11 20 256 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/0b4898971e38d855868e0048caf115c7.jpg 3ec919b1a5f4681a5864444afc6a942c 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 4 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. Moore, Kyle Text Any textual data included in the document [heading] Spaziano hearing set, but stay rejected  State/Regional News The Associated Press [start of the first column] Tallahassee- The Florida Supreme Court refused Friday to stay the execution of Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano but ordered a lower court to hold a hearing within a week into his claims of innocence. In an unsigned opinion, the justices all agreed a trial judge should consider the recent recantation of a key prosecution witness who said he lied during Spaziano's trial nearly 20 years ago. But the state's high court split 4-3 in its refusal to delay the execution. Spaziano, 49 is schudled to die in Florida's electric chair on Sept. 21 for the murder-mutilation of an 18-year-old Orlando woman in August 1973. "We decline at this time to grant a stay of execution, but allow the trial court an opportunity to  [end of the first column] [start of the second column] address this issue,' the majority said in a ruling that came just 26 hours after oral arguments. Chief Justice Stephen Grimes and Justice Ben Overton, Major Harding, and Charles Wells supported the majority ruling. The other three justices said they agreed a lower court should review the recanted testimony but argued against setting a deadline for the hearing. In a minority opinion supported by Justices Leander Shaw and Harry Lee Anstead, Justice Gerald Kogan said he believed Spaziano should be given an indefinite stay of execution. Spaziano is condemned for the murder of Laura Lynn Harberts, whose body was found in an Altamonte Springs dump. The key witness at Spazino's trial was Anthony DiLisio, who recanted his testimony earlier this year, prompting Gov. Lawton Chiles to suspend Spaziano's fourth death warrant. However, after an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into the recent comments by DiLisio, Chiles said he had no doubts about the case and signed a fifth death warrant last month. Richard Martell, who oversees the state lawyers who defend death sentences, said he eas still studying the decision. Michael Mello, the Vermont law professor who represents Spaziano, did not respond to a request for reaction. [end of the article] 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 hearing set, but stay rejected Subject The topic of the resource Capital Punishment Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Associated Press Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Palm Beach Post 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 09-09-1995 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 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Palm Beach, FL Description An account of the resource The Florida Supreme Court refused to stay the execution of Joseph Spaziano but ordered a lower court to hold a hearing into his claim of innocence. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 300 DPI 1 JPG https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/775107f4638603772daa3115f1622cf1.jpg d780a6a7358666fcd8c0940e5d9ab6e8 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 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [heading] Spaziano insists he's innocent <ul> <li>The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments today in the case of the rape-murder convict scheduled to die Sept. 21.</li> </ul> By Ron Word [start of the first column] STARKE -- Outlaws motorcycle gang member Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano grows quiet when asked about his impending death in the electric chair for the rape, mutilation and murder of a teenage hospital clerk. He rubs his handcuffed hands against his chin and tears fill his eyes as he proclaims his innocence. [Image of Spaziano] "I'm not guilty of no murder. I'm not guilty of no rape," Spaziano said in an hourlong prison interview Wednesday just two weeks before his scheduled Sept. 21 execution. "The only thing Im guilt of is smoking a few reefers," he said from behind a glass partition. Unless his last-minute appeals are successful, Spaziano will be put to death for the 1973 rape, torture, murder and mutilation of Laura Lynn Harberts, an 18-year-old Orlando woman. "I don't know the girl, I know nothing about it," the heavily tattooed Spaziano said. Spaziano, 49, who wears a skull and crossbones ring and has the same emblem with the name of the Outlaws tattooed on the inner side of his right arm, believes he was framed because of his membership in the gang. "I never took the stand. Who would believe an Outlaw?" he said. "There were so many lies. I figured a higher court would see that." Spaziano has shaved his head, something he said he has done after all five of his death warrants. He did not want prison guards to do it in preparation for his electrocution. "So they don't have to touch my head. I don't like people to touch me," he said. [end of the first column] [start of the second column] Spaziano had been scheduled to die in June, but Gov. Lawton Chiles delayed the execution after Spaziano's attorney Michael Mello raised questions about Spaziano's guilt. Oral arguments in his appeal are scheduled today before the Florida Supreme Court. Anthony DiLisio, the star witness against Spaziano, has said he lied when he testified Spaziano allowed him the bodies of Ms. Harberts and another woman at a Seminole Count Dump. Dilisio, 38 and living in Pensacola, now says the information came from police, who had him hypnotized to help his memory. After interviewing DiLisio and conducting an investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a secret report to Chiles that persuaded him to sign a new death warrant. "I really thought the governor was looking at my case," Spaziano said. Several witnesses linked Spaziano to Ms. Harberts and the dump where the decayed bodies were found Aug. 22, 1971. But DiLisio, who has a long history of alcohol and drug abuse, was the only one who could directly connect Spaziano to the bodies. The governor has refused to release the secret report, saying he didn't want to reveal the names of confidential witnesses. The report reportedly contains allegations that a witness tied Spaziano to two murders and another rape. Spaziano, who got a life sentence in an unrelated 1975 rape conviction, has spect much of his 19 years on death row drawing and painting cartoon characters. He is especially fond of Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters. He also likes to paint pictures of motorcycles and their riders. Since being placed in a cell just steps from Florida's electric chair, "Old Sparky." Spaziano said, he has been restless. "Every day is hard. I've got to get ready for it," he said. "I'm just waiting to die. I do a lot of walking back and forth. I don't sleep much. "I want to get as much life in as I can. People can sleep when they are dead." [end of article] 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. Dacey, Rachel 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 insists he's innocent Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Capital Punishment Description An account of the resource Spaziano later claims his innocence in court and Gov. Lawton Chiles delayed Spaziano's execution based on this information. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Word, Ron 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 1995-09-05 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 Capital punishment. death penalty Gov. Lawton Chiles Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b0d61b976116f4f096ea1bcb0d1bc3ac.jpg 4057d8de327a0dace9423cdd34bd2f8a https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/46ac0fe87f3cbe04311a7ed948745ebf.jpg f2c36f6c9d91c4aaa390f3283218d903 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 4 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Text Any textual data included in the document [Heading] Spaziano lawyer: Hearing a ‘sham’ By John D. McKinnon Herald Legal Correspondent [subheading] Indefinite stay of execution demanded [Beginning of article] Tallahassee-Hours after scoring a victory in his legal fight to avoid the electric chair, “Crazy Joe” Spaziano on Saturday faced the possibility that his gains could be erased - by his own lawyer. Late Friday afternoon, the Florida Supreme Court granted Spaziano an evidentiary hearing on his claim that the state’s key witness lied at his murder trial 20 years ago. But just before midnight Friday, Spaziano’s outspoken defense attorney, Michael Mello, faxed a harshly worded response to the high court, demanding an indefinite stay of Spaziano’s scheduled execution and announcing that he would not participate in the evidentiary hearing, which he termed a “sham.” Mello complained that he won’t have the time or resources to prepare for the hearing, ordered to be held by Friday. Spaziano is scheduled to be executed Sept. 21. “If this court intends to kill this innocent man by depriving him of the effective assistance of counsel, then it will do so without my complicity,” Mello wrote. Mello is a law professor who lives in Vermont. He said in a telephone interview late Friday that it is “obviously impossible for me to be able to do any kind of meaningful hearing with an active death warrant pending.” Mello’s threatened boycott of next week’s hearing doesn’t necessarily leave Spaziano unrepresented. In its opinion, the Supreme Court also ordered the state law office that defends most Death Row inmates to help Mello. But there’s no guarantee that state lawyers will participate. Mello is doing everything he can to keep the state office, known as the Capital Collateral Representative, out of the case. Mello says CCR allowed an investigator to try to pressure the state’s key witness against Spaziano and that the agency is overworked and has failed to follow up on leads in the past. Mello, who once worked for CCR, does little to disguise his contempt for it. CCR lawyers have also expressed doubts about the feasibility of preparing adequately for the evidentiary hearing in less than a week. “Trying to put together this hearing in seven days is just not the way things should be done,” Martin J. McClain, CCR’s chief assistant, said Saturday. But McClain did not threaten to boycott the hearing. He declined to comment on Mello’s allegations about CCR misconduct. The Supreme Court implicitly rejected [end of page] [Top of page] Sunday, September 10, 1995, The Herald 7B [Article title] Spaziano lawyers: Hearing a ‘sham’ [Spaziano, from 6B] those allegations in Friday’s opinion. The big fear about the hearing for both Mello and McClain: that prosecutors will use controversial secret evidence during the hearing to rebut their claims on behalf of Spaziano. [subheading] Unveiling secret evidence [beginning of article text] The existence of the secret evidence came to light in August, when Gov. Lawton Chiles cited it to justify signing a fifth warrant for Spaziano’s execution. Chiles ordered the secret investigation after the state’s key witness, Anthony DiLisio, told a Herald reporter that his testimony at the trial was false. DiLisio testified at the trial in 1975 that Spaziano, an Outlaw biker gang leader, took him to a rural Orlando trash dump and showed him the body of a murdered 18-year-old woman, Laura Harberts. But the governor has steadfastly refused to make the report public, citing promises of anonymity made to the witness, as well as state laws that allow him to keep clemency matters secret. [subheading] Fear of an ambush [beginning of article text] Spaziano’s lawyers worry that they’ll be ambushed at the hearing by the secret evidence. It’s likely that Spaziano’s lawyers will go to court again to seek the report before next week’s hearing. Their fears appeared to be justified late Friday, when the governor’s chief lawyer said it’s possible that some of the witnesses who were interviewed for the secret report will testify at next week’s hearing. “That will be up to the state attorney’s office” in Seminole County, said Dexter Douglass, Chiles’ general counsel. How could local prosecutors find the witness if the governor promised them anonymity, as Chiles has said? “What we promised is what I think I’ve said all along - that we would not reveal their identity to the general public,” Douglass said. [subheading] Discrediting the key witness [beginning of article text] When asked again if the state would reveal the names of the witness to prosecutors, Douglass added that local prosecutors “could find the witnesses the same way we did.” The secret witnesses include several people who recall hearing DiLisio or Spaziano make statements that implicated Spaziano. Those witnesses probably couldn’t be used to convict Spaziano, because their testimony would be hearsay. But they could be used to discredit DiLisio’s recantation of his trial testimony and block Spaziano’s efforts to obtain a new trial. The state’s Supreme Court’s order for a hurry-up hearing on Spaziano’s claims runs counter to its recent decisions in other capital cases in which last-minute claims were raised. In several recent cases, the high court has ordered stays of execution so trial courts could hold full-blown evidentiary hearings. The difference in this case, apparently, was Mello’s failure to file his request in a trial court - the usual route for last-ditch claims. Instead, for reasons that remain unclear, Mello file directly in the state Supreme Court, a move that the high court determined “clearly not authorized.” [Photo caption] ‘If this court intends to kill this innocent man by depriving him of the effective assistance of counsel, then it will do so without my complicity.’ Michael Mello, Spaziano’s lawyer [End of article] Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Wright, Devin 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 lawyer: Hearing a 'sham' Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment. Description An account of the resource This newspaper article from "The Herald," in Tallahassee, FL describes Michael Mello's fight for a stay of execution for his client, "Crazy Joe" Spaziano. His fight was being challenged by the state's "secret evidence" that was to prove his guilt, after the key witness admitted to false testimony in the original trial 20 years before. 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 1995-09-10 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 Tallahassee, FL capital punishment Crazy Joe Spaziano Michael Mello trial https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/e5a85b542dff75fd371c38d315921dae.jpg eb8b09416a253624fced421fb4e3a982 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 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [heading] Spaziano may lack lawyer for hearing By MARK SILVA Capital Bureau Chief [start of the first column] Tallahassee – With the prospect of no law-yer appearing for Joseph “Crazy Joe” Spaziano at a last-chance hearing before his slated execution next week, an odd alliance of lawyers is pleading for a delay. Spaziano’s own lawyer, Michael Mellow, argues that he “cannot possibly render effective assistance” in the short time leading up to Friday’s hearing. The state’s public defenders for Death Row say they too are ill-prepared and that, in any event, they can’t step in so long as Spaziano has a lawyer. Although Mellow doesn’t want the state’s lawyers involved, the state’s Capital Collateral Representa-tive joined Mellow on Monday in asking the Florida Supreme Court to delay Spaziano’s execution. A hearing without adequate defense “could result in the most dire consequences, the execution of an innocent man who has only just discovered the evidence which will prove his innocence,” the CCR argued on Monday. A the same time, the possibility of no lawyer for Spaziano at Friday’s hearing “creates a huge problem,” says Martin McClain, the CCR’s chief assis-tant, “one that the Supreme Court has to address.” [end of the first column] [start of second column] The Supreme Court has ordered a hearing in the Seminole County court where Spaziano was con-victed in 1976 for the murder of Laura Lynn Har-berts. But, by 4-3, the court has refused to postpone the execution scheduled for Sept. 21. The hearing is solely to weigh a new develop-ment: Tony DiLisio, the key witness who tied Spa-ziano to the bodies of Harberts and another woman found at a wooded dump near Orlando, says Spaziano never showed him the bodies. It was the police, DiLisio now says, who led him there and coerced his testimony. Recantation alone isn’t enough to grant Spa-ziano a new trial. Prosecutors are likely to present evidence that DiLisio was telling the truth origi-nally, and lying today – the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s position. But if the judge finds DiLisio’s story plausible, he could order a new trial. Retired Seminole Circuit Judge Robert McGre-gor, who presided over the original trial, is returning to handle Friday’s hearing in Sanford. [end of the article] 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. McCrumb, Allison 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 may lack lawyer for hearing Description An account of the resource Spaziano's lawyer, Michael Mellow, is worried that he will not be prepared to make a convincing argument on behalf of his client because new evidence has come to light. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Silva, Mark Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Silva, Mark. 1995. “Spaziano May Lack Lawyer for Hearing.” Florida The Herald, September 12, 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 - 12 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, Florida https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/e44562e3d27c75a9d0797075351661e1.jpg 3de09cd734e1fc3586abddc893c062a1 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 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Spaziano prepares for death -Even though a witness in his case retracted key testimony, the convicted murderer reportedly fears the worst. By Diane Rado TALLAHASSEE - He has been on Florida's death row for nearly 20 years, outliving four death warrants and steadfastly proclaiming his innocence. But even Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano knows the end is near. Despite a stunning recantation of testimony from a star witness in his case, Spaziano is preparing for death in Florida's electric chair on Spet. 21, his attorney says. "He's trying to take care of unfinished business; trying to make things right with some of his family members he's had fallings out with; trying to make provisions for his daughter (Now in her 20s)," said his attorney Michael Mello, who speaks to his client every day, twice a day, at 3 and 7 p.m. Gov. Lawton Chiles has signed a fifth death warrant for Spaziano, the Outlaws motorcycle gang member condemned to die for the 1973 rape and murder of Orlando hospital clerk Laura Lynn Harberts, 18. Her mutilated body was found partly covered with leaves and trash in a dump in Seminole County. Only one person, WIllie Darden, his made it past the fifth warrant. Darden was executed on his seventh warrant in March 1988. Spaziano knows that. "He alternates between sort of jocularity, joking around, and sort of what I characterize as white hot terror," Mello said Friday. "He talks about dying, how he wants his brothers and sisters in the (Outlaws) club to be there. He talks a lot about his family, his mother." Mello said he has asked Spaziano's ex-wife to gather all the letters she has received from Spaziano over the years and send him all those in which Spaziano declares his innocence. Mello said e doesn't know yet what he will do with the letters. Controversy over the Spaziano case has grown this summer, since witness Anthony Dilisio recanted his testimony of 20 years ago. Dilisio is telling reporters he now couldn't recall Spaziano taking him to the dump and showing him bodies of Harberts and another woman. The testimony was a key link between Spaziano and the crime scene. Chiles canceled Spaziano's execution June 27 and ased the Florida Department of Law Enforecement to investigate. The controversy grew. In fear that witnesses interviewed could be in danger, the governor refused to make public the FDLE report, which hi aides said reinforced Dilisio's original story and linked Spaziano to the murder victim. Mello has asked the Supreme Court to open the secret investigation, allow a new hearing on the case and halt Spaziano's execution. The motions are pending. Friday, the Supreme Court allowed the release of videotaped FDLE interview of Dilisio. In the interview, DIlisio clearly recants his prior testimony on the case and says police, not Spaziano, brought hiim to the dump where the women's bodies were found. Dilisio, now 38, sits next to his lawyer in the tape, wearing a print shirt and speaking articulately, sometimes passionately, about the last 20 years of feeling angry, guilty, and afraid of retribution for testifying against Spaziano. He was just a kid at the time of the Harberts murder, he says, taken out of juvenile detention and treated like a "king" by authorities when then manipulated him, hypnotized him, and possibly drugged him to get crucial testimony against Spaziano. "I'm just totally disgusted you know, I'm just trying to look at this. I've got kids right now. I can't imagine somebody doing this to them. Something to my kids, using them, you know, for their own game like I feel was done to me," Dilisio says, "I coudln't imagine. It's insanity." He says the case changed his life. "This has been a pretty dramatic experience in my life. And I, and I mean I wish that it'd never happen to me, but it did happen to me. Okay, it did, it happened. And I'm tired of carrying it around." 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. Palomo, Francisco 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 prepares for death 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 1995-09-02 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 Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Spaziano, Joe Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rado, Diane Description An account of the resource Spaziano prepares for his execution by trying to mend relationships with family and making provisions for his daughter. Controversy over his case has grown since key witness Anthony Dilisio recanted his testimony. Dilisio speaks about his feelings of anger, guilt, and fear of retribution for testifying. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/92bafda947dbce6f5691f54abb17418e.jpg cd6a5afd0ffce16caa724792b271758d 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 speaks out about his execution Subject The topic of the resource Capital Punishment--Florida Spaziano, Joseph. Description An account of the resource Joseph Spaziano sentenced to death without last-minute defense effort in Florida, still claiming his innocence. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Greenberg, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Greenberg, David. “Spaziano speaks out against execution.” The Gainesville Sun, September, 6 1995. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gainesville Sun Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-06 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 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 Starke, FL https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/6d4e624121419d6436df48cb59f58164.jpg b762735389c4e852c25d053a6e0c313c 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 speaks out about his execution Subject The topic of the resource Capital Punishment Spaziano, Joe Description An account of the resource Although it is uncommon for lawyers to allow inmates facing execution media interviews, Spazianos lawyers hope to spark interest in his case. Spaziano claims he's not believed about his innocence because he was in a biker gang, the Outlaws. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Greenberg, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Greenberg, David. “Spaziano speaks out against his execution.” Gainesville Sun, September 6, 1995. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-06 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 Starke, FL 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 4 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) vol. 68, issue 5 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Lewandowski, Maggie Text Any textual data included in the document [start page] [heading] Spaziano speaks out about his execution Budget cuts are closing the organization that would have done much of his legal work. By David Greenberg [Image] David Greenberg [caption] Joseph Spaziano struggles for words at Florida State Prison on Tuesday morning as he talks about his execution scheduled for Sept. 21. [start of the first column] STARKE -- During a rare interview at Florida State Prison on Tuesday, Joseph Spaziano reflected on life in the Outlaw motorcycle gang, described 20 years on Death Row and criticized the people who control his fate. If executed as scheduled in two weeks, Spaziano will be the first Death Row inmate to die without benefit of a serious last-minute defense effort since the death [end of the first column] [start of the second column] penalty was reinstated in Florida in 1976. He was sentenced to die for the 1973 murder of Orlando nurse Laura Lynn Harberts. The day before Spaziano's fifth and most recent death warrant was signed by Gov. Lawton Chiles, the Volunteer Lawyers Post-Conviction Defender Organization announced that federal budget cuts were forcing it to close. The organization would have done the investigative work and much of the legal work for Spaziano's last-minute appeals. [end of the second column] [start of the third column] "There's no one to help me, " Spaziano said Tuesday during a 45-minute interview. When Spaziano talked about his next -- and maybe his last -- few weeks, he grew quiet, rubbed his shackled hands against his face and fought back tears. It was the only time during the interview that the small man with the shaved head and furry eyebrows seemed uncomfortable. He raised his tattooed arms to his face in a seeming effort to hide. He insists that he did not kill Harberts. "No, I didn't do it," he said. "During a TV interview, I was asked that about 40 times. I didn't do it, I didn't even know her. [end of the third column] [start of the fourth column] "I've been telling the truth for 20 years, and they won't believe me," he said. "Now the kid who put me in here is telling the truth, and they don't want to believe him. What is there to say? What can I do? Mike's doing the best job he can, but I'm in trouble." Spaziano's attorney is Michael Mello, a University of Vermont law professor who normally would have help from the volunteer lawyers' organization. The law says Spaziano has the right to counsel in Florida. But Mello and others familiar with the case question whether he has it. And there's no case law on such a circumstance. [end of the fourth column] See SPAZIANO on Page 3B [end page] [[start page]] SPAZIANO continued from Page 1B [start of the first column] Spaziano's strongest criticism is aimed at Chiles, his staff and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "I really believed after he stayed my fourth warrant that this guy was for real," he said. "But they're all the same. No one in Tallahassee likes me." Dexter Douglass, Chiles' clemency attorney, says Spaziano's comments --- along with Mello's protests --- are all part of the defense's strategy. "There's been no showing made by anybody that this man is entitled to clemency," Douglass said. Spaziano suggests that the is in this position now because of his background as an Outlaw. "It's because of what I am," he said. "I was a biker. I rode with the Outlaws. But I was clean. All I ever did was smoke reefer. If they want me to confess that I smoke reefer, I will. I asked the judge if he wanted to [end of the first column] [start of the second column] smoke before he sentenced me." With an overworked defense attorney at his original trial, Spaziano opted to not take the stand. "I figured no one would believe an Outlaw," he said. "I figured that it would be better when I got to a higher court, but no one would listen." For the last 20 years, Spaziano hasn't been a biker. He's been a Florida Death Row inmate. To occupy his time for the last 20 years, Spaziano has painted. "I did it from the time the cell lights went on until they went off each night," he said. "I'm a cartoon freak. I painted Disney characters and Easy Rider (biking) stuff. I would send them to my people, and they would send me canteen money for cigarettes." It's almost unheard of for lawyers to allow inmates facing execution' to grant media interviews. It never happens without attorneys present. But Mello and Spaziano are doing it to spark interest in the case. And Mello, who started teaching two weeks ago, must allow Spaziano to do it alone. "I don't know what else to do," Mello said in a phone interview from Vermont. [end of the second column] [start of the third column] Spaziano who will turn 50 on Tuesday, was arrested nearly two years after Halberts' sexually mutilated body was found in a trash dump near Altamonte Springs, a suburb of Orlando. He was found guilty by a jury that recommended life in prison. The judge overturned the recommendation and sentenced Spaziano to death. During Spaziano's fourth death warrant last June, the main witness against him, Tony Dills, said he gave his testimony under hypnosis --- no longer acceptable in Florida courts. As a result, Chiles stayed Spaziano's execution and asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. The results of that investigation are known only to FDLE, the governor and his legal aides, but were enough to sign a new death warrant. Chiles will not release the information in the FDLE report. That leaves Spaziano with a lot of questions. "I wonder about the governor," he said. "I wonder why he wants to kill me. Who has the answer to that? Only one man, and he won't say." [end of the third column] [[end page]] 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 speaks out about his execution Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Spaziano, Joe Description An account of the resource Two weeks before Spaziano's scheduled execution, he insists his innocence in the murder of Laura Lynn Harberts. Spaziano feels helpless as he is declined a last-minute defense effort by the state of Florida. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Greenberg, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Greenberg, David. “Spaziano speaks out against his execution.” Gainesville Sun, September 6, 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 1995-09-06 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 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Starke, FL Against Execution Innocent Joseph Spaziano 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/a588d811954aef582cc51d8c05fe5904.jpg fc8af075bbd55af070646ccac61474ed https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b5175b6cc7f7e4a01cb576049fad03ef.jpg da3579f06c888dc97abd2552363f938a 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 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [Heading] Spaziano wins stay of execution High court orders new hearing By Michael Griffin TALLAHASSEE BUREAU CHIEF [Text] TALLAHASSEE - Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano won a stay of execution Tuesday from the Florida Supreme Court but lost his favored lawyer. The reprieve resulted not from courtroom maneuvers or media pressure, but from a dispute over who should represent the biker convicted in 1976 of the torture-murder of an Orlando women. And the prize could be temporary: Justices issued an indefinite stay but a hearing that holds all of Spaziano's chances for a new trial must be held no later than Nov.15. "I'm relieved for Joe and his family," said Vermont law professor Michael Mello, the lawyer removed by the court. "But this isn't over by a long shot." Dexter Douglass, Gov. Lawton Chiles' general counsel, said the court had no choice but to grant a stay, given Mello's refusal to attend a hearing that had been scheduled for Friday in Sanford or to cooperate with the state death-penalty lawyers authorized to take over Spaziano's defense. "This is a victory by the improper, unethical and unprofessional stand of an alleged professor," Douglass said. "He did such a bad job that his client won out." The ruling issued on the 20th of Spaziano's murder indictment and the biker's 50th birthday, means he will not die under his fifth death warrant for the 1973 murder of Orlando hospital clerk Laura Harberts. Spaziano had been scheduled to die Sept. 21. Art Harberts, father or the 18- year-old victim, said he was disappointed by the stay but optimistic about the final outcome. "In the long run, he's going to have to face up to all this." Harberts said of Spaziano. In the ruling on seven motions filed by both Mello and the state's Office of Capital Collateral Representative, justices said the bitter disagreement between the lawyers jeopardized Spaziano's chances for adequate counsel. [end of page 1] [start page 2] Spaziano refuses to see an attorney appointed by state SAPZIANO from C-1 Justices sharply criticized Mello, who had refused orders to cooperate with CCR. The lawyer had said the agency had botched the Spaziano case when it handled it before. "In view of Mello's actions," the justice wrote, "we find that he has effectively withdrawn from representing Spaziano." Mello said he would not withdraw and would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. He also said he has not decided whether to give the case files to CCR while he appeals and looks for a private law firm to take on the case. Spaziano's hopes rest on Tony DiLiso, a witness from the 1976 murder trial who now says the biker never took him to see the bodies of Harberts and another women at an Altamonte Springs dump. Last week, the court ordered the Seminole Circuit Court to hold a hearing Friday in Sanford on DiListo's recantation. Now that the hearing will be delayed so prosecutors have time to prepare, Three of the justices - Leander Shaw, Gerald Kogan and Harry Lee Anstead- questioned whether even the Nov.15th deadlone gives lawyers enough time to adequately study the complected case. Spaziano refused to meet with a CCR attorney Monday. His mother, Rose, wrote to Mello asking him to not allow CCR on the case. The justices said they understood Spaziano's distress but noted that Mello cannot afford to represent the biker and has little trial court experience. [end of page two] 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. Donnellan, Edward 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 wins stay of execution Subject The topic of the resource Capital Punishment Description An account of the resource Joe Spaziano, nicknamed "Crazy Joe" was granted a stay of execution from the Florida Supreme Court.. The court ordered a new hearing, that will be held no later than November 15th. Mr. Spaziano has refused to see a state appointed attorney, after his original attorney Michael Mello's actions were deemed unethical by the justices. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Griffin, Michael Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Griffin, Michael. 1995. “Spaziano Wins Stay of Execution.” The Orlando Sentinel, September 13, 1995, sec. C. 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 1995-13-09 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 "Crazy Joe" Spaziano 1995 20th Century Capital punishment. Florida Florida Supreme Court Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/101e67a8d4176eaaee3ea7807a71203a.jpg fc7b13024720bfe3545645213ec1cc54 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 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [header] Spaziano's attorney asks court to halt execution By Diane Rado Times Staff Writer [start of the first column] Tallahassee – The attorney for Joseph “Crazy Joe” Spaziano appealed to Florida’s highest court on Thursday for a last-minute chance to prove his client’s innocence. “Mr. Spaziano is innocent, factually innocent, and I want to be very clear about that,” attorney Michael Mello argued before the Florida Supreme Court. “I believe if I had the opportunity to prove Mr. Spaziano’s innocence to a jury he would be acquitted.” Spaziano is scheduled to be executed Sept. 21 for the 1973 murder of Orlando hospital clerk Laura Lynn Harberts, 18. Thursday’s hearing was sometimes passionate and philosophical about the issues that arise as the clock ticks down toward an execution. Among other things, Mello has asked the court to halt the execution, make public a secret police investigation that led to a fifth death warrant for Spaziano, and give Spaziano a new hearing based on the recantation of testimony from the state’s star witness of some 20 years ago. “If they’ve (the state) got the evidence, if it’s so great, let them present it to the jury. If they want to convict him, if they want to kill ‘em, let them do it the old-fashioned way,” Mello said. The state objected to a stay of execution and questioned whether Mello should be arguing before the Supreme Court at all. Justices also asked Mello whether the proper avenue would be to send the case back to the trial court to determine whether a new trial is necessary. For that to occur, Mello would need to present new evidence and the reason why that evidence has not been presented before. Mello said he does have new critical evidence: a recantation from Anthony DiLisio, who told reporters and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement this summer that it was police – not Spaziano – who took him to a dump where Harbert’s body was found. DiLisio now says he was [end of the first column] [start of the second column] manipulated, hypnotized, and possibly drugged by police when he gave his earlier testimony, which provided a crucial link between Spaziano and the crime scene. Justice Ben Overton questioned whether DiLisio had actually recanted under oath. Mello said he did provide the court a videotape of the FDLE’s interview of DiLisio this summer. But a transcript of that tape does not indicate DiLisio was under oath. Mello told the justices that the governor’s office may have a different version of the videotape. Gov. Lawton Chiles has refused to release the FDLE investigation of Spaziano that led to a fifth death warrant, fearing that witnesses would be in danger. “That doesn’t mean you can’t go to him and get an affidavit does it?” Overton asked. Mello argued that he needs resources to represent Spaziano, specifically to hire an investigator who could talk to DiLisio and look into other aspects of the case. Assistant attorney general Margene Roper said she doesn’t believe DiLisio’s recantation and that it would be inappropriate at this stage to provide funding for further investigation of the case. Any investigation should have been completed by now, she said. But Justice Gerald Kogan said: “Apparently there is an allegation out there – and a strong one – that the prime witness against the defendant in this particular case has recanted his testimony. “What do we do as a court? Do we sit back and say, okay, you know, counsel didn’t do the job they should have done . . . so tough, Mr. Spaziano, we’re going to electrocute you because all of these things should have been done before.” Kogan also noted that Spaziano had no luck with clemency. “The fact of the matter is, the governor has already investigated this. The governor has a report that the governor refuses to release to anybody . . .” Kogan said. The Supreme Court can act at any time on Mello’s motions. [end of the second column] [Under image at center of page] Michael Mello told the Supreme Court his client is innocent of murder. 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. Spencer, Jacob 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 attorney asks court to halt execution Description An account of the resource Joe Spaziano's attorney, Michael Mello, appeals the Florida Supreme Court to halt the execution. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rado, Diane 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. 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 Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Capital punishment Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rado, Diane. “Spaziano's attorney asks court to halt execution.” September 8, 1995. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI capital punishment death penalty Joe Spaziano https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/39e18287e3a59ef2b1ada0396ca76b65.jpg fba87ef31a2f45c77c4415522b0667c9 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/9c85efd4bd2db4e833388e0ba800d8a6.jpg 8c41f8bf4721933e0f44727b0fefc955 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 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [Heading] Spaziano's Lawyer Files New Requests But he said he won't attend Friday's hearing because he needs more time to prepare. By Rene Stutzman [Start of the first column] The attorney for condemned murder Joseph Spaziano on Sunday filed new requests for a stay of execution with the Florida Supreme Court, saying he needs more time and money to prepare for a hearing Friday in Sanford. And attorney Michael Mell of White River Junction, Vt., said stay or no stay, he would not attend Friday's hearing. The requests from Mello came just two days after the same court refused to grant the same requests. Instead, it ordered Spa- [end of the first column] [Start of the second column] ziano's defense to present new evidence of his innocence to a circuit judge in Sanford. The prosection's key witness in the case, Anthony Frank DiLisio, in June told investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that he lied to jurors at Spaziano's trial 19 years ago. At the trail, DiLisio testified that Spaziano took him to an Altamonte Springs dump and pointed out the body of Laura Lynn Harberts, who was slain in 1973, and another victim.  Spaziano is schduled to die Sept. 21 for murdering Harberts. Please see Spaziano, C-4 [End of the second column] [End of the first page] [start of the second page] [header] Attorney refuses help from defenders group [subheading] Mello said he could find no attorney willing to take over the case. Spaziano from C-1 [Start of the third column] His case gained notoriety this spring as Spaziano's earlier execution date approached. Mello writes several Florida newspapers, challenging the conviction and saying that DiLisiio had begun to waffle on his account. Gov. Lawton Chiles order the FDLE to investigate, but after its conclusion, Chiles signed Spaziano's fifth death warrant. Mello in Sunday ripped the Florida Supreme Court's Friday ruling. In a pair of motions filed with the court by fax, Mello wrote that he planned to appeal its decision to the US Supreme Court but needed a stay to give him time to complete the paperwork.  In a second motion, he argued the defense needs more time to prepare for Friday's hearing. "WHat the Florida Supreme Court did on Friday was not a victory," Mello said by phone from his home in Vermont. "What they have given us is the illusion of due process...while making it totally impossible for me to participate." Mello said Florida denied his request dor money, and he does not have the dinds to investigate or even travel to Florida for the hearing. He said he simply would not [end of the third column] [Start of the fourth column] make the trip.  "It's better that he not have an attorney at the hearing than he have the illusion of representation at that hearing," Mello said. Mello said he attempted but found no attorney willing to take over the case. However, in its ruling Friday, the state Supreme Court said the state's death-row equivalent of a public defender's office, Capital Collateral Representative, is capable and competent to represent Spaziano. It wrote that Mello should use its resource if he does not have his own. Mello said he would not let CCR take back the case, aaccusing it of botching an appeal earlier this year. Matin McClain, CCR's chief assistant said his agency thinks Spaziano is innocent and is prepared to take back the case, but Mello "has all the files, and he won't give them to us... I'm very distressed by the situation that Mr. Spaziano finds himself in. He's innocent man on death row, and we're supposed to be helping him, and we don't know what's going on." [Image and Caption] Joseph Spaziano talks about execution, scheduled for Sept. 21, during an interview last week at Florida State Prison in Starke. [end article] 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. 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 files new requests Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Stutzman, Rene 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 1995-08-11 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 Description An account of the resource Michael Mello files a new request in Joseph Spaziano's case. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c8cc675c93ee871afae46da140419629.jpg 1a1759ad70f0a87e71f7d754a1eeaf99 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 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Spaziano's lawyer says state lied Michael Mello claims Gov. Chiles' office misrepresented a key witness' videotaped statement. The governor's office denies the charge. By Diane Rado TALLAHASSEE – A war of words has erupted and last-ditch paperwork mounts at the court-house as convicted killer Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano heads toward death in Florida's electric chair. Spaziano's attorney has asked the Florida Supreme Court to halt the Sept. 21 execution and make public a secret police investigation that led to a new death warrant for Spaziano. In a series of motions filed this week, attorney Michael Mello also accuses Gov. Lawton Chiles' office of lying, possibly tampering with evidence and selectively leaking information about the case, among other things. The governor's office denies the charges and is appalled by a recent memo written by Mello. The memo, addressed to colleagues in Florida who deal with death cases, is a blunt, sometimes vulgar assessment about strategy on the Spaziano case. Among other things, Mello describes the U.S. Supreme Court as "those robed a--h----," and former Gov. Bob Graham, now a U.S. senator, as "the original wimp who transformed himself into a national political force and who did so on the charred bodies of our clients." "As a lawyer, I was appalled. As a human being, I found it impossible to believe somebody could be this way," said Dexter Douglass, the governor's general counsel who got a copy of the Aug. 27 memo from Mello. Mello isn't apologizing for the memo. "It's a candid and blunt assessment of an extraordinarily difficult tactical and moral decision that I had to make and that Joe Spaziano had to make," Mello said in an interview Thursday. The memo describes a decision not to take Spaziano's case to the federal courts because Spaziano is not likely to get a stay of execution there. Mello generally says about the federal courts, "F--- ' em." In the end, Mello says, Chiles should bear responsibility for executing Spaziano, not the courts. "I want him to know that, no matter how much good he did in the Senate and in the governor's mansion, it will all be eclipsed by this; it will all be outweighed by his killing this man." Controversy has been growing since this summer over Spaziano, the Outlaws motorcycle gang member condemned to die for the 1973 rape and murder or Orlando hospital clerk Laura Lynn Harberts. The star witness in the case, Anthony Dilisio, recanted his testimony, telling reporters he lied when he said Spaziano had shown him the bodies of Harberts and another woman at a dump. Chiles canceled Spaziano's execution June 27 and asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. The FDLE investigation persuaded Chiles to sign a fifth death warrant for Spaziano last week, but the governor's office has refused to release the investigation. Mello asked the Florida Supreme Court this week to force the release of the investigation. He said he has already discovered that the governor's general counsel, Douglass, lied to reporters about the contents of a videotaped interview of Dilisio on June 14. In the interview, according to a transcript Mello filed with the court, Dilisio doesn't remember a lot of details about the trial. But he does recant his previous testimony about Spaziano bringing him to the dump where the women's bodies were. He said police manipulated him and brought him there. "I had never been there in my life until they brought me there. And they made it look like that a guy that they arrested, Crazy Joe, brought me there," Dilisio said. Mello says in his court motions that Douglass told reporters that Dilisio did not recant his testimony in the videotape – a statement he characterizes as a lie. "The obvious question becomes: If Chiles' office lied about the videotape, why should we believe any of their other new "evidence" – especially when they insist on cloaking it in secrecy," Mello wrote. Douglass said he has not lied about the Spaziano case. "I could be mistaken, but I didn't lie. I'm sure it's all a matter of interpretation," Douglass said. "I'm not getting into any arguments with this man (Mello)," Douglass added. Mello obtained a copy of the videotape through an independent source and sent it to the Supreme Court sealed. Now, he has informed the court he no longer wants the tape sealed because the governor's office or the FDLE leaked into the Orlando Sentinel, which has written editorials in favor of Spaziano's execution. As a result, the court will release the tape for viewing today. [[1976 headshot of spaziano-image]] Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano is scheduled to be executed Sept. 21. Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Cavolt, Jessica 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 Spaziano's lawyer says state lied Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rado, Diane 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. Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Description An account of the resource Michael Mello, Spaziano's lawyer accuses Governor Chiles' office of lying and possibly tampering with evidence. Star witness in the case recants statement. Subject The topic of the resource Joe Spaziano Capital Punishment Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rado, Diane. “Spaziano's lawyer says state lied.” St. Petersburg Times, September 1, 1995. 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 Anthony Dilisio capital punishment death penalty Gov. Lawton Chiles Spaziano 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/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 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3b9de7a8663f966645224497cbab2b86.jpg f13cf575bca392ee33c12c35df8e37f3 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 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [heading] State high court orders hearing for Spaziano [subheadin] In a 4-3 decision, Florida's Supreme Court denies a stay of execution for the inmate. The Associated Press [Start of first column] TALLAHASSEE-The Florida Supreme Court refused Friday to stay the execution of Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano but ordered a lower court to hold a hearing within a week into his claims of innocence. In an unsigned opinion, the justices agreed a trial judge should consider the recent recantation of a key prosecution witness who said he lied during Spaziano's trial nearly 20 years ago. But the state's high court split 4-3 in its refusal to delay the execution. Spaziano, 49, is scheduled to die in Florida's electric chair Sept. 21 for the mutilation-murder of an 18-year old Orlando woman in August 1973. "We decline at this time to grant a stay of execution but allow the trial court an opportunity to address this issue," the majority said in a ruling that came just 26 hours after oral arguments. Chief Justice Stephen Grimes and Justices Ben Overton, Major Harding and Charles Wells supported the majority ruling. The other three justices said they agreed a lower court should review the recanted testimony but argued against setting a dead-line for the hearing. In a minority opinion supported by Justices Leander Shaw and See SPAZIANO on Page 2B [end of the first column] [Start of the second column] Section B SPAZIANO continued from page 1B Harry Lee Anstead, Justice Gerald Kogan said he believed Spaziano should be given an indefinite stay of execution. Spaziano is condemned for the murder of Laura Lynn Harberts, whose body was found in an Altamonte Springs dump. The key witness at Spaziano's trial was Anthony DiLisio, who recanted his testimony earlier this year, prompting Gov. Lawton Chiles to suspend Spaziano's fourth death warrant. However, after an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into the recent comments by DiLisio, Chiles said he had no doubts about the case and signed a fifth death warrant last month. Richard Martell, who oversee the state lawyers who de-fend death sentences, said he was still studying the decision. Michael Mello, the Vermont law professor who represents Spaziano, did not respond to a request for reaction. Dexter Douglass, Chiles' general counsel, said a week should be sufficient for a lower court to hold a hearing. "There's plenty of time for this hearing," he said. "There's plenty of time for it to come back up to the Supreme Court." The trial court will decide if he recanted testimony is credible and substantial enough to probably change the verdict, according to the majority opinion. Kogan wrote for the minority that the majority was setting an unrealistic time frame to weigh the importance of DiLisio's recanted testimony. "Such a restrictionn is without precedent in our case law and tends to create an atmosphere of panic for resolution of an issue that requires calm and deliberate resolution," Kogan wrote. [end of the second column] [start of the third column] [Quote] Joseph Spaziano, 49, is scheduled to die in Florida's electric chair Sept. 21 for the mutiliation-murder of an 18-year-old Orlando woman in August 1973. [end Quote] "Indeed, this is an issue demanding the most careful of attention because its end result could be the state-sponsored taking of a man's life when his guilt has now been called into question." Kogan pointed out that a death sentence warrants ex-traordinary safeguards because of its finality. "I cannot see how this core policy is being served by an unseemly rush to execute a man despite a sworn affidavit by the state's chief witness that Mr. Spaziano was convicted on falsified evidence," Kogan wrote. DiLisio's recantation is just the latest troubling aspect of the Spaziano case, according to Kohan, who cited the use of hypnotically-enhanced testimony, something now banned, and the jury's recommendation for life. He called Spaziano's conviction a "textbook example how capital trials and postconviction reviews should not be conducted." Kogan said he believed the high court should grant an indefinite stay "if the governor does not stay or withdraw his warrant in light of our opinion today." Douglass said Chiles didn't plan on lifting the warrant, which is effective until noon Sept. 26. "He was satisfied that his duties required him to sign this death warrant," Douglass said. [end of article] 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. Whitehurst, Ben 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 State high court orders hearing for Spaziano Subject The topic of the resource Capital Punishment Spaziano, Joe Florida Supreme Court Description An account of the resource The Florida Supreme Court refuses to stay the execution of Joseph Spaziano, but orders a lower court to hold hearing. In a 4-3 split, the minority opinion believed that Spaziano deserved an indefinite stay of execution. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Gainesville Sun Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived 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 1995-09-09 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 300 DPI 1 JPG 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 Capital punishment. Dexter Douglass Florida Supreme Court hearing Joseph Spaziano Justice Gerald Kogan https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4eab6c645cd6562557edb557cec0fcb8.jpg c4cc5afef1c4f4fa079b7d14604157fe https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/68cfd85680009c501f08a4e3de977f05.jpg 9c537b12ad92e643dda3f0f047e6c503 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 2, 1983-1994 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) Vol. 113, No. 120 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Sundberg, Eric Text Any textual data included in the document STARKE — Even though Florida already appoints lawyers to defend Death Row asking that the U.S. Supreme Court not make the practice mandatory. On Monday, the high court agreed to hear a Virginia case in which that states is appealing a federal circuit court ruling requiring the state to provide attorneys for indigent inmates on death row who are appealing their convictions. The case involves Joseph M. Giarratano, who was convicted and sentenced in 1979 for murdering a woman and raping and murdering her 15-year old daughter. His conviction and sentence were upheld by the Virginia Supreme Court in 1980. He is one of nearly 40 inmates on death row. A district judge ruled that Virginia was not giving inmates meaningful access to the courts and ordered the state to appoint personal lawyers for individual inmates, rather than have inmates rely on law libraries or on a small group of lawyers to represent a number of prisoners simultaneously. In the Florida case of Gideon vs. Wainwright, the high court recognized the right of the indigent to have legal representation supplied by the state at the trial level. So far, that right has not been extended to appeals. Defendant Clarence Earl Gideon was documented in a book written by Athony Lewis, a columnist for The New York Times. The book was the basis of a movie where the role of Gideon was played by Henry Fonda. Florida’s support of Virginia’s position is detailed in a 13-page brief the state’s attorney general filed with the Supreme Court last month. The state of Georgia filed a separate brief with the other states. In the amicus curiae — commonly called a “fiend of the court” brief — the state of Florida maintains death row inmates have no constitutional right to attorneys on appeals. The position has bewildered the director of the Office of Capital Collateral Representative, the Florida state agency that represents most of the state’s 290 death row inmates on appeals. Director Larry Spalding said there is an inconsistency with the states having such an agency and then questioning the state’s constitutional obligation to death row inmates. Of the states that filed briefs on Virginia’s behalf, Florida is the only one with an agency that provides attorneys to death row inmates on appeal. “The state of Florida does not have a unified position before the U.S. Supreme Court,” Spalding said. “I am giving serious consideration to CCR filing an amicus brief on behalf of Giarrantano in support of a constitutional right.” Asked why death row inmates should be entitled to attorneys on appeals when such a principles does not apply to other convicts, Spalding replied: “Because there’s a difference between sitting in jail and being put in an electric chair.” The state’s attorney general office disputed the notion of inconsistency or the suggestion that the brief is an effort to dismantle the agency. Gov. Bob Martinez has been an outspoken critic of the Office of Capital Collateral Representative, having called for several investigations of the office. A specially appointed commission recently found no evidence of unethical conduct, but a criminal investigation continues. Carolyn Snurkowski, an assistant attorney general for the state, said establishing a new constitutional right for inmates could complicate an appeals process that already takes years. Specifically, Snurkowski said, if death row inmates have a constitutional right to legal representation, they could then question the competency of their lawyers on further appeals. “Can they come back and challenge the assistance” is the question concerning the state, Snurkowski said. Mark Menser, another assistant attorney general, said the Supreme Court has never set such a right for death row inmates in federal courts. “It should be left up to the states,” Menser said. “The federal government can’t impose a duty on the states it doesn’t impose on itself.” Snurkowski would not speculate how the court’s ruling, which is not expected until next year, would affect the Florida agency. But the brief, written by Menser, contains one passage where the state worries about “the creation of new grounds for collateral attack (such as ineffective collateral counsel) or the creation of new ‘due process’ rights.” “Florida will have to give serious consideration to abandoning the project,” the brief read. Rep. Everett Kelly, D-Tavares, chairman of the House Committee on Corrections, Probation and Parole Committee, said if the Supreme Court rules against recognizing a constitutional right for inmates, the legislature would have to consider the future of the agency. “If we don’t have to do it, why do it?” Kelly said. “I’m just not sure I would require legal counsel for them (death row inmates), most especially if they’re able to afford lawyers.” Michael Mello, a professor at the Vermont Law School, has written about the availability of attorneys for death row inmates. “It’s desperate,” he said. “There are people less than two weeks away from being executed who don’t have attorneys. The crisis that led to the creation of CCR in Florida is a crisis being replicated throughout the country.” But Jon Peck, press secretary for the governor, said Florida’s response to the crisis in 1985 was voluntary — and that is the key. “There are times when you do something, but you don’t want it mandated,” Peck said. 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 State joins death row suit Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Loughlin, Sean Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived 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 1988/11/3 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 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Gainesville, Florida. Description An account of the resource The article discusses Florida joining the lawsuit against the federal government to stop the federal government from mandating the appointment of lawyers to death row inmates for appeals. The article also accounts for the different opinions of state officials and agencies on the suit and fractured stance on the state's role in the suit. Subject The topic of the resource Death row Death row inmates Due process of law amicus curiae appeals Bob Martinez Carolyn Snurkowski Circuit court Constitutional court Death Row due process Earl Gideon Everett Kelly Federal Florida Gainesville Sun Giarratano Gideon vs. Wainwright Henry Fonda John Peck Larry Spalding Mark Menser Michael Mello State suit Supreme U.S. Virginia https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4678670355034aae98fc81d4b2c9536a.jpg d5061fd592d2a705e48d158d59e0002b 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 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [Author] Colman McCarthy [Title] States Streamline Machinery of Death Last year rests as a record-setting year for state-sanctioned homicides: 56 men executed at a cost estimated by Duke University researchers at $2.1 million per death. Jan 25 and 26 are likely to go into the books also: successive days on which one state hanged a man by rope and another state killed with bullets. Both executions were well reported, given the novelty of gallows and firing squads at a time when legislatures are increasingly sanctioning drugging people to death. Lethal injection has a softness to it, almost a cruelty-free medical aura, which allows state governments to have it both ways: to kill humanely. The Delaware hanging of Billy Bailey and the shooting 26 hours later of John Albert Taylor in Utah lacked the ordinariness that might have allowed these two executions to pass unnoticed beyond prison walls. The methods of killing-- not the killing itself-- caused uneasiness among politicians in both states. Bailey and Taylor could have chosen to go quietly, lying down on a gurney and having a vein opened. Instead, they rejected taking up the states' option of a lethal drug. As a result, international television crews along with major U.S. networks poured into the remote prison towns of Smyrna, Del., and Point of the Mountain, Utah. The power of TV visuals was at work. How often does a chance come along to get footage of a well- constructed wooden gallows and a trapdoor swinging open in a dry run for the cameras? Or to film the firing squad room and its sandbag-supported death chair complete with a spill device to catch the blood? The day before these two executions, Virginia executed a man by lethal injection. This was almost a non-story, except that death chamber technicians needed 30 minutes to locate a suitable vein, finally settling for one just above the foot. It is not likely that executioners in Delaware and Utah will earn this much international and national publicity again. Delaware switched to lethal injection in 1986 but Bailey, sentenced before then, rejected the choice. In Utah, politicians have introduced a bill to ban the firing squad for future death sentences. Many states are giving condemned prisoners choices in dying. Capital punishment advocates who see this as an unwarranted turn toward mercy-- why give these heinous murderers a choice?-- need not be alarmed. Legislatures aren't getting soft, they're getting practical. First, they are making capital punishment more palatable, should a clamor arise that death by hanging, shooting, electrocution or gassing is barbaric and bad for the state's image. Second, and far more important, is that the offering of choices protects the state against spending still more money in legal expenses. Death penalty sentencing is a post-conviction procedure, akin to another trial with full deliberations and arguments. In most states, juries decide whether murderers deserve death. In some, judges rule. In a few, judges, usually running for reelection, can override juries that reject a capital sentence. If those now on death row were not given choices they would have a legal opening to demand a new sentencing trial. Their reasoned argument would be: I was sentenced to die one way and now the rules are changing and I am forced to die another way. I should have another sentencing trial. Fearing that appeals courts might agree, states end-run this by offering a choice: The condemned are not being forced to accept another method; the first one remains available. Trail judges and prosecutors abhor new trials, whether on questions of guilt or sentencing. Evidence not originally available-- either because inexperienced defense lawyers didn't know how to gather it or because it was suppressed by prosecutors-- often has a way of showing up years later. Days before the Delaware and Utah executions, Joseph Spaziano, a Florida death row inmate for nearly 20 years, had one of the rarest of legal victories. A Florida circuit court, vacating both hid conviction and sentence, ordered a new trial. A combination of nonjudicial forces-- the doggedness of Spaziano's attorneys, including Prof. Michael Mello of the Vermont Law School, and reporters from the Miami Herald-- persistently presented evidence of grave doubts of the condemned man's guilt. It was said: Well, the system worked. In fact, it was lawyers and reporters who worked. The legal system did its powerful best to kill. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan 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. Kabre, Timbila 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 States Streamline Machinery of Death 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. Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-02-06 Description An account of the resource After the deaths of Billy Bailey and John Albert Taylor, states are being faced with how to go about offering the most humane capital punishment. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McCarthy, Colman Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived McCarthy, Colman. "States Streamline Machinery of Death." The Washington Post, February 6, 1996. 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 Smyrna, Delaware Point of the Mountain, Utah. Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment--United States Billy Bailey capital punishment John Albert Taylor Joseph Spaziano Michael Mello 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/51a76f188e66e4b223bf6c5b0b0cd9a7.jpg 8f9188682598038a6db6c41df8413411 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 1, 1976-1979 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 Student Demonstration Subject The topic of the resource Student Protest Description An account of the resource Mike Mello, former president of the MWC Chapter of NORML, speaks at Friday's demonstration held on Westmoreland Green to protest the suspension of four of the five students arrested in Madison last week. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kempton, Houston 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 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Mello_1 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 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b2f800c69e8190c773ff0a2f435203ab.jpg 8ce8baec3aa17a5ddf17bb9c45d40bf6 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/2b1e064d60fedcb1db8262a16b184bb3.jpg 01873cf051cd931d2ee27ce56e661d38 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/0565c9e4f73597433f0881311e121385.jpg df715e51265093d635df2343fd8ebeaa 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 1, 1976-1979 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. Fesak, Mary Text Any textual data included in the document “One American is raped every seventeen minutes.” –sociologist Amitai Etzioni “I was walking down Campus Drive one evening and a guy in a car pulled over to the side to ask me if there were any good parties in the neighborhood. We started talking, and to facilitate the conversation I got into the front seat of the car. We had been talking for about an hour when a security officer told us to move on, so we went to 7-11 to get some cigarettes. Afterwards I expected him to just drive me back to campus, but instead he pulled out onto the highway. I was not really scared at this point, but as we got further and further away from civilization I suggested we head back towards MWC. In answer, he turned into a side road, parked and cut off the lights. Then he attacked me… for the first time in my life I was a believer in the death penalty.” This particular kind of rape is called “casual acquaintance” assault by the police, happened to a MWC Freshman last November. The girl eventually recovered, but not before undergoing a personal hell as indescribable as the event itself. Cases such as the one presented above and how to prevent them was a subject of a presentation put on by the Fredericksburg Combined Rape Task Force last Monday in A.C.L. The Task Force showed the film Rape: A Preventative Inquiry and held a panel discussion. Panelists included Commonwealth Attorney Chichester of Stafford County, Sgt. La Salle and officer Arrington of the Fredericksburg Police Department, and Jim Tally of the Fredericksburg Crisis Center. Perhaps the most important question covered was how at least some of the estimated 160 rapes that occurred in the Fredericksburg planning district last year could be prevented. All of the panelists were in general agreement, but on several points their emphasis varied. Ms. Arrington stressed awareness as being the key element in prevention: “Be aware that it can happen to YOU… when you’re on the street, note what’s going on around you –be aware that you can be raped… there should be the fear, the awareness that this could happen to you.” More specifically, girls should avoid hitch-hiking: “When a girl gets into a car, she surrenders control –there is not a great deal she can do.” Mr. Chichester believed that the laws regarding rape should be tightened up although the penalty for rape in Virginia is from five years to life; how much time the rapist really spends in jail depends on judges, juries and parole boards: “In the last two years, I would say that 90% of rapists in Virginia were back on the street after serving only 25% of their time –because the jails are so overcrowded… parole boards are like a swinging door.” Should a girl resist rape? One police officer in the film summed up the entire question when he said “its better for the sex-crime division to have to handle a rape victim than a homicide squad to get her.” One rape victim said that “the best defense is to use your wits, keep cool; often you can talk your way out of it.” Mr. Chichester and Sgt. La Salle, however advised resistance on the part of the victim, stating that such resistance will often prevent an attempted rape from turning into a successful one. There was complete unanimity on one point: the victim should report the crime as soon as possible. Only one rape in ten ever comes to the attention of the police, and this is one reason that so many women fall victim to this atrocity every year. Further, the rape must be reported as soon after it occurred as possible: Mr. Chichester noted that “the longer you wait, the less the chances of conviction, a two week delay could reduce the chances of obtaining a conviction as much as 75%... a victim should report to the first person she sees, even if a complete stranger.” A girl who has been raped should go to the nearest hospital emergency room as soon as possible. This is necessary for two reasons: first, she may be physically injured, at the very least, she will be in shock. Emergency room personnel are specifically trained to deal with such victims and they may also notify the police about the crime if the victim has not already done so. Secondly, the hospital will be equipped to preserve any perishable evidence that is essential to the preparation of a legal case. Mr. Chichester remarked that “the only crime harder to prosecute than rape is child beating” –and for this reason the corroborative evidence obtained from the hospital examination is critical. Also, the victim is interviewed by the police at the hospital. All crimes in Virginia, including rape, are processed through a three-stage procedure. The first stage, the preliminary hearing, takes place before a General District Court Judge. If the judge finds enough evidence to support a charge, the case is referred to a grand jury. This grand jury, the second stage of the process, is composed of six citizens who decide if enough evidence exists to hand down an indictment; no lawyers are present at the hearing and everything is very informal. If the grand jury indicts, a trial, the final process, takes place. The trial may either be jury or judge, depending on the wishes of those involved. Anyone wishing to become directly involved in rape counseling should contact the Crisis Center at 1008 Prince Edward St. or phone 373-8554. The Combined Rape Task Force should also be contacted. The Task Force was created last year, and has as its goals, public education, and crisis counseling. The chairperson of the Task Force is Karen Johnson, and she may be reached at 371-2719. 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 Students Discuss Rape Prevention Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Students Discuss Rape Prevention." The Bullet, March 28, 1977. 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. Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Rape--Prevention Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1977-03-28 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 3 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 Fredericksburg, Virginia Description An account of the resource A newspaper article by Michael Mello on the discussion of rape prevention at Mary Washington College acquaintance rape Fredericksburg Combined Rape Task Force Fredericksburg Crisis Center rape Rape -- Virginia rape awareness rape prevention rape victim sexual assault sexual violence https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/edb4b25a8b687808ee898ddbe5438732.jpg a70941ae424a70d6ce7c27d446a70c8b 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 1, 1976-1979 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Text Any textual data included in the document Students survey damage caused by last week's collapse of the curtain traveller in G.W. Auditorium, seconds before dancers were due to appear onstage. 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. Dana Baumgartner Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. There is nothing to indicate what newspaper this was from. 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 Students Survey Damage Description An account of the resource Students survey the damage after a traveller collapsed on the Auditorium's stage. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hawke, Paul 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 1978-04-04 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 Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Mello: 45 Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals 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 Auditorium Mary Washington College