7 20 256 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/8ce33990e5095ed89ed471ed05ba28ba.jpg a45dba2557d045bbcf8b7179e21fbe56 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Killer Escapes Execution Again 11 Years After Execution Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Associated Press Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Palm Beach Post Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-09-19 Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Escapes execution Description An account of the resource The 90-pound, 94 year old widow was raped, beaten and stabbed to death in minutes. Nearly eleven years later, her convicted assailant’s battle for life continues as his lawyers keep winning delays in court. 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 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Palm Beach, Fl Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document GAINESVILLE- the 90-pound, 94 year old widow was raped, beaten and stabbed to death in minutes. Nearly eleven years later, her convicted assailant’s battle for life continues as his lawyers keep winning delays in court. Stephen Todd Booker, now 35, appears likely to survive his fourth death warrant in the case. U.S. District Judge Maurice Paul on Friday stayed Booker's scheduled Tuesday execution. The state is appealing Paul's stay. On Nov. 9, 1977 Booker raped, beat and stabbed Lorine Demoss Harmon of Gainesville. Booker, a drifter, had broken into Harman's apartment and was ransacking it when she returned home. Booker left two knives embedded in her body, one in her neck and one in her chest. Booker's attorney said his sentence was unconstitutional because the jury wasn't allowed to consider some mitigating evidence such as Booker's history of psychological problems. For Assistant State Attorney Ken Herbert, who prosecuted the case, the 10 years of appeals represent an abuse of the system. "If the death penalty is a detergent, then most people would argue it's got to follow soon after the crime," Herbert said. "The system is working precisely the way it should," said Michael Mello, one of Booker's attorneys. 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 Killer escapes execution again 11 years after widow's murder Subject The topic of the resource Executions (Administrative law) Description An account of the resource The 90-pound, 94 year old widow was raped, beaten and stabbed to death in minutes. Nearly eleven years later, her convicted assailant’s battle for life continues as his lawyers keep winning delays in court. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Associated Press Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Palm Beach Post Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-09-19 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpg Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Palm Beach, FL https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/36bf6e493a72ea1a8ae6c32ec6d4bd5a.jpg 303ad37706126173d9e50be6c0b23919 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. O'Connor, Allison Text Any textual data included in the document Almost 11 years to the day after Delray Beach police officer John Kennedy was slain while writing incident reports in his patrol car, an appeals court has upheld Willie Clayton Simpson’s life sentence for the murder. Fellow officers found Kennedy slumped over the steering wheel of his idling patrol car Aug. 10, 1974 at a gas station on Atlantic Avenue. The assailant had shot the 31-year-old officer once in the head. Kennedy apparently had no time to reach for his own weapon. The officer held only a cigarette. The state found no murder weapon or fingerprints. One suspect was arrested and later released. The next year, two jailed witnesses came forward. Melton Hunt and Tony Hostzclaw said they watched from a car as Simpson spoke to the officer, then pulled the trigger. Simpson, then 19, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1976 largely on the basis of their testimony and a statement from Simpson’s relative, Matthew Clark. Simpson stayed with Clark for awhile in Virginia after escaping from the Palm Beach County Jail, where he was being held for the unrelated robbery and murder of a Boynton Beach retiree. Clark testified Simpson told him he had killed a policeman. But the state Supreme Court overturned Simpson’s 1976 conviction and ordered a new trial. In 1983, Simpson again was tried and found guilty of the lesser offense of second- degree murder. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Marvin Mounts gave him a life sentence to begin when he completes a life sentence for the 1975 retiree’s slaying. It was informed the second jury never heard about Clark’s testimony that formed one basis for the appeal recently reviewed and rejected by the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach. Between the two trails, a statement Clark gave to a detective came to light. In the statement Clark was asked what Simpson had told him about Kennedy’s murder. “He said, ‘Well, I’m in trouble… I killed two police. I killed a police and his son.’ That’s exactly what he told me,” Clark told the detective. The detective questioned him further about whether Simpson had specifically said, “a policeman and his son.” Clark agreed those were Simpson’s exact words. At the first trial, however, Clark said Simpson had told him he killed only an officer. Clark made no mention of the son. By the time Simpson was tried again, Clark had died. The state prosecutor was allowed to read Clark’s testimony from the first trial to the second jury. Simpson’s new lawyer wanted to read portions of Clark’s statement to point out the inconsistency, but the judge ruled he would have to read the whole statement. The defense lawyer decided against reading the statement because it also contained incriminating information about the retiree’s homicide. The 4th District Court of Appeal judges found the judge was not in error for requiring that the whole statement be read. Simpson’s appellate lawyer, Michael Mello, said he will ask the 4th District Court of Appeal for a rehearing before deciding whether to ask the Florida Supreme Court to review the case. Simpson, who is incarcerated at the state prison in Starke, had not learned of the appellate court’s decision Wednesday. Virginia Snyder, a Delray Beach private investigator who worked on the case, was dismayed by the appellate decision. She is convinced Simpson is innocent of the Kennedy murder. Snyder said she talked with both Hostzclaw and Hunt after Simpson’s first trial and both told her they lied. She maintains the young men decided to frame Simpson to get reduced sentences for the charges they were facing. Hunt told her he wouldn’t change his version of Kennedy’s slaying because he was afraid of being charged with perjury, Snyder said. “They cooked up this story and they got deals- sweet deals," Snyder said. “It’s really pathetic. It’s really tragic. It means the people who really did it are out there running around.” Hostzclaw did indeed change his story at Simpson’s second trial and was charged with perjury. Hunt stuck with his original testimony, which put the murder weapon in Simpson’s hand. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Killer Loses Life-term Appeal Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Petit, Deborah Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Sun-Sentinel Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-08-15 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida Subject The topic of the resource Trials (Murder)--Florida Description An account of the resource An article recounting the murder of Florida police officer John Kennedy, and the two trials and life-term sentencing of the accused murderer Willie Clayton Simpson. Florida Life sentence Michael Mello murder https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/af978903ba3814b14038dc08185d5deb.jpg ab5560e78a1613bfe3877accdd8d362e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document TALLAHASSEE - Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano, convicted of the torture-murder of an 18-year-old Orlando woman and the rape of another, has asked to be set free because the main evidence against him is being questioned. Spaziano's attorney asked Gov. Lawton Chiles for a clemency hearing, saying a key witness in the 21-year-old case now doubts his own hypnosis-enhanced testimony. Chiles stayed the execution two weeks ago after newspapers reported that Anthony Dilisio doubts whether his testimony at the 1976 trial was true. Chiles ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Dilisio's claims. What began as an interview with the Pensacola man has expanded into a full-scale investigation involving dozens of witnesses. The challenge facing Chiles is which Diliso to believe - the drugged-out would-be biker who testified at age 18 that Spaziano showed him Laura Harberts' mutiliated body, or the 37-year-old lay minister who says he can't remember his drug-using days and doubts Spaziano is a killer. Michael Mello, who represents Spaziano, said on Wednesday that the Cabinet should free Spaziano because Dilisio was the strongest element in the two cases. Chiles or any other member of the Cabinet - the attorney general, secretary of state and commissioners of education, insurance and agriculture - could call a clemency hearing. The governor, with tree members of the Cabinet, could commute Spaziano's sentence, pardon him or uphold the sentence. Spaziano last requested clemency in March, but was refused a hearing. In preparing that request, Spaziano's state-appointed attorneys interviewed Dilisio, but he told them he could shed no new light on the case. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Schmidt, Heidi Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Killer requests clemency hearing Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Dilisio, Anthony Clemency Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Associated Press Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Associated Press, "Killer requests clemency hearing" Description An account of the resource Joe Spaziano is seeking clemency after the key witness in the trial doubts his testimony was accurate. Another investigation into the case 21 years later has been authorized by the Governor of Florida. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1997 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tallahassee, Florida Anthony Dilisio Clemency Florida Joe Spaziano Lawton Chiles Michael Mello murder newspaper stay of execution witness https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4955d7d829a26de046034cde3a7de378.jpg fbda1189e56a50e7b659e18410ed0d1d 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 [Publisher] The Gainesville Sun [Date] Wednesday, July 31, 1996 [Title] 'Killer to get new sentence' [Subtitle] 'An appeals court orders resentencing for the Death Row inmate who raped and killed a 94-year-old woman.' [Author] Aaron Hoover A man sent to Florida's Death Row nearly 20 years ago for the rape and murder of a 94-year-old Gainesville woman must be sentenced all over again, an appeals court has ruled. Steven Todd Booker, convicted of first-degree murder and a survivor of at least three death warrants for the 1977 rape and murder of Duck Pond resident Lorine Harmon will appear before a jury in a Alachua County and be resentenced in the case as a result of the decision this month by the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeal. Prosecutors decried the development as an example of a flawed system that allows death penalty appeals to drag on for decades quote this is an example of why the appeal IT system is entirely broken," said state attorney rod Smith. "No one is saying he didn't do it. . . but 20 years after the fact we're deciding to reconstruct a penalty phase on a brutal murder." But a lawyer who has represented Booker had a decidedly different view. Michael Mello a Vermont law professor who has worked extensively on Booker's case, said the state is to blame for much of the delay. U.S. Judge Maurice Paul first ruled Booker should be resentenced in 1988, but appeals by the Attorney General's Office delayed a final decision until this month, said Mello, a law professor at Vermont Law School. "Steve Booker's case is the case I always use in our capital punishment seminar to illustrate these delays in death penalties that prosecutors and politicians are always talking about - they're as often or not caused by prosecutors," Mello said. A jury in Alachua county convicted Booker, now 42, of first degree murder, rape by force, and burglary for breaking into Harman's apartment, raping and killing her on Nov. 9, 1977. After his conviction, Booker wrote to Circuit Judge John Crews, now deceased, asking to be put to death. Harman, an assistant post master in her native Maryland, had moved to Gainesville in 1956 when her husband retired. She went back to Maryland briefly after Frank Harman died, but later settled permanently in Gainesville, where she was known for her independence - frequently walking into the now defunct Primrose Inn restaurant downtown for lunch, for example. according to Mello, jury instructions at the time of Booker's sentencing directed juries to consider only certain narrowly defined reasons why he might be spared. Those instructions prevented the jury form considering crucial evidence about Booker's mental health, he said. "The list of mitigating circumstances said the jury should consider some kinds of craziness, and Booker didn't have those kinds of craziness, he had other kinds of craziness," Mello said. Those included alcohol abuse and "a hideous family background," he said. A 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Florida Death Row inmate James Hitchcock's case found identical jury instructions unconstitutional, meaning that all relevant evidence could be introduced in death penalty defenses, Mello said. The decision affected "two or three dozen cases" including Booker's cases, he said. The date for the new sentencing hearing has not been set, but Smith indicated he was not pleased to face the challenge. "you have to reconstruct somewhat what's already occurred and represent what occurred at the trial phase so the jury will understand at the penalty phase what you're talking about," he said. "It's an outrageous assignment to any office to go back and try any portion of a case under those circumstances." Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Armel, Ryan Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Killer to Get New Sentence Subject The topic of the resource Mello, Michael Booker, Steven 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 1996-07-31 Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource Steven Booker, a man sentenced to Death Row for the rape and murder of a 94-year-old woman nearly 20 years ago is being resentenced due to a decision made by Florida's 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hoover, Aaron Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Gainesville, FL Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Hoover, Aaron. “Killer to Get New Sentence.” The Gainesville Sun, July 31, 1996. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c58727cab10cc6be35369fc1df32b3ce.jpg 3ba8f8e3cd3f3b354bd43fba9d5a2441 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/6cfc6306341121ec7adfbd2454302439.jpg c29562143d2329d7893d3fcfe3ba7dcc https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f974d14c7a89e7a6ef4d3cd443463e15.jpg 97c1fb0bab02c1d7988432e654faf009 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4a903968060fa7976b45731d69e115f7.jpg b4b0270bee0b349bc2661e7919468a9c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document FROM LEFT, Kent Statue University President Glenn A. Olds and Trustee Chairman George Janik answered questions from students, who came to Rockwell Hall, where trustees were having a special meeting Wednesday. Locked out of the corridor leading to the trustees' conference room, about 300 students staged an eight hour unplanned sit-in, demanding to present their views. Olds went out into the hot, crowded hallway to talk to the students after hinges were removed from one of the locked doors. Olds stayed with the students most of the eight hours, leaving at 1 a.m. when the sit-in broke up. Janik talked to the group at 6 p.m. for about 20 minutes after the trustees adjourned. (R-C Photo by Ernie Mastroianni) KSU protest mood recalls 1960 By CHRIS VASCO And KAREN L. SCRIVO The chants of the 300 demonstrators were "Stop the Gym" instead of "Stop the War." But the mood at Kent State University Wednesday was the same as it had been in the early May seven years ago - a mood of protest. The 300 were opposing what they felt was "desecration" of the site of the May 4, 1970 student killings, by a proposed new physical education building. And, armed with the pledge of fasting by black activist Dick Gregory, until the project is halted and a pledge by activist attorney William Kunstler to return to defend any jailed for trying to stop construction, the 300 occupied for eight hours portions of the administration building, Rockwell Hall. The sit-in started in a second floor hallway at Rockwell Hall at 5 p.m. Wednesday following the May 4 rally and speeches in Memorial Gymnasium, and a march by about 1,500 KSU students, Vietnam veterans, and Kent State graduates through Kent. It ended at 1 a.m. today with Dean Kahler, one of the nine students wounded in the 1970 shootings, reading from his wheelchair a list of eight demands the group had for the KSU administration. No arrests were made. The group demanded that the Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Building not be built on the proposed site near the scene of the shootings. The Demonstrators contented the building site, jutting from Memorial Gymnasium into the hill of the practice football field about 300 feet "desecrated" the area of the killings. University officials contend the site is not near the shooting site in the Prentice Hall parking lot. They plan to make aerial photos of the site available for student scrutiny. Among other demands were future canceling of May 4th classes, "amnesty" for those who missed classes May 4, maintaining the KSU Center for Peaceful Change (CPC), which has recently been threatened with budget cuts, and official naming of four KSU buildings for the four slain students and "justice" for the 1970 shootings. The group planned a rally tonight, at 9 at an as-yet-undecided location in the Student Center, to discuss the demands further .A rally is also planned for May 12, the date of the next meeting of the Kent State Board of Trustees. The Promise of the consideration of the demands by KSU officials, a meeting between several of the demonstrators and trustee Chairman Georg Janik, scheduled for Friday and a public show of strength for the group and its demands were the occupation's tangible results. The group, consisting of students representing various political groups, KSU graduates, and Vietnam Veterans splintered from the main march group to confront the Board of Trustees, holding a special meeting in Rockwell. The group, shouting "Stop the Gym," entered Rockwell, and tried to find the trustees, meeting in executive session. When the trustees couldn't be located, the demonstrators demanded one meet them. At 5:45 p.m. President Glenn A. Olds appeared before the students in the second floor hallway which they occupied initially. The group complained of the building site, and lack of student input in the process. Olds tried to explain that students were involved in the site selection process, and that the site wasn't near the shooting site. Olds also attempted to answer questions about the proposed CPC cut, saying no final decision had been made. Olds, who came to KSU following the 1970 shootings with the charge of helping KSU recover, found himself in the familiar setting of a verbal confrontation with students. Olds left and brought Janik to the group. Janik told the demonstrators that the site had already been voted upon, but the construction bids were yet to be awarded. Janik said he would welcome student input at the May 12 meeting. While the group became loud at times, and some jeers were directed toward the president, the confrontation was orderly. The 300 demonstrators decided to move to expanded quarters in the first floor advising and orientation center and managed to work open the locked door at 7:45 p.m. Most doors of Rockwell were locked to avoid the spread of the crowd into administrative offices. KSU police officers had been brought to the scene in the eventuality of a disturbance. Some members of the group prepared for a long siege by bringing some natural food, fruit juice and water. When the group moved to the first floor, and dispatched people to advise the media of the incident, Dr. Dennis P. Carey assistant director of the CPC, attempted to move the demonstration to the Student Center, where scheduled May 4th workshops were taking place. Carey told the group that he felt a sit-in at Rockwell was a "wrong power move" because it could invite negative publicity, as a "break-in" and would be more effective at the time of the HPER building excavation. While Carey said he had experience with demonstration strategy, he was shouted down by various demonstrators, who began talk of an all-night protest. The demonstrators continually argued among themselves whether to maintain the sin-in until morning. The group's morale, suffering from the heat was bolstered twice during the incident- once when rumors of a national television mention of the incident filtered to the group, and when Stokely Carmichael, following his 8 p.m. speech, came to Rockwell to address the demonstrators. "You've got to struggle, struggle, struggle, struggle, against injustice. Keep the home fires burning," he said, pounding his fist, as the demonstrators leaped to their feet in applause. Dean Kahler, Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic, also confined to a wheelchair, Bill Arthrell, Alan Canfora and Chic Canfora, all arrested during the 1970 campus disturbances, and Student Caucus members Nancy Grim, Criag Glassner and Scott Marburger were prominent speakers during the eight hours. Olds, present throughout the occupation, told the group that, as long as the demonstration remained peaceful, the group would be allowed to stay until morning, when classes would resume. He did say the students would be evicted by police in the morning. Olds ordered KSU police to guard the two main entrances on each side of the building, where about 100 spectators milled about, sang and chanted. No one was to be admitted, or readmitted if they left. The Kent City Police, and the Portage County Sheriff's Office were on alert. When discussion finally created the list of demands, and the group was confident its cause had been heard, decided to march out of Rockwell, read the demands and a statement, and disperse. No arrests were made. "Walk out here, swagger out of here with your chin up high. Reflect upon this heavy, heavy day. Be jovial, be excited," Kovic said as the group was leaving. "For seven years we've been intimidated, and frightened, but we've been reborn," he said as the group Cheered. Kahler said, "It was a great emotional victory. We've shown that the students at KSU don't have to be shot to achieve our goals and purpose. The truth demands justice, and we urge all to support our demands." And as the door of Rockwell Hall were set to close behind demonstrators eight hours after they had opened to them, President Olds, leaving KSU in September said; "I'm tired. But it seems fitting that I'm leaving the way I came in." A TIGHTLY PACKED crowd of about 1,500 students, waving red and black flags, marched from the Kent State University campus down East Main Street, left on new S. R. 59, south on DePeyster Street and up East Summit Street in Kent Wednesday afternoon, following the noon campus rally to remember May 4, 1970 when four students were shot fatally on campus by Ohio National Guard bullets. About 100 of the marchers broke ranks and marched into downtown Kent before Kent City Police herded them down South Water Street and back to Summit. The May 4 Task Force had received a parade permit from the city for the planned route on S.R. 59, assuring the city the march would be peaceful. (R-C Photo by Ernie Mastroianni) Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data News Paper Article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Friedmann, Michael 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 KSU Protest Mood Recalls 1970 Subject The topic of the resource Student Protest Description An account of the resource Coverage of the 1977 Kent State University student protests over building a Health Center where students were shot during the 1970 protest. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Vasco, Chris Scrivo, Karen L. 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 May 5, 1977 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Kent, OH Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 4 JPG 300 dpi 1977 Kent Kent University Student Protest https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/03c551bb5b75ad8c73713d9d94a89dd1.jpg 5493d1f878d21519e97dd88f46f8b2bb https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f9771f1da401b8c0b874a2dd2ad4eecf.jpg edc7037e3a4b45ba0903d2dbc40935a5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Even as Ted Bundy spent much of the weekend confessing to unsolved murders, lawyers trying to keep him from the electric chair grew more hopeful that they can win a last-minute stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court. The reason for their optimism: a new, yet-to-be-aired issue for appeal that centers on whether a judge said the right things to a jury almost a decade ago when Bundy was on trial for killing 12-year-old Kimberly Leach in Lake City. Bundy, who is schedules to be executed Tuesday for the murder of Miss Leach, reportedly confessed over the weekend to killing at least nine young women. Those confessions stopped for a time Sunday, however, as the appeal that will be submitted this morning to the U.S. Supreme Court took shape. Additionally, Bundy called off an interview with reporters scheduled for today at noon. The issue that has surfaced—somewhat technical in nature—has to do with whether the judge overseeing the Leach trial conveyed to jurors how important their opinion would be to him when he decided Bundy’s sentence. Though a jury only advises a judge in capital cases on what it thinks is a proper sentence, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that death sentences can be thrown out on appeal if jurors have been led to believe their role isn’t significant. In the Leach trial, says at least one of the lawyers trying to keep Bundy alive, that’s exactly what happened. Michael Mello, a Vermont law professor who has been offering advice to Bundy’s team of lawyers in Florida, said Sunday that a review of the trial transcript shows that Judge Wallace M. Jopling repeatedly told jurors they would be making a “recommendation only” on the question of life or death and that “the judge has the final say.” Because of such comments, Mello said, there has been a growing hope among Bundy’s lawyers that Bundy could get a stay. “I’m optimistic,” Mello said. “This claim is shaping into a very powerful claim.” Gary Printy, a Florida assistant attorney general who has worked on the Bundy case, said he didn’t think Bundy would get very far with the appeal. “I wouldn’t hold my breath for Ted,” he said. However, Mello pointed out that the court has stayed two executions in Florida because of questions similar to the ones Bundy will attempt to raise today. The background of the appeal is this: In 1985, in a case called Caldwell vs. Mississippi, the Supreme Court ruled that convicted murderer Bobby Caldwell, who had been sentenced to death, was entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the judge and prosecutor had told jurors their decision on life or death would be “automatically reviewable.” The danger of such comments, the Supreme Court said in its opinion, is that the jury could “minimize the importance of its role.” Elaborating, the court went on to say, “Even when a sentencing jury is unconvinced that death is the appropriate punishment, it might nevertheless wish to ‘send a message’ of extreme disapproval for the defendant’s acts. This desire might make the jury receptive to the prosecutor’s assurance that it can err (in recommending death) because the error can be corrected on appeal. A defendant might then be executed, although no sentence had ever determined that death was the appropriate sentence.” Since the court’s decision was issued in June 1985, several Florida death row inmates have received stays of execution on the basis of what are known as “Caldwell claims,” and one inmate whose claim failed has been executed. One of the inmates who got a stay, Aubrey Adams, was on his third death warrant when the Supreme Court stopped his execution about 12 hours before he was to die in 1986. Te court, which heard arguments in Adams’ case in November, is expected to decide soon whether jurors were adversely affected when the judge said to them: “The final decision as to what punishment shall be imposed rests solely upon the judge of this court.” “That’s what jurors were told in the Leach trial, and it is one reason Bundy’s lawyers are hopeful. As late as Friday afternoon, the lawyers were anything but hopeful. Some were already wrestling with the notion that Bundy likely would be executed. Over the weekend, Mello said, lawyers who undertook the task of reading a transcript of the Leach trial found instance after instance of what they interpret as improper statements to jurors from both the judge and prosecutors. In one instance, Mello said, a prosecutor asked the juror who would later be foreman, “Do you understand that the judge would have ultimate responsibility?” In another instance, Mello said, a juror asked if she would be deciding whether Bundy would be sentenced to death, and Jopling replied, “No, ma’am. The jury renders and advisory opinion…the judge has the final say so.” In a third instance, according to Mello, Jopling told jurors, “The law places the awesome burden on the judge to decide the final penalty.” “It’s the combination,” Mello said, explaining why such statements might be important nine years after the conclusion of the Leach trial. “It’s the totality of the contents.” Asked whether in light of Bundy’s reported confessions such an appeal was making a mockery of the legal system, Mello said no. “When (jurors) aren’t told about their role, there’s a greater likelihood the jury will come back and recommend death. That’s the constitutional evil. That’s what the Caldwell decision is all about,” Mello said. “You may not think it’s a big deal, but the U.S. Supreme Court in Caldwell said it’s a very big deal. “Maybe we’ll get blown out of the Supreme Court on this, but the Supreme Court knows the issue, and Bundy’s got the issue.” 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. Wilson, Ian Scott 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 Last-minute strategy aims for Bundy stay Description An account of the resource Mello argues that there is a good case for a potential stay of execution for Bundy. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Finkel, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived St. Petersburg Times Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989-01-23 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 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 Serial murderers Supreme Court Bundy, Ted https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/6ecad343f326e5b7ba0c041cc9961f6e.jpg 5b2b91a80ca370889702f00f382976da https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/eb404990baa8961b7066e270f4a1a2e2.jpg da61ef5399f36cb5c656d72c0cabe105 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 Latest Spaziano appeal before high court today Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Ferrell, Claudine Text Any textual data included in the document [Start of the first page] [Heading] Latest Spaziano appeal before high court today [subheading] The death row inmate is still claiming his innocence in the slaying of an 18-year-old. By Michael Griffin Tallahassee Bureau Chief [first column] TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s Supreme Court will listen today as a lawyer for Joseph “Crazy Joe” Spaziano makes his latest courtroom bid to save the former biker from execution for a murder he swears he did not commit. Spaziano, convicted in 1976 of killing Orlando hospital clerk Laura Lynn Harberts, has had four ap- [end of the first column] [start of the second column] peals rejected by the state’s high court, but hopes a key witness’s changed version of events may save his life. Justices will hear arguments from lawyers for Spaziano and the state to determine whether it should re-hear one of the four earlier appeals it rejected. Spaziano also has had two appeals denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. While Spaziano’s execution is scheduled, several issues remain unresolved, including whether: <ul> <li>Gov. Lawton Chiles can keep secret a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report on Spa- </li> </ul> [end of the second column] [Image] Associated Press [Caption] 'They are trying to murder me,' Joseph Spaziano says during an interview at Florida State Prison in Starke. [end of the first page] [start of the second page] [Heading] Harberts’ father afraid Spaziano will win appeal SPAZIANO for D-1 [start of the first column] ziano that he read before signing the latest death warrant. <ul> <li>Spaziano’s out-of-state attorney can adequately represent him.</li> <li>Arguments of innocence can be raised almost 20 years after a jury convicted Spaziano and a judge sentence him to death.</li> </ul> Spaziano’s lawyer, Vermont law Professor Michael Mello, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He and Spaziano have refused to talk to The Orlando Sentinel, accusing its reporters and editors of bias against Spaziano. In an interview with The Associated Press, Spaziano said he is innocent of both the 1973 murder of Harberts and a 1974 Orange County rape for which he is serving a life sentence. Spaziano, 49, said he is terrified at the prospect of death in Florida’s electric chair. “I’m not guilty of no murder. I’m not guilty of no rape,” he said in a prison interview Wednesday, just two weeks before his scheduled execution. “They are trying to murder me,” he said [end of the first column] [start of the second column] from behind a glass partition. “I get afraid.” Art Harberts, father of Laura Harberts, said Wednesday that he is afraid Spaziano will survive the death warrant—his fifth under three governors—and eventually win release from prison. “When is there going to be the end of this thing?” Harberts said. “It’s all about him. It’s all about Joe, the victim. They don’t even think about the other victims, the murders and the rapes he did. Orange County investigators Spaziano a suspect in at least three unsolved rapes and two murders—the death of June Louise Kennedy, 55, and Karen Ann Dupuis, 21. Both bodies were dumped within two miles of a dump near Altamont Springs where the remains of Harberts and another unidentified woman were found on Aug. 27, 1973. Harberts, 18, was last seen alive on Aug. 5 of that year. Several witnesses, including the hospital worker’s roommate, tied Spaziano to Harberts. Other witnesses, including friends of Spaziano and fellow bikers, tied him to the dump. But it was Anthony Dilisio, a Maitland teen who idolized Spaziano, who linked the [end of the second column] [start of the third column] [[words--boxed]]: When is there going to be the end to this thing? It’s all about him. It’s all about Joe, the victim. They don’t even think about the other victims, the murders and the rapes he did. – Art Harberts, Laura’s father biker to the decomposed body of Harberts. He told police that Spaziano bragged about raping and mutilating the woman and finally took him to the dump to display Harberts’ body. In June, Dilisio told The Miami Herald that he had lied 20 years ago and that Spaziano had never taken him to the dump or showed him any bodies. Chiles stayed that execution and ordered the FDLE to investigate Dilisio’s claims. [end of the third column] [start of the fourth column] Agents reported that Dilisio told several people about going to the dump long before police appeared and hypnotized him to enhance his recall. They also quoted a biker now under federal protection who said Spaziano confessed to him while in prison. After reviewing the report and watching an FDLE videotaped interview with Dilisio, Chiles signed the death warrant. He ordered the FDLE report kept secret to protect witnesses who said they feared retaliations. Mello has asked the Supreme Court to stay the execution on the basis of Dilisio’s new version of events. He also hopes to force Chiles to open the files so he can interview the witnesses. But Mello has also filed papers indicating he lacks the money, time and support staff to adequately defend a man fighting for his life. On that basis, he asked the court whether he should continue as Spaziano’s attorney. If the court grants a re-hearing of the case, Spaziano’s execution could be delayed. If justices refuse to intervene, Spaziano may have run out of appeals. [end of the article] Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Latest Spaziano appeal before high court today Description An account of the resource The Florida supreme court will hear a request to reconsider an appeal of convicted murderer Joseph Spaziano. The murder victim's father and Spaziano's attorney Michael Mello express differing concerns about Spaziano's case. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Griffin, Michael Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Griffin, Michael. "Latest Spaziano Appeal before High Court Today." Orlando Sentinel, September 7, 1995, D-1 and D-5. 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 1995-09-07 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tallahassee, FL Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Chiles, Lawton, 1930-1998 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/8154b8cb1cc3d8aee0c2809d0b0ffd88.jpg 2d796725c4c18e27d8d5bf734b5f8ca0 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/b7ed72a36546f9a0250a12f14350179f.jpg 9457806e511c2fe63bb4f4a2fa155296 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 [Page one] [Heading] Around Florida Lawyer backs out of condemned man’s hearing [Subheading, page one] The move leaves Joseph Spaziano unrepresented only nine days before his scheduled execution. [Caption on left picture] Joseph Spaziano’s scheduled execution for the 1973 murder of an Orlando hospital clerk is only nine days away. [Column one] By Diane Rado Times Staff Writer [Beginning of column one] TALLAHASSEE- With death in the electric chair nine days away, Joseph “Crazy Joe” Spaziano is caught in a bizarre fight over who will represent him. He may have no attorney at all for a crucial hearing on his case at the end of the week. Michael Mello, the Vermont law professor who has represented Spaziano this summer, refuses to attend the hearing, calling it “a sham.” He says he’ll file a Bar complaint against state lawyers if they try to intervene in the case. On Monday, Spaziano turned away the lawyers who tried to visit him from the office of Capital Collateral Representative, [End of column one] [Beginning of column two] the state agency that defend death row inmates. “He refused to meet with them,” said Mello. “Then they called him on the phone and tried to cajole him into letting him meet with them and into letting them represent him. He said go away.” Michael Minerva, the head of CCR, said he wouldn’t comment Monday on any “attorney-client communications.” The attorney general’s office, representing the state’s interest in a death warrant against Spaziano, described the situation at typical as the clock ticks toward execution. “This is just the predictable stall,” said Deputy Attorney General Pete Antonacci. “We see it before every execution.” In the past, the Florida Supreme Court has halted an execution when a death row inmate was left without an attorney to adequately represent him. But both Mello and CCR said they are not trying to create that situation. “If they (state prosecutors) believe that, they’re stupid,” said Mello. [End of column two] [Beginning of column three] In an affidavit filed Monday with the Supreme Court, Minerva wrote: “I must also address the distasteful suspicion that I or others at CCR in any way conspired with Mr. Mello or anyone else to precipitate a crisis in counsel for Mr. Spaziano in these proceedings. We did not.” Court documents filed over the weekend indicate friction between CCR and Mello, who previously worked for CCR and represented Spaziano before moving from Florida in 1987: Mello refuses to give CCR any of these boxes of files on the Spaziano case; Mello even filed a letter with the Supreme Court from Spaziano’s mother, Rose. “My children and I are united in wanting you to represent my son Joe in his attorney,” she wrote. “We do not want the CCR to represent him.” CCR acknowledges that it turned down an earlier request from Mello to help on the Spaziano case. “I was reasonably sure we would not agree on how to represent Mr. Spaziano,” Minerva wrote. “Mr. Mello was [End of column three] [End of page one] [Beginning of page two] [Beginning of column four] suspicious and distrustful of CCR. We would not be able to cooperate in a way that co-counsel should and I feel that our disagreeing would not be in Mr. Spaziano’s best interest.’ Mello said in an interview Monday that he doesn’t feel CCR has adequately investigated Spaziano’s claims of innocence in the past and continues to have a conflict of interest in the case. He says CCR investigators tried to threaten and intimidate Anthony DiLisio, the witness who has recanted key testimony against Spaziano. CCR has denied allegations. Both sides agree on one thing; Neither has time to adequately prepare for a hearing on the recanted testimony that is to be held Friday in Seminole County, where Spaziano was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1973 murder of Orlando hospital clerk Laura Lynn Harberts. Both CCR and Mello have asked the Supreme Court to stay Spaziano’s execution. [End of column four] [Caption on right picture] Michael Mello, Joseph Spaziano’s attorney, has said he won’t attend a crucial hearing on the case at the end of the week. [End of page two] Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Andrewlevich, Erin 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 Lawyer backs out of condemned man's hearing Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe. Capital punishment. Description An account of the resource Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano is left without representation in the upcoming trial against him. In his appeal to a death sentence, his lawyer, Michael Mello, stepped down in protest of this trial, arguing that is it a sham. 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 1995-09-12 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. 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 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Capital punishment. Joseph Spaziano Michael Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/17c48e56a324068391151f0c889be03c.jpg 922bb9a29050657cbf1478dc99557551 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 Gainesville Sun, Tuesday, September 12, 1995 Lawyer for Death Row inmate seeks more time to make case The Associated Press [Start of the first column] Tallahassee – The lawyer for Joseph “Crazy Joe” Spaziano wants more time than a week to show why this client is innocent of the murder that has him scheduled for execution in two weeks. Michael Mello, a Vermont law professor representing the former Outlaws motorcycle gang member, said he filed a motion in a Central Florida trial court Monday asking for more time. Mello filed similar motions over the weekend to the state Supreme Court and plans to turn to the U.S. Supreme Court later this week. But whether or not the courts give him an extension, Mello said he will not attend a hearing set for Friday because of the rush. Spaziano, 49, is scheduled to die in Florida’s electric chair 7 a.m. Sept. 21 for the mutilation-murder of an 18-year-old Orlando woman in August 1973. Retired Circuit Judge Robert McGregor, the judge who sentenced Spaziano nearly 20 years, scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. Friday in Sanford into Spaziano’s claims he was wrongly convicted because the key prosecution witness lied. [end of first column] [start of the second column] Late last week, the state Supreme Court ordered the lower court to hold the hearing by Friday. At the same time, the high court refused to postpone the scheduled execution. At the heart of Spaziano’s appeal is Anthony DiLisio, who told jurors in Spaziano’s trial that Spaziano had taken him to an Altamonte Springs dump where the body of Laura Lynn Harberts was found. Earlier this summer, DiLisio, who now lives in Pensacola, recanted his testimony, prompting Gov. Lawton Chiles to call off an execution scheduled for June and to order the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. Last month, Chiles said the results of the FDLE investigation settled any doubts, and he signed a fifth death warrant. Mello said if Friday’s hearing is not delayed and does not result in a stay of execution, he will file one final request for clemency to Chiles before the execution. Also Monday, the state office charged under the law with representing indigent death row inmates filed a motion to the state Supreme Court asking for a stay for Spaziano and clarification of its role. Mello said Spaziano has refused to allow the office to be involved, but the high court said Friday the state office was required to provide Mellow with assistance. [end] 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. Hunnel, Debi 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 Lawyer for death row inmate seeks more time to make case 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 Capital punishment Clemency Description An account of the resource Mello files for stay of execution for Joseph Spaziano. Prosecution witness recants testimony. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Associated Press Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Gainesville Sun. "Lawyer for death row inmate seeks more time to make case." Gainesville Sun, September 12, 1995 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-12 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 Gainesville, FL Clemency stay of execution https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c0349ce14514e9bb77e1216f8083e0f4.jpg 6f4e495634e0c857c2ffa98de00b8174 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/e1c35c3520d3f3aa0bda9502b171be29.jpg fc759c7bf0133d155e6f328c0e753255 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c73d4b5be711b4b18df8857dae23a5e5.jpg a307ba8dea7f7dbaf6a2b6d6219cb6e6 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/0dae1f7da640aa010da0b03c56a888e9.jpg e0b3f830b9d6edc9c2f9c1cf71124ba5 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) Sunday Issue from 1995-10-08 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Silberstein, Michael Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Text Any textual data included in the document [title] Lawyer Stretches The Ethics Envelope [title] [image – Michael Mello] VLS Professor Knows Time Is Running Out For Death Row Client [subtitle] By BRYAN K. MARQUARD Valley News Staff Writer Michael Mello believes that one of his clients – a convicted murderer – is innocent. Such a belief is hardly surprising coming from an appellate attorney who has spent a dozen years keeping this client away from Old Sparky, the nickname for Florida’s electric chair. But Mello, a professor at Vermont Law School, has taken it one step further. Innocence he said, is an attribute Joseph Robert Spaziano does not share with any other condemned man with whom Mello has worked – and he has been closely involved in about 70 death row cases. “I’m saying he’s innocent the old fashioned way, as my mother would put it,” Mello has written. “Joe Spaziano didn’t do the crime, period. This fact makes him unique among my death row clients.” That final phrase, which has appeared in opinion articles he wrote for the Miami Herald, the Valley News and the Vermont Law Review, is a bold statement – one that some legal experts say would never be allowed in a courtroom argument. The decision to publish it presented Mello with a moral dilemma: toe the line of legal ethics, or go all out in an attempt to prevent the execution of a man that he believed “in the marrow of my bones” was innocent. There are many things that make this case unusual. If he were beginning his trip through the court system today, Spaziano would not end up on death row, and in all likelihood would not be convicted. Spaziano was sentenced to be electrocuted for murdering a woman in 1973. According to Florida newspaper accounts, no physical evidence connected him to the crime. He was convicted on the basis of testimony by a teenage boy who only remembered hearing Spaziano talk about the killing after two sessions of hypnosis – and the teen said their conversation took place on a day when they took LSD, smoked marijuana and got drunk. In 976, a jury recommended life in prison, but a judge imposed a death sentence instead. Years later, the Florida Supreme Court decided that so-called hypnotically refreshed testimony is not admissible in trails, but the ruling was applied retroactively and was of no help to [end page] Lawyer Pushes Envelope As Client’s Time Runs Down [title] unable to determine the cause of Harbert’s death. Spaziano has alibi for the day Harbert’s disappeared, and Mello said there are reasons. To begin with, he wasn’t a suspect for two years and its difficult for all but those who keep journals to recall a single day two years later, Mello said. Also, Spaziano was run over by a truck in 1966, and the severe head injury still limits his memory. Brain damage from the accident led to behavior that earned him the nickname Crazy Joe, Mello said. In Florida, death warrants signed by governor are pieces of paper with thick black borders, the better to distinguish them from run-of-the mill government paperwork. During the more than 19 years Spaziano has been on death row, three governors have signed a total of five warrants. When the Florida Supreme Court issued its most recent indefinite stay of execution last month, Spaziano’s head had already been shaved in anticipation of the trip to Old Sparky, Mello called Sept. 12 with the news. It was Spaziano’s 50th birthday – the 20th he has celebrated on death row. The Last Death Row Case [subtitle] But for the book-lined surroundings in the living room of his Wilder home, Mello looked like he could be on death row as he discussed the Spaziano case. He smoked on Camel filtered cigarette after another in an interview punctuated by coughs – a reminder of a battle with pneumonia that Mello waged earlier this year. A carved cigarette holder provided another filter for the nicotine, and is a reminder of another threat to his health. Mello, who is 38, underwent surgery a few months ago for possible cancer of the tongue. The prognosis is good: no cancer was found. The prognosis is not so good for Spaziano. The Florida Supreme Court set an early November date for an evidence hearing, and Mello – along with a capital punishment class he teaches at Vermont Law School – is preparing a certiorari petition for the U.S. Supreme Court. But Spaziano’s case has gone before both courts on various occasions during the past 19 years. After the key witness, Tony Dilisio, recanted his testimony in June, public outcry prompted Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles to issue an indefinite stay of execution until a review of the case could be completed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Based on that agency’s report, the governor signed another death warrant even though he ordered the report sealed, which is permissible in clemency proceedings. The state supreme court first rejected an appeal for an indefinite stay and set a hearing shortly before the Sept. 21 execution date. But Mello refused to participate, saying he had too little time to prepare and no resources. The gamble paid off: the court instituted an indefinite stay and ordered the November hearing, but it also ordered Mello of the case. That order appears to have had little effect on Mello, whose life and home are consumed with the case; he estimated he has spent about $12,000 of his own money this year on phone bills, materials and court charges while working to save Spaziano. It all may be for naught. Mello’s efforts have resulted in the sentences of many condemned men being commuted to life sentences, but he is icily realistic about his chances this time. Only one other person on Florida’s death row has survived five death warrants, and he was executed on the seventh. “The likely outcome I think is that the evidentiary hearing will happen … and we’ll lose,” Mello said. “Gov. Chiles will sign a new death warrant the day we lose the hearing … So I think he’s got two months.” “Joe’s had two miracles already with the last four months,” he added. “I don’t know if he’s got enough karma left for another one.” Lawyer and client have already discussed one detail: Mello will be present to witness the execution. If it occurs, it will be the first execution Mellow has attended. And Spaziano, he said, is his last capital punishment case. Absolute Opposition [subtitle] Mello said he decision to flout ethics rules in a last-ditch attempt to save Spaziano could be seen as civil disobedience. Although he agonized over the decision to single out Spaziano as an innocent client, Mello has no regrets. He has worked on other death row cases involving better-know clients, among them serial killer Ted Bundy, who was sentenced in December to the electric chair for killing an abortion doctor and his escort in Pensacola Fla. “I absolutely oppose the legal system of capital punishment that operates in the U.S. today,” Mello said. There currently are no circumstances under which his opposition would waver “because any capital punishment that will execute Ted Bundy … will also have the power to execute Joe Spaziano.” “The question everyone ought to be asking themselves about capital punishment isn’t whether you support in the abstract, because that’s irrelevant,” he added. “The question is whether you think the criminal justice system as it exists today is competent and reliable enough to make the right choices in deciding who among us has lost their moral entitlement to live, who among us deserves to die. “And I don’t see how anyone followed the O.J. trial, and certainly no one who has read with anything remotely like an open mind the trial transcripts in Joe Spaziano’s case can support capital punishment.” [end page] Spaziano. Today, a jury’s call for a life sentence is binding, but Mello said Spaziano’s appeal passed through the courts during a brief time when judges were not overruled if they ignored jury recommendations and meted out death sentences. And then there’s the prosecution’s key witness, Tony Dilisio. “if you don’t believe Tony Dilisio, find this defendant not guilty in five minutes,” a newspaper account quoted the prosecutor as telling the jury in 1976. Earlier this summer, Dilisio forcefully recanted his testimony. “Joe has been an incredible victim of bad timing and bad luck,” Mello said in an interview last week. Mello, formerly a public defender in Florida, said proclaiming Spaziano’s innocence at the beginning of an opinion piece for the Miami Herald was necessary to convince the newspaper to report on the case. He sought the involvement of the paper because its reporting had led to the pardons of two death row inmates in the 1970s. Since the opinion piece appeared, stories reported by the Herald, including the witness’s recantation, led some Florida newspapers to call for a reexamination of Spaziano’s conviction and death sentence. First the governor and then Florida Supreme Court ordered temporary delays in his execution. By singling out Spaziano’s innocence in his opinion piece, Mello helped spare a life – at least until next month, when a hearing is scheduled. But by his own admission, he also flouted established rules of legal ethics, and some experts say he potentially cast aspersions on his 69 other death row inmates – about a dozen of whom have already been executed. “It certainly could potentially have legal ramifications for me and professional ramifications for me since me saying that, I think is a fairly clear violation of Florida’s ethics rules governing the behavior of lawyers.” said Mello, who became involved in Spaziano’s case while handling capital appeals in Florida during the 1980s. Several legal ethics experts interviewed by the Valley News said that a published statement such as Mello’s could raise a host of issues, such as potential breach of confidentiality by suggesting that he had personal knowledge of the guilt or innocence of his clients and was publicly revealing the information. Others cited a potential for conflict of interest in playing the needs of one client against dozens of others, or the possibility that by going to the media, Mello skirted a rule that prohibits lawyers from personally vouching in court for the guilt or innocence of a client. The bluntest remarks came from Geoffrey Hazard, a trustee professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The public comment violated “the spirit of the rule that a lawyer may not make a personal affirmation concerning the guilt or innocence of a client,” he said. The second problem, he added, is that such as statement “condemns everybody else that he’s represented in a capital case.” But some of the experts also said that Mello’s potential lapses may well have been called for in a situation such as Spaziano’s, which has taken several unusual legal twists. “In my mind, he gets pretty high marks for going to the wall for his client,” said Jim Duggan, the chief appellate defender for the state of New Hampshire, who teaches at Franklin Pierce Law Center. “In my book, it’s a minor peccadillo if at all,” said the Rev. Rebert Drinan, founder of the Georgetown University Journal of Legal Ethics. “I’m prepared to give him absolution from whatever sin he might have committed.” And David E. Kendall, who spent five years in the 1970s working for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said of Mello: “He’s a resourceful, dedicated and creative anti-capital punishment lawyer.” Kendall, who currently is counsel to President Bill Clinton on the Whitewater matter, said Mello is “held in the highest regard by his colleagues.” Mello said that, to date, none of this former death row clients has expressed anger or concern over his published statement. There has been some adverse reaction from colleagues and former colleagues, however, which he characterized as: “How can you sell your other 69 clients down the road?’ … That’s a good question. It’s a damm good question that I don’t have a real good answer for.” The only explanation, he said, is that the statement is true, and that publishing it was the only way to get the necessary media attention. As of Friday, no complaints had been filed with Florida Bar association, a spokes-women said; Mello remains a member in good standing. A 50th Birthday Present [subtitle] In many newspaper accounts of this case, Spaziano is referred to in headlines as “Crazy Joe” – a nickname he picked up during his days a local chapter leader of the Outlaws motorcycle gang. A police mug shot from the early 1970s shows him with the thick flowing hair and beard of a biker – a stark contrast to the file photograph Florida newspapers run of the victim, Laura Lynn Harberts, and attractive, 18-year-old hospital clerk from Orlando. Police did not focus on Spaziano as a murder suspect for two years. By that time, he had been charged and convicted of brutally raping and assaulting a 16-year-old girl – a crime he also says he did not commit, and one that Mello also hopes to overturn. Authorities said that crime bore similarities to the Harberts murder, but newspaper accounts note that a medical examiner was [end page] Opposition To Capital Punishment Goes Back To Teen Years [title] By Bryan K. Marquard Valley News Staff Writer The play Inherit the Wind suggested a pair of potential career pats to Michael Mello when he was a high school student in Virginia. He was impressed by the Clarence Darrow and H.L. Mencken characters and weighed the options of whether to pursue law or journalism. “I ultimately decided that I wasn’t a good enough writer to be a journalist,” he said, “so I ended up going to law school.” Before leaving high school, however, the teenager came across a passage in his readings that planted the seeds for what has become a career-long opposition to capital punishment as it is practiced in this country. “For as long as I remember, I’ve had a visceral opposition to capital punishment,” Mello said. “it’s interesting, I can trace that back to a moment in high school when I read somewhere that the chemical compound that California uses in its gas chamber is the same chemical with the same trade name – Zyklon B – that the Nazis used at Auschwitz.” “I wanted to be real clear about this – that’s a totally irrational connection to make particularly in light of the Johnnie Cochran atrocities over the last week or so,” he added, referring to the lawyer for O.J. Simpson who compared Los Angeles Police Detective Mark Fuhrman to Adolph Hitler. “Any parallel to the Holocaust, but especially those sort of facile ones, I find just revolting and deeply, deeply offensive.” Nevertheless, as a teenager in the 1970s, reading that simple fact about a deadly chemical had a significant impact. Mello is Jewish, and the Holocaust was a subject of discussion when he was growing up. “A good part of the reason why I read as much about the Holocaust as I did starting in high school and continuing up as recently as last night was that part of my mother’s family was killed, most likely in Warsaw ghetto or Auschwitz,” he said. “It’s something that is very much a part of my own sort of emotional and psychic landscape,” he added.“It’s something I’ve never written about – and I’m not sure that I ever will write about it – but it’s never far from my consciousness.” Mello was born in Washington and grew up in northern Virginia. His parents worked for the government, although his memory – a precise tool when applied to his clients’ cases – is somewhat vague on this point. “My mother was a secretary and father was something in government,” he said. “I’ve never really been clear on what that was.” After graduating from Mary Washing College in Fredericksburg, Va., with a degree in history and philosophy, and from the University of Virginia law school, his first job provided the experience that sparked his interest in capital punishment cases and cemented his opposition. In 1982, Mello became the so-called “death clerk” for Judge Robert S. Vance of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. “Which meant that all of the death cases that came into his chambers came through me,” Mello said. A year later, he joined the capital appeals division of the Florida Defender’s office in West Palm Beach, Fla. Mello felt that, coming from a working class background, he had “an obligation to give something back” through public service. He also harbored a measure of guilt because of a certain case from his year as a clerk. Mello was told to draft an opinion for Vance upholding the constitutionality of a particular death sentence. The prisoner, Ivon Ray Stanley, “clearly was retarded, clearly was a follower in a bad crime – but a fairly run of the mill felony murder case,” Mello said. “Ivon Ray Stanley probably will be count one of the indictment against me that’s going to end me up in hell,” he said. “I agonized over the opinion.” He briefly considered not writing the opinion or resigning, but friends said “if you quit and walk away, someone else will come in and do it, and won’t have you sensibilities, won’t even realize that this case is a problem.” His first assignment during his first week as a public defender was an appeal for Joseph Spaziano, a convicted murderer on death row. More than a dozen years after Mello encountered the case, he draws a narrative thread from the Ivon Ray Stanley decision to his work on behalf of Joseph Spaziano to a decision to walk away from his work as a lawyer in death row appeals. Spaziano, Mello said, in his final battle. “It’s the old liberal’s dilemma: To what extent should you buy into a system that’s not fair? And I knew that I was unfair then,” Mello said. “I concluded more recently because of Joe Spaziano’s case … that the system’s not just unfair, but it’s evil. And the way Joe Spaziano’s case was treated by the courts really was the final push that led me to a personal decision not to participate in any other (capital punishment) cases.” [end page] 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 Lawyer Stretches The Ethics Envelope Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment--United States Description An account of the resource A reporting in the "Valley News" over the legal dispute surrounding Michael Mello's claim that his client, Joeseph Robert Spazionao, is innocent. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marquard, Bryan Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Bryan Marquard, "Lawyer Stretches the Ethical Envelope," Valley News (West Lebanon, NH) October 8, 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 1995-10-08 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 4 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 New Hampshire Innocent Joeseph Robert Spazionao Michael Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c09772a2879fa1a07326d2b0d8d08eff.jpg cf26c69aa48c7b1b71160e25f5d8cd48 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 [title] Lawyer takes Spaziano case to top U.S. court  [subtitle] Michael Mello seeks an FDLE report that he says can help the ex-Outlaws motorcycle member. By Jim Leusner Of The Sentinel Staff A lawyer who was booted from representing convicted killer Joseph Spaziano by the Florida Supreme Court is back again. Vermont law professor Michael Mello said Monday he was asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the state court's rulings in the case. He again is seeking access to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report he says has evidence to aid his client's defense. Spaziano, a former Outlaws motorcycle gang member, is seeking a new trial in the 1973 murder of Orlando hospital clerk Laura Harberts. The state Supreme Court removed Mello from the case last month after he refused to attend a hearing in Sanford or turn over files to other lawyers ordered to represent Spaziano. A key witness who testified that Spaziano showed him Herberts' body at a dump recanted his story in June to the Miami Herold, prompting police and court reviews. The witness, Anthony DiLisio, insist that he lied at the urging of police and his father. The law firm of Holland & Knight and Orlando defense attorney James Russ volunteered to represent Spaziano at a hearing scheduled for the next month in Sanford, but that hasn't stopped Mello from continuing his fight. "There is no doubt whatsoever that I am Joe's counsel of record in the U.S. Supreme Court case," said Mello, adding the state court cannot bar his federal appearance. He maintains that Spaziano, 50, still wants him as his lawyer. Mello said he wants the high court to order the release of the FDLE report, which he contends Gov. Lawton Chiles has wrongfully kept secret. He also maintains that Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth has a conflict of interest in prosecuting the case while also having a vote on clemency proceedings presented by the governor. Mello said he may file a motion challenging his removal from Spaziano's state court appeal. Greg Thomas of Holland & Knight said his office was concentrating on the Sanford hearing and would not comment on the appeal. "It's a different court and a different issue," he said. Chiles has refused to grant Spaziano clemency. He also has refused to release the FDLE report, citing concern for the safety of witnesses and he confidentially of the clemency process. Chiles' counsel, Dexter Douglass, said he was surprised by Mello's actions, since clemency is authorized by the Florida Constitution, and is not a federal question. Douglas said there was nothing in the FDLE report that he believes would exonerate Spaziano. He also said that Butterworth's office has not seen report. [end page] Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Pace, Sam 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 Lawyer takes Spaziano cases to top U.S. court Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano murder trial Description An account of the resource Newspaper article from October 10, 1995 about the murder trial of Spaziano. The articles talks about Michael Mello's plea to the United States Supreme Court review the courts ruling. Stating that there is important evidence that can aid in Spaziano's defense Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Leusner, Jim 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 1995-10-10 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/45b3af43beccbe1e4a864a352345d414.jpg e745a14aee0b1cc9da3ffa8a465bdafb Text Text Any textual data included in the document Theodore Kaczynski was improperly denied his day in court argues a Vermont law professor who won Kaczynski's cooperation to write a book about his case. “I do not believe that Theodore Kaczynski was a paranoid schizophrenic” as his lawyers claimed, Vermont Law School professor Michael Mello said in a talk Wednesday at the law school. Mello has exchanged letters for about a year with the Unabomber, who is at a federal “supermax” prison in Colorado. Mello argues in his recently published, critically acclaimed book, “U.S.A. v. Theodore John Kaczynski: Ethics, Power and the Invention of the Unabomber,” that it was wrong to box Kaczynski into entering a guilty plea – even though [Picture of Michael Mello] letting him go to trial almost certainly would have ended in his execution for the murders of three people and maimings of 23 others with mail bombs. Mello said the case had raised “some of the most basic questions about the nature of attorney-client relationship in capital cases.” As Mello put them: [Black Square] “Should court-appointed lawyers be allowed to force a mental illness defense upon a client who specifically and emphatically rejects it, and who is mentally competent to stand trial?” Mello argued New York subway gunman Colin Ferguson was far more mentally ill than Kaczynski, but was allowed to stand trial. [Black Square] “Can a mentally competent, citizen-accused be denied the right to self-representation?” U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. turned down Kaczynski’s request that he be allowed to dismiss his lawyers and represent himself. When one man in the audience, who identified himself as a physician, argued Kaczynski was a paranoid schizophrenic, Mello replied that a major part of the definition of that psychiatric disease is that the patient must be delusional. “Where’s the delusion?” he asked. Mello argued Kaczynski was evil, but that he had rationally calculated that his threat to send more deadly mail bombs would get his 35,000-word manifesto published in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Clip Student Editor of the Digital Item William Goodman 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 Lawyer: Kaczynski Wronged Subject The topic of the resource Kaczynski, Theodore John, 1942-2023 -- Trials, litigation, etc Mello, Michael -- Authorship Description An account of the resource David Gram of the Associated Press writes about Michael Mello's argument that the Unabomber should be allowed to represent himself. Mello disagrees with the state's decision to declare Kaczynski a paranoid schizophrenic despite Kaczynski's emphatic rejection of the label. Mello further argues that Kaczynski was evil, but not delusional as it took careful planning to execute his attacks. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gram, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Associated Press Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 299, 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 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 South Royalton, VT Mello Michael Mello Ted Kaczynski Unabomber https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/509c933a7dedae9b003f9fa7dcdc2ef4.jpg ea4fe3b3bbff4ed60843e0d8fdb1d338 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document ATLANTA — The execution of a convict who was under 18 at the time he committed the crime would violate evolving standards of decency established by history and law, an attorney argued before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday. Mike Mello represented Florida Death Row inmate Paul Magill, who was 17 when he was charged with first-degree murder, rape and armed robbery of a 25-year-old Marion County convenience store clerk. "If the state says he is too immature to vote, too immature to buy liquor for another four years, too immature to go to jai alai and bet, too immature to enter into a contract, too immature to make out a will . . . the state can't turn around and say you're mature enough to be executed," Mello argued. But Margene Roper, an assistant Florida attorney general, said Mello's characterization of his client pales against "the brutal savage act of murder" committed by Magill. "You can't say that no one knows murder isn't evil . . . simple immaturity is not going to excuse that act," she said. "The capital punishment of a juvenile is a fair form of retribution for a crime that so defiles the dignity of the community," Ms. Roper said. 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. Phillips, Lydia Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. Found on A-7 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 Lawyers Argue Over Executing Young Slayers Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment--Georgia Description An account of the resource An article on the execution of juveniles in the state of Florida by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Times-Union and Journal 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 1986-03-29 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 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 United States 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals capital punishment court court case Florida Georgia Juvenile Mike Mello minor https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/8c776b372f7152ddc50d827b8442c9ba.jpg 328a8a0152cfe30c341eb5e10f33bbf5 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/7f17b03f2b47fd5038e10c77e661c6a5.jpg 8b57de46a173e0e76f4955ff15d71332 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/cd1692ccabebac207b733b666e5414e6.jpg dc4ca7cd2f4318eee35eb24d7a57daa1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Bostaph, Emily Text Any textual data included in the document President Woodard was correct when, last Sunday at the DVIR address, he said that “Secretary of State Rusk guided and administered the foreign policy of our nation,” between 1961-1969. No matter what direction that foreign policy took and no matter what one’s assessment of it, Rusk bears a large measure of responsibility for it. The major focus of American foreign policy effort, attention, and resources for the last four years of Rusk’s term was concentrated upon war in Southeast Asia: if certain of the policies were “criminal,” as defined by universal morality as embodied in international law, then the Secretary of State must surely bear a measure of liability. I believe that at least five policies embodied by the U.S. in Vietnam were criminal by these two standards. 1) The massive destruction of crops by the use of chemicals. Rusk claimed time and again that only military targets had been targeted for destruction in Vietnam, yet the Defense Department reported that 505,000 acres of crops and 4,560,000 acres of forest were defoliated between 1962-1968. Studies concluded that these chemicals caused birth defects; further, the destruction of families’ livelihood often drove them into wretched refugee centers. 2) The use of “search and destroy” missions that entailed, in effect, the total destruction of entire villages. 3)”Free fire zones.” 4) The almost universal use of torture on prisoners of war, suspected enemy sympathizers and dissidents in general. 5) The aerial bombing of civilians. Rusk stated (in Prof. Fickett’s class), he had always been skeptical about the bombing; Rusk further said that it was his responsibility as Secretary of State to carry out the decisions of the president, even if he personally disagreed with those decisions. He claimed, in effect, that he was “just following orders”: a concept which was specifically denied by the Nuremburg Tribunal. Rusk said that he had always been skeptical about the bombing. But he was never “skeptical” enough to write any memorandums or to initiate any correspondence to that effect—as his colleague George Ball continually did. His “skepticism” did not prevent him from defending the B-52 raids before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1966. And he was never so “skeptical” about the bombing that he resigned his post in protest—as his colleague Eric Goldman did. It is perhaps true that Rusk never signed any orders calling for the bombing of civilians; he never formally ordered the torture of prisoners. But he also never protested the systematic and widespread use of war crimes, although his position as Secretary of State would have given his dissent a particular power. It is absurd to suggest that he was unaware of them, for they were regularly reported by firsthand observers in such publications as the NEW YORK TIMES, the LONDON TIMES and the WASHINGTON POST. It is difficult to visualize a Secretary of State failing to read these publications. Perhaps Rusk doubted the accuracy of the reports. But why did he not then initiate his own investigation as his subordinates had urged? Certainly he was aware of the bombing and defoliation, and it is difficult to believe that he is unaware of the rest. The conclusion is inescapable: although he was aware (at the very least) of the systematic policies of war crimes being practiced in Vietnam, he chose to ignore them. Rusk said in March that, “It isn’t a comfortable easy war. It is a dirty, mean struggle carried out without regard for ordinary norms of conduct by the Vietcong.” Rusk used this logic to justify search and destroy missions, free fire zones, and defoliation; he completely evaded inquires on the use of torture. Because the VC did it, we could do it. But if we use the same tactics as the enemy, are we not then as bad as the enemy? Rusk himself called the tactics of Vietnam “brutal,” “inhumane,” “criminal.” If we emulate those tactics, what does that make us? If Dean Rusk and his fellows in the highest councils of government are not the ones liable for this policy of war crimes, then who is? Is the infantryman who was drafted against his will, given 90 days of training and airlifted into a terrifying environment in which everyone but his buddies were considered the enemy? Vietnam was a war with no front lines, no demilitarized zones; it was an atmosphere that made such occurrences as My Lai all but inevitable. Are we to blame the pilots and the artillery officers, who would have been court marshaled had they refused orders under combat conditions? Are we to blame the generals and admirals who gave the pilots and artillery forces their orders? Or does the real blame for U.S. war crimes rest on the men in Washington who gave the generals their orders? They committed the greatest atrocity of all—those Lyndon Johnson, Dean Rusks, Robert McNamaras, McGeorge Bundys, who brought this country into the obscenity of Vietnam, who developed the policies and the use of the weapons that have destroyed Vietnam, that led inevitably to My Lai, that gave Cally and the other Callys the weapons and the opportunity to vent what was in them on the innocent, and who then sanctimoniously proclaimed their devotion to peace and liberty and freedom. This was the doctrine that America ratified in Europe in 1945: that when a national at war engages in a systematic program of war crimes, it is not the technicians who actually pushed the buttons in Dochau and Auschwitz that hang, rather it is the major governmental officials who initiated the policy who are liable. This was the principle adopted by the allies when they sent the major Nazi governmental officials to the scaffold. It is interesting to note that one such official was Joachim Ribbentrop, Reich Minister for foreign affairs; his job description was remarkably similar to Rusk’s. Nowhere in the volumes of evidence presented against him (which may be found in the MWC Library) was it suggested that Ribbentrop himself ever physically killed another human being. Yet he was indicted, tried, convicted and executed for, among other things, conspiring in the planning of aerial bombing of England, complicity in the systematic mistreatment of American prisoners in the Battle of the Bulge, and his complicity in turning the Warsaw Ghetto into a “free fire zone.” Ribbentrop was “skeptical” about these policies, but not skeptical enough to try to stop them. The Nuremburg Tribunal is instructive: “On 18th October, 1942, Hitler issued the Commando Order…ordering the evacuation of all persons in Northern Norway and the burning of their houses so that they could not help the Russians…Ribbentrop testifies that he was strongly opposed on moral and legal grounds, but could not refuse to pass it on…there is little evidence that Ribbentrop was actively connected with the program, and he must have concentrated on his task of strategic planning.” Exchange the word “Vietnam” for “Northern Norway,” and “Vietcong” for “Russians” and you have the strategic Hamlet Program and the search and destroy mission. Are we to apply a different standard upon ourselves than we did on Germany? Robert Jackson, the chief prosecutors at Nuremburg, agreed that this would be the epitome of hypocracy: “If certain acts in violation of treaties are crimes, they are crimes whether the U.S. does them or whether Germany does them, and we are not prepared to lay down a rule of criminal conduct against other which we would be unwilling to invoke against ourselves.” Of course, the implicit assumption here is that the Nuremburg concepts were valid, that “war crimes” do exist, that there exists at least a broad universal morality and code of conduct that transcends national boundaries. But a Machiavelian might argue that national self-interest is the only standard for judging foreign policy; such a person might argue that “was crimes” in Vietnam were justified because they were in the national interest. By this yardstick, rusk would not be guilty of war crimes and neither would Hitler, Himmler and Eichman. I would argue, however, that such crimes were not in America’s interest because they made it impossible for us to win the war. Vietnam was not so much a war of military objectives. It was essentially a struggle to win the “hearts and minds” of the Vietnamese people: an attempt to convince them to reject communism and embrace democracy. But one does not use napalm on villages and hamlets sheltering civilians caught between the government and the enemy if one is attempting to persuade those people of the rightness of one’s cause. One does not blast hamlets and their occupants with high explosives, defoliate a country and deform its people with chemicals if one is attempting to persuade them of the foe’s evil nature and one’s own morality. One does not declare where the people live (with nothing but a desire to be left alone) a “free fire zone” with anything and everything in it liable for destruction and death is one is attempting to persuade these people that one is fighting for their lives and liberties. If victory was defined as winning the “hearts and minds” of the people as Lyndon Johnson claimed, was this policy of atrocities the way to win? The only lasting peace we could have achieved in Vietnam was the peace of the graveyard. In the words of Tacitus in Life of Agricola, “they have made a desert, and have called it peace.” Was a desert worth 107,800,000,000 American taxpayer dollars, 303,475 Americans wounded and 55,000 Americans killed? Is this in our own “national interest?” 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 Legacy of Dean Rusk: Two Views Subject The topic of the resource Vietnam War, 1961-1975 War crimes investigation Cabinet officers Rusk, Dean, 1909-1994 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael, “Legacy of Dean Rusk: Two Views.” The Bullet, November 22, 1977. 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 1977-11-22 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 3 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA Description An account of the resource This is an article was written by Michael A. Mello in 1977 for the College of Mary Washington's student run newspaper, called The Bullet. Mello is arguing that the United States did indeed commit war crimes during our time in SouthEast Asia, during the Vietnam war, and that Secretary of State Dean David Rusk is the one responsible for those crimes, therefor should be held accountable. Throughout this article he often compares the "war crimes" the U.S. committed to those committed by Germany during the Holocaust. Because no one took responsibility, or even admitted that the actions were comparable to war crimes, he believes all the blame lays on David Rusk for he was the Secretary of State at the time, and was the one responsible for giving the orders. bombing Dean Rusk foreign policy Rusk Secretary of State Secretary of State Rusk The Bullet Vietnam War war crimes https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/ea3f48666ec79722cc877db750317745.jpg e6aeec26a02596e95ace594b837242b9 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/270584e4ed41f90b64e75e948f00e61b.jpg 23ebb5e7bd1225852df5ac8f1f83cdae 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 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Thomas, Sean Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Text Any textual data included in the document [First Page] [Heading] Legal gamble wins Spaziano stay [Subheading] The Supreme Court orders a hearing on new evidence after a Death Row inmate's attorney refuses to show. By Larry Kaplow Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau [Start of the first column] TALLAHASSEE- The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday halted next week’s scheduled execution of 20-year Death Row inmate Joseph Spaziano for a reason that characterizes the troubling case: His attorney refused to go ahead with a last-chance hearing. The decision to indefinitely postpone the execution and order a hearing about new evidence was the latest in a case centering on testimony that was given by a troubled teenager under hypnosis --- no longer allowed in courts. The teenager, now an adult, recanted the trial testimony this summer after Gov. Lawton Chiles signed Spaziano’s fourth death warrant. The case has been marked by brinkmanship, [start of the second column] secrets, leaks, and sudden reversals since. Supreme Court Justice Gerald Kogan called it “grossly disturbing.” [photo] Spaziano The ruling Tuesday nullifies what was Spaziano’s fifth death warrant --- the most of any living Death Row inmate. And it did so on the 50th birthday of the Outlaws motorcycle gang leader known as Crazy Joe. Spaziano, also serving a sentence for rape, was convicted of the 1973 murder of hospital records clerk Laura Lynn Harberts, 18. Her mutilated body was found in a trash dump in Seminole County. Harberts’ father said Tuesday that his family has had to cope with the case for many years. “I hope justice is served,” said Art Harberts, 67. Please see SPAZIANO/4A [end of the first page] [start of the second page] [Heading] Professor says attorney played 'a game of chicken’ for client SPAZIANO From 1A [start of the third column] “There is a lot of suffering and anguish for other people.” The key witness in the trial was teenager and Outlaw groupie Anthony DiLisio. DiLisio testified that Spaziano had bragged about killing women and took him to see Harberts’ body. But the testimony was induced by hypnosis because DiLisio could not provide police with the details they sought to make their case. After several appeals and three vacated death warrants, Chiles ordered Spaziano’s execution in June. He withdrew the order after The Miami Herald quoted DiLisio as saying that he made up the testimony at the urging of police. Chiles ordered Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators to review the new information. He kept their findings secret but said he had no doubts of Spaziano’s guilt and signed a fifth death warrant last month. [Image] Mello Meanwhile, maverick volunteer attorney Michael Mello has tried to save Spaziano through rhetorical pleas and high-stakes court maneuvers. He’s drawn open rebukes from Chiles’ office and thinly veiled criticisms from the Florida Supreme Court. When the court refused to stay Spaziano’s Sept. 21 execution last week, it ordered that a fast-track hearing on DiLisio’s recanted testimony be held in Seminole County by Friday. Mello, a professor at a small law school in Vermont and a former assistant public defender in West Palm Beach, said he refused to attend Friday’s hearing because he didn’t have enough time or money to prepare. In its ruling Tuesday, the court declared that Mello had acted with “flagrant disregard” for court procedures and had, therefore “effectively withdrawn” from the case. It ordered him to turn over his files to the state agency that usually defends Death Row inmates and ordered the hearing on DiLisio’s recantation by Nov. 15. Mello said he was “extremely relieved Joe will not be executed on schedule” but insists he has not left the case. He said he will try to find a law firm to [start of the fourth column] provide him the backing to continue. He gave Spaziano the news by phone Tuesday. “He’s been through this drill so many times,” Mello said, noting Spaziano had shaved his head in preparation for the electrocution. The opinion takes Chiles’ office out of the process until the lower courts meet over the issue of the recanted testimony. After the opinion was released, Chiles general counsel Dexter Douglass said his office had been ready for the Spaziano case to end. “This matter’s got to come to a closure,” Douglass said. “The fact that he stayed it off 22 years is no reason not to enforce the death penalty.” Chiles’ office was critical of Mello last week over a profanity-laced memo in which he outlined his case strategy. Chiles, before the opinion Tuesday, said Mello’s latest tactics were not “serving justice.” Michael Radelet, a University of Florida professor who worked with Mello and wrote a book documenting executions of innocent people, said Mello knows he could be sanctioned for his actions but he “played a game of chicken” for his client. Radelet noted that Chiles and his predecessor, Bobb Martinez, are the first governors this century not to have granted clemency to anybody on Death Row. Now, prosecutors and lawyers for the office of Attorney General Bob Butterworth will continue gathering evidence for the Seminole County hearing, said Richard Martell, chief of capital appeals. He said that they are not privy to what Chiles gathered in his brief investigation. One part of the investigation includes a video-taped interview with FDLE agents sent by Chiles in which DiLisio insists he had never seen the dump site until police took him there years after the crime and in preparation for the trial. “I can remember at times I didn’t know what to say, and they told me what to say.... They’d pat me on the back.” he said.. The Orlando Sentinel reported that Chiles reviewed a statement taken by FDLE from someone who DiLisio told him about the trip to see the body before he had talked to police and others who said Spaziano bragged to them about the murder. Under Clemency laws, Chiles is allowed to keep the information secret, and Douglass said he will continue to do so. He has said witnesses fear retribution by Outlaws members. The Associated Press contributed to this story. 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 Legal gamble wins Spaziano stay 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 Description An account of the resource Mike Mello Joseph Spaziano's lawyer makes an attempt to get a stay of execution for Spaziano. Mello did this by not attending the "Last-Chance hearing" to defend Spaziano, leaving him without representation, and forcing the postponing of his execution. This was done after the testimony of a key witness came into question. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kaplow, Larry Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Palm Beach Post Capital Bureau 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 1995-09-13 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Palm Beach, FL Subject The topic of the resource Capital Punishment Stay of Execution capital punishment stay of execution https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/dd58500a4cefe17bd6b837d7d1f67877.jpg 53c1d419d1d3b8753f84d67090cd0a33 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/28a0e0674c1c257942fb9dc17801ec66.jpg 3d3bebeeb17e2604d9ae8ce8ec0c97d5 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f8737b31c96cb5b444556daa8bb47263.jpg 2d846c42113ef56efd2119f9224fd0a0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document BOYDTON, Va., Feb. 28 –Joseph Giarratano has spent most of the last 10 years in his cell in Mecklenburg Correctional Facility here, in the undeviating and claustrophobic universe of death row. But more than any of the nation’s 2,500 other condemned inmates, his name has traveled beyond the prison walls. It has resonated in the courts, where the 33-year-old Mr. Giarratano has fashioned novel legal arguments to broaden the constitutional rights of prisoners, notable, their right to counsel. In the tightly knit community of lawyers, scholars and opponents of capital punishment, he is considered more a colleague than a convict. But now, Mr. Giarratano, convicted of murdering two women, is running out of appeals. There may be only a Supreme Court decision, and the two-hour drive up Interstate 85, standing between him and the electric chair in Richmond, where seven of his friends have already been executed. Impressed by his intelligence, confident of his innocence, or convinced of his rehabilitation, his friends are frantically seeking to save him. “Joe is unique among folks on death row,” said Richard Burr of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. “He’s metamorphosed from a confused, erratic addict to someone who’s extraordinarily strong and empathetic, as well as strategically brilliant. No one else has done that.” Gerald T. Zerkin of Richmond, one of Mr. Giarratano’s lawyers, added: “Whether or not he committed these crimes, there’s no question Joe’s a completely different human being than the one that existed in 1979. No one is his right mind could say now that he’s a future danger to anyone.” In 1979, Mr. Giarratano confessed to murdering a 44-year-old Norfolk, Va., woman as well as raping and killing her 15-year-old daughter. At the time, he now says, he was high on drugs and so convinced of his own evil that he admitted to crimes he could not remember committing. After a one-day trial that was actually over by lunch time, he was convicted. To this day, Mr. Giarratano says he does not know whether he killed the mother and daughter, Toni and Michelle Kline. But his lawyers say that conflicting statements he made in his five confessions and evidence obtained in the last two years suggests he did not. They have moved to reopen his case. This is what the lawyers say the new evidence suggests: that Michelle Kline was strangled by a right-handed person, while Mr. Giarratano is left-handed; that the footprints found at the crime scene could not possibly have been made by the boots he had been wearing; that the blood found on his boots did not match that of Toni Kline, who had been stabbed, and that hair found on Michelle Kline, who had been raped, did not match his. Bert L. Rohrer, a spokesman for Attorney General Mary Sue Terry of Virginia, who oversees the case, dismissed Mr. Giarratano’s characterization of the new evidence. “What we have maintained in court is that this new evidence is, frankly, old evidence in different wrapping,” he said. “To this point, obviously, the courts have shared this view.” Three months ago, in fact, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, turned down his appeal. His next, and probably his last, judicial stop is the United States Supreme Court. International Interest in Case In the meantime, the campaign to spare Mr. Giarratano has attracted international interest. News reporters from Britain, West Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden have visited him here, as camera crews from ABC News program “20-20” and the CBS News program “Nightwatch.” So many reporters have come through this remote prison, just north of the North Carolina border, that guards grumble that Mr. Giarratano should hire a press agent. Amnesty International has bought billboard space on his behalf in Richmond. It says: “Virginia: Is Joe Giarratano innocent? Will we kill him without knowing?” The campaign is directed principally at two people: Attorney General Terry and L. Douglas Wilder, the state’s new Governor, who can either pardon Mr. Giarratano, commute his sentence or order a new trial. Newspapers in Fredericksburg, Culpeper, and Charlottesville have endorsed Mr. Giarratano’s drive. “Terry is afraid of appearing to be weak on a law-and-order issue,” The Charlottesville Daily Progress said in an editorial. “She is not afraid, it seems, to risk the death of a possibly innocent man, sacrified for her own ego and political ambitions.” Mr. Rohrer, the Attorney General’s spokesman, called such an assertion ridiculous, and added, “We aren’t influenced by public relations campaigns or editorials.” Governor Could Decide Fate Mr. Giarratano’s fate could rest with Mr. Wilder, who opposed the death penalty when he visited Mecklenburg prison a few years ago, but reversed on the issue in his gubernatorial campaign. A lawyer in the Governor’s office did not return the telephone call of a reporter who sought the Governor’s position on the case. If the past is any precedent, Mr. Giarratano’s prospects of prevailing in Virginia, either judicially or politically, are not good. Virginia’s procedural rules in criminal cases are among the most stringent anywhere, severely limiting the introduction of new evidence and raising of objections after the trial. “Virginia is the most iron-fisted and mean-spirited of the death penalty states,” Mr. Burr said. “In any other state, I’m absolutely certain that Joe wouldn’t be on death row anymore.” Now, like constitutional scholars and death penalty litigators on the outside, Mr. Giarratano is counting heads on the Supreme Court. He knows he needs the votes of four Justices for the Court to take the case and five to win. “Right now, I’m hyper,” he said. “I think I can get four votes, bur the fifth, I don’t know where it’s going to come from, if at all.” Mr. Giarratano, going down the list of Supreme Court Justices, assessed his chances this way: “I’ve got Brenan and Marshall for sure, just because it’s a death case. I think we’ve got a shot at Blackmun and a good shot at Stevens. That fifth vote’s going to be tough. O’Connor seems to have a streak of fairness in her at times, and White could go either way. I don’t know enough about Kennedy to know where he fits in. Scalia and Rehnquist seem to be walking together hand in hand on all this; their attitude in death cases is ‘kill ‘em.’ So forget them.” Mr. Giarratano himself vacillates on his chances. “Some days my gut tells me I’m going to win,” he said. “But last night it told me, ‘Go ahead and pack up your boxes, you’re going to the chair.’ The bottom line is that I could be dead by the end of the year. The prospect of sitting in the electric chair scares the hell out of me. It’s frying. That’s got to be a hell of a way to go.” Even those who any capital punishment view Mr. Giarratano’s case as execution. “There is the run-of-the-mill injustice you get used to in this kind of work, but Joe’s case is different in kind and quality and magnitude,” said Michael Mello, a professor at the Vermont Law School who has represented many death row inmates. “Executing him would be an absolute outrage, not only because of his innocence, but because it would mean the loss of a very sensitive and intelligent commentator.” But some, like Lawrence C. Lawless who prosecuted Mr. Giarratano 10 years ago, are convinced neither of his rehabilitation nor his innocence. Mr. Lawless, now a judge in Norfolk, told The Richmond Times-Dispatch that he is still haunted by the photographs of the two victims. He added that while he is not not a strong proponent of capital punishment, “if they needed a volunteer to push the button, I’d do it off duty, on the weekend. I’d pay my own expenses to Richmond.” With its generic 1970’s institutional architecture, Mecklenburg Prison could pass for a community college campus, but for the Slinky-like coils of security wire surrounding it. It houses 340 inmates, including 40 on its death row, an all-time high facing death in a state that has executed eight prisoners since the Supreme Court reinstituted capital punishment nationally in 1976. Mr. Giarratano, prisoner No. 118475, is now in cell 43. And he is the first to admit that no matter his fate, death row has already saved his life. Mr. Giarratano’s story has many of the hallmarks of juvenile offenders: a fractured family, an abusive mother, a father he did not meet until they were inmates in the same Florida prison 16 years ago. It also includes an early exit from school and an even earlier introduction to drugs. Only when he got to death tow was he able to free himself from drugs: first the ones he had taken himself, then the Thorazine tranquilizer the state psychiatrists gave him. He also stopped attempting suicide. And he found a new calling. It began, he recalled, when a fellow inmate, who has since been executed, lent him a law book. Since then, he has studied the law incessantly, even rapturously. Mr. Giarratano has become a sophisticated student of constitutional law. A right-to-counsel case that he undertook on behalf of another inmate employed a novel legal argument that he helped fashion: an inmate is guaranteed a lawyer while pursuing his last legal remedies beyond normal appeals, not just by the fair trial guarantees of the Sixth Amendment but by the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. He does not actually take cases to court, but helps develop the arguments, which are then presented in court by his lawyers. His argument in that case won in the United States Court of Appeals but lost in the Supreme Court by a vote of 5 to 4. Mr. Giarratano called that decision “wimpy.” A few hours a week, Mr. Giarratano can visit the law library, where he sits in a cage and is handed books through a slot. As a jail house lawyer, Mr. Giarratano has fought for things like increased access for visitors an confidentiality of communications with lawyers. Even guards drop by his cell to ask his legal advice. Should all else fail, Mr. Giarratano is already grooming another death row inmate, Joe Payne, to take his place as Mecklenburg’s in-house counsel. Mr. Payne, he said, is proving to be an apt student. “He still believes too much that the system does what’s right,” Mr. Giarratano said. “But he’s learning.” 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. University of Mary Washington Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. There are several typos in the article that the transcriber included. "scarified," "no no," and "Even those who any capital punishment view Mr. Giarratono's case. . ." 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 Legal Scholar on Death Row Fights to Halt Own Execution Subject The topic of the resource Death Penalty Giarratano, Joseph Description An account of the resource Legal scholar Joseph Giarratano appeals to the Supreme Court in an attempt to commute his death sentence and save his life. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource New York Times Margolick, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Collected documents of Michael Mello 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 1990-03-05 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 3 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English appeals David Margolick death penalty Joseph Giarratano Mecklenburg Prison Michael A. Mello New York Times Supreme Court https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/956648f30f61603a0433c7940b4277c8.jpg e5b443e0c79f3e44b3c6ae326f3fc767 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [Header] Less 'panic for Spaziano [subheader] DEATH CLOCK ON HOLD Without the pressure of an impending execution, courts may find the truth. [Start of the first column] The Florida Supreme Court yesterday found itself all but forced into a decision that it should have made willingly last week. When the court on Friday ordered a hearing into new evidence in the murder case against Joseph “Crazy Joe” Spaziano, it allowed less than two weeks for all questions to be answered. After that, according to a death warrant that the court refused to stay, Spaziano was to be executed. The key witness in the case, Anthony DiLisio, recently said that he lied 20 years ago when he furnished the testimony that put Spaziano on Death Row. The justices properly told a lower court to examine Mr. DiLisio’s altered story and determine whether it is genuine. But by not staying the death warrant, the court in effect imposed an unrealistic and dangerous deadline. As Justice Gerald Kogan wrote in a dissenting opinion, it created an “atmosphere of panic … for an issue that requires calm and deliberate resolution.” The panic evidently sent some of Spaziano’s lawyers off the deep end. His principal attorney, Michael Mello – who had no clerical or investigative help and was showing signs of emotional exhaustion – fell to feuding with the state agency that normally represents Death Row appeals. The result was an exchange of lawyerly insults that would have been comical – if someone’s life weren’t at stake. To this the justices rightly said: Enough. They ordered Mr. Mello off the case, stayed the death warrant indefinitely, and set a new deadline of Nov. 15 for the evidentiary hearing. Now the inquiry can proceed at a pace that befits both the complexity of the case and the gravity of the death penalty. Spaziano was convicted in 1976, when he was 30, of murdering 19-year-old Laura Lynn Harberts. The case rested [start of the second column] almost entirely on Mr. DiLisio’s lurid tale of seeing mutilated bodies and hearing Spaziano boast of the crime. The testimony was dubious from the start, and now the witness has recanted it. Even Nov. 15 may prove an impractical deadline. But at least there is no death warrant rushing the proceedings. That’s how it should have been all along. The justices’ clear desire to know the truth of this matter – which is commendable – was nearly undermined by an undue haste in pursuing it. To Spaziano, whose life-or-death case nearly got lost in the legal pandemonium, the stay of execution came at a propitious moment. He turned 50 yesterday – two decades older than the day he came to Death Row, and now one step closer to justice. [End of the article] Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Plunkett, Courtlyn 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 Less 'panic' for Spaziano 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. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Hampton, Jim. "Less 'panic' for Spaziano." The Miami Herald, September 13, 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 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-13 Description An account of the resource With Spaziano's execution on hold it could give the court time reinvestigate. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Miami Herald https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3e515c0ecd34c993fa3645de52bf4fa0.jpg 049e75c202ae484e109f26edd6fb45da Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Let juries decide on capital punishment Subject The topic of the resource Death penalty. Capital punishment--Florida. Juries. Florida. Capital punishment. Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor of the Miami Herald by Michael A. Mello about Florida's conflicted capital punishment statute. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael A. Mello Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984-11-13 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpg. Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida 1984 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document To The Editor: Your recent editorial urging legislative repeal of Florida’s jury override in capital cases was right on target. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that Florida may, consistent with the Constitution, permit judges to impose death even if the jury votes for life imprisonment. But the question for Legislature remains: Should we retain the override? History, logic, and common sense counsel that we should not. Capital punishment is an expression of society’s outrage at especially offensive conduct. In deciding whether a person deserves to live or die, the capital sentencer’s principal task is to decide where the individual defendant and his crime fall on the yardstick of community outrage. Because the death decision is a communal one, and because the jury is, by definition, the voice of the community, a greater degree of reliability is achieved if the representatives of the community are heard from and followed. A jury, selected in a fashion designed to assure representation is better able to convey the community’s will than a single judge. For this reason, virtually every other state with the death penalty entrusts the sentencing decision to the jury and, until recently, Florida was no exception. In 1872, Florida entrusted its juries with the decision on death. There it remained until 1972, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that every capital statute in the nation (including Florida’s) was un-Constitutional. The problem was that the Supreme Court in 1972 did not tell the states how to correct the Constitutional flaw that had invalidated the statutes. It was in the midst of this Constitutional confusion that the Florida Legislature set about drafting our present statute. The override was thus a product of understandable confusion over what the Constitution required of a capital-punishment statute. The legislative history and subsequent judicial construction of the override show that Florida’s decision to employ this curious device was the death penalty in a form consistent with the Constitution, rather than a legislative judgment that judges make better capital sentencers. But the years since 1972 have taught that the override is not required by the Constitution. In fact, of the 38 states with the death penalty, 30 require a jury’s consent for death. In five of the other state, the judge alone decides penalty. In the only three states, including Florida, does the jury make a non-binding recommendation. Almost every other jurisdiction with the death penalty has rejected the jury override, and for good reason. Florida should join them. Michael A. Mello Assistant Public Defender Editor’s Note: Mr. Mello was the counsel in Spaziano vs. Florida, the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Constitutionality of Florida’s jury override. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper letter to the editor Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Muchnick, Andrew Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Let juries decide on capital punishment Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment (Canon law) Capital punishment--United States Jury ethics Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor by Michael A. Mello about Florida's somewhat confusing capital punishment statute and the influence of legislators and the Supreme Court. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984-11-13 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Miami, Fl https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/243e3c9d8e23b167acd62905a6a70d91.jpg 8b8562180cd68eae5d220e60af8046da 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] Editorials [Title] Let the system work [start of the first column] The Florida Supreme Court was right to give Joseph Spaziano more time to prove he is not a murderer. So many questions have been raised about Spaziano's guilt the is would be unconscionable to execute him as long as there are reasonable doubts All he needs now is a good lawyer. Whether intentional or not, lawyer Michael Mello's refusal to appear at a crucial hearing in the case left eh Supreme Court no choice but to delay the execution, which had been scheduled for Sept. 21. Mello was right to ask for more time to prepare for Friday's hearing, but he was wrong to boycott the proceeding if he didn't get his way. Mello's decision was a disservice to his client that showed contempt for the very court that could save him. The court, showing far more restraint than Mello, decided that Mello had effectively removed himself from the case. Spaziano has to find another lawyer, rely on state lawyers he has rebuffed in the past or go it alone, the court decided. Mello says he is on the case and plans to appeal, but his actions suggest that the court was right to conclude that he had removed himself. This is not the first time Mello's emotions have overwhelmed his judgement. Last month he wrote a stinging memo, riddled with expletives, that accused Gov. Lawton [end of the first column] [start of the second column] Chiles' office of lying, referred to U.S. Supreme Court justices in a vulgar manner and derided federal appeals court judges. Mello has been clashing with the state office of Capital Collateral Representative which defends death row inmates. "Better that Joe have no lawyer at all -- and that the world clearly sees that he had no lawyer -- than that Joe have the illusion of a lawyer, a hack (public defender) office like CCR that plays by the rules laid down by the people whose job it is to kill their clients," Mello wrote in his now-infamous memo. Spaziano might be dead if not for Mello's tireless work on his behalf, all of which he has done for free. For that he deserves a great deal of credit. But instead of fighting the CCR, he ought to work with them and get Spaziano to do the same. After all, he has admitted in motions that he had neither the money nor the expertise to handle the kind if evidentiary hearing the court has ordered. The public deserves to know the truth about Spaziano, who has been on death row for 20 years. Spaziano deserves a fair hearing. It is time Mello stopped playing games and give the system for which he has shown so much contempt a chance to work. It's time for Mello to stand aside. [end of article] 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. Bridenbaugh, H. Sumner Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Let the system work Subject The topic of the resource Mello's temper with regard to court officials and his ability to continue on the case. Description An account of the resource Critiques Mello's temperment in the proceedings and in the case thus far. Commends Mello in the work he has done but disagrees with him in his outburst and calls for him to step away from the case and work with the existing legal system (the public defender's office) rather than against it. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Times Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-13 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPEG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English criticism editorial emotion extension Gov. Lawton Chiles memo public defenders https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4c76e4f5e84f0e97e197640aec94f8d0.jpg bd8d5e079554cc98218a99916fa3a894 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/21611a656a17cfb11006869473479f22.jpg 78d1f5370fd8dd43a713e63d43f6f3c6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Dear Editor: Ms. Hayes, in her editorial “MWC Honor- A Call for a Closer Look” (Bullet Nov 15) made several accurate observations. She noted that PROMETHEUS was perfectly within its Constitutional rights when it published Elliot Wentz’s article on the MWC honor code. She was further correct in her assessment of “the absurdity of the Pam Burrows honor trial.” Yet two of Ms. Hayes’ thoughts bothered me. Firstly, she felt that Mr. Wentz “has served a severe injustice to the accuser in the trial, our SA president.” Ms. Hayes seemed troubled by “the fact that no provisions fro the rights of the accuser is made in the MWC Honor Constitution.” But Ms.Hayes fails to state precisely what these “rights of the accuser” are or should be. Do they include the right to bring false and petty charges against a fellow student? The right to make an accusation in a secret, Star-Chamber-like proceeding in which her identity is known only to the defendant, her council and the court? Is this truly an “open trial,” as demanded by the Constitution of the United States? Precisely which of Kathy Mayer’s “rights” was violated in Mr. Wentz’s article? This whole idea of accuser’s rights is a new one on me; not only is the MWC Constitution silent about the presence or absence of such “rights,” but the US Constitution is as well. Personall, I don’t feel that a citizen acquires any additional rights solely by becoming an accuser. Of course, that same person doesn’t lose any rights either; the fact of the matter is that Kathy Mayer has the same right as Mr. Wentz: the right to present her side of the issue in the campus media. If Ms. Mayer chooses to waive this right and remain silent, then that is not the fault of wither Mr. Wentz or PROMETHEUS. Secondly, Ms. Hayes is apparently critical of Mr. Wentz’s decision to disclose the identity of Pam Burow’s accuser; she suggests that this “served to deface the names of the characters concerned” and further asserts that “from all appearances it seems that the intent of the article was to put under scrutiny the names of our SA and Honor Council Presidents.” This was not the intent of the article at all, but beyond that is the question of whether Mr.Wentz should have identified the accuser in the case. I believe that he was justified: it is significant that the accuser in this “absurdity” of an honor trial, Ms. Hayes called it, is the highest student government official at MWC. The person who brought this trial about was not a first-semester freshman who may have been unfamiliar with the purpose of the honor code or unaware of its ramifications; the accuser is a Senior who has been deeply involved with student government and who, to put it bluntly, should have known better. This fact was relevant to the trial, and Mr.Wentz was hence justified in noting it in his article. Michael Mello Editor’s Note In the editorial “MWC Honor- A Call for a Closer Look,” I in no way intended to defend Kathy Mayer, the accuser of Pam Burrows’ honor trial (“Recent Honor Trial Shows Need for Changes”- PROMETHEUS, Nov. 11, 1977). I did feel, however, that the presentation of Elliot Wentz’s article put a clear slant on the issue, which was not made public until the forth issue of PROMETHEUS was distributed. As Mello suggested, perhaps Ms. Mayer does not deserve any rights as the accuser. Based on her testimony of shaky evidence, as reported in PROMETHEUS, I would be inclined to agree with him. The basic discrepancy in the MWC Honor Constitution, that no rights are granted the accuser in campus honor trials, concerns me. In a democratic society we should all be treated as equals. Right? Apparently not, says Mello. That the Honor Constitution does not specify any rights of the accused, particularly, as well as the accused, have any say as to how the contents of trials are distributed? I definitely feel this should be corrected before further honor trials are held. As pertains to the reference that Wentz’s article served to deface the names of the accuser in Pam Burrows’ honor trial, I would like to defend this statement. Again I recall my original assertion that “the intent of the article was to put under public scrutiny the names of our SA and Honor Council Presidents.” Upon my first reading of Wentz’s article, I detect an obvious biased report of the honor trial. Surely readers should be allowed the liberty to make up their own minds as to how they feel about controversial issues; having Wentz’s present a one-sided account of the issue definitely could sway people to his side of thinking, which is not necessarily right and just. Concerning Christie’s letter (above), and me “laundered” opinion, I hope his questions are answered in the preceding statements. The concern with the legalities of the trials was introduced to me by Janet de La Concepcion, Honor Council President, who informed me that she was consulting a lawyer about the publication of Wentz’s article. I do not support her quest for a legal battle- perhaps Mr.Christie misread this part of the editorial. I merely stated that Wentz was just in pointing out discrepancies in the MWC Honor Constitution and the leaders who are supposed to enforce it. Clearly I said that I agree with Wentz’s assertions; if, as you say, “Poor Mr. Wentz can’t win for losing,” that’s a new one on me. A.F.H. 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. Bowen, Nina 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 Letter to the Editor Subject The topic of the resource Honor system (Higher education) Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor in response to an article about a student on trial for an honor violation at Mary Washington College. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mello, Michael A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Mello, Michael A. "Letters." The Bullet, November 22, 1977. 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 1977-11-22 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA