5 20 256 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f1200e9d4a4664fddfa45eddbc62cb90.jpg 4826dfd71c59872698ce3abd2c037242 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/76ea6ff2d3755e9ec5437f91965c7689.jpg f2d7b8ad065390bb59f35655e3f18cfc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [heading] The supreme question [subheading] Hear for 'Crazy Joe' The State Supreme Court today weights a case that never should have reached death's brink. [start of the first column] Today the Florida Supreme Court will hear, possibly for the last time, the simple, compelling case against the execution of Joseph Spaziano. If the justices consider the full, dismal story of Spaziano's trail, conviction, sentencing, appeals, and impending execution. They will pull the brake, just in time, on an accelerating injustice. If they don't, a person whose guilt was never proved -- in any ordinary, logical sense of the word -- will die in Florida's electric chair just after sunrise two weeks from today. The state will have killed a man without any credible proof that he committed a capital crime. As reporter Lori Rozsa set out in detail in yesterday's Herald, the twisted story of "Crazy Joe" Spaziano is not the stuff of sentimental Hollywood movies. Head of the aptly named Outlaw Motorcycle Club, Spaziano's contributions to society were unwholesome at best. But in 1975 he was found guilty of the ultimate crime, a gruesome torture-rape-murder, based entirely on the say-so of ne wily teenage drug addict named Anthony DiLisio. Guesswork and improvisation Mr. DiLiso's testimony was contradictory from the start. Most of it was cooked up under hypnosis -- at the hands of a hypnotist who previously had helped manufacture at least two false murder convictions. The scarcity of corroborating information -- no eyewitnesses, no physical evidence, not even a known cause of death -- gave the whole proceeding a noxious odor of guesswork and improvisation. Mr. DiLisio now admits what many people already suspected: He made the whole thing up. He never saw any bodies, never heard Spaziano boast of the crime, never suspected Crazy Joe of murder. He did it, he says, to please his father (who had a grudge against Spaziano), to impress police, and to get himself out of a juvenile detention center. Yet even after weighing all this, Gov. [end of the first column] [start of the second column] Lawton Chiles last month came to the astonishing conclusion that none of it matters. On Aug. 24 he ordered the execution to proceed. His rationale lies buried in a secret Florida Department of Law Enforcement report whose partially revealed contents are flecked with self-contradictions, innuendo, and irrelevance. Worse, Spaziano's pro-bono lawyer -- like nearly all lawyers representing indigent clients on Death Row -- no longer has an investigator working for him. Government funding for such services was terminated on Aug. 24 -- the day the governor signed Spaziano's current death warrant. Press reports, the attorney says, are now his only was of scrutinizing the state's case. Three questions for the court Now Just 14 days from an irreversible conclusion to this matter, the Supreme Court has invited lawyers in for one last set of arguments. Here, then, is a final opportunity for the court to ask, in behalf of all Floridians, the elementary questions that haunt this case" Is there any reason to continue believing Tony DiLisio's weird, hypnotically induced 1975 testimony? Is there any reason to believe him now, when with evident anguish, he claims to have sent an innocent man to Death Row? But the court shouldn't stop there. It also needs to answer a third question, only broadly related to Spaziano's case: Can the State continue to administer a death penalty with integrity when most of those on Death Row will have no means for effective representation? Until it can answer that question, the court will be hard-pressed, morally at least, to let any execution proceed. Joe Spaziano's guilt or innocence is unknown. The Supreme Court needs to face that reality and stop the death train. Then it needs to ask: Who will prevent the next such error? Spaziano's worrisome ordeal dare not become the prologue to an era of death sentences without effective counsel. [end of the second column] [[ The image is of Joseph Spaziano speaking through a glass barrier. This image was taken by the Associated Press.]] PRISON INTERVIEW: Joseph Spaziano talks about his case at Florida State Prison. 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. Browning, Abbey 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 supreme question Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-07 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Herald Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Herald. "The supreme question." The Miami Herald, September 7, 1995. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Miami, FL Description An account of the resource This newspaper article discusses Joseph Spaziano's appeal to the Florida Supreme Court that was schedule the day of the newspaper article's release. The article also describes the flaws in the case against Joseph Spaziano. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/d6d165983bbdabe83da711ec4422a13a.jpg 266334acd6cf6cbb34027a1a96fe4e62 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Hildebrand, Paige Text Any textual data included in the document [heading] 'Crazy Joe' lawyers to square off today By Mark Silva Capital Bureau Chief [start of the first column] TALLAHASSEE - Florida's Supreme Court today will examine the case of "Crazy Joe" Spaziano, who faces the electric chair in two weeks, although it is unclear what the court is looking for in unexpected oral arguments. "It's not real clear to me, to tell you the truth," said Michael Mello, Spaziano's lawyer, who has filed several 11th-hour pleadings. "I really have only one argument in this case, which is they got the wrong guy." After nearly 20 years on Death Row, Spaziano is slated for execution Sept. 21 for the murder Laura Lynn Harberts, an 18-year-old hospital clerk whose skeletal remains were found in August 1973 with the remains of another, still unidentified 19-year-old woman among garbage strewn in woods near Orlando. The case rested on one witness. Recently, that witness, Tony DiLisio, claimed he lied at the 1976 trial when he said Spaziano had shown him the bodies. DiLisio now says his testimony was coerced. New death warrant Gov. Lawton Chiles postponed Spaziano's execution, giving the Florida Department of Law Enforcement time to investigate DiLisio's story. But after the FDLE reported that DiLisio had implicated Spaziano numerous times in conversations with friends, and that Spaziano had implicated himself in a jail house talk with another convict, Chiles signed a new death warrant. The investigation remains secret. Citing the confidentiality of clemency cases, the governor has refused to make public that FDLE report or the names of the people interviewed. The Supreme Court has [end of the first column] [start of the second column] reviewed Spaziano's case before. This is his fifth death warrant signed by three governors; Gov. Bob Graham signed one in 1985, Gov. Bob Martinez in 1989 and 1990, Chiles in May and August. In scheduling a hearing today at 2 p.m., the court has advised lawyers only that it wants to hear arguments on "all pending matters." Spaziano's lawyer has filed several motions. These include request to delay the execution, request for a new trial and a plea to reopen the appeal of Spaziano's sentence that was heard years ago. They include request to see the FDLE's report, and to provide money for Spaziano's defense - which Mello, a Vermont law school professor, has been handling from afar. Prepared to argue Mello will arrive at the court today prepared to argue for all of this. "I would have liked to have known whether there was anything in particular they were looking for," Mellow said Wednesday from his home in Vermont. "This is their meeting. I didn't ask for a hearing." The attorney general's office, arguing for Spaziano's execution, hasn't been given any more advance warning of the court's interests today. "There is just so much in all those motions, I think the court wants to have an opportunity to let them be heard," said Carolyn Snurkowski, the assistant attorney general appearing in court today. Supreme Court Clerk Did White suggest the ball actually is in Mello's court. "I think they will probably wait on Mike and see what he puts his attention on," White said. [end article] Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 'Crazy Joe' lawyers to square off today Subject The topic of the resource Lawyers Mello, Michael Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Silva, Mark 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 September 7, 1995 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. 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 Description An account of the resource Michael Mello prepares to argue for Spaziano's innocence in Florida's Supreme Court two weeks before Spaziano's death sentence is carried through. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/92bafda947dbce6f5691f54abb17418e.jpg cd6a5afd0ffce16caa724792b271758d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano speaks out about his execution Subject The topic of the resource Capital Punishment--Florida Spaziano, Joseph. Description An account of the resource Joseph Spaziano sentenced to death without last-minute defense effort in Florida, still claiming his innocence. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Greenberg, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Greenberg, David. “Spaziano speaks out against execution.” The Gainesville Sun, September, 6 1995. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Gainesville Sun Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-06 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPGs, 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Starke, FL https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/6d4e624121419d6436df48cb59f58164.jpg b762735389c4e852c25d053a6e0c313c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano speaks out about his execution Subject The topic of the resource Capital Punishment Spaziano, Joe Description An account of the resource Although it is uncommon for lawyers to allow inmates facing execution media interviews, Spazianos lawyers hope to spark interest in his case. Spaziano claims he's not believed about his innocence because he was in a biker gang, the Outlaws. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Greenberg, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Greenberg, David. “Spaziano speaks out against his execution.” Gainesville Sun, September 6, 1995. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-06 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG, 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Starke, FL Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) vol. 68, issue 5 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Lewandowski, Maggie Text Any textual data included in the document [start page] [heading] Spaziano speaks out about his execution Budget cuts are closing the organization that would have done much of his legal work. By David Greenberg [Image] David Greenberg [caption] Joseph Spaziano struggles for words at Florida State Prison on Tuesday morning as he talks about his execution scheduled for Sept. 21. [start of the first column] STARKE -- During a rare interview at Florida State Prison on Tuesday, Joseph Spaziano reflected on life in the Outlaw motorcycle gang, described 20 years on Death Row and criticized the people who control his fate. If executed as scheduled in two weeks, Spaziano will be the first Death Row inmate to die without benefit of a serious last-minute defense effort since the death [end of the first column] [start of the second column] penalty was reinstated in Florida in 1976. He was sentenced to die for the 1973 murder of Orlando nurse Laura Lynn Harberts. The day before Spaziano's fifth and most recent death warrant was signed by Gov. Lawton Chiles, the Volunteer Lawyers Post-Conviction Defender Organization announced that federal budget cuts were forcing it to close. The organization would have done the investigative work and much of the legal work for Spaziano's last-minute appeals. [end of the second column] [start of the third column] "There's no one to help me, " Spaziano said Tuesday during a 45-minute interview. When Spaziano talked about his next -- and maybe his last -- few weeks, he grew quiet, rubbed his shackled hands against his face and fought back tears. It was the only time during the interview that the small man with the shaved head and furry eyebrows seemed uncomfortable. He raised his tattooed arms to his face in a seeming effort to hide. He insists that he did not kill Harberts. "No, I didn't do it," he said. "During a TV interview, I was asked that about 40 times. I didn't do it, I didn't even know her. [end of the third column] [start of the fourth column] "I've been telling the truth for 20 years, and they won't believe me," he said. "Now the kid who put me in here is telling the truth, and they don't want to believe him. What is there to say? What can I do? Mike's doing the best job he can, but I'm in trouble." Spaziano's attorney is Michael Mello, a University of Vermont law professor who normally would have help from the volunteer lawyers' organization. The law says Spaziano has the right to counsel in Florida. But Mello and others familiar with the case question whether he has it. And there's no case law on such a circumstance. [end of the fourth column] See SPAZIANO on Page 3B [end page] [[start page]] SPAZIANO continued from Page 1B [start of the first column] Spaziano's strongest criticism is aimed at Chiles, his staff and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "I really believed after he stayed my fourth warrant that this guy was for real," he said. "But they're all the same. No one in Tallahassee likes me." Dexter Douglass, Chiles' clemency attorney, says Spaziano's comments --- along with Mello's protests --- are all part of the defense's strategy. "There's been no showing made by anybody that this man is entitled to clemency," Douglass said. Spaziano suggests that the is in this position now because of his background as an Outlaw. "It's because of what I am," he said. "I was a biker. I rode with the Outlaws. But I was clean. All I ever did was smoke reefer. If they want me to confess that I smoke reefer, I will. I asked the judge if he wanted to [end of the first column] [start of the second column] smoke before he sentenced me." With an overworked defense attorney at his original trial, Spaziano opted to not take the stand. "I figured no one would believe an Outlaw," he said. "I figured that it would be better when I got to a higher court, but no one would listen." For the last 20 years, Spaziano hasn't been a biker. He's been a Florida Death Row inmate. To occupy his time for the last 20 years, Spaziano has painted. "I did it from the time the cell lights went on until they went off each night," he said. "I'm a cartoon freak. I painted Disney characters and Easy Rider (biking) stuff. I would send them to my people, and they would send me canteen money for cigarettes." It's almost unheard of for lawyers to allow inmates facing execution' to grant media interviews. It never happens without attorneys present. But Mello and Spaziano are doing it to spark interest in the case. And Mello, who started teaching two weeks ago, must allow Spaziano to do it alone. "I don't know what else to do," Mello said in a phone interview from Vermont. [end of the second column] [start of the third column] Spaziano who will turn 50 on Tuesday, was arrested nearly two years after Halberts' sexually mutilated body was found in a trash dump near Altamonte Springs, a suburb of Orlando. He was found guilty by a jury that recommended life in prison. The judge overturned the recommendation and sentenced Spaziano to death. During Spaziano's fourth death warrant last June, the main witness against him, Tony Dills, said he gave his testimony under hypnosis --- no longer acceptable in Florida courts. As a result, Chiles stayed Spaziano's execution and asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. The results of that investigation are known only to FDLE, the governor and his legal aides, but were enough to sign a new death warrant. Chiles will not release the information in the FDLE report. That leaves Spaziano with a lot of questions. "I wonder about the governor," he said. "I wonder why he wants to kill me. Who has the answer to that? Only one man, and he won't say." [end of the third column] [[end page]] Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano speaks out about his execution Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Spaziano, Joe Description An account of the resource Two weeks before Spaziano's scheduled execution, he insists his innocence in the murder of Laura Lynn Harberts. Spaziano feels helpless as he is declined a last-minute defense effort by the state of Florida. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Greenberg, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Greenberg, David. “Spaziano speaks out against his execution.” Gainesville Sun, September 6, 1995. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-06 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Starke, FL Against Execution Innocent Joseph Spaziano https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/775107f4638603772daa3115f1622cf1.jpg d780a6a7358666fcd8c0940e5d9ab6e8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [heading] Spaziano insists he's innocent <ul> <li>The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments today in the case of the rape-murder convict scheduled to die Sept. 21.</li> </ul> By Ron Word [start of the first column] STARKE -- Outlaws motorcycle gang member Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano grows quiet when asked about his impending death in the electric chair for the rape, mutilation and murder of a teenage hospital clerk. He rubs his handcuffed hands against his chin and tears fill his eyes as he proclaims his innocence. [Image of Spaziano] "I'm not guilty of no murder. I'm not guilty of no rape," Spaziano said in an hourlong prison interview Wednesday just two weeks before his scheduled Sept. 21 execution. "The only thing Im guilt of is smoking a few reefers," he said from behind a glass partition. Unless his last-minute appeals are successful, Spaziano will be put to death for the 1973 rape, torture, murder and mutilation of Laura Lynn Harberts, an 18-year-old Orlando woman. "I don't know the girl, I know nothing about it," the heavily tattooed Spaziano said. Spaziano, 49, who wears a skull and crossbones ring and has the same emblem with the name of the Outlaws tattooed on the inner side of his right arm, believes he was framed because of his membership in the gang. "I never took the stand. Who would believe an Outlaw?" he said. "There were so many lies. I figured a higher court would see that." Spaziano has shaved his head, something he said he has done after all five of his death warrants. He did not want prison guards to do it in preparation for his electrocution. "So they don't have to touch my head. I don't like people to touch me," he said. [end of the first column] [start of the second column] Spaziano had been scheduled to die in June, but Gov. Lawton Chiles delayed the execution after Spaziano's attorney Michael Mello raised questions about Spaziano's guilt. Oral arguments in his appeal are scheduled today before the Florida Supreme Court. Anthony DiLisio, the star witness against Spaziano, has said he lied when he testified Spaziano allowed him the bodies of Ms. Harberts and another woman at a Seminole Count Dump. Dilisio, 38 and living in Pensacola, now says the information came from police, who had him hypnotized to help his memory. After interviewing DiLisio and conducting an investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a secret report to Chiles that persuaded him to sign a new death warrant. "I really thought the governor was looking at my case," Spaziano said. Several witnesses linked Spaziano to Ms. Harberts and the dump where the decayed bodies were found Aug. 22, 1971. But DiLisio, who has a long history of alcohol and drug abuse, was the only one who could directly connect Spaziano to the bodies. The governor has refused to release the secret report, saying he didn't want to reveal the names of confidential witnesses. The report reportedly contains allegations that a witness tied Spaziano to two murders and another rape. Spaziano, who got a life sentence in an unrelated 1975 rape conviction, has spect much of his 19 years on death row drawing and painting cartoon characters. He is especially fond of Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters. He also likes to paint pictures of motorcycles and their riders. Since being placed in a cell just steps from Florida's electric chair, "Old Sparky." Spaziano said, he has been restless. "Every day is hard. I've got to get ready for it," he said. "I'm just waiting to die. I do a lot of walking back and forth. I don't sleep much. "I want to get as much life in as I can. People can sleep when they are dead." [end of article] Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Dacey, Rachel Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano insists he's innocent Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Capital Punishment Description An account of the resource Spaziano later claims his innocence in court and Gov. Lawton Chiles delayed Spaziano's execution based on this information. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Word, Ron Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Capital punishment. death penalty Gov. Lawton Chiles Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c5ba5ad7f0182243b86a10af5b11feac.jpg 030a3c0961a5b85fa105030d5e3658f4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [heading] Reveal report on Spaziano [start of the first column] Gov. Lawton Chiles should reveal the substance of a special state investigation of the evidence used to convict Death Row resident Joseph Spaziano. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement compiled that report at the request of Mr. Chiles as he was considering a clemency request. Mr. Spaziano's attorney, Michael Mello, says his client should not have been convicted of murder in the death 22 years ago of Laura Lynn Harberts. Mr. Chiles has no authority to overturn Mr. Spaziano's conviction. That is the province of the court system – which, in several appeals at both the state and federal levels, has found no reason to do so. If Mr. Chiles were to be convinced that Mr. Spaziano was wrongly convicted, though, he could reduce – or even throw out – the sentence. Instead, after reviewing the FDLE report, Mr. Chiles was convinced that Mr. Spaziano's conviction was just. In fact, what new evidence was found supported the jury's verdict in that heinous crime. Understandably, Mr. Mello would like to [end of the first column] [start of the second column] see that FDLE report. It's true that it was Mr. Mello's choice to seek redress through the governor, and it's true – as Mr. Mello surely must have known – that the clemency procedure affords the governor the right to keep that information private. Mr. Chiles' concern is for the safety of those who spoke with the FDLE, several of whom did so on the condition that they not be identified. Mr Spaziano, after all, was a member of a motorcycle gang notorious for violent retribution. Still, a man's life is at stake. If his life is to be taken in the name of the public, the public has a right to know on the strength of what information that is being done. The best solution would be for Mr. Chiles to release a summary of the FDLE's findings that would not identify – nor potentially put into jeopardy – the source of the information but would make clear why he believes that there is no reason to grant clemency to Mr. Spaziano. This, after all, isn't a trial. Mr. Spaziano had his trial – 20 years ago. [end of the second column] [end of article] Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Snead, 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 Reveal report on Spaziano Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Orlando, FL Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Chiles, Lawton, 1930-1998 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Orlando Sentinel Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Orlando (FL) Sentinel. "Reveal Report on Spaziano." September 5, 1995. Description An account of the resource Governor Lawton Chiles should release a summary of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement report that he used to determine that Spaziano's murder conviction was just. Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/efc922b9a5eac76a3da2920147d1ab6e.jpg 742377a2469986378c325a3e52703c81 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [heading] Attorney problems complicate Spaziano case [start of the first column] A convicted killer scheduled for execution Sept. 21 in Florida’s electric chair is being represented during what may be the last three weeks of his life by an attorney who is teaching full time at a Vermont law school and has no assistance here. Joseph Spaziano’s attorney, Michael Mello, must work on the case without the usual support staff because the organization that does that work has lost its funding and is closing down. [end of the first column] [start of the second column] “This is an innocent guy in the middle of a very complex factual investigation,” Mello said. “He’s about to be executed in three weeks and for all practical purposes, he doesn’t have a lawyer.” Complicating Mello’s ability to provide a defense is that new investigative information about the case has been ordered confidential by Gox. Lawton Chiles. Dexter Douglass, Chiles’ clemency attorney, says all those arguments are simply defense tactics. [end of the second column] [start of the third column] Spaziano, who will be 50 on Sept. 12, is accused of the 1973 murder of Orlando nurse Laura Lynn Harberts, whose sexually mutilated body was found in a trash dump near Altamonte Springs, a suburb of Orlando. Spaziano, a former member of the Outlaw motorcycle gang, was convicted primarily on the testimony of a man named Tony Dilisio and Harberts’ roommate, who told authorities she heard Harberts talking on the phone with a man named Joe before she was murdered. Spaziano had been under his fourth death warrant in June when Dilidio told The Miami Herald that he gave his [end of the third column] See Spaziano on Page 2B [heading] Spaziano Continued from Page 1B [start of the fourth column] Testimony under hypnosis. Testimony taken under hypnosis was admissible in Florida at the time, but is no longer. Chiles stayed the execution and asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Dilisio’d comments. The FDLE report was submitted to Chiles several weeks ago and a new death warrant was signed last week. Chiles will not release the contents of the FDLE report, but Douglass said it confirms Spaziano’s guilt. “That information is not going to become public at any time,” Douglass said. “We don’t need that information, just the findings from 15 court decisions that these are legal sentences.” The day after the warrant was signed, the Volunteer Lawyers Post-Conviction Defender Organization notified Mello that because of a $1.5 million cut in federal funding, it will shut down Sept. 30. The organization has been ordered by its directors to stop working on cases immediately. That left Mello, who started teaching classes the following day, without any Florida lawyers working with him and without the services of Stephen Gustat, the organization investigator who was doing research for him. Jennider Greenberg, the organization’s co-director, ex- [end of the fourth column] [start of the fifth column] plained the problem to Mello in an Aug. 28 letter. “We tried our best to inform the governor’s people about the impossibility of us representing or assisting pro bono counsel in representing anyone under an active death warrant during this phase in our existence,” Greenberg wrote. “Inexplicably, the governor chose to seek Joe’s execution nonetheless.” The Office of Capital Collateral Representatives, the state agency that represents most Death Row inmates in Florida, cannot defend Spaziano because it has a conflict in the case. Mello said that in his 12 years of defending death row inmates, he has never faced a situation like this. “I thought I had seen it all,” he said. “I’ve never had my whole investigative arm evaporate on the eve of a fifth death warrant in the face of a whitewash, fraudulent and now secret police investigation that the governor’s counsel has lied about, when I am representing an innocent man.” Douglass said Mello is just trying to create an issue in a losing case, and that he does have an investigator – he said the news media have helped investigate the case. Meanwhile, Mello has asked The Florida Bar and the state Supreme Court for advice. “I have real reservations about whether I can render effective counsel,” he said. “Joe has a right to counsel in Florida. I don’t know that I can give it to him. But if I withdraw, he has no lawyer. Yet without investigation, I’m nothing but the illusion of a lawyer. I just don’t know what to do.” [end of the fifth column] [end of the article] Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Treese, Paige 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 Attorney problems complicate Spaziano case Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Greenberg, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Gainesville Sun Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-3 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource Attorney Michael Mello is left with little time or support to work on Joseph Spaziano's case after the organization supporting Mello on the case is shut down only three weeks before Spaziano's execution. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/fd8003073e343572ea4b0d371566318d.jpg d36aade3add45618376dd5bb9d236e88 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/84bf395ca77754b3345da5e8e029c5d4.jpg a42455caea2fd025bd17caad2784381c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) vol. 68, issue 5 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Friedrich, Alex Text Any textual data included in the document [first page] [heading] Case shows changing role of governors in death appeals By John D. McKinnon Herald Legal Correspondent [start of the first column] TALLAHASSEE -- Joe Spaziano, scheduled to die this month in Florida's electric chair, is a wrongly-convicted man, his attorney argues, a mistake the state wants to bury. But What's just as bad, his lawyer says, is the way Florida officials are going about it: By using secret evidence to justify Spaziano's execution, they're burying the whole case. "A constitutional abomination," gripes Michael Mello, Spaziano's volunteer lawyer. Without intending to, state officials also have thrust the Spa- [end of the first column] [start of the second column] How should inmates' belated claims of innocence be handled? [text] ziano case into the middle of one of the hottest debates in death penalty law. The question is this: As more and more condemned inmates raise belated and frequently bogus claims of innocence, how should the system handle them? In particular, as judges make it [start of the third column] harder for inmates to raise such claims in court, how should governors still have unchecked powers in matters of life and death, like kings of old? Or should governors be forced to hear the prisoners' pleas all over again? In Florida, the question came up when Gov. Lawton Chiles signed a new death warrant for Spaziano based on the results of a confidential investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Chiles asked for the investigation after the key [end of the third column] PLEASE SEE SPAZIANO, 10A [heading] Critics question use of 'secret' evidence to justify execution SPAZIANO, FROM 1A [start of the first column] witness in Spaziano's trial 20 years ago recanted his testimony. Spaziano, an Outlaws motorcycle gang member, was convicted in 1975 of murdering an 18-year-old Orlando woman, Laura Harberts. But the key witness at trial, Tony DiLisio, said in June that he wasn't shown Harberts' body by Spaziano as he had testified, but was manipulated by police and a government-hired hypnotist. According to summaries of the FDLE investigation, the agency has located people who said they recalled hearing statements over the years that implicated Spaziano. None of the witnesses have been identified, none of their statements have been disclosed. Few, if any, of the statements appear to be admissible in court because they're hearsay. Those that might be admissible come from a former biker who's in a federal witness protection program -- just the sort of witness that juries often disbelieve. The state's Public Records Law specifically allows clemency records to be kept secret and Chiles says he intends to keep the names and statements in the investigation confidential. Some of the witnesses were promised anonymity, out of fear of the Outlaws, officials say. That hasn't been enough to satisfy some death penalty critics. "It seems as if there's something that he's hiding," said Kica Matos, research director for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's Capital Punishment Project. "It sure ain't fair," said William T. Geimer, a Washington and Lee University law professor and nationally recognized death penalty expert. Maybe. But is it legal? Based on the courts' traditional approach to the death penalty experts say, the answer would appear to be: Yes. "The problem is that the courts -- the federal courts and the Supreme Court especially -- have always been extremely reluctant to say anything to governors about how to conduct their business at the end of a death-penalty case," says Hugo Adam Bedau, a Tufts University professor. That tradition is under growing pressure, experts say, as condemned inmates raise more and more claims of innocence, and federal judges are finding more and more ways to avoid hearing them. Such claims have been multiplying as wily death-penalty appeal lawyers shift their focus from attacking capital-punishment laws to attacking the facts of their clients' cases. And innocence claims have a [end of the first column] [start of the second column] big advantage, appeals lawyers have found: After 10 or 15 years, even solid murder cases become vulnerable to assault. Evidence corrodes or breaks down. Police lose their files. A surprising number of people turn up who are able or willing to take the rap -- for instance, other inmates who are suffering from terminal illness or who've died. That has happened more than once in recent years, to the enormous frustration of officials like Chiles. "The [death penalty lawyers] are good," Chiles said in a recent interview with the Herald editorial board. "They have something in every one of these cases." While Florida's Supreme Court has remained relatively [end of the second column] [start of the third column] open to new claims of innocence, many other judges -- especially federal judges -- are getting fed up. "They've become convinced that all the innocence issues anyone raises are fraudulent," says Bruce Ledewitz, a Duquesne University law professor and a noted capital punishment opponent. The problem is, Ledewitz argues, the federal courts "haven't yet come up with any system that winnow out the good claims from the bad ones. They've just decided to execute everyone." The federal courts' resistance to innocence claims crystalized in a case called Herrera vs. Collins, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993. In the Herrera case, the high court [end of the third column] [start of the fourth column] decided that federal courts didn't have to hear most belated claims of innocence in old capital cases because that's what state governors were for. And that's created the latest legal issue for Spaziano. "The Herrera decision blesses governors as a part of the capital punishment process," explains Geimer, the Washington and Lee University professor. "So if they are now going to be a part of the process, the next question is, are there going to be rules? Can you have a secret investigation?" Contends Daniel T. Kobil, a law professor at Capital University in Ohio: "It seems to me that if the governor's clemency power is to serve as a failsafe in our constitutional system, it has to be administered in a fundamentally [end of the fourth column] [start of the fifth column] fair way. This one-sided, secretive procedure the Florida governor is engaging in seems to me to fall far short of that." Spaziano's lawyer, Vermont law professor Mello, is making exactly that argument to the state Supreme Court in seeking to se the report. "He doesn't have any right to look at it," replies Dexter Douglass, the governor's general counsel. "The governor's not a court." Mello is a former West Palm Beach public defender. [end of article] Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Case shows changing role of governors in death appeals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McKinnon, John D. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived McKinnon, John D. "Case shows changing role of governors in death appeals." The Miami Herald, September 2, 1995, A1. Language A language of the resource English Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-02 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tallahassee, FL Description An account of the resource As a result of the 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case, Herrera vs. Collins, state governors became the designated figures to acknowledge the most belated claims of innocence in old capital cases. However, after Tony DiLisio recanted his previous testimony, which incriminated Joe Spaziano, Gov. Lawton Chiles signed a new death warrant for Spaziano based on evidence gathered from a confidential investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. By using secret evidence to reinforce Spaziano’s execution, death-penalty critics believe Chiles’ actions to be unconstitutional. Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Spaziano, Joe https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/e44562e3d27c75a9d0797075351661e1.jpg 3de09cd734e1fc3586abddc893c062a1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Spaziano prepares for death -Even though a witness in his case retracted key testimony, the convicted murderer reportedly fears the worst. By Diane Rado TALLAHASSEE - He has been on Florida's death row for nearly 20 years, outliving four death warrants and steadfastly proclaiming his innocence. But even Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano knows the end is near. Despite a stunning recantation of testimony from a star witness in his case, Spaziano is preparing for death in Florida's electric chair on Spet. 21, his attorney says. "He's trying to take care of unfinished business; trying to make things right with some of his family members he's had fallings out with; trying to make provisions for his daughter (Now in her 20s)," said his attorney Michael Mello, who speaks to his client every day, twice a day, at 3 and 7 p.m. Gov. Lawton Chiles has signed a fifth death warrant for Spaziano, the Outlaws motorcycle gang member condemned to die for the 1973 rape and murder of Orlando hospital clerk Laura Lynn Harberts, 18. Her mutilated body was found partly covered with leaves and trash in a dump in Seminole County. Only one person, WIllie Darden, his made it past the fifth warrant. Darden was executed on his seventh warrant in March 1988. Spaziano knows that. "He alternates between sort of jocularity, joking around, and sort of what I characterize as white hot terror," Mello said Friday. "He talks about dying, how he wants his brothers and sisters in the (Outlaws) club to be there. He talks a lot about his family, his mother." Mello said he has asked Spaziano's ex-wife to gather all the letters she has received from Spaziano over the years and send him all those in which Spaziano declares his innocence. Mello said e doesn't know yet what he will do with the letters. Controversy over the Spaziano case has grown this summer, since witness Anthony Dilisio recanted his testimony of 20 years ago. Dilisio is telling reporters he now couldn't recall Spaziano taking him to the dump and showing him bodies of Harberts and another woman. The testimony was a key link between Spaziano and the crime scene. Chiles canceled Spaziano's execution June 27 and ased the Florida Department of Law Enforecement to investigate. The controversy grew. In fear that witnesses interviewed could be in danger, the governor refused to make public the FDLE report, which hi aides said reinforced Dilisio's original story and linked Spaziano to the murder victim. Mello has asked the Supreme Court to open the secret investigation, allow a new hearing on the case and halt Spaziano's execution. The motions are pending. Friday, the Supreme Court allowed the release of videotaped FDLE interview of Dilisio. In the interview, DIlisio clearly recants his prior testimony on the case and says police, not Spaziano, brought hiim to the dump where the women's bodies were found. Dilisio, now 38, sits next to his lawyer in the tape, wearing a print shirt and speaking articulately, sometimes passionately, about the last 20 years of feeling angry, guilty, and afraid of retribution for testifying against Spaziano. He was just a kid at the time of the Harberts murder, he says, taken out of juvenile detention and treated like a "king" by authorities when then manipulated him, hypnotized him, and possibly drugged him to get crucial testimony against Spaziano. "I'm just totally disgusted you know, I'm just trying to look at this. I've got kids right now. I can't imagine somebody doing this to them. Something to my kids, using them, you know, for their own game like I feel was done to me," Dilisio says, "I coudln't imagine. It's insanity." He says the case changed his life. "This has been a pretty dramatic experience in my life. And I, and I mean I wish that it'd never happen to me, but it did happen to me. Okay, it did, it happened. And I'm tired of carrying it around." Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Palomo, Francisco Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano prepares for death Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-02 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Spaziano, Joe Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rado, Diane Description An account of the resource Spaziano prepares for his execution by trying to mend relationships with family and making provisions for his daughter. Controversy over his case has grown since key witness Anthony Dilisio recanted his testimony. Dilisio speaks about his feelings of anger, guilt, and fear of retribution for testifying. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c8cc675c93ee871afae46da140419629.jpg 1a1759ad70f0a87e71f7d754a1eeaf99 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Spaziano's lawyer says state lied Michael Mello claims Gov. Chiles' office misrepresented a key witness' videotaped statement. The governor's office denies the charge. By Diane Rado TALLAHASSEE – A war of words has erupted and last-ditch paperwork mounts at the court-house as convicted killer Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano heads toward death in Florida's electric chair. Spaziano's attorney has asked the Florida Supreme Court to halt the Sept. 21 execution and make public a secret police investigation that led to a new death warrant for Spaziano. In a series of motions filed this week, attorney Michael Mello also accuses Gov. Lawton Chiles' office of lying, possibly tampering with evidence and selectively leaking information about the case, among other things. The governor's office denies the charges and is appalled by a recent memo written by Mello. The memo, addressed to colleagues in Florida who deal with death cases, is a blunt, sometimes vulgar assessment about strategy on the Spaziano case. Among other things, Mello describes the U.S. Supreme Court as "those robed a--h----," and former Gov. Bob Graham, now a U.S. senator, as "the original wimp who transformed himself into a national political force and who did so on the charred bodies of our clients." "As a lawyer, I was appalled. As a human being, I found it impossible to believe somebody could be this way," said Dexter Douglass, the governor's general counsel who got a copy of the Aug. 27 memo from Mello. Mello isn't apologizing for the memo. "It's a candid and blunt assessment of an extraordinarily difficult tactical and moral decision that I had to make and that Joe Spaziano had to make," Mello said in an interview Thursday. The memo describes a decision not to take Spaziano's case to the federal courts because Spaziano is not likely to get a stay of execution there. Mello generally says about the federal courts, "F--- ' em." In the end, Mello says, Chiles should bear responsibility for executing Spaziano, not the courts. "I want him to know that, no matter how much good he did in the Senate and in the governor's mansion, it will all be eclipsed by this; it will all be outweighed by his killing this man." Controversy has been growing since this summer over Spaziano, the Outlaws motorcycle gang member condemned to die for the 1973 rape and murder or Orlando hospital clerk Laura Lynn Harberts. The star witness in the case, Anthony Dilisio, recanted his testimony, telling reporters he lied when he said Spaziano had shown him the bodies of Harberts and another woman at a dump. Chiles canceled Spaziano's execution June 27 and asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. The FDLE investigation persuaded Chiles to sign a fifth death warrant for Spaziano last week, but the governor's office has refused to release the investigation. Mello asked the Florida Supreme Court this week to force the release of the investigation. He said he has already discovered that the governor's general counsel, Douglass, lied to reporters about the contents of a videotaped interview of Dilisio on June 14. In the interview, according to a transcript Mello filed with the court, Dilisio doesn't remember a lot of details about the trial. But he does recant his previous testimony about Spaziano bringing him to the dump where the women's bodies were. He said police manipulated him and brought him there. "I had never been there in my life until they brought me there. And they made it look like that a guy that they arrested, Crazy Joe, brought me there," Dilisio said. Mello says in his court motions that Douglass told reporters that Dilisio did not recant his testimony in the videotape – a statement he characterizes as a lie. "The obvious question becomes: If Chiles' office lied about the videotape, why should we believe any of their other new "evidence" – especially when they insist on cloaking it in secrecy," Mello wrote. Douglass said he has not lied about the Spaziano case. "I could be mistaken, but I didn't lie. I'm sure it's all a matter of interpretation," Douglass said. "I'm not getting into any arguments with this man (Mello)," Douglass added. Mello obtained a copy of the videotape through an independent source and sent it to the Supreme Court sealed. Now, he has informed the court he no longer wants the tape sealed because the governor's office or the FDLE leaked into the Orlando Sentinel, which has written editorials in favor of Spaziano's execution. As a result, the court will release the tape for viewing today. [[1976 headshot of spaziano-image]] Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano is scheduled to be executed Sept. 21. Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Cavolt, Jessica Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano's lawyer says state lied Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rado, Diane Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-01 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Description An account of the resource Michael Mello, Spaziano's lawyer accuses Governor Chiles' office of lying and possibly tampering with evidence. Star witness in the case recants statement. Subject The topic of the resource Joe Spaziano Capital Punishment Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rado, Diane. “Spaziano's lawyer says state lied.” St. Petersburg Times, September 1, 1995. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tallahassee, FL Anthony Dilisio capital punishment death penalty Gov. Lawton Chiles Spaziano https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/e5c88028caa10544cafb60bedb3af005.jpg 9df7c369870ad5f8a7eb504960a8acbc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Tallahassee -- Citing lack of money and time, the lawyer for condemned killer Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano has asked The Florida Bar whether he should remove himself from the case. In a letter to the Florida Supreme Court, Michael Mello said his job as a law professor and his inability to hire full-time secretaries. researchers or investigators may hinder his ability to represent Spaziano. Also Tuesday, the governor's legal counsel said he may release part of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report that Gov. Lawton Chiles cited to justify signing Spaziano's fifth death warrant last week. The former motorcycle gang member is scheduled to be executed Sept. 21 for the 1973 murder and mutilation of Laura Lynn Harberts, an 18-year-old Orlando hospital clerk. Her body was dumped in rural Seminole County, near Altamonte Springs. General Counsel Dexter Douglass said he had no objection to releasing an edited report of the FDLE findings "if we can be assured that this would not expose these witnesses to harm." Any version released would have witnesses' naems removed, he said. Chiles' spokesman Ron Sachs said the governor is wary of releasing the report in any form but would consult with Douglass. The Orlando Sentinel, The Miami Herald and The St. Petersburg Times have asked for the report, in which several witnesses corroborate the original testimony of a key witness against Spaziano who recently changed his story. Chiles ordered the report kept secret as part of a clemency request filed by Mello. Douglass said another piece of the Spaziano inquiry -- a videotaped interview made this summer with witness Anthony Dilisio, who says 1976 trial testimony was manufactured by police Please see SPAZIANO, C-4 Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Cary, Colton Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano's lawyer wants off case Subject The topic of the resource Law Description An account of the resource Lawyer for Joseph Spaziano, Michael Mello, asks The Florida Bar if he should remain on the case. Due to lack of time and money, Mello finds this case hindered. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael Griffin Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Orlando Sentinel Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Joe Spaziano Law Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/bf3973aa4bcbdae112f27b984c158075.jpg 8dea838a50aa6fbca2c878a857ba8e53 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [[Start Page]] TALLAHASSEE-- An agency that finds volunteer lawyers to handle appeals for inmates on death row is closing its doors in anticipation of losing its $1.5 million in federal funding. Tallahassee-based Volunteer Laywers' Post-Conviction Defenders Organization, which recently handled the unsuccessful appeal of Bernard Bolander, has been laying off staff and trying to find attorneys to take over the 50 cases on its books before losing its doors Sept. 30, Matthew Lawrey, the center's co-director said Tuesday. All but eight of the agency's original 23 staff members have been laid off as the center set about implementing a directive from the Administrative Office of the Federal Courts to begin an orderly shutdown. The office formerly called the Resource Center, is one of 20 such centers being shutdown across the nation. Earlier this summer, the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee eliminated the $20 million in funding for the centers that handled the appeals of about half of the nation's 3,000 death row inmates. In a letter to attorney Mike Mello, who represents death row inmate Joe Spaziano, agency co-director Jennifer Greenberg wrote the group will be unable to help in assisting with Spaziano's appeal or with the investigation of issues in his case. Spaziano is scheduled to die Sept. 21. Unlike some other states-- such as Texas -- Florida has a state agency, the Office of Capital Collateral Representative, which also handles death row inmates' appeals. Mike Minerva, head of CCR, said he doesn't yet know how the closing of the lawyers' organization will affect his caseload. "It may leave some clients without counsel," Minerva said. His office said it would be able to handle most of the cases, if it receives additional funding. Some cases, he said, such as those of co-defendants, have to be handled by someone else, to avoid conflict-of-interest problems. Right now, CCR is handling appeals for about half of Florida's 350 death row inmates. [[End Page]] Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Huber, Amanda Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Agency that helps inmates on death row to close doors Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Death row Description An account of the resource In Tallahassee Florida an agency is being shut down that helps inmates on death row. The agency is losing its federal funding and cannot keep its doors open for inmates. Another agency in Florida is going to attempt to take over the caseload. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Associated Press Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tallahassee, FL Florida Death Row https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/86bc344cabc05589b38027186ae86b66.jpg c116f6a7090dba168f2f3670557fcbc9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document A defense lawyer plans to challenge the secret state investigation that led Gov. Lawton Chiles to sign a new death warrant last week for “Crazy Joe” Spaziano. The basic problem with the secret report, said law professor Michael Mello, representing the condemned man: It’s the only part of the state’s case against Spaziano that’s still intact. At the very least, Spaziano should be allowed to read it and challenge it before it’s used as a justification to kill him, Mello said Monday. Replied Deputy Attorney Gen-eral Pete Antonacci: “We’re defending the governor. We think the governor acted prop-erly, and we think the warrant is viable and should be carried out.” The latest twists in the long case began two months ago, when the key trial witness against Spa-ziano recanted his testimony. At the trial, a teenaged Anthony Dilisio testified that Spaziano took him to a rural trash dump to show off the remains of murdered hospital clerk Laura Harberts. But Dilisio apparently didn’t recall details of the gruesome scene until he had been questioned extensively by police and hypnotized twice. Now, he says the memory was fabricated and his testimony was coached by investigators. In the wake of the revelations, Chiles postponed Spaziano’s exe-cution and ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to examine the case. Last week, Chiles signed another death war-rant for September after FDLE agents reported that several peo-ple--who were promised confi-dentiality by the state--recalled hearing statement that impli-cated Spaziano around the time of the murder. Mello said he’ll add the chal-lenge to his pending appeal before the state Supreme Court. But Mello says he’s not planning to pursue further appeals in the fed-eral district court if the current petition is rejected. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Payne, Shannon Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 'Crazy Joe' defense to dispute secret probe Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McKinnon, John D. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-29 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Woodland Park, NJ Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Description An account of the resource On Tuesday August 29, 1995, "Crazy Joe" Spaziano's defense lawyer Michael Mello challenges death warrant. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived McKinnon, John D. "'Crazy Joe' defense to dispute secret probe." The Herald (Woodland Park, New Jersey), August 29, 1995. "Crazy Joe" Spaziano capital punishment death penalty defense lawyer Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/9527903e1c8978ce8a0f59344070a78c.jpg fdc007b3ce6410d831d2416bf842f801 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [handwritten] Sunday- Aug. 27 [handwritten] St. Pete Times A man may die under cover of secrecy Martin Dyckman If Joe Spaziano had a fair trial, so did the Salem witches. For 302 years, no other American has been put to death on the unsupported testimony of an addled teenager. The state’s only witness now insists he lied under the influence of police pressure, hypnosis and possibly drugs at Spaziano’s murder trial 20 years ago. Yet the governor has ordered Spaziano’s electrocution to proceed Sept. 21. I do not understand how Lawton Chiles, a decent and considerate man, can be so certain. Even the jurors weren’t. They recommended life. Because this killing will be done in our names, we had all better pray that Spaziano really is the man who raped and butchered Laura Lynn Harberts, an Orlando hospital clerk, and left her body at a trash dump. But even if he is, there are serious implications that will outlive him. It will be the first time in memory that someone went to his death on the strength of secret evidence. Secret evidence! Even the Salem witches were condemned entirely in public. The governor has a Florida Department of Law Enforcement Report supposedly showing that the key witness, Tony DiLisio, was telling the truth then (and not now) when he testified that Spaziano took him to the dump and boastfully showed him the corpses of Harberts and another woman who was never identified. The FDLE’s new witnesses have never been heard or cross-examined in any court, however. They never will be, if the governor has his way, because the FDLE promised them confidentiality. It is claimed they are afraid of Spaziano’s former associates in the Outlaws motorcycle gang. This may be true. Still, courts have ways of putting witnesses on the stand without jeopardizing them. For example, one of the governor’s secret witnesses is said to be another former Outlaw already in the federal government’s witness protection program as an FBI informant. He says - according to the governor’s news release - that Spaziano had admitted to him before standing trial that he had killed the two women and had showed their bodies to a young man who he feared would betray him. Very interesting. For all we know, it could have been this witness himself who killed the women. The governor’s secret witnesses also supposedly include friends and family members who assert that the police and their lay hypnotist didn’t manipulate DiLisio and that he told the story he now denies before the hypnosis, before the trial, and for 20 years since. That too maybe true. But that governor’s secret evidence also includes the FDLE’s videotape of a June 14 interview with DiLisio in which he insists in forceful terms that what he says NOW is the truth. Such conflicts belong in open court rather than a secret file – especially when a life is at stake. I haven’t seen the tape. I do have what purports to be a transcript, sent by Spaziano’s attorney, Michael Mello, who has filed his bootleg copy of the tape with the Florida Supreme Court under seal. In the transcript, DiLisio says of the crucial visit to the dump that “The cops brought me there. I had never been there in my life until they brought me there.” Did Spaziano ever take him? “No, never.” Had he ever told the police anything before being hypnotized? “No, all the facts that I had I got from them to be able to read them back to them.” Throughout the transcript, the FDLE’s crack agent repeatedly refers to Spaziano as “Foranzo,” ”Sporanzo,” or “Spilanzo,” until DiLisio eventually corrects him. Could that be one of the reasons the governor doesn’t want the file made public? What else did the FDLE get wrong? And what has happened to the nation’s best open-government laws? Relying on a 1993 revision that caught the media lobby napping, Chiles invokes a total exemption for any record having to do with executive clemency. How convenient. Clemency happens to be one of the black holes of American jurisprudence. The Supreme Court won’t touch it. For all the courts care, the governor could go to Doak Campbell stadium at halftime and let the crowd decide Spaziano’s fate with thumbs up or thumbs down, Roman style. The governor’s spokesman, Ron Sachs, tried to persuade me it’s not a secret report because the governor and his staff have reviewed it “thoroughly.” Indeed. Much as we all love and respect Lawton Chiles, secrecy is a petri dish for corruption as well as for honest miscarriages of justice. Under such cover, a less trustworthy administration easily could sell pardons. It happened in Tennessee under Ray Blanton. Only the Florida Supreme Court, it appears, can now interrupt this fatal farce. Though the court no longer allows hypnotically induced testimony in criminal trials, it has refused to reopen Spaziano’s case on the grounds that his lawyers raised the issue too late. The state would argue that DiLisio’s recantation also comes too late. But, God help us all, what if he is telling the truth? Martin Dyckman is associate editor of the St. Petersburg Times. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A man may die under cover of secrecy Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Capital punishment Description An account of the resource Joe Spaziano's execution is still likely to occur even though the only witness recanted his testimony. Most of the evidence that Governor Lawton Chiles has to condemn Spaziano has not been made publicly available or brought to court. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Dyckman, Martin Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Dyckman, Martin. "A man may die under cover of secrecy." St. Petersburg Times. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant St. Petersburg, FL Evidence Joe Spaziano https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b623fe5db2841f38685de43925d176a1.jpg f5161ae193c29a973f0e8c8cb04feae5 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c145c27ad65e883e9ccc708f4297cb4b.jpg 092597efba95011f958f2d5922db532b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document These cutouts from the Tampa Tribune reports the order from governor Lawton Chiles of Tallahassee to execute "Crazy" Joe Spaziano after new evidence from unknown witnesses turned up in the case. Chiles, from the new evidence reported is quoted as being certain that the murders were of Spazianos doing. Spaziano had till this point appealed to the courts a total of 16 times, all of these appeals eventually being rejected. The evidence did not settle well with Spazianos attorney, Michael Mello as he believed the evidence was fraudulent. The case had garnered national attention and Mello had managed to take it to the Florida Supreme Court after many outlets spoke out against the prospect of execution. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Helms, Brendan Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Chiles orders execution of killer Subject The topic of the resource Chiles, Lawton Spaziano, Joe Description An account of the resource Governor Chiles orders the execution of Joe Spaziano after new evidence from witnesses is presented. Spaziano's attorney, Michael Mello, is reported as believing this information from the witnesses is fraudulent. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Metz, Kevin Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Tampa Tribune Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/5802a40a29ad8b9e894f9cf8ad8f426d.jpg 1b441fb78df1dff4de3332ce38ccd645 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Spaziano gets fifth death warrent Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe capital punishment Description An account of the resource An updating of the case of Joe Spaziano as he receives his fifth death warrant, and a recounting of the last few events surrrounding Spaziano's trial. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Bill Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. Petersburg Times Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 25-08-1995 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource 2 JPGs Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 300 Language A language of the resource English https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/fc1effd8b4340f4f071fef85d0479b08.jpg 3a2954efb5cc1442c670b5bdd0795e5a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Godfrey, Sarah Text Any textual data included in the document Tallahasse- Gov. Lawton Chiles signed a fifth death warrant Thursday for Joseph Robert "Crazy Joe" Spaziano, the Outlaws motorcycle gang member who was condemned to die for the 1973 rape and murder of an Orlando hospital clerk. Chiles based his decision on a new report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement which he ordered after news reports raised questions about Spaziano's guilt. The report was intended to remove that cloud of doubt; instead it created a new firestorm because the governor decided to keep it secret. Spaziano's attorneys argue that he was wrongly convicted based on testimony from a drugged-out teenager elicited under hypnosis by prosecutors. But Chiles said the two-month investigation by the FDLE showed the prosecution was fair and the evidence was strong. "This exhaustive review removes any doubt in my mind about this case," Chiles said. "This review upholds the finding of every court that has heard this case- Joseph Spaziano has received due process and justice demands that he now face the consequences for the crimes he has committed." Interviews with 25 witnesses, according to Chiles' aides, provided new evidence that Spaziano raped, murdered and sexually mutilated 18-year-old Laura Lynn Harberts in 1973. Spaziano's lawyers were outraged that the governor refused to release the report or identify the witnesses who talked to investigators. "I am saddened that American law has reached the level where people can die based on anonymous reports which can't be cross-examined, (in which) names are withheld, and the truth of which is never tested in public," said Patrick Doherty, a Clearwater attorney. Chiles stayed the execution June 15 after a report in the Miami Herald cast doubt about Tony Dilisio's testimony against Spaziano, and editorials in the Herald and St. Petersburg Times urged a delay in the execution. Dilisio, who has a history of heavy drinking and drug use, told the Herald that he could not recall Spaziano taking him to see the bodies of two women at a dump near Altamonte Springs, a key piece of testimony. The signing of a fifth death warrant leaves Spaziano with little hope of avoiding the electric chair Sept. 19, one week before his 50th birthday. The only death row inmates to have survived more than four warrants were Willie Darden, who was executed in March 1988 on his seventh warrant, and Raymond Clark, electrocuted in November 1990 on his fifth warrant. Pending in the state Supreme Court are Spaziano's appeals to strike down the testimony elicited under hypnosis and to win a new trial based on Dilisio's reported recanting of his 1974 statements. But his lawyers conceded in June that their best hope was a clemency decision from the governor. Now it's the secrecy of the document Chiles used in making his decision that could give defense lawyers a new grounds for appeal. Doherty said he will confer with co-counsel Michael Mello about a motion seeking the FDLE report. "I don't know whether it's true, whether it's false, whether it's exaggerated, whether the people making these statements are sane or insane, whether they themselves have made deals," he said. "I don't have any information that would bear on whether it's credible or believable. That's what should keep Floridians awake at night. Because if it could happen to Mr. Spaziano it could happen to you or your child or anybody else." Mello, a Vermont law school professor who began representing Spaziano in 1983 when he practiced law in Florida, said it's particularly troubling he can't get courts to hear his client while the state's law enforcement agency "manufactured" new evidence that sealed Spaziano's fate. The report "has the indicia of unreliability all over it," Mello said. "Dexter Douglass, Chiles' general counsel, said the report is confidential under state law as part of a clemency. "There's another reason in this case," he said. "Several of the people they interviewed would not give statements except with the understanding they were protected because of fear for their lives." [Photograph; photo caption]: Joseph Spaziano is scheduled to be executed Sept. 19. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Spaziano gets fifth death warrant Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Spaziano, Joe Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, Va Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-25 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Bill Description An account of the resource An updating of the case of Joe Spaziano as he receives his fifth death warrant, and a recounting of the last few events surrrounding Spaziano's trial. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Moss, Bill, “Joe Spaziano gets fifth death warrant,” St. Petersburg (Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA), August 25, 1995. Bill Moss capital punishment death penalty Death warrant eye witness Florida death penalty Gov. Lawton Chiles Joe Spaziano murder rape reasonable doubt St. Petersburg Times stay of execution trial https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/66dd7b953a380a2897d29618f4958aa1.jpg 8372335b3a1c0ed8cb8254edbf057609 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document TALLAHASSEE- After a two-month investigation, Gov. Lawton Chiles had no doubts Thursday in signing another death warrant for Joseph “Crazy Joe” Spaziano, condemned for a mutilation-murder 22 years ago. Spaziano, 49, had been scheduled to die in Florida’s electric chair in late June, but the governor canceled the execution after media reports raised questions about the case. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been investigating since then. “This exhaustive review removes any doubt in my mind about this case,” Chiles said in a statement released by his office. The FDLE report backs up the conclusion of every court that ever heard the case, Chiles said. “Joseph Spaziano has received due process, and justice demands that he now face the consequences for the crimes he has committed,” Chiles said. The warrant is in effect from noon Sept. 19 through noon Sept. 26. The execution has been scheduled for 7 a.m. Sept. 21 at Florida State Prison near Starke. A Vermont law professor who represents Spaziano said he spoke with his client after learning about the warrant. “He’s terrified. He’s angry,” said Michael Mello of Wilder, Vt. “He asked me, ‘What should I be doing now?’ I said, ‘You and your family need to be preparing for your death.’” Mello called the FDLE investigation a wash. Spaziano was serving a life prison term for an unrelated rape conviction in 1975 when he was charged with the murder of Laura Lynn Haberts, whose sexually mutilated body had been found in a trash dump near Altamonte Springs on August 22, 1973. Another decomposed body was found in the dump, but it has ever been identified, and Spaziano faced no charges in that case. A jury convicted Spaziano of Haberts’ murder only after twice telling the judge they couldn’t reach a verdict. The jury voted 9-3 for life imprisonment, but Circuit Judge Robert McGregor sentenced Spaziano to death. One of the jurors said the panel favored the life sentence because of doubts about Spaziano’s guilt. The jury wasn’t told about Spaziano’s rape conviction. Three Florida governors have signed death warrants for Spaziano. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Bishop, Michelle Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Governor signs another death warrant for Spaziano Subject The topic of the resource Capitol punishment Chiles, Lawton, 1930-1998 Description An account of the resource Joseph Spaziano is served another death warrant despite doubts about his guilt Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Associated Press Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "Governor Signs Another Death Warrant for Spaziano." The Gainesville Sun. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tallahassee, Fl https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/7c9325745e4cffe09632b159506dec88.jpg e12e6a49f2e5d700b214da95a966a810 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/d05cc4b677e03a540904a5bf46932274.jpg 61b9c21d4ed04364b3129acfc9ef3d3a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Berry, Rebecca Text Any textual data included in the document Tallahassee --- Satisfied with a confidential investigation into one of Florida’s longest-run-ing death row cases, Gov. Law-ton Chiles on Thursday signed a new death warrant for “Crazy Joe” Spaziano.     The protracted, 20-year trek to Old Sparky was sidetracked two months ago when the main wit-ness in the case recanted his testi-mony. Chiles ordered investiga-tors to look anew at the murder of Laura Harberts, an 18-year-old Orlando hospital clerk whose skeleton was found in a rural dump.       Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents interviewed the witness – who said he lied when he testified that Spaziano had shown him the woman’s remains – and at least eight oth-ers who did not testify in the trail but not say they have knowledge in the case.       Their names may never be released; all were promised ano-nymity by investigators.      “This exhaustive review removes any doubt in my mind about this case,” Chiles said. He is the third Florida governor to sign a death warrant in the case.      “I can honestly say they’re put-ting him to death through lies,” said Tony Dilisio, the witness whose original testimony tied Spaziano to Harbert’s body.      “What I said back then was all made up, fabricated.”      FDLE investigators told the governor: <ul> <li>New witness – including former motorcycle gang mem-bers and inmate who shared a cell with Spaziano – say Spa-ziano bragged of killing Harberts.</li> <li>Chicago police believe that Spaziano killed a fellow Outlaw and his wife after he had told them about the murder while drunk.</li> <li>An unidentified man told agents that he saw Spaziano and another man hauling something “the same shape and size of a human body wrapped in fabric” into a wooded area about the time of the Harberts disappear-ance.</li> <li>Before the trail, Dilisio told people other than the police about Spaziano showing him the</li> </ul> (PLEASE SEE ‘CRAZY JOE’, 16A) [Additional title on second page]: Recanted testimony fails to changed governor’s mind He signs new death warrant for ‘Crazy Joe’ (‘CRAZY JOE’, FROM 1A) bodies.     Dilisio said Thursday that he remembers telling many of his friends when he was a teenager about Spaziano and seeing bodies. “But it was all lies. It made me feel cool,” Dilisio said. “I remember bragging. It made me feel important. The more I told the story, the more believable it got.” Teen volunteers information Harberts disappear Aug. 5, 1973. Her remains were found there weeks later in an Altamonte Springs dump, lying atop another skelton that was never ideti-fied.       The case went unsolved – the medical examiner was never able to even determine a cause of death – until Tony Dilisio, then a 16-year-old drug user in juve-nile detention center, told police he had heard Spaziano brag about the slaying.      His recollections were vague so police hypnotized him to get details.     Spaziano was a biker he admired, Dilisio told them. One day, after drinking beer and tak-ing some LSD, he was taken to the dump by Spaziano, who dis-played two mutilated bodies.     Dilisio was a powerful witness in the case. The prosecutor in the case, Claude Van Hook, has said that Dilisio was not only the state’s “pathologist in this case,” but that also, without him, “we wouldn’t have case.”       Spaziano was convicted and the jury recommend life in prison. The judge instead sen-tenced Spaziano to death, citing the brutality of the crime from Dilisio’s account.       Witness recants      But two months ago, Dilisio told The Herald that his testi-mony at Spaziano’s 1976 murder trial was untrue. He said police coerced him to make the false statements. The promised to spring him from detention and drop breaking and entering charges if he cooperated.       He said Spaziano never took him to the dump, and never bragged about murdering the women. It was the police, he said that took him there, to jog his memory.       “I never saw any bodies,” Dili-sio repeated Thursday. “It just didn’t happen.”      The FDLE interviewed Dilisio June 13. He told him he was eager to please the police back then and told them what he thought they wanted to hear.      In their report, FDLE investi-gators called Dilisio’s recantation was rambling and contradictory. Report is secret       Mike Mello, Spaziano’s attor-ney, said he is trying to get the report, he names of the wit-nesses and investigator’s notes from the state.      “The reason they don’t want me to see the identity of these super secret witnesses is they have something to hide,” Mello said.      Mello said without the names, he has no way of questioning the people accusing Spaziano of murder. He also said Chiles and the FDLE are discounting Dili-sio’s recantation because what he is saying today is “inconvenient for the state.”       Dilisio has offered to take a lie detector test but FDLE investiga-tors haven’t replied.      “I guess they don’t want to hear what I have to say. I doesn’t fit in with their story,” Dilisio said.      Chiles said Spaziano has had enough chances.       “Joseph Spaziano has received due process,” Chilies said, “and justice demands that he now face the consequences for the crimes he has committed.” [Pull Quote]: ‘Joseph Spaziano has received due process, and justice demands that he now face the consequence for the crimes he has committed.” GOV. LAWTON CHILES [Pull Quote]: ‘But it was all lies. It made me feel cool. I remember bragging. It made me feel important. The more I told the story, the more believable it got.” TONY DILISIO, witness who recanted testimony against Spaziano [Photograph; Photograph Caption]: MULTIPLE APPEALS REJECTED: Joseph Spaziano Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 'Crazy Joe' is guilty, must die, Chiles says Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Florida Department of Law Enforcement Description An account of the resource One of 'Crazy Joe' friends says he was and was not lying to the cops and his testimony was a big part of putting Spaziano away. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rozsa, Lori Silva, Mark 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 1995-08-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tallahassee, FL https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/97040e71d30a05e6d126b5e336ade784.jpg f2e8867438cd5c4eb5abfd4bd8ce04d6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Supreme Court has put on hold "Crazy Joe" Spaziano's latest appeal to overturn his death sentence until Gov. Lawton Chiles decides whether the convicted killer should be granted clemency. In an order Thursday, the court said it will hold Spaziano's motion for a new hearing "in abeyance" until Chiles announces his decision. When the governor will announce his intentions isn't clear. Dexter Douglass, the governor's general counsel, said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is still investigating the 22-year-old murder case to determine whether there is any new evidence. "We don't have any timetable on this," Douglass said. "We haven't gotten all of the information we are going to have." Chiles is being asked to absolve Spaziano of the charges that have kept him on Death Row since 1976. The former motorcycle gang leader was scheduled to be executed on June 27, but Chiles granted an indefinite stay after the state's main witness recanted key testimony. That witness, Anthony Dilisio of Pensacola, now says that what he testified to two decades ago wasn't true. He said he was coerced by police - and his father - to say that Spaziano took him to a rural dump and showed him the bodies of two women he said he killed. The case involved the death of Laura Harberts, an 18-year-old records clerk at an Orlando hospital, whose remains were found in rural Seminole County in 1973, and another person, never identified. Dilisio told The Herald in June that his memory is clearer about the time in his life when, as a teenager, he was the star witness in the sensational murder trial and a rape trial. Vermont law Professor Michael Mello, Spaziano's lawyer, called Thursday's court order "a very novel approach to judicial abstention - that the court ought to postpone a ruling pending a decision by another branch of government." But Mello said he is not optimistic that FDLE's new investigation will persuade Chiles to spare Spaziano. Only the government can recommend clemency, and then his recommendation must be approved by three Cabinet members. 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. Simmerman, Ryan Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 'Crazy Joe' appeal request on hold Subject The topic of the resource Florida Supreme Court Spaziano, Joe Florida Department of Law Enforcement Description An account of the resource The Florida Supreme Court has put a hold on "Crazy Joe" Spaziano's latest appeal attempt because the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is still investigating his murder case to figure out if there is any new evidence. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nickens, Tim Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The 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 1995-08 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 Orlando, FL Tallahassee, FL Crazy Joe Spaziano Florida death penalty Florida Supreme Court https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/0be3e32dc6a9d6814437f358d6df468b.jpg 99856a149382d94854b68c39279bddfd https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/8ef11cd3c33ed5a28133c6f34f4fb56d.jpg c3051289f1e5750061d4c3d0bcac89e2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Prosecutors in the Jeffrey Allen murder case lowered the charges to second-degree murder this week because of concern about proving premeditation in the trial that starts Monday. White River Junction District Court Judge Shireen Avis Fisher granted a motion from Windsor County State’s Attorney Patricia Zimmerman to amend the charge against Allen from first-degree to second-degree murder. Allen has admitted shooting his girlfriend’s ex-husband in a Bridgewater mobile home last Christmas Eve, but maintains it was in self-defense, his lawyer says. Second-degree murder “is easier to prove. Premeditation is not an element for second-degree cases,” Zimmerman said Friday. “That’s the only reason.” “They obviously didn’t think they had a prayer of convincing a jury on premeditation. There’s no other reason that I can think of,” said Michael Mello, a constitutional lawyer and criminal law professor at Vermont Law School. “They should not have indicted on first-degree murder to begin with.” Jeffrey Allen was arrested at the Daly Hollow Road trailer he shared with Marjorie Allen shortly after the early morning shotgun shooting of Richard Allen, 58, of Epsom, N.H. The two men are not related. Richard Allen allegedly broke into the trailer and punched Jeffrey Allen in the face after finding him in bed with Marjorie Allen, according to a state police affidavit. Jeffrey Allen then secluded himself for five hours in the trailer bedroom while Richard Allen talked to his ex-wife in the kitchen. She divorced her husband in 1992 after a violent and abusive marriage, according to court documents. Jeffrey Allen told police he believed the other man was drinking beer through the night and Richard Allen had yelled insults at him in a threatening manner. Shortly after 5 a.m., Richard Allen allegedly walked down the trailer hallway, opened the door to the bedroom, and was shot in the chest, police said. “There’s no question that Jeffrey Allen fired the weapon. We continue to maintain that he did so in self-defense, and that it was a fully justifiable shooting,” said Matthew Levine, Allen’s defense attorney. Mello, who said he was “loathe to criticize” Zimmerman, said the lesser charges “indicates that she’s pretty nervous about her case. And she should be. This is one of the strongest claims of self-defense that I have seen in a dog’s age.” He also said that the original first-degree murder indictment may have been an effort by Zimmerman to encourage a plea bargain by Allen. “One possibility, and prosecutors do this all the time in death cases, is they prosecute high in hopes that getting a first-degree murder indictment will strong-arm the defendant into a plea bargain,” Mello said. “If that was her aim in this case, it obviously didn’t work.” “I guess the difficulty I have is Mike Mello knows nothing about the case. I don’t see bringing first-degree murder charges an inducing a plea agreement,” Zimmerman responded. “The reality is you always know more about a case after you file charges (and hear from the defense) rather than before you file charges.” Zimmerman, who is expected to rely on the testimony of Marjorie Allen as a key part of her prosecution, said, “It’s the state’s burden to prove that it wasn’t self-defense.” Levine declined to reveal whether Jeffrey Allen would take the witness stand. “He won’t necessarily have to call the defendant,” Mello said. “What’s critical is that Mr. Levine be able to persuade the jury that the defendant subjectively believed that he was in imminent danger by the victim, and that that belief was reasonable.” And that will depend on the circumstances of the case, other lawyers agree. “Maybe the guy was terrified. Maybe he wasn’t. And if he was terrified, did have a reason to be terrified?" asked Harry Black, a defense attorney in White River Junction. “If Charles Manson is coming after me with a knife, I have a lot more reason to be scared than someone who I know is a reasonable person and can be talked out of it. I’d have a lot more justification in shooting Charlie.” Jury selection starts Monday morning, and the trial is expected to last less than two weeks. Allen faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted of the new charges. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Brokaw, Marianne Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Murder charge reduced in Allen case Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Murder Mello, Michael Description An account of the resource Charges against Jeffrey Allen in the shooting death of Richard Allen have been reduced from first-degree to second-degree murder. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gregg, John Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-8-12 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant White River Junction, VT Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Gregg, John. "Murder charges reduced in Allen case," Rutland Daily Herald, August 12, 1995, morning addition. capital punishment Jeffrey Allen Michael Mello murder umw https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c9d1053373f7f88a1d0b8cef293451b7.jpg f4f8d341dffb1d5290db2567c109bcfd Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The case of the hypnotized witness Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Kintz, Amber Text Any textual data included in the document Since 1978, 34 men convicted of homicide have been killed in Florida’s electric chair, a.k.a. “Old Sparky.” The 35th was to have been Joseph Spaziano, on death row for 19 years for the 1973 murder of Laura Harbets, a young hospital worker whose body was found in a Seminole County dump. In the 1975 trial, the jury, which was twice deadlocked but ordered to push on, recommended for a life sentence for the former president of the Orlando Outlaws Motorcycle Brotherhood. Florida is among the states allowing judges, in their robed wisdom and knowing they must run for reelection, to override sentencing juries. This one ordered death. In late May, Gov. Lawton Chiles issued a death warrant for Spaziano’s execution on June 27. On June 16, following an unprecedented outflow of editorial’s in the state’s major newspapers calling for either clemency or a new trial because of the flimsiness of the state’s case, Chiles granted a temporary stay of execution. Like previous chief executives of Florida—the state is second to Texas in the number of executions—Chiles does not hesitate to sign death warrants. He is not alone in his belief. Congress, the Supreme Court and Bill Clinton are now a united chorus for quickening the pace of executions. The president, calling appellate delays “ridiculous” and “interminable,” agrees with Republican death penalty champions that one appeal is plenty. The Spaziano case starkly counters this voguish faith in hurried justice. Twenty years were needed for doubts about Spaziano’s guilt to filter up to a governor and persuade him to pause and consider the defendant’s persistent claim of innocence. Among the glaring dubieties, the major one involves the fingering testimony of the state’s key witness, Tony Dilisio, a 16-year-old LSD and pot user when the crime occurred. When first questioned he offered only vague and uncorroborated accounts of what Spaziano allegedly said in general about murdering people. To jog the youth’s memory—no physical evidence was found to connect Spaziano to the crime—police interrogators called upon a hypnotist. Thus entranced, Dilisio now “remembered” that Spaziano had taken him to the dump to show him the victim’s body and brag of killing her. The jury was not told by Spaziano’s lawyer that the recollection of the dump site was induced by hypnosis. Florida now thinks better of allowing this sort of quackery into courtrooms. It was outlawed—though not retroactively—in 1985. Dilisio, now 37, agrees. Located by Miami Herald investigative reporters last month, he stated: “Surely they’re not going to let Spaziano go to the chair, to have his blood shed, on what a confused and scared kid said.” Dilisio added that he “could very well have been brainwashed. . . . With hypnosis, they plant things in your head.” The case turned on that planting. The prosecutor told the court, “If we can’t get in the testimony of Tony Dilisio, we’d have absolutely no case whatsoever.” As in nearly all death penalty cases involving questionable procedures and sketchy evidence, it was a lawyer of relentless energy who argued for Spaziano’s innocence. Michael Mello, a professor of Vermont Law School, author of two dozen law review articles on capital punishment, and one of a handful of specialists in post-conviction homicide law, is a former Florida public defender who has represented some 70 condemned men. Mello has practiced long enough to know that review courts, including the Supreme Court trade in questions of procedure and rarely on evidentiary issues of guilt or innocence. They are part of an increasingly busy assembly line, with death rows packed with nearly 3,000 people. Mello is an experienced professional skilled in unearthing evidence that persuades skeptics. This case, so riddled with questionable tactics, and based on one person’s sketchy testimony, prompts him to say: “I’m convinced Spaziano is innocent. I have never encountered a murder conviction that smells so rotten at its core.” Of his role in gaining the governor’s attention, Mello, who has worked pro bono on the case, is modest: “The execution was stayed because of the Miami Herald’s old-fashioned gumshoe reporting. It tracked down Dilisio and for the first time in 20 years he talked. It was not any defense lawyer or judge who stopped this execution. The Herald saved the legal system from itself.” True, so far. Spaziano could still get the chair. His hope for freedom is to be decided this month by the Florida Board of Executive Clemency, consisting of the governor and his Cabinet. One of its seven members is the attorney general, whose office is hellbent to see Spaziano killed. In a July 27 motion, it smear Michael Mello as “unethical” for having successfully publicized the case: He “lathered up the media to accomplish exactly what he wanted.” That’s quite a claim. It’s about as credible as the original—and now disavowed—testimony of the hypnotized teenage druggie. Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The case of the hypnotized witness Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McCarthy, Colman Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-08-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Washington, D.C. Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Hypnotism Chiles, Lawton, 1930-1998 Spaziano, Joe Mello, Michael Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "The Case of the Hypnotized Witness,” The Washington Post, August 5, 1995. McCarthy, Colman Description An account of the resource The article discusses the swiftness that the judicial system prefers the capital punishment system operate. Joseph Spaziano's case received a large amount of publicity and another appeal due to the vague testimony offered by a witness who had been hypnotized to "remember" what he had seen.