted of the new charges. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Brokaw, Marianne Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Murder charge reduced in Allen case Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Murder Mello, Michael Description An account of the resource Charges against Jeffrey Allen in the shooting death of Richard Allen have been reduced from first-degree to second-degree murder. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gregg, John Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-8-12 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant White River Junction, VT Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Gregg, John. "Murder charges reduced in Allen case," Rutland Daily Herald, August 12, 1995, morning addition. capital punishment Jeffrey Allen Michael Mello murder umw https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/66dd7b953a380a2897d29618f4958aa1.jpg 8372335b3a1c0ed8cb8254edbf057609 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document TALLAHASSEE- After a two-month investigation, Gov. Lawton Chiles had no doubts Thursday in signing another death warrant for Joseph “Crazy Joe” Spaziano, condemned for a mutilation-murder 22 years ago. Spaziano, 49, had been scheduled to die in Florida’s electric chair in late June, but the governor canceled the execution after media reports raised questions about the case. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been investigating since then. “This exhaustive review removes any doubt in my mind about this case,” Chiles said in a statement released by his office. The FDLE report backs up the conclusion of every court that ever heard the case, Chiles said. “Joseph Spaziano has received due process, and justice demands that he now face the consequences for the crimes he has committed,” Chiles said. The warrant is in effect from noon Sept. 19 through noon Sept. 26. The execution has been scheduled for 7 a.m. Sept. 21 at Florida State Prison near Starke. A Vermont law professor who represents Spaziano said he spoke with his client after learning about the warrant. “He’s terrified. He’s angry,” said Michael Mello of Wilder, Vt. “He asked me, ‘What should I be doing now?’ I said, ‘You and your family need to be preparing for your death.’” Mello called the FDLE investigation a wash. Spaziano was serving a life prison term for an unrelated rape conviction in 1975 when he was charged with the murder of Laura Lynn Haberts, whose sexually mutilated body had been found in a trash dump near Altamonte Springs on August 22, 1973. Another decomposed body was found in the dump, but it has ever been identified, and Spaziano faced no charges in that case. A jury convicted Spaziano of Haberts’ murder only after twice telling the judge they couldn’t reach a verdict. The jury voted 9-3 for life imprisonment, but Circuit Judge Robert McGregor sentenced Spaziano to death. One of the jurors said the panel favored the life sentence because of doubts about Spaziano’s guilt. The jury wasn’t told about Spaziano’s rape conviction. Three Florida governors have signed death warrants for Spaziano. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Bishop, Michelle Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Governor signs another death warrant for Spaziano Subject The topic of the resource Capitol punishment Chiles, Lawton, 1930-1998 Description An account of the resource Joseph Spaziano is served another death warrant despite doubts about his guilt Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Associated Press Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "Governor Signs Another Death Warrant for Spaziano." The Gainesville Sun. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tallahassee, Fl https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/5802a40a29ad8b9e894f9cf8ad8f426d.jpg 1b441fb78df1dff4de3332ce38ccd645 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Spaziano gets fifth death warrent Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe capital punishment Description An account of the resource An updating of the case of Joe Spaziano as he receives his fifth death warrant, and a recounting of the last few events surrrounding Spaziano's trial. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Bill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. Petersburg Times Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 25-08-1995 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 2 JPGs Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 300 Language A language of the resource English https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/fc1effd8b4340f4f071fef85d0479b08.jpg 3a2954efb5cc1442c670b5bdd0795e5a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Godfrey, Sarah Text Any textual data included in the document Tallahasse- Gov. Lawton Chiles signed a fifth death warrant Thursday for Joseph Robert "Crazy Joe" Spaziano, the Outlaws motorcycle gang member who was condemned to die for the 1973 rape and murder of an Orlando hospital clerk. Chiles based his decision on a new report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement which he ordered after news reports raised questions about Spaziano's guilt. The report was intended to remove that cloud of doubt; instead it created a new firestorm because the governor decided to keep it secret. Spaziano's attorneys argue that he was wrongly convicted based on testimony from a drugged-out teenager elicited under hypnosis by prosecutors. But Chiles said the two-month investigation by the FDLE showed the prosecution was fair and the evidence was strong. "This exhaustive review removes any doubt in my mind about this case," Chiles said. "This review upholds the finding of every court that has heard this case- Joseph Spaziano has received due process and justice demands that he now face the consequences for the crimes he has committed." Interviews with 25 witnesses, according to Chiles' aides, provided new evidence that Spaziano raped, murdered and sexually mutilated 18-year-old Laura Lynn Harberts in 1973. Spaziano's lawyers were outraged that the governor refused to release the report or identify the witnesses who talked to investigators. "I am saddened that American law has reached the level where people can die based on anonymous reports which can't be cross-examined, (in which) names are withheld, and the truth of which is never tested in public," said Patrick Doherty, a Clearwater attorney. Chiles stayed the execution June 15 after a report in the Miami Herald cast doubt about Tony Dilisio's testimony against Spaziano, and editorials in the Herald and St. Petersburg Times urged a delay in the execution. Dilisio, who has a history of heavy drinking and drug use, told the Herald that he could not recall Spaziano taking him to see the bodies of two women at a dump near Altamonte Springs, a key piece of testimony. The signing of a fifth death warrant leaves Spaziano with little hope of avoiding the electric chair Sept. 19, one week before his 50th birthday. The only death row inmates to have survived more than four warrants were Willie Darden, who was executed in March 1988 on his seventh warrant, and Raymond Clark, electrocuted in November 1990 on his fifth warrant. Pending in the state Supreme Court are Spaziano's appeals to strike down the testimony elicited under hypnosis and to win a new trial based on Dilisio's reported recanting of his 1974 statements. But his lawyers conceded in June that their best hope was a clemency decision from the governor. Now it's the secrecy of the document Chiles used in making his decision that could give defense lawyers a new grounds for appeal. Doherty said he will confer with co-counsel Michael Mello about a motion seeking the FDLE report. "I don't know whether it's true, whether it's false, whether it's exaggerated, whether the people making these statements are sane or insane, whether they themselves have made deals," he said. "I don't have any information that would bear on whether it's credible or believable. That's what should keep Floridians awake at night. Because if it could happen to Mr. Spaziano it could happen to you or your child or anybody else." Mello, a Vermont law school professor who began representing Spaziano in 1983 when he practiced law in Florida, said it's particularly troubling he can't get courts to hear his client while the state's law enforcement agency "manufactured" new evidence that sealed Spaziano's fate. The report "has the indicia of unreliability all over it," Mello said. "Dexter Douglass, Chiles' general counsel, said the report is confidential under state law as part of a clemency. "There's another reason in this case," he said. "Several of the people they interviewed would not give statements except with the understanding they were protected because of fear for their lives." [Photograph; photo caption]: Joseph Spaziano is scheduled to be executed Sept. 19. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Spaziano gets fifth death warrant Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Spaziano, Joe Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, Va Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-25 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Bill Description An account of the resource An updating of the case of Joe Spaziano as he receives his fifth death warrant, and a recounting of the last few events surrrounding Spaziano's trial. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Moss, Bill, “Joe Spaziano gets fifth death warrant,” St. Petersburg (Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA), August 25, 1995. Bill Moss capital punishment death penalty Death warrant eye witness Florida death penalty Gov. Lawton Chiles Joe Spaziano murder rape reasonable doubt St. Petersburg Times stay of execution trial https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b623fe5db2841f38685de43925d176a1.jpg f5161ae193c29a973f0e8c8cb04feae5 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c145c27ad65e883e9ccc708f4297cb4b.jpg 092597efba95011f958f2d5922db532b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document These cutouts from the Tampa Tribune reports the order from governor Lawton Chiles of Tallahassee to execute "Crazy" Joe Spaziano after new evidence from unknown witnesses turned up in the case. Chiles, from the new evidence reported is quoted as being certain that the murders were of Spazianos doing. Spaziano had till this point appealed to the courts a total of 16 times, all of these appeals eventually being rejected. The evidence did not settle well with Spazianos attorney, Michael Mello as he believed the evidence was fraudulent. The case had garnered national attention and Mello had managed to take it to the Florida Supreme Court after many outlets spoke out against the prospect of execution. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Helms, Brendan Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Chiles orders execution of killer Subject The topic of the resource Chiles, Lawton Spaziano, Joe Description An account of the resource Governor Chiles orders the execution of Joe Spaziano after new evidence from witnesses is presented. Spaziano's attorney, Michael Mello, is reported as believing this information from the witnesses is fraudulent. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Metz, Kevin Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Tampa Tribune Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/9527903e1c8978ce8a0f59344070a78c.jpg fdc007b3ce6410d831d2416bf842f801 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document <p>[handwritten] Sunday- Aug. 27</p> <p>[handwritten] St. Pete Times</p> <p>A man may die under cover of secrecy</p> <p>Martin Dyckman</p> <p>If Joe Spaziano had a fair trial, so did the Salem witches. For 302 years, no other American has been put to death on the unsupported testimony of an addled teenager.</p> <p>The state’s only witness now insists he lied under the influence of police pressure, hypnosis and possibly drugs at Spaziano’s murder trial 20 years ago. Yet the governor has ordered Spaziano’s electrocution to proceed Sept. 21. I do not understand how Lawton Chiles, a decent and considerate man, can be so certain. Even the jurors weren’t. They recommended life.</p> <p>Because this killing will be done in our names, we had all better pray that Spaziano really is the man who raped and butchered Laura Lynn Harberts, an Orlando hospital clerk, and left her body at a trash dump. But even if he is, there are serious implications that will outlive him.</p> <p> It will be the first time in memory that someone went to his death on the strength of secret evidence. <i>Secret evidence!</i> Even the Salem witches were condemned entirely in public.</p> <p>The governor has a Florida Department of Law Enforcement Report supposedly showing that the key witness, Tony DiLisio, was telling the truth then (and not now) when he testified that Spaziano took him to the dump and boastfully showed him the corpses of Harberts and another woman who was never identified. The FDLE’s new witnesses have never been heard or cross-examined in any court, however. They never will be, if the governor has his way, because the FDLE promised them confidentiality.</p> <p>It is claimed they are afraid of Spaziano’s former associates in the Outlaws motorcycle gang. This may be true. Still, courts have ways of putting witnesses on the stand without jeopardizing them. For example, one of the governor’s secret witnesses is said to be another former Outlaw already in the federal government’s witness protection program as an FBI informant. He says - according to the governor’s news release - that Spaziano had admitted to him before standing trial that he had killed the two women and had showed their bodies to a young man who he feared would betray him. Very interesting. For all we know, it could have been this witness himself who killed the women.</p> <p>The governor’s secret witnesses also supposedly include friends and family members who assert that the police and their lay hypnotist didn’t manipulate DiLisio and that he told the story he now denies before the hypnosis, before the trial, and for 20 years since. That too maybe true. But that governor’s secret evidence also includes the FDLE’s videotape of a June 14 interview with DiLisio in which he insists in forceful terms that what he says NOW is the truth. Such conflicts belong in open court rather than a secret file – especially when a life is at stake.</p> <p>I haven’t seen the tape. I do have what purports to be a transcript, sent by Spaziano’s attorney, Michael Mello, who has filed his bootleg copy of the tape with the Florida Supreme Court under seal. In the transcript, DiLisio says of the crucial visit to the dump that “The cops brought me there. I had never been there in my life until they brought me there.”</p> <p>Did Spaziano ever take him?</p> <p>“No, never.”</p> <p>Had he ever told the police anything before being hypnotized?</p> <p>“No, all the facts that I had I got from them to be able to read them back to them.”</p> <p>Throughout the transcript, the FDLE’s crack agent repeatedly refers to Spaziano as “Foranzo,” ”Sporanzo,” or “Spilanzo,” until DiLisio eventually corrects him. Could that be one of the reasons the governor doesn’t want the file made public? What else did the FDLE get wrong?</p> <p>And what has happened to the nation’s best open-government laws? Relying on a 1993 revision that caught the media lobby napping, Chiles invokes a total exemption for any record having to do with executive clemency. How convenient. Clemency happens to be one of the black holes of American jurisprudence. The Supreme Court won’t touch it. For all the courts care, the governor could go to Doak Campbell stadium at halftime and let the crowd decide Spaziano’s fate with thumbs up or thumbs down, Roman style.</p> <p>The governor’s spokesman, Ron Sachs, tried to persuade me it’s not a secret report because the governor and his staff have reviewed it “thoroughly.” Indeed. Much as we all love and respect Lawton Chiles, secrecy is a petri dish for corruption as well as for honest miscarriages of justice. Under such cover, a less trustworthy administration easily could sell pardons. It happened in Tennessee under Ray Blanton.</p> <p>Only the Florida Supreme Court, it appears, can now interrupt this fatal farce. Though the court no longer allows hypnotically induced testimony in criminal trials, it has refused to reopen Spaziano’s case on the grounds that his lawyers raised the issue too late. The state would argue that DiLisio’s recantation also comes too late.</p> <p>But, God help us all, what if he is telling the truth?</p> <p><em>Martin Dyckman is associate editor of the</em> St. Petersburg Times.</p> Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A man may die under cover of secrecy Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Capital punishment Description An account of the resource Joe Spaziano's execution is still likely to occur even though the only witness recanted his testimony. Most of the evidence that Governor Lawton Chiles has to condemn Spaziano has not been made publicly available or brought to court. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Dyckman, Martin Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Dyckman, Martin. "A man may die under cover of secrecy." St. Petersburg Times. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant St. Petersburg, FL Evidence Joe Spaziano https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/86bc344cabc05589b38027186ae86b66.jpg c116f6a7090dba168f2f3670557fcbc9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document A defense lawyer plans to challenge the secret state investigation that led Gov. Lawton Chiles to sign a new death warrant last week for “Crazy Joe” Spaziano. The basic problem with the secret report, said law professor Michael Mello, representing the condemned man: It’s the only part of the state’s case against Spaziano that’s still intact. At the very least, Spaziano should be allowed to read it and challenge it before it’s used as a justification to kill him, Mello said Monday. Replied Deputy Attorney Gen-eral Pete Antonacci: “We’re defending the governor. We think the governor acted prop-erly, and we think the warrant is viable and should be carried out.” The latest twists in the long case began two months ago, when the key trial witness against Spa-ziano recanted his testimony. At the trial, a teenaged Anthony Dilisio testified that Spaziano took him to a rural trash dump to show off the remains of murdered hospital clerk Laura Harberts. But Dilisio apparently didn’t recall details of the gruesome scene until he had been questioned extensively by police and hypnotized twice. Now, he says the memory was fabricated and his testimony was coached by investigators. In the wake of the revelations, Chiles postponed Spaziano’s exe-cution and ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to examine the case. Last week, Chiles signed another death war-rant for September after FDLE agents reported that several peo-ple--who were promised confi-dentiality by the state--recalled hearing statement that impli-cated Spaziano around the time of the murder. Mello said he’ll add the chal-lenge to his pending appeal before the state Supreme Court. But Mello says he’s not planning to pursue further appeals in the fed-eral district court if the current petition is rejected. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Payne, Shannon Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 'Crazy Joe' defense to dispute secret probe Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McKinnon, John D. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-29 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Woodland Park, NJ Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Description An account of the resource On Tuesday August 29, 1995, "Crazy Joe" Spaziano's defense lawyer Michael Mello challenges death warrant. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived McKinnon, John D. "'Crazy Joe' defense to dispute secret probe." The Herald (Woodland Park, New Jersey), August 29, 1995. "Crazy Joe" Spaziano capital punishment death penalty defense lawyer Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/bf3973aa4bcbdae112f27b984c158075.jpg 8dea838a50aa6fbca2c878a857ba8e53 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [[Start Page]] TALLAHASSEE-- An agency that finds volunteer lawyers to handle appeals for inmates on death row is closing its doors in anticipation of losing its $1.5 million in federal funding. Tallahassee-based Volunteer Laywers' Post-Conviction Defenders Organization, which recently handled the unsuccessful appeal of Bernard Bolander, has been laying off staff and trying to find attorneys to take over the 50 cases on its books before losing its doors Sept. 30, Matthew Lawrey, the center's co-director said Tuesday. All but eight of the agency's original 23 staff members have been laid off as the center set about implementing a directive from the Administrative Office of the Federal Courts to begin an orderly shutdown. The office formerly called the Resource Center, is one of 20 such centers being shutdown across the nation. Earlier this summer, the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee eliminated the $20 million in funding for the centers that handled the appeals of about half of the nation's 3,000 death row inmates. In a letter to attorney Mike Mello, who represents death row inmate Joe Spaziano, agency co-director Jennifer Greenberg wrote the group will be unable to help in assisting with Spaziano's appeal or with the investigation of issues in his case. Spaziano is scheduled to die Sept. 21. Unlike some other states-- such as Texas -- Florida has a state agency, the Office of Capital Collateral Representative, which also handles death row inmates' appeals. Mike Minerva, head of CCR, said he doesn't yet know how the closing of the lawyers' organization will affect his caseload. "It may leave some clients without counsel," Minerva said. His office said it would be able to handle most of the cases, if it receives additional funding. Some cases, he said, such as those of co-defendants, have to be handled by someone else, to avoid conflict-of-interest problems. Right now, CCR is handling appeals for about half of Florida's 350 death row inmates. [[End Page]] Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Huber, Amanda Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Agency that helps inmates on death row to close doors Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Death row Description An account of the resource In Tallahassee Florida an agency is being shut down that helps inmates on death row. The agency is losing its federal funding and cannot keep its doors open for inmates. Another agency in Florida is going to attempt to take over the caseload. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Associated Press Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tallahassee, FL Florida Death Row https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/e5c88028caa10544cafb60bedb3af005.jpg 9df7c369870ad5f8a7eb504960a8acbc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Tallahassee -- Citing lack of money and time, the lawyer for condemned killer Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano has asked The Florida Bar whether he should remove himself from the case. In a letter to the Florida Supreme Court, Michael Mello said his job as a law professor and his inability to hire full-time secretaries. researchers or investigators may hinder his ability to represent Spaziano. Also Tuesday, the governor's legal counsel said he may release part of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report that Gov. Lawton Chiles cited to justify signing Spaziano's fifth death warrant last week. The former motorcycle gang member is scheduled to be executed Sept. 21 for the 1973 murder and mutilation of Laura Lynn Harberts, an 18-year-old Orlando hospital clerk. Her body was dumped in rural Seminole County, near Altamonte Springs. General Counsel Dexter Douglass said he had no objection to releasing an edited report of the FDLE findings "if we can be assured that this would not expose these witnesses to harm." Any version released would have witnesses' naems removed, he said. Chiles' spokesman Ron Sachs said the governor is wary of releasing the report in any form but would consult with Douglass. The Orlando Sentinel, The Miami Herald and The St. Petersburg Times have asked for the report, in which several witnesses corroborate the original testimony of a key witness against Spaziano who recently changed his story. Chiles ordered the report kept secret as part of a clemency request filed by Mello. Douglass said another piece of the Spaziano inquiry -- a videotaped interview made this summer with witness Anthony Dilisio, who says 1976 trial testimony was manufactured by police Please see SPAZIANO, C-4 Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Cary, Colton Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano's lawyer wants off case Subject The topic of the resource Law Description An account of the resource Lawyer for Joseph Spaziano, Michael Mello, asks The Florida Bar if he should remain on the case. Due to lack of time and money, Mello finds this case hindered. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael Griffin Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Orlando Sentinel Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Joe Spaziano Law Michael A. Mello