4 20 256 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/15a5beae899672357eff84bfdc1d42ec.jpg edf6ce0d1de07f28e0294175118e53aa https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/d8261acf4e62e5b93617cfeb14debcb2.jpg 4cad348a95feb90dd8362bc18649b785 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4682a327b7ab2df4a1f2c7c437ee91f8.jpg 6ea48cf956d30f7f1466789be12c5fd4 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 Text Any textual data included in the document [Title] Rally Condemns Suspensions [Author] By Helen Marie McFalls "Innocent until proven guilty" and "due process of law" were the cries of a crowd of MWC students gathered on Westmoreland Green on Friday, March 30 to protest the suspensions of four Madison residents who were arrested in the Madison drug raid. President Prince B. Woodard suspended the four men the day after their arrests and scheduled administrative hearings for each on April 3. The purpose for the rally was to point out and protest the fact that these four students were barred from classes before any legal proof of their guilt was established; before the police lab reports determined whether the confiscated substances are illegal. According to Michael Mello, the first speaker at the rally and former president of the MWC chapter of NORML, "There are two problems with (the suspensions): these problems compose the essence of (this) protest. First, by suspending the students before the (civil court) hearing, Woodard is saying that they are guilty until proven innocent. They are being punished before a hearing has determined that they are even guilty of the offense . . . Second, there seems to be a problem with the College trying and punishing the students for the same offense that they will later be tried for in civil court. This smacks of double jeopardy . . ." After Mello outlined the reasons for the demonstration, Frederick Ford, a practicing attorney in Alexandria and a volunteer for the Virginia State chapter of NORML addressed the audience. Ford began by commending the gathered students for their efforts and stating "I hope the President (Woodard) is listening today." He then launched into an analysis of the issue being protested and the implications of the issue. He said, "It is a sad thing that this College's administration, by its actions, is trying to teach a very dangerous lesson. First they teach you in political science classes that people are innocent until proven guilty." He noted that we are taught that there are safeguards within the law to ensure that a person is treated as innocent until proven guilty and that no action can be taken until guilt is proved. "And now," he observed, "the administration is saying we don't care that a person is innocent until proven guilty. The administration only cares about raw, naked power and they have it and you (MWC students) are their slaves." Ford commented that the student protesters have "learned far better than the administration what our laws mean. You should be congratulated, they condemned." "I submit to the President of this college," Ford continued, "that this (possession of marijuana) [end page one] [start page two] is not a serious crime; not a serious problem. I cannot understand why the administration is taking such action for such a piddling offense." Finally Ford pledged the support of the state NORML saying, "With you, the state NORML chapter demands that these four students have the same rights that the members of the administration and every person have and deserve." Vice President of Custis dorm George Semples delivered the next address. "Who are we?" he began. "We are not a group of angry pot smokers, we are a group of concerned students." He noted that as students we can identify with the four Madison males who are losing "two precious and critical weeks of their education" for an offense that has yet to be proved. Semples said that he has seen the search warrant procured for the Madison drug raid. It was composed of three parts: first, the suspicion of paraphenalia. This, Semples noted, "is not illegal, and if there was substance inside that peraphenalia it is not yet proved. But these students are presently out of school." Second, the warrant stated suspicion of marijuana. The speaker said, "It might be obvious to us, it might be obvious to them but there is yet no proof (that the substance was indeed marijuana) and these students are still out of school." Third, the warrant contained a clause providing for the suspicion of distribution materials. A scale was confiscated during the raid. Semples noted simply, "It is not illegal to possess equipment to weigh things and yet these students are still out of school!" The last speaker of the day was MWC student John Schumacher. He noted that MWC is not and should not be a democracy. It is an oligopoly comprised of Woodard and the B.O.V. "But," he questioned, "is this oligopoly a just one?" Schumacher believes that the suspensions of the four Madison residents is an indication of the justice or lack thereof in MWC's administrative element. "It is obvious," he commented, "that the administration and the B.O.V. are more concerned with the reputation of the school than the justice of their policies." More than 100 people attended the rally. Press coverage included The Free Lance-Star, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, AVC-TV, WMWC and the Bullet. It should be noted that the rally was the result of a meeting of concerned students in Westmoreland on March 29. The four suspended Madison males were in no way involved in the protest and were not present at the rally. As Schumacher noted in the closing speech, "the concerns of this rally do not pertain to any individual case. It is a principle for which we fight." [end page two] [start page three] [Image - Frederick Ford stands at microphone, with a sign labeled "Westmoreland Hall" in front of him] [Image credit] Photograph by Houston Kempton [Image caption] Frederick Ford, an Alexandria attorney who serves as a NORML volunteer, speaks at the protest on Westmoreland Green as ex-MWC NORML president Mike Mello and Eric Wootten look on. [end page three] 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. Bales, Jack Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) vol. 52, issue 18 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 Rally Condemns Suspensions Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McFalls, Helen Marie Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived McFalls, Helen Marie. "Rally Condemns Suspensions." The Bullet (Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA), April 3, 1979, p. 1. 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 3 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1979-04-03 Description An account of the resource On March 30, 1979, MWC students hold a rally to protest the college suspensions of four male Mary Washington students charged with drug offenses. Subject The topic of the resource Marijuana--Law and legislation National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Frederick Ford George Semples Houston Kempton John Schumacher Marijuana Mary Washington College Michael Mello NORML Prince B. Woodward The Bullet https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f3995f39ba1b7eefdfa190b8acf0ba0f.jpg 17dbc5b3a05cf9224b7d9791bf2cc395 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/7689f7d7cb27dd4f6d8ec2c512c8f657.jpg 99627ce902a10d32c1bf954d8981c750 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. Parsons, Carolyn Text Any textual data included in the document College Police officers have questioned three female Mary Washington College students about their involvement with one of the students recently arrested in connection with the drug raid on Madison Hall. The police, who tied the three women to the Madison situation by means of physical evidence confiscated during the raid, declined comment. The three were questioned by the police on March 28, and all invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. During the March 24 drug raid on Madison, police found three photographs. Each photo depicted a male lighting "bongs" for three different women. Two days after the raid the male in the photographs was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and paraphernalia. And two days after that, the three women depicted in the photos were questioned by the College Police. The bong itself was not confiscated in the March 24 raid. one of the three women was interrogated told the Bullet that " the cops just wanted information from us so that they can nail (our friend) in Madison. They just don't have enough evidence on the guys and they wanted our help. I don't think they'll try to get us also, but we could be subpoenaed to testify against the Madison guys." Another of the three female students who were questioned by College Police asserted that "those pictures are worthless as evidence, and the cops know it. There's no way to tell from them that we were smoking anything in these bongs other than cigarette tobacco-which I believe, is still legal even in the state of Virginia." The three women have contacted a local attorney for advice. One of the students said that their lawyer had advised them that they were required to talk to "no one-not the cops, not Woodard, not any other campus officials. Unless we're subpoenaed, then we might begin to worry." 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 More Students Questioned Subject The topic of the resource Marijuana Michael Mello Description An account of the resource A newspaper article written by Michael Mello that describes students being questioned about police over suspected drug usage on campus. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael. "More Students Questioned". The Bullet (Fredericksburg, VA), n.d. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 jpegs 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Marijuana Michael A. Mello student discipline https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3fce3c76a5dfb2098b66c6e5b8a2794f.jpg aa0518c29c76125c9972a13034b73454 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/9916906e34b7cab40d985a13238734db.jpg 1d8946cd7f980ad33cb55d342bf81680 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 article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. King, Paul Text Any textual data included in the document Let me begin by saying that the Bullet will be playing a role of increasing importance to Mary Washington College in the coming years. MWC will soon face, I believe, a series of crises which will in large measure define the direction that the College will take in the future. The crises will occur because of conflicts between dissatisfied male students and an Administration that refuses to change school policy in certain important ways. The number of male MWC students has greatly increased over the last four years, and it appears that this trend will continue. In the long run, the increase will benefit the College; it will lead to more realistic learning and living environment. But there will be problems in the immediate future: because I don't think that an increasing male population will tolerate the anachronistic rules of this institution. Further, there are signs that the sexual revolution that swept the nation in the late sixties might finally be reaching MWC; if so, then the women on campus will oppose certain policies of this school as vocally as will the men. the classical example of MWC's refusal to accept the Twentieth Century is the College's visitation rules, but there are other, more subtle points as well. And, as discontent festers, the administration will probably respond with still more rules and still more trenchant enforcement of those rules. A more hard-line administrative policy might delay change for a little while, but eventually, the Powers That Be in GW will have to relent. As this situation progresses, the Bullet must keep the College informed of events as they occur. It must aggressively investigate the issues, and coherently define and editorialize on those issues. As The Free Lance-Star wrote a few years ago, "the Bullet must be free to express controversial subjects, to challenge the Establishment or the Administration or whatever." But the newspaper must always remember that if a publication is to be effective, it must be considered legitimate and credible by the community within which it exists---and the Bullet's community consists of faculty and administrators as well as students. If a newspaper readership is distrustful of the publication's motives and intentions, the paper will be impotent as a force for change. The Bullet must keep three things in mind if it expects to be considered a legitimate voice of the College community. First and foremost, its reporters and editors must do their journalistic homework. News stories must be coldly dispassionate and objective. And editorials must also be grounded in solid research; personal cheap shots at the Administration, for example, can serve no purpose except to demean the quality of the paper in the eyes of everyone. The recent experience of the Prometheus should stand as compelling evidence of what happens when a publication is taken over by a few hotheads who react to situations with passion and emotion rather than with calm reflection; nothing will destroy the credibility of a newspaper faster. Now Prometheus is trying to change its stripes and become a Phoenix, but it probably will not be able to rise from the ashes of its history. And MWC has a long memory; once lost, legitimacy is difficult for a publication to regain. Next year's Bullet editorial board had better learn this lesson quickly. Secondly, the Bullet must be acutely aware of the consequences that the material it publishes can have on others. It took me a long time, but I am finally beginning to internalize the reality of this fact. Arnold Rosenfeld, editor of the Dayton Daily News, put it well: "we see ourselves as driven professionals, informed by good intentions and purposes. Readers see us as moral vigilantes, driven only by the desire to sell newspapers. We protest our meritorious intentions. But the public does not understand. We protest that we bear no responsibility for the consequences of our journalism. It is a world, many of us feel, we never made. We only report. "Baloney. As human beings, editors and reporters ought to be terribly burdened, haunted, by the very real consequences of our decisions to publish. We ought to live uncomfortably with the fact that our journalism does damage. It can only be redeemed by the knowledge that, on balance, it helped more than it hurt." Thirdly, the Bullet must remain an integral part of the Mary Washington College community; members of that community must see the newspaper as their institution and their voice. Rosenfeld argues convincingly that any newspaper must remain an "organic part of the community, rather than a brooding presence towering above it in judgment. Newspapers need to be alert to community needs and failures, yet also be seen as institutions of fundamental goodwill, sharing pride as well as problems." The Bullet can be a powerful voice in the future; given the problems MWC must confront and solve in the near future, it must be a strong voice. But whether anyone listens to that voice and takes it seriously will depend on how much credibility the College community gives to its newspaper. And that will depend on how the Bullet handles itself in the months to come. MAM 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 The Bullet: Sink or Swim Description An account of the resource An article about the proper responsibilities and attitudes of a newspaper in order to remain relevant to the students and faculty of the school campus. 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 1979-4-17 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 Fredericksburg, University of Mary Washington, Subject The topic of the resource general works--newspapers-- Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael Allen Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Michael Mello. "The Bullet: Sink or Swim". The Bullet (VA), April 17, 1979. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 jpegs 300dpi Language A language of the resource English editorial letter integrity journalism Michael Allen Mello paper responsibility views https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/504de99032b535e3978bb801b564c20d.jpg 21e5b2e508ee5e45592873f85884d2e7 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 aticle Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Martin Carille Text Any textual data included in the document Last week's episode left the cadre of Mary Washington revolutionaries alone in the dark of Seacobeck Hall--an unostentatious beginning for the infant regime. But after endurig a night in Seacobeck (it builds character, they say) the revolutionaries found renwed vigor. A week later we find them in full control of the dining hall and of neighboring Chandler Hall. The base of support has been broadened and the college was vitually paralyzed. But the Administration has yet to play its hand . . . President Prince Briggs Woodard leaned back in his swivel chair, exhausted. He was rudely disturbed by the buzzing of the intercom. Startled he fell backwards, catching himself on the edge of the desk. He lifted the receiver, bracing himself for the unbearable wheezing of his private secretary. “Mr. President, Mr. Mello from the Washington Post is here for his appointment.” “Mello?!” Ward blurted in near hysteria. His secretary’s voice fell to a whisper. “Not the same one, Mr. President, not even related. We had him checked out when he called for his appointment.” “Thank God,” the President sighed. “Give me a minute, then send him in.” He hung up, not waiting for an answer. What was happening? Leave for a week and come back to find open rebellion! A shooting! Violent retaliation? And then what? Nothing! “We didn’t want to do anything until you got back, Mr. President,” Bishop said. Obviously, no one understood him when he had said that the only threat to college security came from the inside! Now, despite his best efforts, word of the disturbance had leaked. Must have been one of those damned day students. “I know I should’ve locked ’em in their damned lounge,” he mumbled to himself. What would he tell the reporter? The truth. Always the truth. But in what form? The door swung open and the Post reporter entered. To Woodard’s delight, the man was nearly his age—but oh how the poor man showed it! Those ugly lines, that white hair, and that double chin. Woodard smiled. “Mister Mello! It’s my pleasure to have you here. It’s not often we get someone from the Post. What’s on your mind? Clean drug record this year . . . And I’m sure you noticed how many boys—er—men we have this year, but our women, OUR WOMEN! They’re still as attractive as ever, eh?” He winked slyly. The reporter did not respond. Instead, he pulled out a small pad from his breast pocket and flicked it open ominously. “Is it true that you’ve been serving store-bought cold cuts in the dormitories for dinner for the last week? Woodard’s face dropped, then he smiled coyly raising a chubby finger in realization. He walked over to his desk and stared intently at his calendar. “I thought so,” he remarked finally. “Halloween. You’ve been trying to throw a scare into me. How trite. Who put you up to this—Ray? Ed? Forrest? Who?” “Dr. Woodard, before I came over here, I took the liberty to look around a little bit. Tell me frankly, sir, have classes begun yet or are you taking a semester off? “Oh that!” Woodard pounded his fist on the desk. “It’s Halloween. We’ve never had classes on Halloween . . . as long as I’ve been here anyway.” The reporter breathed impatiently. “Dr. Woodard, do you know where your students are right now?” Woodard was outraged and he tried in vain to hide it. “Of course, I make a point of touring this campus at least once a week . . .” He stumbled over his words. “Mister Mello, I take great offense at your insinuations. If I have nothing else I have control over this campus. I make sure of that!” The reporter seemed placated. He shook his head pensively. He replaced the pad in his pocket and turned towards the door. Stopping short, he fished diligently in his pocket and pulled out a dime. He flipped it into the unsteady hands of the President. “There, now you have something.” He closed the door behind him. Woodard waited until he heard the wheezing amenities of his secretaries and the closing of the outer door. Immediately, he summoned his secretary on the intercom. “Mrs. Johnson, take this down. First, tell Servant to have his people report to Secobeck as usual starting tomorrow morning. We’re going to storm it.” He paused. “And get Chief Bishop on the phone for me . . . oh, and Mrs. Johnson, how many loyal students are there now? Is that all? Have them assemble in the ballroom immediately.” The wheezing voice protested. Woodard raised his eyebrows. “Cannon fodder? Oh no, nothing like that. It’s just that the rebellion is too obvious. We need them to attend more classes and walk around a little more. I want no one in their dorms before dark. That’s all.” The President listed impatiently to the pointless, but friendly suggestions. Finally, her voice tailed off and she hung up politely. The harried college president grinded his teeth as he began to develop a scheme. “Hmm, cannon fodder!” he thought to himself . . . TO BE CONTINUED Note: This writer feels no personal animosity towards Dr. Woodard or any other characters used (and to be used) in this series. Character distortions are purely for satirical purposes. 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 The Coup d'Etat Part IV Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gathski Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Gathski. "The Coup d'Etat Part IV." The Bullet. October 30, 1979. 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 1979-10-30 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 Subject The topic of the resource University of Mary Washington--Newspaper--Satire Satire--University of Mary Washington Description An account of the resource The fourth part of a satiracal column about a student protest articulated as if it were a revolution. This part depicts President Woodard's realization of the revolution's severity and his plan on combating it. 1979 Fredericksburg Gathski Michael A. Mello Michael Mello Prince B. Woodward Prince Woodard Satire University of Mary Washington https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/80dd35f80e5c1d50a8a7dd704869ff0d.jpg 6d37b389440312912b545cb6773395e5 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/44811a075d236338decdcecf1c0760b8.jpg e00b0fdd75f149bee01d28ffb7fccdc1 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b87f0fa2a0ee3e30139a805a0669183b.jpg 58ad9b0d21f658c209a07022665dd7e1 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. Ferrell, Claudine Text Any textual data included in the document The careful reader will have noticed an odd aspect of the recent debate on homosexuality contained within the letters and “Viewpoint” sections of the BULLET with the exception of the original “Viewpoint” on the issue, no gay student students have participated in that debate. This is not because members of the MWC gay community have nothing to say, nor is it because they do not wish to express those opinions in print; in fact, the BULLET received two letters from MWC homosexuals. But, because the authors of those letters were not yet ready to “come out of the closet” and hence felt that they could not allow their names to appear at the bottom of letters giving first hand accounts of what it is like to be a gay student at Mary Washington College, the BULLET refused to print the letters with “names withheld.” The BULLET has a long-standing-policy of requiring all letters to be signed. The advantages of this policy are obvious and it certainly is not the purpose of this editorial to suggest that it ought to be abandoned or that it should not apply in the great majority of instances. Departures from this policy should not be made lightly, but these two present letters do justify such a departure. Besides offering the gay viewpoint on the question of homosexuality (an important perspective on the issue to say the least), both letters were excellently written and one was so good that it could rightly be called a social document; they both offered insights into this important issue that BULLET readers would have found valuable. Yet it is unrealistic to expect these students to sign their letters, to make that a requirement, to say to them that they must “come out” before they can express their views as homosexuals in the newspaper. This requirement is unrealistic for obvious reasons: in addition to the possibility of conflict with family members at home if they were to know the truth, MWC students who have “come out” in the past have been subjected to harrassment, ridicule and ostracism on campus. Ivy Martin, who declared her homosexuality in 1976 and was branded the “campus queer” from that time until she graduated last May, is the best argument I know against requiring gay students to “come out” in the BULLET before their views as gays may be printed in the school newspaper. It is important to note that we are not dealing with unsigned letters here: both students were willing to sign their work. The BULLET Editorial Board would thus have known the identities of the authors; this is crucial for legal purposes and so that the Board could be assured that the writers were indeed MWC students and hence (because of the Honor Code) that they were in fact gay. What the authors of the letters could not allow was for their names to appear in print; the two letters would have appeared with “names withheld.” Many newspapers, including the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star employ a policy of withholding the names of certain letter writers in rare cases, so long as the newspaper can validate their identity and authenticity. These publications realize that it is unfair and unreasonable to demand that certain individuals sign their work in print. The author of the original “Viewpoint” explained that she refused to subject herself to “the pointing fingers, the jeers, the incrimination of those who check out what you wear and how you act and wonder ‘HOW COULD SHE?’ No, I‘ll not be MWC’s token gay.” Can we really blame her? It may seem that making an exception here is unfair to those who are required to sign their letters. But those two cases are not quite comparable: the great majority of people who write letters to the BULLET can sign them free from the fear that their lives at MWC will be ruined by doing so. This is not the case with these gay students writing as gay students. Once again Ivy Martin is an example of what MWC does to those who do “come out.” Is it really fair to equate a student writing and signing a letter about brick paths with a student writing and signing a letter which begins “as a gay student, I would like to address the present debate on homosexuality”? One advantage of pursuing a hard line on the present policy is simplicity: an absolute policy of not withholding the names of any letter writers solves the problem of deciding which letters to except from the general policy and which to reject. Whenever exceptions to a policy are made, the potential exists that the exceptions might become the rule. But there is no reason for this to happen. Withholding the names of these two gay students would not mean that the BULLET would thereafter be obligated to print every unsigned letter it received; on the contrary, the Editorial Board would still have the discretion to deny a letter writer the privilege of having his name withheld in print. As stated at the outset, exceptions to the general policy of requiring letters to be signed in print would only be made in rare cases. The question then becomes one of criteria, where to draw the line in deciding when to allow exceptions. It is impossible to state precisely what conditions would be excusing, but two standards do suggest themselves. First, the BULLET does not accept letters that violate the laws of libel, and this would be extended to include these “name withheld” letters. Secondly, the writer would have to convince the Board that there is a valid and compelling reason for his inability to sign the letter in print. The present case of the two gay letter writers, in which the destructive ramifications of compelling the author to sign his work in print is obvious, would be a good yardstick to use here. Most importantly, the Board would exercise simple common sense in deciding which letter to print “name withheld.” Common sense is, of course, a subjective concept that defies definition. It is conceivable that members of the Editorial Board could disagree on when it should apply in particular instances, but that is one advantage of having a five-member Board: no single person’s perceptions rule supreme. I do not believe that a policy of rare exceptions would create the massive problems that some assert; rather, it would give us the flexibility to deal reasonably with those letter writers who have a legitimate reason for not affixing their names to their work in print. MAM The Bullet Established 1922 Printed by and for the MWC Community in the offices of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. Helen Marie McFalls, Editor-in-chief Michael Allen Mello, Managing Editor Gary Price Webb, News Editor John Matthew Coski, Features Editor Anita Lynn Churney, Business Manager The Bullet Mary Washington College is an affirmative action equal employment opportunity institution. It does not discriminate against any person for reasons of age, sex, marital status, race, nationality, religion, or political affiliation. The Staff of the Bullet Chief Assistant Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ruth Spivey Assistant Editors . . . . . . Jane Opitz and Laurie Shelor Photography Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul Hawke Assistant Photography Editor . . . . . . . . . .Pam Marks Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anne Hayes Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Candy Sams Assistant Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julie Harrell Circulation Managers . .Evelyn Watts, Juanita Grimm Staff Photographers . . . . . . . . Patty Shillington, Karen Noss, Felicia Mazur Staff--Tracy Hudson, Jean Smith, Betsy Rohaly, Laura Hall, Ann Lambert, Carrie Rebora, Dean Ball, Patrick Thompson, Mary Lee, Cynthia Nash, Mark Madigan, Cindy Goforth, Darla Fjeld. Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) vol. 52, issue no. 10 Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Case for Anonymity 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 jpg 300dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, Virginia Subject The topic of the resource Gay students. College student newspapers and periodicals. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael Allen Description An account of the resource Editorial dealing with the Bullet's decision not to publish two letters by gay students because the students did not want their names printed. The editorial discusses the impact on gay students if their homosexuality is revealed, citing the case of Ivy Martin. It concludes by arguing for a policy of exceptions based on "common sense" and consideration of "valid and compelling reason[s]" to withhold names. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-11-30 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael Allen [MAM]. "A Case for Anonymity." Editorial, The Bullet (Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA), November 20, 1978, p. 2. Bullet Editorial Board editorial gay students gays homosexuality Ivy Martin letters to editor libel Viewpoint https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/513642f5d22d3e15fc6ae7aded545835.jpg 1d4ab194ff0561b4ca4bd786d232e1cd https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/d2d10dfd26d7e527819b1d28ae3e42cd.jpg b24465729abbc2300521345e27cd301a 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 Text Any textual data included in the document A Student Senate Committee poll indicates that the students of MWC still favor the option of 23 hour visitation, that they would like to see a student member on the BOV, and that student-faculty relations could be better. The survey, conducted by the Coordinating Committee of the Senate, was designed to determine what the student body feels the major issues should be in the upcoming SA elections. Several Committee members expressed hope that their findings will set the tone for the platforms and debate in the February elections for major SA positions. The major findings of the poll were: <ul> <li>77% of those responding to the survey indicated that the drive for the option of 23 hour visitation should be continued. Of that 77%, 43% were “strongly” in favor of keeping extended visitation as a goal for the Student Association.</li> <li>92% of the respondents indicated that the Student Lobby should continue its efforts to secure student representatives on the BOV. 54% of the 92% had a “strong” opinion on this matter.</li> <li>73% of those responding to the survey indicated that they had voiced their needs and desires to their Senate representatives. 76% responded, 26% “strongly,” that there is not effective communication between the Administration and the students. 55% of the respondents felt that the SA is effective in voicing their needs and desires. But 76% said that the MWC Administration is not responsive to the needs of the student body as articulated through the SA. This same 76% favors the creation of a body within SA Senate to handle student complaints that are not academically-oriented.</li> <li>72% indicated that their major concerns with regard to campus life were related to academics.</li> <li>93% of the respondents feel that there is a need for more open student body meetings.</li> <li>74% responded that they do not feel that student leaders have an influence on the operation of the dining hall.</li> <li>91% of those responding to the survey said that the SA should work to gain student employment opportunities in the C-Shoppe, College Bookstore, and Campus Police.</li> <li>72% responded that they had “no opinion” on whether the office of Day Student President had been effective in articulation the sentiments of MWC’s commuting students.</li> <li>75% indicated that the Student Activities Fee should be used to bring larger concerts to MWC. 67% expressed a desire to see more funds used to sponsor weekend entertainment in the C-Shoppe.</li> <li>70% of the respondents indicated that the Class Council should not be required to pay Maintenance for setting up before and cleaning up after events in ACL.</li> <li>50% had “no opinion” on whether or not the department representatives were effective academically. 88% indicated that their department reps should be more aware of what their job entails.</li> <li>92% indicated that they would like to see better student/faculty relations.</li> <li>79% felt that a Student Advisory Board is needed to provide representation for students accused of Honor Code violations.</li> <li>81% indicated that the faculty sufficiently understands and supports the Honor System.</li> </ul> The final question labeled “Your favorite bitch” encouraged respondents to raise any complaints not covered in previous questions. The most frequent responses to this question were: the possibility of instituting a meal plan should be pursued; the effectiveness and competency of the Campus Police should be investigated; the practice of inspecting the books of students leaving the library should be discontinued as contrary to the Honor Code. The survey was conducted in the form of a random sample of 345 students. Committee members stress the validity of sample polls in determining mass trends and public opinion. 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. Michael Lohr 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 Election Issues Survey: What Bothers Students? 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 1979-02-13 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 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 Fredericksburg, VA Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael Hudson, Tracy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael and Tracy Hudson. "What Bothers Students." The Bullet, February 13, 1979. Subject The topic of the resource School Election Survey Description An account of the resource The major findings of a survey conducted by the student senate committee, which was designed to determine the major issues of an upcoming student election. Mary Washington Bullet Mary Washington College Michael A. Mello Student Association Student Elections Student Polls https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/9c161b76eaf50dc1c3af3e03742b8d95.jpg 72cb6a8701476fd97e7c421e1bab76e2 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/34c5b8ba3c624b9e8d6c193a2b768134.jpg c85742f05d84966929059cbeaa9c9356 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. Carretto, Suzannah Text Any textual data included in the document Ninety-three percent of those students responding to a recent S.A. Senate survey indicated that they feel that there is a need for more open student body meetings. One such meeting was held on Tuesday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. Out of a total student population of 2360, approximately 30 attended. The meeting took place immediately after MWC President Prince B. Woodward addressed the Student Senate. Many people at the open student body meeting expressed the opinion that the content of some questions asked of Woodward at the earlier meeting were pretty and that their presentation was immature. Others disagreed, arguing that the issues presented to Woodward were important to the MWC academic community. Still others asserted that the issues themselves were important, but that the students were not following the "proper channels" in dealing with them. For example, it was suggested that the absence of washers and dryers in Tyler and of locks on the bedroom doors of Marye were not matters to be raised in a forum with the President of the college. The open student body meeting began with a short address by Patrick Everett, S.A. Academic Affairs Chairman. Everett stated that plans were being made to convert ACL Lounge A into an all-night study room. The room is scheduled to open Wednesday on a probationary basis. Following this, S.A. Vice President Steve Schlimgen opened the floor for questions about his performance in office. It was at this point that the debate concerning the quality of the questions asked of Woodward at the Senate meeting began. One student said that "Woodward gave us one hour and we blew it; we wasted it with petty gripes rather than centering on the big problems that face MWC." Another student, taking exception, argued that these "petty problems" were really the tangible things that directly affect the quality of like at MWC. She felt that the meeting with Woodward had been productive. "Our goal tonight was to open lines of communication between the President and the students. We have made him aware of our problems and he listened." The question then became: How did Woodward respond to the student views presented to him? Some felt that his attitude was condescending and evasive, that he interacted with the audience at the meeting as a father does when explaining things to a small child. Others felt the opposite: that the President had been open and honest, explaining what he could and promising to look into that which he could not explain offhand. Despite Schlimgen's attempts to give the meeting some semblance of coherence, heated discussion continued between members of the audience. A matter raised at a recent Senate meeting was brought up: a student left MWC under what some believe to be suspicious circumstances. One member of the audience argued that the entire question is a private matter between the former students and the college administration. The point was then made that the ex-student herself had requested an investigation of the circumstances surrounding her departure; hence, it was a matter within S.A.'s jurisdiction. Student Association President Laura Buchanan advised the audience that she and Campus Judicial Chairman Jane Daniels had already contacted all parties involved (including the former student), that their investigation was complete and that there were no irregularities in the student's departure from MWC. At least one member of the audience remained unsatisfied, however, and suggested that the investigation should continue. Three issues were raised toward the end of the meeting. First Schlimgen announced that Dean Clement had refused to join President Woodward in addressing the Senate because of the treatment she received the last time she met the S.A. Senate. Schlimgen added that he feels Clement is the recipient of much "unjustified grief--it's her job to enforce the rules set up by the B.O.V." Second, Judicial Chairman Jane Daniels reported that the present system of monetary fines for judicial offenses in ineffective and that more cases would come to trial in the future. Finally, S.A. President Laura Buchanan revealed that Greg Sokolowski, President of the Day Student Association, recently told her that the Day Student Association is ineffective and should be abolished. She also noted that several commuter students had complained about the job Sokolowski is doing as President. One member of the audience suggested that the interests of the commuter students could be better served by removing Sokolowski as president than by abolishing the entire Day Student Association. 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 Turnout Small at Student Meeting 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 1979-02-22 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 JPEGs 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael. "Turnout Small at Student Meeting." The Bullet (VA), February 2, 1979. Description An account of the resource This Bullet article discusses the desire for more "open student body" meetings, according to a student survey. One such meeting took place on February 13, 1979, although out of a total student number of over 2,300, only 30 students attended. The main area of discussion regarded a previous meeting with MWC President Prince B. Woodward. Discussion dwelt mainly on the types of questions students asked of Woodward and opinions of his responses to those questions. There was no consensus among the students. The article goes on to describe other topics of discussion and points of contention. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael Subject The topic of the resource Mary Washington College, Student Meetings Jane Daniels Mary Washington Bullet Mary Washington College Michael A. Mello Michael Mello Prince B. Woodward Student Association University of Mary Washington https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4c0565f4c3d6e96b230f1d3c4e595676.jpg cf87ca7503711adb41e07de7296c92e2 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/a76ea5cef3bfbebe7c7aa0a46c29a65c.jpg 00ded049128afc576508d9868c9f0691 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. Huffman, Suzanne Text Any textual data included in the document With the sounds of Woodstock playing softly in the background nearly 100 Mary Washington College students returned, if only briefly, to the days of meaningful protest yesterday. On the nicest day of the year so far the students took time out from sunbathing, frisbee-throwing and studying to protest the suspension of four male MWC students arrested for possession of marijuana last week. While an undercurrent of resentment about the arrests themselves was evident at the hour-long rally, the organizers emphasized the demonstration was held to protest the students' suspension without a hearing. By suspending the students before they appear in General District Court to face the misdemeanor marijuana charges, the MWC administration found them "guilty before being proven innocent," said speaker Mike Mello. Arrested in the raid on the Madison Hall dormitory were: William P. Crawford, 19, of Alexandria; Charles W. Houlgrace, 20, of Richmond; Randolph P. Hart, 19, of Morgantown, W. VA.; and a 17-year-old juvenile. A fifth student, Seth F. Schrager, 18, of Alexandria was also arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of smoking equipment, was not suspended. MWC President Prince B. Woodard was asked to attend yesterday's rally but according to the organizers, declined. The students said they would present petitions to Woodard on Monday registering an official protest of the suspensions. None of the suspended students, who are barred from campus, could be present yesterday. Mello said the raid was "unprecedented" in MWC history. One of the students, he noted, was arrested for the possession of 12 marijuana. Mello challenged the action of the MWC police in conducting the raid on the students' rooms. "It was the first time they could act like real police, make a real search, appear before real judges, and make real arrests. It was a moment in the sun for our keystone cops," he told cheering protesters. The students' suspensions, coupled with possible court action "smacks of double jeopardy," Mello said. The protesting students lounged about in bikinis and listened to the speakers over the din of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young songs which provided the beat to many anti-war protests in the late 60s and early 70s. Many of the students wore black armbands with NORML (National Organization for the Repeal of Marijuana Laws) buttons attached. And while the suspensions were the focal point of protest the call for marijuana reform hung heavy over the event. Rich Ford, an Alexandria attorney who represented the Virginia NORML organization at the rally, questioned whether marijuana possession was the "serious crime: the MWC administration claimed it was in handing out the suspensions. Noting that 50 million Americans have smoked marijuana, Ford said, "If the administration suspends everyone here that has smoked marijuana, I would guess they'd have a preciously small student body. "This is a bit a serious crime, it is not. a serious problem, it is simply a choice of a recreational drug," Ford added. Eric Wooten, a member of the MWC student government who was among the protest's organizers, questioned some of the school's priorities and rules. Acknowledge that marijuana possession is illegal, Wooten said the MWC administration " condones these keg parties every Saturday night where everybody just gets smashed," yet suspends other students for finding different outlet. The four students, all freshmen, are expected to be reinstated two weeks after their suspensions took effect. 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 Rally Protests Suspensions Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Geigerich, Steve 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 1979-03-31 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 Fredericksburg, VA Subject The topic of the resource Protest movements--United States Description An account of the resource A newspaper article written by Steve Geigerich that discusses protests held by Mary Washington College students over marijuana-use suspensions. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Geigerich, Steve. "Rally Protests Suspensions". The Free-Lance Star (Fredericksburg, VA), March 31, 1979. Marijuana Michael A. Mello student activism Student Protest https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/dee1a624dc7b5b6b4bca8fdfe5cc048a.jpg 9864e132b225565bbc5436042c48b9f4 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/7e95d5b3ee8df81a7569c233998f5788.jpg a64601f72698324ba35c6f4f20577ebc 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 Text Any textual data included in the document The phenomenon which is the subject of this editorial has variously been called "senior slump," "senior-itis" and "senior fever." But, it seems to me that the best term for this particular malady is "senior limbo:" an intermediate state, characterized by uncertainty, between two mediums. The malaise is not peculiar to seniors alone, though there appears to be a consensus among medical authorities that its most virulent strains usually strike down students with less than half-a-semester to go at Mary Washington College. Senior limbo has two distinctive aspects. On the one hand, there is an alienation and a sense of detachment from the larger College community. The academics and extra-curricular activities that recently consumed so much of our attention, now somehow seem... well, small, distant and irrelevant. At least irrelevant and small in comparison to the uncertainty of the immediate future. This sense of uncertainty, which is the second dominant aspect of senior limbo, accentuates and feeds the students' alienation from the College. Gradually, as the semester grinds inexorably forward, many seniors become increasingly aware that they do not really know what direction their lives are going to take for the nest few years. For some, the commanding questions revolve around the state of the job market. Where will I be working this time next year? What will I be doing? Will i be working in the fields I studied at Mary Washington? Did MWC really prepare me for the "real world?" For others, the questions and uncertainties cluster around graduate school. Will I get into the one I want? Will I get into any? Can I make it if I do get in? These students are members of what might be called the Cult of the Post Office; they visit the small, squat, red brick building across the road from Seacobeck with a frequency exceeded only by first-semester freshmen. The more hard-core of these seniors have checked and know that all first-class mail is usually in the boxes by 10:30; consequently, they often check their own box six or seven before that magic deadline. And they know the results of their grad school applications at a glance: a fat letter means an aceptance, a thin envelope means either a rejection or a waiting list. A "waiting list" means that the applicant might be admitted to the University if some of those who were accepted turn down the school; in other words, you're only offered a spot if someone else doesn't want it. Waiting lists are special limbos unto themselves. Gary Trudeau, creator of Doonesbury(ITALICS), captured the essence of this feeling in a dialogue that took place between Joanie Caucus(who was applying to law school) and Zonker Harris: ZONKER: Joanie, you can't just spend all day in bed, moping over your law school waiting lists. You've got to get up and around. JOANIE: No! I've got nothing to get up for. ZONKER: Well, could I bring you something to eat? Soup, maybe? JOANIE: No, I don't want anything to eat. All I want to do is WAIT. They put me on their waiting lists, so I'm going to start waiting up a storm. Wait! Wait! Wait! ZONKER: OK. JOANIE: Check back in a week. The specifics of senior limbo vary from person to person, but the elements of alienation and uncertainty appear fairly constant. The relative security and predictability of College is about to rudely end, to be replaced by... 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. Houston, Tyler 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 Editorial: Senior Limbo Subject The topic of the resource Student newspapers and periodicals Student newspaper and periodical editors Description An account of the resource An account of why seniors are stressed out and not themselves during their final semester. 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. "Editorial: Senior Limbo." The Bullet (VA), April 3, 1979. 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 1979-04-03 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 JPEG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Michael Mello Student Life University of Mary Washington https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/85df9e26a7a3f719cda4fa26500605d6.jpg 22b1dccbd39702d8ace1c546292d2f1e https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f5279e0c37f9d60c930a6e9668705fef.jpg f43378bd9a5421f9257c3a0d2303a4a3 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/78b8b37a6474e18693d067cf5d642211.jpg e1c2d8c4d892683d70c6a8d570b917e0 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. Mayo, Katie Text Any textual data included in the document <ul> <li>Sexual Assault is the number one crime of violence in the Commonwealth of Virginia.</li> <li>Age of the victim ranges from 6 months to 95 years.</li> <li>College students form the highest single category of victims.</li> <li>In Virginia, a rapist has a 99% chance of being able to commit his crime without receiving any punishment for it whatsoever.</li> </ul> Statistics like these prompted the Fredericksburg Area Rape Information Service (FARIS) to invite Pam McCoach to speak at Mary Washington College last Thursday evening. McCoach, a member of both the Virginia Committee on Sexual Assault Reform and the Virginia States Crime Commission Task Force for rape legislation reform, spoke before a small, predominantly female group, discussing the changes in the Virginia Code dealing with sexual assault. The piece of legislation that McCoach endorses, formally known as S.B. 291, has already been passed by the Virginia State Senate and is presently being handled by the House Courts Justice Committee, Subcommittee on the Criminal Sexual Assault Bill. If reported favorably on by the Subcommittee and Committee, the Bill will be debated on the floor of the Virginia House of Delegates next month. McCoach told the gathering that “the present rape laws just are not enough. Victims aren’t reporting it, and Commonwealth Attorneys have difficulty securing convictions.” McCoach hopes that passage of S.B. 291 will solve both of these problems by “increasing the effectiveness of the Commonwealth Attorneys” and “upgrading the role of the victim so that he or she does not have to undergo a second assault, this time in court.” The Bill, according to McCoach, embodies several concepts. It would shift the emphasis of the sexual assault law from victim resistance to force exerted toward the victim by the assailant. Thus, the focus would no longer rest on the victim’s will or resistance. Mc Coach pointed out that “we do not ask whether the victim of a robbery ‘consented’ to having his or her property taken,” as is embodied in the present legal implications in a rape case. “Furthermore…resistance can be dangerous.” The Bill codifies all forms of forcible sexual conduct into one statute, treating assaults such as sodomy as seriously as rape in terms of criminal process and conviction. S.B. 291 would replace the simple “rape” category under the law with a graduated scale of severity. “Sexual assault” under the Bill is divided into two major categories: Penetration (defined in the Bill as “vaginal intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anal intercourse, or any other intrusion, however slight, by any object.”), and Sexual Contact (which is essentially coerced touching or fondling). Additionally, both categories are divided into two degrees. Second Degree Penetration includes the use of fear or coercion by the assailant to achieve penetration, and covers cases where the victim is mentally retarded or physically helpless. The proposed penalty for a Second Degree Penetration offense would be from five years to life imprisonment. Second Degree Penetration is aggravated to First Degree Penetration if any of the following conditions existed at the time the crime occurred: 1) the victim was under 15 years old, 2) the assault was a “gang rape,” 3) a weapon was used by the assailant, 4) the assailant was a parent of the victim, 5) the victim was confined to a state institution (penal, mental, etc.) and the assailant was an official at that institution or 6) the assault was committed during the commission of another felony. When any of these factors are present, the penalty for a penetration offense may range from five years to life imprisonment. Similarly broken down, Fourth Degree Contact deals with fondling rather than penetration. Fourth Degree Contact would be increased to Third Degree Contact for the same conditions that would increase Second Degree Penetration to First Degree Penetration. Penalties range from one to five years imprisonment for Fourth Degree Contact and five to twenty for Third Degree Contact. S.B. 291 is, according to its supporters, sex neutral. Homosexual assault and the assault of a male by a woman would not be distinguished in terms of penalties, from the rape of a female by a male. Further, the Bill deals only with nonconsensual sexual assault; the emphasis is on the violent nature of the crime and on the element of force involved. The rights of the victims of sexual assault are made explicit in the Bill, which states that “the victim shall be treated with respect at all times”; among other protections, the Bill provides that “the jury shall not be instructed to examine with caution the testimony of the victim solely because of the nature of the crime, nor shall the jury be instructed that such a charge is easy to make but difficult to defend against…” Along this same line, the Bill would place increased limits on the admissibility of evidence relating to the victim’s sexual history. If S.B. 291 is passed, judges in rape cases would be required to find, in a hearing at which the jury was not present, that this type of evidence is necessary to the case, that is more than inflammatory rhetoric designed to prejudice the jury. The limits of admissibility of evidence must, according to the Bill, serve one of three purposes; first, “to provide and alternative explanation for the presence of semen, pregnancy, disease, trauma, or any other physical evidence of the offense charge”; second, “to support a claim that a victim has an ulterior motive in bringing the charge of sexual assault”; third, “to provide evidence of past sexual conduct between the victim and the defendant” which is necessary to show whether force was used. S.B. 291 would authorize increased penalties for repeat offenders: an additional five years for the second offense, ten for the third, and an additional sentence of life imprisonment for the fourth offense. Pam McCoach ended her presentation with an appeal for help. She said that letters to the members of the House Subcommittee of the Criminal Sexual Assault Bill would be most helpful. Those wishing to express an opinion on the Bill should write to any of the following legislators at the General Assembly Building, Richmond, Va 23219: A.L. Philpott, Subcommittee Chairman (Room 607, phone 804-786-6880), Theodore Morrison (Room 702, phone 804-786-6597). Donald McGlothin (Room 711, phone 804-786-6995), Joseph Leafe (Room 705, phone 804-786-6891), Clinton Miller (Room 707, phone 804-786-7298), and Raymond Robrecht (Room 809, phone 804-786-7296). McCoach urged that it is crucial for the letters and phone calls to reach these legislators as soon as possible. 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 Bill Proposes Changes Virginia Rape Law Called Inadequate Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Innis, Beth Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Innis, Beth and Michael Melllo. "Virginia Rape Law Called Inadequate". The Bullet (VA), October 24, 1978. 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 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Katie Mayo 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 Subject The topic of the resource Rape--Investigation--United States. Rape--Law and legislation--United States. Rape--Press coverage--United States. Description An account of the resource A newspaper article written by Beth Innis and Michael Mello, discussing the visit of sexual assualt legal reformer Pam McCoach to Mary Washington College. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978-10-24 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 3 JPG 300 dpi Law Michael A. Mello Rape -- Virginia https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3e515c0ecd34c993fa3645de52bf4fa0.jpg 049e75c202ae484e109f26edd6fb45da 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 Let juries decide on capital punishment Subject The topic of the resource Death penalty. Capital punishment--Florida. Juries. Florida. Capital punishment. Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor of the Miami Herald by Michael A. Mello about Florida's conflicted capital punishment statute. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael A. Mello Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald 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 1984-11-13 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 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 1984 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 Text Any textual data included in the document To The Editor: Your recent editorial urging legislative repeal of Florida’s jury override in capital cases was right on target. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that Florida may, consistent with the Constitution, permit judges to impose death even if the jury votes for life imprisonment. But the question for Legislature remains: Should we retain the override? History, logic, and common sense counsel that we should not. Capital punishment is an expression of society’s outrage at especially offensive conduct. In deciding whether a person deserves to live or die, the capital sentencer’s principal task is to decide where the individual defendant and his crime fall on the yardstick of community outrage. Because the death decision is a communal one, and because the jury is, by definition, the voice of the community, a greater degree of reliability is achieved if the representatives of the community are heard from and followed. A jury, selected in a fashion designed to assure representation is better able to convey the community’s will than a single judge. For this reason, virtually every other state with the death penalty entrusts the sentencing decision to the jury and, until recently, Florida was no exception. In 1872, Florida entrusted its juries with the decision on death. There it remained until 1972, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that every capital statute in the nation (including Florida’s) was un-Constitutional. The problem was that the Supreme Court in 1972 did not tell the states how to correct the Constitutional flaw that had invalidated the statutes. It was in the midst of this Constitutional confusion that the Florida Legislature set about drafting our present statute. The override was thus a product of understandable confusion over what the Constitution required of a capital-punishment statute. The legislative history and subsequent judicial construction of the override show that Florida’s decision to employ this curious device was the death penalty in a form consistent with the Constitution, rather than a legislative judgment that judges make better capital sentencers. But the years since 1972 have taught that the override is not required by the Constitution. In fact, of the 38 states with the death penalty, 30 require a jury’s consent for death. In five of the other state, the judge alone decides penalty. In the only three states, including Florida, does the jury make a non-binding recommendation. Almost every other jurisdiction with the death penalty has rejected the jury override, and for good reason. Florida should join them. Michael A. Mello Assistant Public Defender Editor’s Note: Mr. Mello was the counsel in Spaziano vs. Florida, the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Constitutionality of Florida’s jury override. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper letter to the editor Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Muchnick, Andrew 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 Let juries decide on capital punishment Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment (Canon law) Capital punishment--United States Jury ethics Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor by Michael A. Mello about Florida's somewhat confusing capital punishment statute and the influence of legislators and the Supreme Court. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald 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 1984-11-13 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 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f6d818a534019a56ed35b3983f7f1765.jpg 9f3c091fdcb5b2788f4974f4babeb166 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/79d8cc8afadddc8c35bb30a8b44a7f5a.jpg 3a3a9d20d1292f7bed5c13c2fce79b6a 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 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Huffman, Suzanne Text Any textual data included in the document SUPPOSE trial judges were free to dispatch a criminal defendant to prison even after a jury of his peers had declared him not guilty. Unthinkable? Of course it is. Yet that's precisely how the death sentence is administered in Florida, where judges are empowered to condemn a convicted murderer to death even if the jury unanimously recommends a life prison sentence. Aldebert Rivers was convicted of first-degree murder in 1982 for his role in the shooting death of a North Miami waitress. Nine men and three women deliberated only an hour before returning their guilty verdict. Later, after another hour of deliberation, the same jury recommended that Rivers be sentenced to life in prison. Dade Circuit Judge Ellen Morphonios accepted the jury's finding of guilt but rejected its recommendation for mercy, arguing that the aggravating circumstances of Rivers's crime compelled his execution. Last week, in a unanimous ruling, the Florida Supreme Court rebuked Judge Morphonios for defying the jury's recommendation and ordered Rivers's sentence commuted to life in prison. Of the 38 states that permit capital punishment, only three allow trial judges to override a jury's recommendation for mercy. Judges in Alabama and Indiana have invoked that authority sparingly. But in Florida, already home of the nation's largest condemned-inmate population, trial judges have imposed the death penalty over the jury's objections 87 times since capital punishment was restored in 1972. The state supreme court wisely has declared that judges who overrule a jury's recommendation of life will be sustained only when the facts suggesting a sentence of death are "so clear and convincing that virtually no reasonable person could differ" with the judge's decision. After reviewing 62 cases in which a judge imposed the death penalty over the jury's objections, the high court has upheld only 19 death sentences. Seven of the 19 subsequently were overturned by Federal appellate courts. Capital punishment is the state's proper prerogative, but there is great folly and danger inherent in a system that allows a single judge to override the collective wisdom of 12 ordinary citizens. Florida juries have showed no reluctance to recommend the ultimate penalty when the circumstances of a particular murder compel it. The customary practice of excluding from first-degree murder juries those who acknowledge an unalterable opposition to the death penalty should endow a jury's recommendation of mercy with even greater weight. State legislators have ducked several opportunities to bring Florida into step with the vast majority of states who have circumscribed the judge's sentencing authority in capital cases. Judge Morphonios's overzealousness in the Aldebert Rivers case underlines the need to reassert the jury's role as the community's conscience. Oh, Danny! THERE'S probably no truth to the rumor that the residents of San Marino Island along the Venetian Causeway, with an eye toward the Don Shula Expressway to the west, are considering changing the name of their winning surroundings to Dan Marino Island. On the other hand, if the NFL's Wunderkind leads the Dolphins to a 16-0 season, he may well qualify for sainthood - and make the name change unnecessary. 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 Jury's Precedence Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment--Florida. Protest movements--United States. Capital punishment--Florida--Public opinion. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald 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 1984-11-07 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 Florida capital punishment Florida juries https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/91cd38cf4d7feb29cedd17be8f290617.jpg f364e1fc7434d9f01c680081e9b7c334 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 Execution still on, judge says Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/d56f6bbcf41117ce287882b584bd26d2.jpg 781f0c8804b813682a5978d97c605e14 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 Text Any textual data included in the document Calling the appeal “a gross abuse” of the legal system, a federal judge Tuesday refused to postpone the execution of convicted police killer Alvin Bernard Ford, scheduled to die Thursday in the state’s electric chair. Meanwhile, a divided Florida Supreme Court blocked the scheduled execution of John O’Callaghan by a 4-3 vote an hour after hearing arguments in the condemned inmate’s mercy appeal. His execution was also scheduled for Thursday. Attorneys for Ford, anticipating the ruling against their client, filed an appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal in Atlanta before U.S. District Judge Norman C. Roettger even announced his decision in West Palm Beach. “Time is at a premium,” said Michal Mello, one of Ford’s three attorneys. The 31-year-old Ford, who has exhausted more appeals than any other Death Row inmate, will die at 7 a.m. Thursday at Florida State Prison in Starke unless the appeal court or the U.S. Supreme Court finds a reason to delay the execution. Ford was convicted of shooting to death Fort Lauderdale police officer Dmitri Walter Ilyankoff during a bungled restaurant robbery in 1974. The Florida Supreme Court upheld his sentence five years later. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court denied his appeal. Gov. Bob Graham signed his first death warrant in 1981. A month later – and 14 hours before he was to be electrocuted – the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal granted a postponement. The court dissolved the stay 13 months later. In April, Graham again signed Ford’s death warrant. The state Supreme court denied a stay May 25. Roettger used strong words Tuesday to express his irritation with Ford’s latest appeal, which was based on his attorneys’ belief that Ford is now insane. “This is absolutely a classic pattern of a defendant allegedly having a mental problem and perceiving a rook card in this possession… and holding it in the vest pocket until the last possible minute,” Roettger said. Richard Burr III, along with Mello, tried to convince the judge that Ford should be examined by psychiatrists and the results presented in court. In the past two years, Ford has gradually developed severe paranoid delusions, Burr said. He became obsessed that the Ku Klux Klan was keeping his family hostage, and torturing then, in a “pipe alley” near his cell. He now believes that he is a member of the Klan, that he personally has overturned the death penalty and is staying in prison only because he wants to, Burr said. Florida law – and the U.S. Constitution, Mello argued – prohibit the execution of an insane person. Burr and Mello contended that Ford’s sanity never has been formally determined in court. Joy Shearer, an assistant state attorney general, disagreed. “A determination of sanity has been made, and properly so, by the governor,” she said. Last December, Graham appointed a panel of three psychiatrists to examine Ford to determine if he understood the death penalty and why he had been sentenced to die. They found he did. One doctor called Ford’s delusions “contrived and recently learned.” But Burr and Mello said the decision by the panel of psychiatrists didn’t constitute a true judicial hearing. Judge Roettger, who also denied an execution stay for Ford in 1981, chastised the attorneys repeatedly for waiting until “the very last, frantic minute” to raise the issue of Ford’s sanity. “This has got to be a gross abuse of the system,” he said. After the two-and-a-half-hour hearing, Mello denied that he and Burr had “sandbagged” the case. “We filed absolutely as soon as possible. If the claim would have been ripe before, we would have filed it then,” he said. O’Callaghan, 38, was under a death warrant for the Aug. 20, 1980 killing of Gerald Vick, a bodyguard for the co-owner of a Hallandale bar where O’Callaghan worked. The high court’s decision to intervene in O’Callaghan’s case came after a circuit court last Thursday refused to issue a stay of execution. The Supreme Court gave no explanation for its unsigned, one-sentence opinion. Nor did the justices say whether they will grant O’Callaghan’s request for a new trial. 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 Execution still on, judge says Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hoffman, Lisa Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984-05-30 Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment--Florida. 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington 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, Florida https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/abae9e73601630c0b5e87a43fa97fd41.jpg 2b06a1c6658ecf1db839700995d28c67 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 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Piazza, Rachel Text Any textual data included in the document Convicted killer Nollie Lee Martin, who was set to die in Florida’s electric chair today, was granted an indefinite stay by federal appeals court in Atlanta Thursday. The stay was granted by a three-justice panel at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which said it needed more time to study the case before making a ruling, attorneys for Martin said. “It means he’s not going to be executed at 7 a.m. as we had feared,” said Mike Mello, as assistant in the Palm Beach County Public Defender’s office. “We’re going to proceed with a normal appeal. We’re not going to be going to be going through three courts in four days.” Attorneys said it could be a year before the case is resolved. In 1978, Martin, 35, was convicted of fatally stabbing Patricia Ann Greenfield, a Boynton Beach college student who was abducted from the Delray Beach-area convenience store where she was working. The detective who led the investigation that resulted in the arrest of Martin and his cousin Gary Lee Forbes, who pleaded guilty to second- degree murder and received a life sentence, said he is undisturbed by the court’s decision to grant the stay. “The system’s just winding it’s way down,” said Sgt. J.J. Anderson of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s a big system and you just have to be patient.” Anderson said he expects that Martin will eventually be executed. “He’s not on the street and I don’t think he’ll ever get out,” Anderson said. Mello, who along with other attorneys representing Martin have been working day and night to obtain the stay, said it will be at least six months and probably a year before all appeals in the case are resolved. The appeals court decision came on the heels of a Wednesday decision by a federal judge in Miami who granted a 24-hour stay of execution while Martin’s attorneys appealed to the higher court. On Aug. 8, Gov. Bob Graham signed a death warrant for Martin. That warrant expires today but attorneys said another warrant can be issued later. Since the signing of the warrant, Martin’s attorneys have appealed to a Palm Beach County circuit court, the Florida Supreme Court, the federal district court in Miami and the federal appeals court. “The worst possible situation is litigating under an active warrant,” said Mello. “It’s very tough for any judge to resolve issues under [intense] time pressures.” He said the appeals court, in granting the indefinite stay, indicated the indefinite stay, indicated it needed more time to rule on the case. He said the court was presented with lengthy written arguments containing eight points. “The only issue before [the court] is whether any of the issues were substantial enough to grant a stay,” Mello said. “All they said is ‘we can’t do it in a day, we need more time’.” Mello said that when the appeals court rules on the case it can decide to grant Martin a new trial or a new sentencing or can send the cases to the lower federal court for an evidentiary hearing. He said if the appeals court panel rejects arguments presented to it by Martin’s attorneys, they will appeal to the full court and if necessary will take the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The attorneys for Martin have argued that evidence showing that Martin suffers from brain damage was not presented during his trial. They have contended that the evidence was recently discovered after tests were conducted by several doctors. 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 Martin receives stay of execution Description An account of the resource Before Martins execution he was grated more time to study his case before making a final ruling. It could possibly be six months to one year before any final appeals in the case are resolved. With the time originally given it was highly impossible for any judge to make a final ruling in the time originally given. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pollack, Rich Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Sunday- 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 1984-09-07 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 Executions (Law) 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 1978 Anderson appeals attorney brain damage case convicted doctors execution fedearl appeals Florida Forbes Graham judge Martin Mello Miami Palm Beach County resolved sentinel trial https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/13378c637a5908ce8dcd404fbfca6e36.jpg 972ee2493831a2630b1dba4aec373735 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 Text Any textual data included in the document The current debate over execution of those Florida Death Row inmates who are, or who may be, insane raises difficult issues of law and public policy. But the issue, at least in Florida, is not whether the insane should be executed. That matter has long been resolved in the negative as a matter of state law. However, that brings us to the genuinely difficult inquiry: How can the legal system determine who is really crazy, and can Florida's administrative procedure be trusted to reliably make this life-or-death death determination? In 1927 the Florida Supreme Court held that there was a right to judicial determination of competency when a Death Row inmate claimed to be incompetent. In the 1930s the Florida Legislature enacted the present-day statute on execution competency. That law sets out a procedure for deciding who is crazy and who is not. The statute provides that when the governor is informed that a person who is under sentence of death may be insane, he or she shall appoint a commission of three psychiatrists to examine the convicted person. Counsel for the convicted person and counsel for the state may be present at the examination. After receiving the report from the commission, the governor makes and independent determination of whether the convicted person, in the language of the statute, "understands the nature and effect of the death penalty and why it is to be imposed upon him." But this procedure is insufficient to vindicate Florida's interest in not executing people who really are insane. The system invites error and, as Robert Sherrill's article in The Herald (Viewpoint, Dec. 16) demonstrated, has already resulted in error. The basic problem is that the statute provides for no hearing before the decision maker. There is no right of cross-examination and no right to present defense witnesses. The statute permits counsel to be present at the psychiatric examination, but the decision maker is not the psychiatric commission. The decision maker is the governor, and there is no hearing before him. In fact, the Florida Supreme Court has noted that the present governor has a "publicly announced policy of excluding all advocacy on the part of the condemned in the process of deciding whether a person under sentence of death is insane." A hearing before the governor would serve a variety of social values. It would provide the adversarial debate our legal system recognizes as essential to the truth-seeking process. This is especially true here, where the questions are legal, not medical, and where proper resolution of those questions is difficult under even the best of circumstances. The present procedure encourages the governor to become a slave to the psychiatric commission and to simply follow the recommendation of the doctors. This is precisely what has happened in every case so far. In Arthur Goode's case, the psychiatric commission decided that Goode was sane and the governor ordered his execution. In Gary Alvord's case, the psychiatrists found insanity and the governor stayed Alvord's execution. An open hearing also ensures that the governor recognizes that his decision profoundly affects the lives of human beings. Otherwise, it is all too easy to retreat behind a shield of paper and anonymity. Further, a hearing effectively fosters a belief that one has received his "day in court," even though he may disagree with the governor's decision. The risks of error at the initial competency determination are enhanced by the fact that Florida provides no procedure for review. The Florida Supreme Court has decided that the governor's statutory procedure is "now the exclusive procedure for determining competency to be executed." But if the judiciary is to be excluded from the initial competency determination, then some mechanism for reconsideration of the determination is needed. Reform of Florida's statutory procedure for determining execution competency can come from any of three sources: • The legislature could amend the statute. • The governor could voluntarily open the process up to advocacy. • The federal courts could mandate, as a matter of federal constitutional law, that Florida's procedure are inadequate. That precise issue is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta. Ideally, change should come from the Legislature or the governor. It is our statute. We should see to it that it produces reliable results. 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. Dyke, Corey 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 Deciding who is crazy: Reform Florida's procedure Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment--Florida. Capital punishment--Florida--Public opinion. Insanity Defense--United States--Legal Cases. Description An account of the resource Opinion editorial by Michael Mello about changing the process for declaring someone legally insane or incompetent. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald 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 1985-01-20 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 capital punishment Legally insane Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/6c9c5e84f71caf487c0ae3216b5d3986.jpg f1eb323d30844e06b0e1247b6b1626b2 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 New trial for Martin requested Injury to his brain not reported to jury Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Associated Press Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Evening Times Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-03-14 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 Atlanta, GA Language A language of the resource English 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 Text Any textual data included in the document ATLANTA—Lawyers for convicted murderer Nollie Lee Martin asked a federal appeals court to grant him a new trial, claiming evidence of their client’s damaged brain didn’t come out until after the 1978 trial. Martin was condemned to death for the rape and murder of college student Patricia Greenfield of Boynton Beach. Testimony by psychiatrists at the original trial indicated he was sane and had not suffered brain damage, attorney Michael Mello said, but “in fact, Mr. Martin is missing part of his brain.” Wednesday, Mello told a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Martin’s injury, which happened when he was run over by a wagon wheel, did not come to light until after the trial. Because the jurors who convicted Martin and recommended the death penalty did not know about the brain damage, they were operating under a false assumption, he argued. Marint, 36, of Chapel Hill, N.C., was convicted of murder in the June 1977 death of Ms. Greenfield, a college student who was working at a Delray Beach store. Martin and co-defendant Gary Forbes were accused of robbing the store, abducting Miss Greenfield, raping her at Martin’s apartment and then taking her to a landfill near Lantana, where she was fatally stabbed in the throat. Forbes pleaded guilty to murder and testified at Martin’s trial. Martin’s conviction and death sentence were upheld by the Supreme Court of Florida in 1982, and he lost an appeal in U.S. District Court last year. That decision was appealed to the 11th Circuit. In addition to the issue of brain damage, Mello told the appeals court that two confessions made by Martin after his arrest in July 1977 were invalid. “We maintain that both confessions were obtained in violation of (Martin’s) Miranda (rights), both were involuntary and the second was obtained in violation of Mr. Martin’s 6th Amendment right to counsel,” he said. But Joan Fowler Rossin, an assistant Florida attorney general, argued that the confessions were valid. Martin “was not threatened, he was not made any promises and he was not coerced,” she said. She also argued that Martin was given adequate neurological and psychiatric evaluations before the trial. Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Sellers, Jason Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. The Palm Beach Times changed its name to The Evening Times in 1979, then merged with The Post in 1987 to become The Palm Beach Post. 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 New trial for Martin requested Injury to his brain not reported to jury Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Associated Press Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Evening 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 1985-03-14 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 Atlanta, GA Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment--Florida. Capital punishment--United States--Psychological aspects. Description An account of the resource Newspaper report on the 1985 request for a new trial for Nollie Lee Martin, convicted of murder in 1978. Martin's lawyers, including Michael Mello, cite the defendant's pre-existing brain damage in their request. brain injury death penalty Delray Florida Greenfield Martin Mello Miranda rights https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/9cf79f3b3161575bba93acb8e62f6669.jpg 3918ce107d3dc1d5fd5a7aaf2b257360 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 Death? Let the jury decide Description An account of the resource An article by Michael Mello talking about the different Legislative regulations on the Death Penalty. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael Mello Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Miami Herald Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available UMW Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-04-27 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpeg, 300dpi Language A language of the resource English 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 Text Any textual data included in the document IN RESPONSE to Calvin Fox’s recent explanation of three reasons why judges, not juries, should impose capital punishment: The question is important, since the Legislature is currently considering repeal of that portion of Florida’s capital-punishment stature that permits a judge to override a jury’s verdict for life imprisonment and then to impose the death penalty. <ul> <li>First, with an apocalyptic tone Mr. Fox argues that legislative repeal of the jury override will mean that “the 100 or so individuals now on Death Row may be entitled to have their death penalties set aside.” This figure is grossly exaggerated. Prof. Michael Radelet of the University of Florida, who keeps track of the statistics of Florida’s Death Row, Reports that although 87 death sentences have been imposed by trial judges, a full two-thirds of those sentences passed upon by the Florida Supreme Court have been reduced to life imprisonment. That court has affirmed death sentences in only 24 cases involving jury overrides, and several of these 24 are no longer capital cases for reasons unrelated to the override. At most repeal of the override would affect these 20 or so cases. And it need not affect even them. The Legislature could simply choose to make its new procedural rule applicable only to cases tried subsequent to the effective date of the repeal. I think such a provision would be unfair and unwise, but not unconstitutional. </li> <li>Second, Mr. Fox erroneously argues that Florida’s system of sentencing by the trial judge has been “consistently shown through intense Federal review to be the most reliable and proper system of imposing the death penalty.” This is most misleading. Almost a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court mad quite clear that a capital jury-sentencing stature would pass Constitutional muster provided that the jury gave its reasons for imposing death and that the state supreme court conducted a review to determine that the penalty was not applied in a disproportionate manner. Most states with the death penalty recognize that because the penalty is an expression of community outrage, an appropriate cross-section of the community whose outrage is being expressed should be given the responsibility for that decision. Of the 37 American states with capital punishment, 30 give the life-or-death decision to the jury. Mr. Fox cannot seriously mean that the statutes in these 30 states violate the Constitution, or that the 22 people put to death pursuant to these statues within the past decade were executed under unconstitutional statutes. Still, Mr. Fox argues, the death decision should be made by a “trained legal mind,” since judicial sentencing should lead to greater consistency among cases. Yet the ordinary predicates that provide consistency in non-capital sentencing, such as frequency of trying such an offense, observation of the recidivism rate for the offense, experience with the local parole and probation officers, and the like, do not pertain in the same degree, if at all, to capital cases. But more fundamentally, experience and expertise in legal rules cannot substitute for the ability of the jury to reflect community sentiment in its decision whether an individual defendant deserves to live or die. Because death-override cases are not automatically appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, there is no central data source through which such cases can be identified. Professor Radelet notes, however, that “numerous inquiries to several criminal attorneys and state officials makes us confident that there have been less than a dozen such cases since the current statutes was enacted.” Moreover, the Legislature could amend the statues to provide that a jury’s verdict for life is binding, but that the jury’s decision for death be subject for override by the court. Such a system would obviously create an asymmetry, but it is an asymmetry weighted on the side of mercy. That is offensive only if one believes that the grant of mercy to some somehow abridges the rights of others whose individual circumstances do not inspire mercy. At the guilt/innocence phase of a criminal trial, for example, a judge may enter a judgment of acquittal despite the jury’s rendition of a guilty verdict. Why not extend this principle to the penalty phase of the trial? Mr. Fox has made the best case that can be made for retention of Florida’s practice of permitting a single judge to sentence a person to die even when a jury of his peers has decided that he deserves to live. But his reasons themselves expose the bankruptcy of his position. The fact remains that the override results in a debasement of the jury’s role as the proper reflector of community sentiment. The override wastes finite judicial resources. Legislative repeal of the jury override is within the province, duty, and ethical obligation of the Florida Legislature.</li> </ul> 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 Death? let the jury decide. Description An account of the resource An article by Michael A. Mello on the Legislation regulation and its importance of jury control. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Miami Harold 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 1987-04-27 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 jpeg 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Jury--United States--Decision making. Capital punishment--Florida. 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 death penalty jurry Legislation Miami Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/394a95359c0c99d3718f5c5a801aa9f8.jpg ef167b2c40f3ba031f766aa784b204d8 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 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Webb, Daniel Text Any textual data included in the document Florida's capital sentencing statute provides for a three-step trial procedure in the administration of the death penalty. After a defendant is found guilty of a capital felony, a sentencing hearing is conducted before a jury which renders an advisory verdict; the judge, however, determines the actual sentence. The statute thus permits a trial court to impose a sentence of death despite the jury’s conclusion that the defendant deserves to live. That has happened 87 times in Florida. Legislation is presently pending before the House and Senate of the Florida Legislature providing that a jury recommendation of Life imprisonment in capital cases be binding on the court. The reasons for supporting this legislation are, I think, straightforward. First, the jury override degrades the jury on the very issue that has at its core an ethical and moral judgment of the community. The sentencer’s principal task in a capital case is to determine where that defendant and his crime are located on the scale of community outrage. Given that the purpose of a death sentence is to reflect community standards it follows that the representatives of the community should decide who dies. Second, the jury override wastes judicial and fiscal resources. The Florida Supreme Court reverses three-quarters of override cases. That alone is strong evidence that the system is not working. Third, the jury override increases the possibility of executing an innocent person. Jurors are instructed to determine the guilt of an accused beyond a reasonable doubt. There is, however, another type of doubt, often called “whimsical doubt,” i.e., doubt not rising to the level of reasonable doubt. If a juror entertains such a “whimsical doubt,” he or she would still be duty-bound to convict the defendant. But such a doubt is an important consideration in deciding whether to impose an irrevocable penalty. The judge, who does not take part in the jury’s deliberations, will not know if such whimsical doubt was a factor in the jury’s recommendation of a life sentence. Equally important is what this bill is not about. First, it is not about abolishing the death penalty. I recognize the right of the state to exact its ultimate penalty against the ultimate wrongdoers. But the issue here is not whether some will dies; the question is who is going to decide which of those wrongdoers are in fact the most heinous. Second, this legislation is not about commuting the death sentences of anyone presently on Death Row. The bill expressly provides that it would apply “only to offenses committed on or after Jan. 1, 1986” and that “persons who committed a capital felony prior to such date shall be sentenced in accordance with law in effect at the time” the offense was committed. The amendment would be prospective only. Third, it is sometimes argued that we should just leave the statute alone: We have something that works; let’s let it be and not risk creating any new issues for appeal. The problem with this position is that it insulates the statute from any progress or reform. The statute can be changed and in fact has been changed several times in the past. In 1979, for example, the Legislature added an aggravating circumstance and changed the language concerning mitigating circumstances. Finally, it has been argued that if a jury recommendation of life should be binding upon the trial court, then a jury recommendation of death should also be binding. This argument possesses a symmetry which is superficially attractive. The difficulty is that is would create more problems than it would solve. In essence, a “both ways binding” statute means a statute providing for jury sentencing. Thirty of the 37 American states with the the death penalty do have jury sentencing, but for Florida to adopt such a system would require several other changes to our statute: the jury’s verdict should be unanimous, and the jury should be required to give reasons for imposing the death sentence. Such changes could raise questions about the continued constitutional validity of the statute as a whole. And it would simply not be worth the effort, since judge overrides in favor of life seem to be relatively rare. During the 13-year tenure of Florida’s modern death statute, judges have imposed death, following jury verdicts of life, in 87 cases. The sort of asymmetry embodied in the present legislation is already fundamental to our system of criminal justice. At the guilt-innocence phase of a criminal trial, for example, a judge may enter a judgment of acquittal despite the jury’s rendition of a guilty verdict. But a jury’s rendition of a not guilty verdict is inviolate and not subject to judicial scrutiny, no matter how contrary to the weight of the evidence. The bill would do no more than extend this principle to the penalty phase of the trial. In sum, the system is not working. The system degrades the role of the jury, and this, in effect, that of the community in our criminal justice system. Three-quarters of the jury overrides are overturned on appeal anyway. The override places Florida in the company of only two other American states with the death penalty. The Legislature should change this situation. <ul> <li>Michael A. Mello is an assistant public defender for Palm Beach County. This article is adapted from his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee this spring.</li> </ul> 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 No One Should Die When the Jury Votes for Life Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The 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 1985-06-05 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. 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 Newspaper article written by Michael A. Mello, discussing Florida's capital sentencing statute in 1985. Subject The topic of the resource Florida Capital punishment Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Mello_91 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 1985 death penalty Florida Florida capital sentencing statute Florida juries Michael A. Mello Michael Mello The Post https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/eb53d69115247a111d9513d4efd79379.jpg 8f7381b9dccf13fb88439af030acc789 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/52df657ad048a38ec43e525fa089367e.jpg 7f43ec4854cd85124fb4e0a60bdef79e 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 Text Any textual data included in the document One day early last July, Gregg Thomas of the Tampa branch of the Holland & Knight law firm, flew to Tallahassee to discuss the death appeal case of Jimmy Lee Smith, who was scheduled for execution in 10 days. Those 10 days wound up being filled with hectic activity and Thomas reckons for the last five, he had only five hours sleep. But he and other lawyers, signed up at the last minute and working for free, won a stay which led to a full review of Smith's case before the 11th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. That review, argued in February, is still pending. Thomas K. Equels, of Greenberg, Trauig, Askew, Hoffman, Lipoff, Rosen & Quentel of Miami, is used to handling complex commercial civil cases. Recently he found himself going door-to-door in a Pompano beach ghetto trying to get new evidence for David Gorham, another death row inmate. Like Thomas and other attorneys working on the Smith case, he was not being paid. But he found an eyewitness who claims that David Gorham did not commit the murder he was convicted and sentenced to death for. Equels is preparing appeals and for a clemency hearing based on the new evidence. Michael Mello, an assistant public defender in Palm Beach County, spends his working days handling criminal appeals for convicted murderers facing the death penalty. He spends his off hours advising civil attorneys who have volunteered to handle capital collateral cases for indigent death row inmates. He recently spent a weekend at his office, while his parents were visiting from Washington D.C., reading a case history and preparing a summary for a volunteer attorney. He has spent considerable time helping lawyers on two separate cases and has given advice on several more cases. All three lawyers are part of the Florida Bar's program to provide pro bono attorneys for indigent death row inmates, especially those facing imminent execution. James C. Rinaman, Jr., of Jacksonville, chairman of the Bar's Special Committee on Representation of Death Sentenced inmates in Collateral Proceedings, said the volunteer attorneys face a difficult, expensive and time consuming job for which they will receive little thanks. But he also said it is a necessary task to uphold the principle that everyone, including death row convicts are entitled to lawyers throughout every step of their appeal and that due process should be accorded everyone. Rinaman estimated the average capital collateral case requires 500 to 1,500 hours of work, and can cost from $10,000 to $18,000 out-of-pocket costs. "The more successful you are, the more time it takes." he said. Lawyers taking the cases can expect little but long hours, high expense and practically no public sympathy for their action, Rinaman said. But the job does have satisfactions. "It's a highlight of their whole professional life." he said. "It's the most important thing they've ever done, all they've done before is represent Continental Can, General Motors or Southeast Bank. This is about the highest professional contribution yo can make." Only about 100 lawyers in Florida are qualified on their own to handle the capital collateral cases, Rinaman said; consequently the Bar program includes providing advisers and research backup, through the Volunteer Lawyers' Resource Center at Florida State University and Stetson University, to help volunteers. Mello, Thomas, and Equels all gave different motives for their involvement. "The ones I've talked to feel it's wrong to kill people without lawyers. It think it's real gross to kill people period." Mello said, adding he jumped at the chance when Palm Beach County Public Defender Richard Jorandby offered him a job handling criminal death appeals. "We supposedly have this system...that;s supposed fair and it isn't . One of the main reason it doesn't work is because of the poverty of people who wind up on death row," he said. "A number of them (volunteer lawyers) who start out don't start as ideologies against the death penalty, but after a few time around. It changes them." One shock to the lawyers, largely used to handling civil cases, is poor treatment in some courts and from prosecutors seeking to hasten the executions, he said. "I feel good about what I do," Mello said. "I can't think of many other areas in life where I do something where I'm this certain I'm on the right side. I think the death penalty is wrong." Mello handles no collateral appeals directly, instead advising the other volunteers, who he noted frequently face a monumental task. "If they take it when a death warrant is signed, it's a huge commitment right up front, it's 18 hours a day for three or four weeks," he said. A memo written by Thomas last summer outlined some of the rigors he and other faced after taking a case only 10 days before the scheduled execution. The attorneys present the first week, including working through the 4th of July, working long days preparing memos and briefs for appeals. The memo noted the lawyers believed they uncovered substantial new arguments and legal points, only yo have their appeals denied at he trial court and federal district court level with only cursory hearings. Thomas noted the attorney team was greatly demoralized before the 11th Federal Circuit Court issued a temporary stay, which was immediately and unsuccessfully appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The stay led to the current hearing. Thomas said Holland & Knight agreed to get involved in the cases to guarantee inmates were represented. "We didn't take the Jimmy Lee Smith case because we're against the death penalty, we took it because a person who was going tot pay the ultimate price deserved to have due process," he said. "I guess we decided as an obligation to the Bar and an obligation to the system of justice that we give some back." He agreed with Mello the death cases vary greatly from the normal civil cases he handles, and that judges can be harsher on lawyers representing capital clients, especially in the lower level of courts. "There's a great deal of emotion involved for a judge trying a death case. The further you are removed from that, the less emotion there is," Thomas said. He added, "The tribulations (of handling a death case) are knowing that someone's life is essentially in your hands and you have to do the very best you can. The reward is when (and if) Jimmy Lee Smith dies, Gregg Thomas and his partners at Holland & Knight will know everything that could be done was done." He also said the work was important because on average 50 percent of the death appeal cases in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals are eventually reversed. Thomas was one of two Holland & Knight attorneys (the other was Julian Clarkson of Tallahassee) along with several law firm clerks who worked on the Jimmy Lee Smith case with Attorney Sarah Bicakley of Tallahassee. Like Thomas, Equels got involved because Greenburg, Taurig decided the firm should help on death appeal cases. But unlike Thomas, Equels, who is working with Alan Dimond and being advised by James McGuirk and Joseph Beeler, became involved early in David Gorham's appeals, well before his clemency hearing and with no death warrant signing in sight. "We're doing it because we have an obligation to the Bar and the community to provide this kind of service to death row inmates needing attorneys," he said. This case took Equeis from his normal civil litigation to knocking on doors in a Pompano Beach ghetto. Noting Gorham's attorney presented no evidence in his trial, Equels said, "We did a pretty thorough investigation and found an eyewitness who said he (Gorham) didn't do it. He entirely deserves representation under those circumstances. "I feel very strongly that he's innocent and I feel very strongly that the worst kind of miscarriage of justice may have taken place." That belief also provides Equels with an extra motive. "If you don't succeed, a man may die who shouldn't die," he said. Besides the appeal work, Equels is also preparing for Gorham's clemency hearing this summer. Despite the intensity of the work, the lawyers said they would be willing to tackle another death row case, but perhaps not right away. "I think I might need at least a year to rest," Equels said with a laugh. Thomas said, "I don't think I would ever have two death cases at one time, but I would do it again because it's (law practice) a system of justice, besides a money making process." They also did not think their pro bono service is highly unusual. Thomas said Holland & knight has a policy that its attorneys should donate 10 percent of their time to free work and community service. Equels and Greenberg, Traurig has a history of pro bono and community work. Rinaman said over half the attorneys in his firm, Marks, Gray, Conroy & Gibbs, do regular pro bono work. "I think the answer is all lawyers do things like this; this happens to be a highly visible one," he said. And quoting 11th Circuit Court Chief Judge John Godbold, Rinaman said that visibility comes with long hours, high expenses and misunderstanding and criticism from the public and even the client. He continued with Godbold's words, "You'll find yourself involved in as difficult and demanding a case as you've ever been in... when its over, you will stand a little taller in your profession." 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/. Description An account of the resource The article describes how when looking to defend a inmate on death row a lawyer could be working around 18 hours a day for three to four weeks. It also alludes to how important it is that these lawyers continue to do this work as 50% of death row decisions are revoked. In order for the American justice system to be as fair and effective lawyers need to defend the men on death row in order to give them a fair chance as many of them face poverty and cannot afford them. Although these lawyers face long hours and arduous work, most find it rewarding and are proud of saving the lives of their fellow man. Title A name given to the resource Working for Free: Lawyers finding death row work demanding Subject The topic of the resource Death row inmates Lawyers Defense (Civil procedure) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Blankenship, Gary Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Florida Bar News 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 1985-05-15 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 jpeg 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English death penalty Florida Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/36bf6e493a72ea1a8ae6c32ec6d4bd5a.jpg 303ad37706126173d9e50be6c0b23919 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 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. O'Connor, Allison Text Any textual data included in the document Almost 11 years to the day after Delray Beach police officer John Kennedy was slain while writing incident reports in his patrol car, an appeals court has upheld Willie Clayton Simpson’s life sentence for the murder. Fellow officers found Kennedy slumped over the steering wheel of his idling patrol car Aug. 10, 1974 at a gas station on Atlantic Avenue. The assailant had shot the 31-year-old officer once in the head. Kennedy apparently had no time to reach for his own weapon. The officer held only a cigarette. The state found no murder weapon or fingerprints. One suspect was arrested and later released. The next year, two jailed witnesses came forward. Melton Hunt and Tony Hostzclaw said they watched from a car as Simpson spoke to the officer, then pulled the trigger. Simpson, then 19, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1976 largely on the basis of their testimony and a statement from Simpson’s relative, Matthew Clark. Simpson stayed with Clark for awhile in Virginia after escaping from the Palm Beach County Jail, where he was being held for the unrelated robbery and murder of a Boynton Beach retiree. Clark testified Simpson told him he had killed a policeman. But the state Supreme Court overturned Simpson’s 1976 conviction and ordered a new trial. In 1983, Simpson again was tried and found guilty of the lesser offense of second- degree murder. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Marvin Mounts gave him a life sentence to begin when he completes a life sentence for the 1975 retiree’s slaying. It was informed the second jury never heard about Clark’s testimony that formed one basis for the appeal recently reviewed and rejected by the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach. Between the two trails, a statement Clark gave to a detective came to light. In the statement Clark was asked what Simpson had told him about Kennedy’s murder. “He said, ‘Well, I’m in trouble… I killed two police. I killed a police and his son.’ That’s exactly what he told me,” Clark told the detective. The detective questioned him further about whether Simpson had specifically said, “a policeman and his son.” Clark agreed those were Simpson’s exact words. At the first trial, however, Clark said Simpson had told him he killed only an officer. Clark made no mention of the son. By the time Simpson was tried again, Clark had died. The state prosecutor was allowed to read Clark’s testimony from the first trial to the second jury. Simpson’s new lawyer wanted to read portions of Clark’s statement to point out the inconsistency, but the judge ruled he would have to read the whole statement. The defense lawyer decided against reading the statement because it also contained incriminating information about the retiree’s homicide. The 4th District Court of Appeal judges found the judge was not in error for requiring that the whole statement be read. Simpson’s appellate lawyer, Michael Mello, said he will ask the 4th District Court of Appeal for a rehearing before deciding whether to ask the Florida Supreme Court to review the case. Simpson, who is incarcerated at the state prison in Starke, had not learned of the appellate court’s decision Wednesday. Virginia Snyder, a Delray Beach private investigator who worked on the case, was dismayed by the appellate decision. She is convinced Simpson is innocent of the Kennedy murder. Snyder said she talked with both Hostzclaw and Hunt after Simpson’s first trial and both told her they lied. She maintains the young men decided to frame Simpson to get reduced sentences for the charges they were facing. Hunt told her he wouldn’t change his version of Kennedy’s slaying because he was afraid of being charged with perjury, Snyder said. “They cooked up this story and they got deals- sweet deals," Snyder said. “It’s really pathetic. It’s really tragic. It means the people who really did it are out there running around.” Hostzclaw did indeed change his story at Simpson’s second trial and was charged with perjury. Hunt stuck with his original testimony, which put the murder weapon in Simpson’s hand. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Killer Loses Life-term Appeal Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Petit, Deborah Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Sun-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 1985-08-15 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 Trials (Murder)--Florida Description An account of the resource An article recounting the murder of Florida police officer John Kennedy, and the two trials and life-term sentencing of the accused murderer Willie Clayton Simpson. Florida Life sentence Michael Mello murder