1 20 256 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/82284e32b2cb8d5f02c84da3ecc2919b.jpg c3eb00ee5df408534d8545d8eb9991c3 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 Bar Disgraces Itself In Hunter Case Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-08-13 Description An account of the resource This is largely a commentary by Michael Mello about all the flaws in the disbarment case against Will Hunter. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Newspaper article Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Rutland Daily Herald Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Scan of a Newspaper article 300 resolution DIP Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vermont https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c756d328c70696876432fa4c53f62174.jpg 88406e468c26db32bc8b9525ef6f7224 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 Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Altersitz, Haleigh Text Any textual data included in the document [Title] Bar Disgraces Itself In Hunter Case [Content] I wish to thank the dozen or so people who called and wrote me responding to commentary on the Will Hunter case. Their feedback was Illuminating. The more I hear from other lawyers, the more I like Will Hunter. The four lawyers who published letters in support of the bar’s prosecution of Will Hunter revealed more about the writer’s own agendas than about L’Affair Hunter. [Title of main content] Commentary By: Michael Mello [Main Content] Stephen Ellis (July 25) missed my main point: that providing effective counsel to poor people is of paramount concern, and that the choice facing Mr. Hunter’s clients was not Mr. Hunter or some other, “better” Vermont lawyer. The choice was between Will Hunter or no lawyer. (The non-lawyer who contacted me didn’t seem to have any trouble under-standing this point.) As a longtime capital public defender in Florida, I think I have a pretty strong appreciation of poor people’s need for legal aid. By citing statistics that seem to me misleading, Leslie Black (July 30) makes the disappointing argument that poor people in Vermont already have sufficient legal aid. Her numbers are misleading because they don’t include the numbers of people who were not able to find a lawyer willing and able to work for free. Any legal aid attorney worth her salt will tell you she can represent only a fraction of people who need such aid. And if Ms. Black thinks the Vermont public defender system is sufficiently resourced, she really should talk to the people who work in those offices. There is one promising bit of news on the horizon. Last week, the Vermont Supreme Court rejected the bar’s recommendation of disbarment for Vincent Illuzzi – on charges far more serious than the niggling technicalities that from the basis of the bar’s persecution of Will Hunter. This suggests that the court does not simply rubber stamp whatever recommendations the court receives from the churls at the Couduct Board. That’s good news for anyone interested in seeing justice done to Will Hunter and his former clients. If Vince Illuzzi shouldn’t be disbarred, then Will Hunter shouldn’t be disbarred. The court ruled that the Conduct Board had over-stepped its authority. The court reiterated the legal test for disbarment: “Disbarment is warranted where the misconduct is done knowingly, the injury is serious or potentially serious, and there is some benefit to the lawyer or another. Moreover, conduct resulting in disbarment is generally criminal as well.” The Hunter panel did not even pretend to demonstrate why the blizzard of petty charges against Mr. Hunter met the test for disbarment. Even accepting the panel’s rendition of the facts, Mr. Hunter’s misconduct was not “done knowingly.” The injury caused by the misconduct was not “serious or potentially serious” – indeed, notably absent was any articulation of harm caused by Mr. Hunter’s peccadillos. Nor did the asserted “misconduct” result in “some benefit to the lawyer or another.” And none of the bar’s storm of petty charges is “criminal.” At most, all but one of the bar’s complaints against Mr. Hunter – the kinds of sins committed by busy and successful, albeit overworked, lawyers at one time or another. The potentially serious charge – the money accusation – does not come close to justifying disbarment under the legal test for disbarment ignored by the panel. Perhaps the bar’s biggest howler is that I am bringing the bar into public disrepute by criticzing the bar’s war on Will Hunter. But is seems to me that any wound to the bar’s public image is a self-inflicted wound. If the bar is worries that its persecution of Will Hunter is bringing the bar into public dishonor, than the solution is to stop the persecution. Find out whether the prosecutor did, in fact, attempt to strong-arm Mr. Hunter’s clients into becoming informants against him. Find out whether the “hearing” panel chair intimidated witnesses favorable to Mr. Hunter. Find out why the panel’s recommendation opinion was so inept. Several letter writers implied that unsolicited client complaints were the genesis of the bar’s investigation of Mr. Hunter. I wonder. Whiffs of possible prosecutorial misconduct filter from the case’s factual record and beyond. For instance, on July 1 the Valley News published a letter from a client of Mr. Hunter: “I am one of his clients who was contacted by a female agent of the board, who was stated she worked for (Hunter’s bar prosecutor), and that if I wanted to make a complaint against Mr. Hunter she would take my complaint over the telephone. Though I told her I had been frustrated with Mr. Hunter’s actions many times in the past, I had no interest in making a formal complaint. She continued to press me until finally I ended the con-versation.” That was not the end of the pressure, however. “The very next day I received a second call from her reminding me that I could make a formal com-plaint if I wanted. Again, I told her no, but she pressed. She told me the complaint didn’t have to come directly from me – that they could act like the police and pursue a complaint on my behalf. I once more declined, and hung up.” These prosecutorial pressure tactics are more serious than allegations made by the bar disciplinary panel against Mr. Hunter. This client described how frustrating and down-right maddening Mr. Hunter could be. But, when push came to shove, she writes that he “has been a stead-fast ally when others have given up … He has been honest and honorable in all our legal dealings.” Anyway, the feedback from my column impelled me to dig a little further into the case of the Vermont Bar against Will Hunter. What I found was that this case is about far more than Mr. Hunter’s fitness to continue practicing law. The real issue here is whether the panel members and bar prosecutor are capable of conforming themselves to these selfsame ethical requirements. The disbarment opinion rendered by the three-per-son panel of the Professional Conduct Board is at best inept and at worst malicious. In either case, the opinion reflects and ethical obtuseness that would be laughable if a person’s career were not at stake. The opinion is a disgrace to the Vermont bar. There are two things wrong with the bar’s opinion recommending disbarment. The first is its slip-shod substance. The second is its malicious style. The opinion is more of a partisan press release thana reasoned articulation of grounds rendered by a neutral and unbiased tribunal. One Good test of the integrity of a legal document – and of its author – do, in fact, stand for the propositions for which they are cited. Again and again, the panel’s opinion in Mr. Hunter’s case fails this test. Key cases do not stand for the propositions for which the panel cites them, and holdings of cases are misrepresented. The panel’s reckless disregard of accuracy is not limited to its citation of case law; the opinion’s treatment of the factual record is equally cavalier. The panel made findings of fact that deviate from the stipulations that were submitted; failed to make findings and law in a manner that suggests a lack of impartiality and per-judgment. The references to the factual record are often misleading. But the panel gives away its game in what its opinion does not say, the evidence its simply ignores. Save for a few desultory and vacuous references, the panel’s opinion essentially ignores the large quantity of directly relevant evidence – evidence given by everyone from judges to lawyers to former clients – favorable to Mr. Hunter. In short, the opinion is a hatchet job. By contrast, one quality of Mr. Hunter’s legal documents is that they are trustworthy – when Mr. Hunter says a case stands for a proposition, then it does. Judge Cheever testified that Mr. Hunter’s “cases were well cited. He didn’t send me off to rely on a case that didn’t stand for the proposition that he was quoting for it. And the facts that he stated also turned out to be true.” Of course, the panel’s smear opinion ignored Judge Cheever’s testimony – as it ignored the testimony of two other judges and one magistrate who testified to Will Hunter’s effective representation of his clients in matters before them. One might think that an ethics panel would scrupulously avoid even the appearance of a lack of impartiality or bias. One would be wrong. In this case, shortly before things got nasty, Mr. Hunter had represented Vincent Illuzzi. In his capacity as counsel for Mr. Illuzzi, Mr. Hunter sued Professional Conduct Board – including the members of the panel – in federal district court. Thus, Mr. Hunter’s disbarment case was com-posed of individuals who were named defendants in a federal lawsuit brought by Mr. Hunter on behalf of Mr. Illuzzi. Given such ineptitude, it should surprise no one that the opinion’s blunderbuss methodology utterly misses the issue that is the heart of the Will Hunter affair; Does the entirety of Mr. Hunter’s practice his-tory command the conclusion that he is unfit to practice law in Vermont? This is a subtle decision requireing an appreciating of nuance – qualitied utterly lacking in the panel’s opinion. It is simply wrong for the panel to look only as Mr. Hunter’s sins in isolation and to conclude blithely that Mr. Hunter’s transgressions exhaust the entire truth of his life as a lawyer. By judging Mr. Hunter solely by his moments of weakness, lapses and limits, the panel was oblivious to the principle upon which the disbarment rule is based: proportionately. Proportionality is both a principle on which the laws of punishment are based and a commonly under-stood aspect of human affairs. Proportionality, for instance, prevents the police from shooting jaywalkers, even though the latter are breaking the law. In short, “proportionality” is the idea that the punishment should fit the crime. To be sure, the big sinners who flagrantly violate certain norms of professional conduct should be dis-barred. From what I know of Mr. Hunter’s case he is not a sinner. The panel's opinion does nothing to persuade me otherwise. William hunter is the kind of lawyer many of us wish we had the courage to be. The line between respect an jealousy can be fine. That, in the end, might explain the bars churlish persecution of one the finest attorneys in this or any other state. The Vermont Supreme Court should entirely disregard the panel's opinion. Further, the court should appoint an independent prosecutor and hearing board to investigate (1) the reasons for the shameful opinion issued by the panel, and (2) whether sanctionable or civilly actionable prosecutorial misconduct occurred in the case. Secrecy is a petri dish for governmental corrupttion, incompetence and misconduct. If any good is to come of the persecution of Will Hunter perhaps it will be this. Michael Mello is a professor of law at the Vermont Law School. 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 Bar Disgraces Itself In Hunter Case Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource While Micheal Mello was a professor of a Law professor. He wrote a commentary pertaining to the disciplinary proceedings of the attorney Will Hunter by the Vermont Bar. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-08-16 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 300 DPI 2 JPGs Subject The topic of the resource Hunter, Will Vermont Legal Aid Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rutland Daily Herald The Bar William A. Hunter 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/6715c06b869de61f662a27f94577ecb1.jpg 794da5de01528a47fb544bd970173b99 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Text Any textual data included in the document TALLAHASSEE - Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano, convicted of the torture-murder of an Orlando woman and the rape of another, asked Florida's cabinet on Wednesday to set him free. Spaziano's lawyer faxed a request for a clemency hearing to Gov. Lawton Chiles, arguing that a key witness in the 2-decades-old cases now doubts his own hypnosis-enhanced testimony. The request comes the same week that Spaziano had been scheduled to die in the murder of 18-year-old hospital clerk Laura Harberts. Chiles stayed the execution two weeks ago after newspapers reported that Anthony Dilisio now doubts whether his testimony at the 1976 trial was true. Chiles ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Dilisio's claims. What began as an interview with the Pensacola man has expanded into a full-scale investigation involving dozens of witnesses. A report is scheduled to be released next week, but sources said Chiles could be be briefed as soon as Friday. The challenge facing Chiles is which Dilisio to believe - the would-be biker who testified at age 18 that Spaziano showed him Harberts' mutilated body; or the 37-year-old lay minister with a history of substance abuse who says he can't remember the body and doubts Spaziano is a killer. Dilisio also was an important witness tying Spaziano to the 1974 rape, for which the Outlaws motorcycle club member is serving a life sentence. Dilisio testified in a 1975 trial that Spaziano bragged about raping the 16-year-old Orange County girl, slashing her neck and eyes, choking her and leaving her for dead in the woods. Michael Mello, who represents Spaziano, said Wednesday that the Cabinet should free Spaziano because Dilisio was the strongest element in the two cases. A spokeswoman in the governor's general counsel office said that there would be no comment until the hearing request is reviewed. FDLE investigators and Chiles advisors have said previously, however, that Dilisio stopped short of recanting when questioned by investigators recently. Spaziano last requested clemency in March, but officials refused to grant a hearing. In preparing that request, Spaziano's state-appointed attorneys interviewed Dilisio, but he told them he could shed no new light on the case. Four months later, Dilisio said the hypnosis police used to coax memories from him was "witchcraft that poisoned a young, impressionable teenager's mind." Mello also hopes to raise problems with the rape case. Prosecutors had little physical evidence, such as the knife or sperm. Their case relied heavily on Dilisio and the victim. [Photograph; photo caption]: Joseph Spaziono's execution was stayed after a witness changed his testimony. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Jon Metrey Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano asks to be set free Description An account of the resource An article in the St. Petersburg Times describing how the main witness in the murder investigation may have been under "Hypnosis" from the police. Diliso, the chief witness in the 1975 trial says that the technique the police used to coax memories out of him was witchcraft. Michael Mello, Spaziano's attorney says that Spaziano should be set free. Florida investigators are reopening the case. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived St. Petersburg Times Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-29 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Florida Depositions--United States Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida Southeastern United States "Crazy Joe" Spaziano Clemency Gov. Lawton Chiles Laura Lyn Harberts Mike Mello newspaper stay of execution Tony Dilisio https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c5c776f0e912e99428210eeb9bbfabe9.jpg 8b2108f1c1fc36768328b77d489b3228 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/cab416e22515ee6518dfde71283d581e.jpg d5cf8b20448de817ec0ec57d81c2a772 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Skibinski, Nicholas Text Any textual data included in the document Gov. Lawton Chiles was right to stay the execution of Joseph Robert Spaziano. The convicted murderer may actually be a victim of unreliable testimony, inept legal representation and questionable police work. Spaziano, 49, had been scheduled to die in the Florida electric chair on June 27. He stands convicted of the murder and mutilation of Laura Lynn Harberts, an Orlando nurse whose body was found in a trash dump near Altamonte Springs in 1973. Chiles had previously signed the fourth death warrant ordering his execution. Spaziano will remain on death row, where he has been since 1976. In addition to granting the stay, Chiles has ordered a thorough investigation of the case by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. This is long overdue. On the surface it sounds as if Spaziano were a perfect candidate for execution. His sentence has survived repeated appeals; he was already in prison on a heinous charge when police brought murder charges against him; and before going to prison he was the leader of an Orlando motorcycle gang. AND YET, THERE are aspects of his case that raise serious doubts about his guilt. Spaziano's prosecution and conviction is a story that does not inspire confidence in the judicial system. The key witness against him was a Tony Dilisio, who was 16 years old at the time of the murder. He said he had once idolized Spaziano as an outlaw biker and hoped to become a member of the gang himself. About a year after the crime, Dilisio told police he had a vague recollection of Spaziano bragging about mutilating and murdering young women. After being placed under hypnosis, he said that Spaziano had taken him to the dump and boasted, "Man, that's my style," as they viewed the remains of two dead women. It is a sickening account, if true. Dilisio, now 37, has said he remembers getting married at 21, but everything before that is a blank. He was 18 at the time of Spaziano's trial. The prosecution's case rests largely on Dilisio's testimony. Spaziano and the victim were slightly acquainted, and she was overheard telling someone on the telephone, "Hold on a minute, Joe," as she turned o speak to her roommate shortly before she was killed. But the identity of the "Joe" on the telephone was not Spaziano. The police knew that the "Joe" on the telephone was actually Joe Suarez, a co-worker at the hospital where Laura and her roommate worked. But this was never disclosed to the jury. Another troubling aspect of the trial is that the jury never knew Dilisio's hazy story was drawn out of him by police using hypnosis. This takes on even more significance in view of the hypnotist's credentials. Michael Mello, a lawyer who has handled appeals for Spaziano, said the hypnotist was shown to be a quack by Miami Herald editor Gene Miller in his book "Invitation to a Lynching." Ten years ago the Florida Supreme Court held that hypnotically induced evidence was unreliable and inadmissible. The ruling was not retroactive so it did not apply to Spaziano's case. The defense was also not apprised of another suspect the police had considered during their two-year investigation. Mello said records show that police were zeroing in on a known rapist and had a witness who placed him at the scene of the crime with several women near the time of the murder. The suspect flunked more than one polygraph test and told police "he didn't know whether he committed the murder." None of that information was given to the defense at the time of the trial. One would expect that these omissions would get the attention of an appeals court. Gail Anderson, a state-appointed lawyer representing Spaziano, said those facts were unknown to the defense until 1989, well past a time limit for raising such objections. Spaziano was also not helped in his trial by his friends, fellow Outlaws who turned out in full biker dress in an idiotic show of "support" for their pal "Crazy Joe," whose nickname appeared on his indictment. Spaziano maintained his innocence but never took the stand to deny the charges. The jury twice told the judge they could not reach a verdict, and both times were sent back with instructions to be more diligent. Finally, they convicted Spaziano of first-degree murger but recommended life in prison. The trial judge overruled them and sentenced him to die. It appears, too, that Spaziano had incompetent legal representation at the time of his trial. Mello described the inmate's defense attorney's work as "not totally abysmal," pointing out that the lawyer knew about Dilisio's hypnotically enhanced testimony but didn't bring it up or attack the credentials or methods of the hypnotist. Laura Lynn Harberts has been dead for 22 years, and that terrible fact must not be forgotten. Society has an obligation to render justice for her death and punishment for the perpetrator of this grotesque crime. But Florida has an equally important obligation to make sure that the state, acting on behalf of the people, does not put an innocent man to death. That could be the case with Joseph Spaziano. CHILES AND THE STATE Cabinete have the power to grant clemency, which ranges from immediate release to a sentence of life in prison. The governor has indicated he is reluctant to interfere with judicial decisions without great cause. He is right to have such a cautionary attitude. In court, one hopes, the facts are separated from speculation and emotion. Witnesses are under oath and face perjury for lying. Sometimes, though, the system fails. This could be one of those times. We trust the governor and Cabinet will weigh the evidence and do what is right. There are some serious holes in the case and nagging doubts about the guilt of this man. There should be no room for doubt when the penalty is death. 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 Too much doubt in Spaziano case Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Description An account of the resource This editorial describes the case of Robert Spaziano, a murder convict on death row. The editorial points out inconsistencies in the case against Spaziano and argues that doubt cannot exist with the death sentence. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "Too Much Doubt in Spaziano Case." The Tampa Tribune (Tampa Bay, FL), June 17, 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 1995-06-17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. 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 Tampa Bay, FL https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/917d59c726b94e4798461c6cc91f740d.jpg 0eabf3ec51e2a2d8e90b9e12c5fa8fd0 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/bc0139667d16e63126729e181ea7bb18.jpg 517bbd902c0db8925221a92199e71bfe 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 Chiles spared Florida from a capital crime <br /><br />Until Gov. Chiles intervened Thursday, Joseph Spaziano was going to be executed for murder in 11 days, even though:<br /> <ul> <li>Key evidence was based on a discredited theory of hypnosis.</li> <li>He was sentenced to death by a judge who overrode the jury's recommendation of life in prison.</li> <li>The jury doubted his guilt.</li> <li>He couldn't be charged with the crime today.</li> </ul> The case has elements to bother the fiercest advocates of capital punishment. If the O.J. Simpson trial shows that prominent defendants get better treatment, the Spaziano case shows how easy it can be to convict and condemn disreputable citizens. Execution in error can't help but undermine support for the death penalty. But the track was greased for this error until Spaziano's former attorney and&nbsp;<em>The Miami Herald</em> started shouting.<br /><br />Spaziano was president of a motorcycle gang in Orlando when Laura Lynn Harberts disappeared from her apartment in 1973. Sixteen days later, her body was found in a Seminole County garbage dump. The body was so badly decomposed that the medical examiner could not determine the cause of death. Although police began with a different suspect, they turned to Spaziano after Tony Dilisio, then 18, told them that two years earlier, when Mr. Dilisio was eager to join the gang, Spaziano had said something about the murder. Mr. Dilisio also said he had been drinking and using LSD and marijuana and couldn't remember what Spaziano had said.<br /><br />After two sessions with a hypnotist, though, Mr. Dilisio was able to "recall" graphic, incriminating comments by Spaziano. The prosecutor told the judge in open court that without Mr. Dilisio's testimony, "we'd have absolutely no case here whatsoever." In his closing argument, he told the jurors that if they didn't believe Mr. Dilisio, they had to vote for acquittal.<br /><br />The jurors were not told Mr. Dilisio had been hypnotized. The same hypnotist, Joe McCawley, had earlier helped an eyewitness "remember" evidence that helped send Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee to Death Row for 12 years. They were pardoned in 1975, after someone else confessed to the murder for which they had been convicted.<br /><br />When Spaziano was tried in 1978, Florida allowed hypnotically assisted evidence. People under hypnosis are highly responsive to suggestions, which is why hypnotism helps some people diet or quit smoking. They are less alert to the difference between fact and fiction. For those reasons, Florida joined most other states in barring&nbsp;<span>hypnotically assisted testimony--in 1985. In Mr. Dilisio's case, he had been using hallucinogens during the period he was "recalling." So if Mr. McCawley did find a "real" memory to recall, it may have been only a recalled hallucination.<br /><br /></span>After ruling hypnotic testimony inadmissible in another case, the Florida Supreme Court rejected an appeal to reverse Spaziano's conviction. Michael Mello, Spaziano's appeals attorney who is now a law professor in Vermont, blames "a legal technicality, the idiotic retroactivity doctrine." It holds, in effect, that evidence that can't be trusted today was reliable yesterday.<br /><br />Spaziano has been to the Florida Supreme Court four times and the U.S. Supreme Court twice, losing all six times. Those are the "endless appeals" proponents of capital punishment complain about. But in none of these appeals--not one--was Spaziano's guilt considered. A guilty verdict can't be appealed without new evidence, and in Spaziano's case there is none. But under the logic, if not the law, of the Supreme Court's 1985 decision, there wasn't any&nbsp;<em>old&nbsp;</em>evidence, either.<br /><br />If high courts had no reason to doubt Spaziano's guilt, the original jury did. Jurors twice reported they were deadlocked. Twice Judge Robert McGregor gave them the "dynamite charge," telling them they had a "duty" to reach a verdict. They finally found him guilty, then quickly recommended a life sentence. Mr. Mello has an affidavit from one juror saying the sentence was a trade-off because of "our doubts about whether Mr. Spaziano was guilty of the crime as charged."<br /><br />According to Florida law, guilt is beyond a reasonable doubt, and doubt is not a basis for mitigating punishment. Judge McGregor overrode the jury and sentenced Spaziano to death. He knew, and the jury didn't, that Spaziano already was serving a life sentence for rape. Florida is one of only four states where judges are allowed to override a jury's recommendation.<br /><br />Gov. Chiles signed Spaziano's latest death warrant, and Spaziano's countdown began until Gov. Chiles was persuaded to look back. He stopped the execution to review the case further. For a pardon, he would need three Cabinet members to join him. In any case, Spaziano still has five years to go on his 25-year minimum sentence from the rape case. He says he is innocent of the rape, too, and Mr. Mello is inclined to agree. That can be sorted out later.<br /><br />Spaziano has waited on Death Row since 1978. Someone with authority finally noticed there is no case against him, no evidence that he committed the murder he would have died for.<br /><br />[photograph caption]: Joseph Spaziano in 1976: He was scheduled to die June 27. 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. Trommer, Elise Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Chiles spared Florida from a capital crime Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "Chiles Spared Florida From a Capital Crime." The Palm Beach Post (Palm Beach, FL), June 16, 1995, p. 16a. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-16 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 Palm Beach, FL Description An account of the resource Governor Chiles stops the planned execution of Joseph Spaziano for murder in order to review his court sentence. Little evidence has been found that holds gravitas in the case, which could spare Spaziano from the death penalty. Subject The topic of the resource Murder & crime Capital punishment. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f8889d230da45841a73dde31bf4f7e8c.jpg 4a1448bbd379546caf4a9423ffb66b28 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/d255c3eea990dde14f753930836d3f22.jpg dd4d12ef1fffd6db2b03cfdc616c1a6d 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 — With a crucial witness recanting his testimony, Gov. Lawton Chiles has called off this month's execution of Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano. Spaziano was condemned for the 1973 murder of Orlando nurse Laura Lynn Harberts, whose sexually mutilated body was found in a trash dump near Altamonte Springs. He has spent 20 years on death row and was scheduled to die in the electric chair June 27. But Tony Dilisio, a key witness, told Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents this week that he was manipulated by investigators and his testimony was untrue. Diliso was hypnotize to help him recall details. Hypnotically enhanced testimony has since been banned in Florida as unreliable. Now Chiles wants to ponder whether Spaziano's sentence should be carried out. Spaziano's fourth death warrant will expire June 30. After FDLE's review, Chiles has several courses of action: He can choose to let Spaziano remain on death row indefinitely, he can sign a fifth death warrant or he can try to convince three members of the Cabinet to join him in pardoning Spazino or commuting his death sentence to life in prison. The governor's general counsel, Dexter Douglass, said Chiles decided to delay the execution based on an article in the Miami Herald and editorials in the St. Petersburg Times that "raised doubt in the minds of the people of Florida." Those reports appeared after several Florida newspapers, including the Times, published an impassioned essay by Spaziano's former attorney, who wrote that he felt his client was innocent. "It has been brought to our attention through the press that allegations and statements that we've read that this man may be innocent," Douglass said. John Currie of the governor's Citizen's Services Office said his staff fielded 148 calls this week on the Spaziano case — 130 callers urging Chiles to grant clemency and 18 encouraging the governor to let the execution go ahead. Michael Minerva, head of the state office that represents many death row inmates, said he was relived to get word of the stay. "I hope it's because there's substantial doubt about the guild, but I don't know," Minerva said, "But for now the execution has been stayed indefinitely. "Those are the terms of his order." Douglass, the governor's general counsel, would not reveal what other evidence investigators expect to gather during the review. Attorneys for Spaziano are exploring the controversial issue of repressed memories because Dilisio's testimony was said to be plucked from his memory by hypnosis. The ban on hypnotically enhanced testimony in criminal trials came after the Spaziano trial and is not retroactive. A;though it is rare for governors to delay scheduled executions, Chiles has done it before. In January 1993, he rescinded the fourth death warrant for Larry Joe Johnson four days before Johnson's scheduled execution. The governor's pause was prompted by a Florida Supreme Court opinion in which three of the justices wrote that they denied Johnson's appeal with their hands tied by procedural law. Johnson, a Vietnam veteran, suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome. His lawyers argued he was suffering from side effects from medicine at the time he killed a service-station attendant with a shotgun. Chiles' temporary stay didn't save Johnson. The governor signed a new death warrant, and Johnson was executed in May 1993. The same thing could happen with Spaziano. — Information from Times staff writer Gregory Enns, the Orlando Sentinel and Associated Press was used in this report. 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. Kolodny, Jacob Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Chiles stays Spaziano execution Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Knight-Ridder Newspapers Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-16 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 Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Description An account of the resource Newspaper report from 1995 on the staying of the execution of alleged murder John Spaziano by Florida Governor Lawton Chiles after a witness recanted his testimony due to it being acquired through hypnotic assistance, which had been banned after the conclusion of the trial. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGS 300 DPI https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/8cd0e54028010de33a0d2b1884905c80.jpg 5f1b353effa4f2c49da912419bda5ab3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 3, 1995 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Gaddie, Jason Text Any textual data included in the document A death penalty mistake On June 27, Joseph Robert Spaziano is scheduled to die in Florida’s electric chair. A powerful case can be made for why he shouldn’t. Spaziano, as his former attorney describes him, is no boy scout. He was a member of the Outlaws motorcycle gang. He was convicted of raping a 16-year-old and slashing her eyes in 1975. While he was serving a life sentence for that crime, he was indicted and convicted for the murder of Laura Lynn Harberts, an 18-year-old woman whose body was found in a garbage dump. But the lawyer, Michael Mello, now a law professor in Vermont, also describes Spaziano as a man who is going to be killed by mistakes, the errors of a judicial system that has deemed his case reviewed and therefore, inexplicably, has chosen to ignore a preponderance of reasons casting doubt that he was the murderer. As Mello wrote (see page 1D) in a plea to spare his former client, whom he represented on appeal, “Mr. Spaziano is, I believe in my bone marrow, innocent.” Give weight to the courts would not: A jury recommended a life sentence for Spaziano because of the member’s doubt of his guilt. Twice jurors told the judge they could not reach a verdict, and the judge pressured them saying. “do your duty to agree on a verdict, if possible, so this case may be disposed of.” The judge then overrode the jury’s sentence recommendation. The testimony of the state’s chief witness was based on recall extracted by police hypnosis, a fact not disclosed to jury or judge. The prosecution told the court that if it didn’t have this witness’ testimony. “we’d absolutely have no case here whatsoever.” Too late for Spaziano, the Florida Supreme Court ruled such testimony inadmissible because it is so unreliable. Two years after the murder, when attention turned toward Spaziano, he had no recall of where he was when the Orlando women disappeared. Although it is not an easy feat for most people to pick a time 24 months prior and re-create a day’s activities, Spaziano has another reason for being short on memory. In 1966 he suffered a severe head injury in a car accident, the variety of which is classically connected to organic personality syndrome. On the same day he signed Spaziano’s death warrant, Gov. Lawton Chilles said he was uncertain whether he would sign a bill the legislature passed that would reduce the importance of a jury’s sentencing recommendation. Spaziano’s experience should erase any doubt about the bill’s dangerous consequences. Clemency is the only clear route to justice in the Spaziano case, which Chiles should not let be another tragic example of the death penalty’s tragic flaw. No matter how one feels about capital punishment, no one should be able to bear the thought of executing a person by mistake. 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 A death penalty mistake Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-04 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 St. Petersburg, FL Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "A death penalty mistake." St. Petersburg Times, June 04, 1995. Subject The topic of the resource Executions--1990-2000 Death penalty Description An account of the resource A motorcycle gang member, Joseph Robert Spaziano, is convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of an 18-year old woman. However, new doubts emerge about the crime, and the court proceedings and Spaziano's mental health are called into question. Clemency for Spaziano is called for. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/236977d4c781f8dfd2072d8367518b9e.jpg f7e10d719ab225aa90c5bbb0d0804a89 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 On June 27 Florida intoned to execute Joseph "crazy Joe" Spaziano for a murder that he probably did not commit. The facts and the chronology are nit much in dispute. On or about Aug. 6, 1973, someone brutally murdered Laura Lynn Harberts of Orlando. On Aug 21 a passer-by found her decomposed body in a trash dump in Seminole County. Harberts probably had been stabbed to death. Beverly Fink, Harberts's roommate, told police that on Sunday afternoon the 5th, as she was labeling the apartment she was leaving the apartment that they shared, Harberts was on the telephone. "Hold on a minute Joe," she said to her caller. Was she talking to Joe Spaziano? Fink said that the two were acquainted, but barely so; they were not dating. Almost two years passed. It was not until the summer of 1975 that police arrested Spaziano and charged him with the crime. Most of the police investigation in the period focused on another man entirely. But Spaziano had a bad . He had prior conviction for rape, and he was president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Brotherhood in the Orlando area. There was the suggestive "Hold on a minute, Joe," and Harberts and Spaziano had at least met. In July 1973 he had come by the apartment. Spaziano became the best suspect ah the police could find. Spaziano’s went to jail in July 1975. He asserted his absolute innocence. The key witness against him was Tony Dilisio, 18, who testified to this effect: that he had once idolized Spaziano as an outlaw biker; that he hope to become a member of the brotherhood himself; that at some point- he could not remember when-Spaziano took him to the Seminole dump and boasted that he had dumped the bodies of two women there. “Man, that’s my style.”  That was substantially all the evidence that the persecution had to offer. As the prosecutor himself acknowledged, without Dilisio’s testimony, they had no case. The jurors doubted that guilt had been proved. Judge Robert McGregor twice had to order them back to their room to reach a verdict. The jurors never got the whole story. Two aspects of the trial are especially disturbing: *The state knew that on the Sunday afternoon question, Harperts and Fink worked This was never disclosed to the jury. * For some inexplicable reason, Spaziano’s trail Council never brought out that Dilisio’s testimony had been induced under hypnosis. During his first interrogation by police, Dilisio never mention the visit to the dump and vainglorious boast. It was only under hypnosis, coupled with highly suggestive questions, that he much later “remembered” the incident and enlarged upon the incrimination conversation. (In 1985 the Flordia Supreme Court held that hypnotically induced evidence is unreliable and inadmissible, but the ruling was nit made retroactive). In any event, Spaziano did not testify, and the jury found him guilty. One juror recalls the the vote was either 10-2 or 9-3 to recommended life inprisionment, but McGregor overruled the jury and sentenced Spaziano to death. The court took note of Spaziano's prior conviction for rape: the crime had especially "heinous, atrocious, and cruel"; No mitigating evidence had been offered. “Crazy Joe,” as the indictment identified him, was a leader of the Outlaw bikers. His brother, in full biker regalia, had attended trial. The long process of appeals and potion for habeous corpus began. In 1984 the US Supreme Court affirmed conviction, 6-3, with Justices John Paul Stevens, William Brennan, and Thurgood Marsh dissenting. They reasoned that its is cruel and unusual punishment for a judge to overrule a jury and impose a death sentence on his own. Since then the case been up and down, and in and out, Spaziano, now 51, has been on Death row for 20 years. Professor Michal Mellow of Vermont Law School an authority in the law of capital punishment, came late into the case as Spaziano's appellate counsel. He is convinced "down ti the very marrow of my bones" that his client is innocent. Other investigators have expressed serous doubts of the defendant's guilt. A Clear case for clemency Now it is up to Gov. Lawton Chiles and the Cabinet, sitting Board ofExecutive Clemency. Given the totality of the circumstance- the withheld evidence the testimony induced by hypnosis, the jury's recommendation of life- it is hard to imaging e a better case for clemency. Despite all my wanning conduce in capital punishment, I believe that there are especially atrocious cases, in which guilt has been proved far beyond a reasonable doubt, when the death sentence may be justified. Crazy Joe's case is different. It response with doubt. I cannot argue Spaziano's invoice as Mello can- I have not read the trail record- but I am satisfied that in this case the stated played dirty pool with the life of a not very likable man. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Florida may execute innocent man Subject The topic of the resource Death row Death row inmates Description An account of the resource Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano is an inmate on death row for a murder that he may not have committed. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Herald Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-06-08 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/0114402b747b1a1097d749b98a7528d7.jpg 45020fa78462623784cfe51d9890fe65 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 CHELSEA – A judge is drawing fire because she ruled that a man charged with rape could be released from jail only if he agreed not to possess or view pornography. Civil liberties advocates said they were troubled by Judge Mary Miles Teachout’s ruling. “It’s a first for me,” said Vermont Law School Professor Michael A. Mello. Teachout decided that David C. Green could be released on bail while awaiting trial but only on the condition that he stay away from pornography. Green, 22, is accused of repeatedly raping his wife, who had told him he wanted a divorce, on Oct. 21. “He told me that earlier in the day he had rented a movie and had masturbated while watching the movie,” Green’s wife wrote in an affidavit submitted to police. Neither the affidavit nor other police records indicated the content of the movie. Green of Lebanon, N.H., was arrested and charged with five counts of aggravated sexual assault and one of kidnapping. He is being held in the Southeast Regional Correctional Facility in Woodstock, unable to make bail. Critics of the release conditions Teachout set questioned whether the judge should be linking the alleged crime with a movie. “Take it out of the realm of sex,” suggested Vermont American Civil Liberties Union executive director Leslie Williams. “What if you rob a bank after watching a movie about robbing a bank? It’s assuming a connection that I’m not sure is justified.” Mello, who teaches criminal law, said judges had the right to impose a number of release conditions as long as they can be “rationally related to the offense” and do not violate the constitution. “I think it’s unconstitutional,” Mello said of Teachout’s order. David Putter, chairman of the Vermont ACLU’s legal panel, said the problem with the order was that it was essentially unenforceable because it’s so broad. Vermont has no legal definition of pornography, he said. “The state can’t prohibit speech unless it clearly defines the prohibited speech and that speech falls within a lawful definition of obscenity,” Putter said. “If (Teachout) has not specified what particular guidelines govern, then the order would be a violation not only of the First Amendment but of the Vermont Constitution as well.” Mello said Teachout’s order involved the “suppression of ideas… it infringes on the marketplace of ideas. It has a potentially chilling effect.” That is what sets apart from typical conditions of release, such as prohibiting drinking alcohol or barring contact with certain people, he said. Williams, who is not a lawyer, said the argument could be put in simpler terms. “This is unreasonable,” she said. “To forbid someone to read something or look at something is going a little too far.” [Pull quote]: “What if you rob a bank after watching a movie about robbing a bank? It’s assuming a connection that I’m not sure is justified.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Bales, Jack 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 Conditions of Release: Don't Watch Pornographic Movies Subject The topic of the resource Pornography--Law and legislation American Civil Liberties Union Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "Conditions of Release: Don't Watch Pornographic Movies ,” Rutland (VT) Daily Herald , November 30, 1993. 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 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 1993-11-30 Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource After a man views a pornographic movie, he rapes his wife and is charged with sexual assault. A judge rules that he can be released on bail only if he agrees not to possess or watch pornography. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lebanon, NH First Amendment https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/1e88ba54e92ebceed38552667be7e580.jpg 4875f5318751eeeebb812c482336507a 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 Florida Courts Delayed by Controversy Over Death Penalty 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 1986-11-23 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 1 .jpg Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Death Penalty Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Marbin, Carol Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant The jurisdiction of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Description An account of the resource . Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Palm Beach Post 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 For eight years the small crossroads town of Lake City has focused its outrage toward Starke, the prison town where Theodore Bundy awaits Florida's electric chair for the brutal murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Diane Leach. But Tuesday, Lake City turned its anger to Atlanta, where a three judge panel from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted the execution of Bundy, scheduled for that day. Lake City--and indeed, much of Florida, was still stinging from an 11th-hour stay granted Bundy by the Atlanta appeals court in July for his conviction in the murders of two Chi Omega sorority sisters at Florida State University. "I'm very hard pressed to explain to the average person on the street how our system can allow situations such as this," said State Attorney Jerry Blair, who prosecuted Bundy in the Leach slaying. "We've got some judicial activists there, and they are certainly perceived to have a bias toward death penalty cases, and the public is getting very frustrated." The 18 judges who sit on the 11th Circuit bench, which hears federal appeals from Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, have withstood much greater pressure--including a petition drive seeking the ouster of three of its members. In October, the House Judiciary Committee declined to recommend the impeachment of 11th Circuit Judges Frank Johnson, Thomas Clark and R. Lanier Anderson. The committee decided for the first time that federal judges could not be impeached on the basis of an unpopular judicial decision. The decision granted a new trial to two men sentenced to die in Georgia's electric chair for killing <br /><br />[end page]<br /><br />[start page]<br /><br />six members of the Alday family in Seminole County. It so outraged rural South Georgia that 100,000 people signed petitions seeking the impeachment of Johnson, Clark, and Anderson. Mike Mello is a defense attornry who has represented both Bundy and Nollie Lee Martin, convicted in the 1977 rapw and murder of a Boynton Beach convenience store clerk. Mello says he fears that outrage may have a "chilling effect" on the appeals court's independence. "That's the very reason why federal judges are appointed for life," Mello said. "The purpose is to remove the business of judging--especially judging emotionally laden, intense cases--from the political fray." Since the administration of Gov. Ruben Askew, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued 25 stays of execution for Florida death row inmates, compared to 18 stays from state circuit judges, 30 from the Florida Supreme Court, 54 by federal district court judges, eight from the U.S. Supreme C ourt and three from Gov. Bob Graham. The 25 stays are not a high proportion. Still, the appeals court's last minute stay of execution for Bundy--a former law student once accused of as many as 36 murders--prompted some people in the governors office to refer to the appeals court as a kind of bottleneck, slowing the process toward execution. "It's not kind of a bottleneck; it is a bottleneck," said Art Wiedinger, general counsel to Graham. Wiedinger suggested the Atlanta-based appeals court --and most of the federal court system--practices a kind of "legal fly-specking" that obscures the more important question of guilt or innocence in capital cases. "Most of the issues raised don't go to the search for truth or whether the person did it," Wiedinger said. "I'm not saying these are not important cases that need to be reviewed. But they are automatically reviwed by the Florida Supreme Court, and they don't need three or four or five reviews, which is the way we are now going." Graham said last week: "One thing that distinguishes a capital case from all other cases is that the accused has a strong interest in delay. "If one is serving 20 years for armed robbery, yu've got an incentive to want to expedite your appeal, because, if you're successful, you may get out of jail or get a new trial. In capital cases, people don't want to have finality because, if the finality is against them, they are going to be executed." Graham said the system must be changed, or "the whole process is going to be jammed." But Professor Steven Winter of the University of Miami Law School blames politicians, not judges, for the logjam of federal death appeals. Borrowing a metaphor from death penalty advocates, Winter argued that Graham has created the bottleneck himself by attempting to force more capital cases into the federal court pipeline than it was designed to handle. Graham signs as many as four death warrants every month. "There's a real question concerning the extent to which the system in Florida is affected by political concerns," Winter said. Three judges from the 11th Circuit expressed the same concern last month when--during oral arguments--they accused the Florida Attorney General's office of playing politics in its handling of Ted Bundy's Chi Omega murder case. In response, Attorney General Jim Smith charged that the three judges "verbally abused" Assistant Attorney General Gregory Costas and asked Chief Justice William Rehnquist to investigate the Oct. 23 incident. "These reported remarks were unwarranted and a significant departure from judicial impartiality," Smith charged in an Oct. 30 letter to Rehnquist. "I am especially at the court's hinting that, somehow, the state's position was more political than legal." Citing the incident, Blair, the Lake City prosecutor, suggested judges in the 11th Circuit have used their bench as a soapbox from which to fight capital punishment. "Unfortunately, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has a well-deserved reputation as a bastion of liberalism populated by people who have a philosophical disagreement with capital punishment and who use their public forum in court to promote their views on capital punishment," Blair said. "They are perceived in the eyes of many as frustrating the will of the people and, really, frustrating the criminal justice system." Criticism of the 11th Circuit's political philosophy dates back more than 20 years, before the circuit was even created. In 1981, the old 5th Circuit Court of Appeals--which included most of the Deep South--was split in half, with Florida, Georgia and Alabama joining the new 11th Circuit. Frank Johnson, who has sat on eight panels that granted stays to Florida death row inmates, cut his teeth judicially while a U.S. District Court judge in Montgomery Ala. Alabama Gov. George Wallace feuded bitterly with Johnson over his efforts to desegregate Alabama's public schools. Circuit Judge Elbert Tuttle, now on senior status, was one of a four member bloc of the old 5th Circuit--chronicled in former Circuit Judge Jack Bass's book Unlikely Heroes--who regularly challenged the Deep South's most well-rooted traditions, paticularly segregation. Tuttle and Johnson, who is a former U.S. Attorney, are considered by death penalty advocates and opponents to be members of a core of 11th Circuit Court judges with reservations about capital punishment. Still, many of the 11th Circuit's written opinions display not so much distaste for the death sentence as a desire that the ultimate penalty be administered fairly, Mello believes. Circuit Judge Joseph Hatchett, for instance, dissented from a decision not to hear the appeal of John Eldon Smith, condemned for the execution-style murder of a Bibb County, Ga., couple. Hatchett argued it was unfair for Smith to die when his wife, Rebecca, was given a life sentence for the same crime. Called the "death court" by Mello, the 11th Circuit hears more appeals from condemned inmates than any other--almost a third of the nation's total. "The 11th Circuit is an excruciatingly painful position because of the number of death cases it has to deal withcompared to any other circuit," said Bruce Winick, University of Miami Law School professor. "Judges in the 11th Circuit feel it in their bones, because these are the hardest cases." Some members of the legal system--including Graham, Smith, Blair and Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers--support legislation that would set a two-year limit on habeas corpus petitions, thus allowing death row inmates two years after they are sentenced to appeal in federal court. "The federal courts, in effect, have been called upon to make virtually unrestricted review of state court convictions," Bowers said. "As long as that is the case, there will be an interminable delay in ultimately resolving death penalty cases."<br /><br />[image - Frank Johnson]<br /><br />[image - Elbert Tuttle]<br /><br />[image caption - Appeals court judges Framk Johnson (left) and Elbert Tuttle.] 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. Enos, Dan 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 'Death court' creates bottleneck of execution appeals, critics say Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Subject The topic of the resource Bundy, Theodore 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Capital punishment 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. Description An account of the resource A newspaper account of the frustration felt by death penalty advocates at the slow appeals process, which they felt played into death row inmates motivation to extend their lives using drawn out appeals. The focus is on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which handled a disproportionately high number of death penalty appeals. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986-11-23 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 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Palm Beach Post 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals death penalty Elbert Tuttle Frank Johnson Kimberly Diane Leach Mike Mello stay of execution Ted Bundy Theodore Bundy https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/39a98655ad64cee8e1af83df1ffbaf1b.jpg 15be4435ae982b9aa6ab4e49c2044e16 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 [image - Supreme Court political cartoon drawing]<br /><br />Some people say the composition of the Supreme Court defies political labels. But those who oppose the death penalty are not among that number, and a recent decision that allows prosecutors to exclude capital punishment abolitionists is confirmation that the justices are primarily a conservative lot. The court’s decisions and its logic are riddled with contradictions. Justice Thurgood Marshall, the only Black member on the court and the most consistent, said the death penalty ruling gives “the prosecution license to empanel a jury” to virtually insure a guilty verdict. Marshall was joined by Justices William Brennan and John Paul Stevens in dissenting from the 6-3 majority decision. “Because I believe that such a blatant disregard for the rights of a capital defendant offends logic, fairness and the Constitution, I dissent,” Marshall wrote. He added that “the court upholds a practice that allows the state a special advantage in those prosecutions where the charges are the most serious and the possible punishments the most severe.” On April 30, one week earlier, the court handed down three important decisions regarding criminal prosecution. In one instance, which has been praised as a step forward by civil rights organizations, the justices rightly ruled that prosecutors cannot exclude Blacks from juries on the basis of race. The decision limits the use of peremptory challenges, which in the past could not be questioned. Now a minority defendant may object to such a challenge, and the prosecutor has the burden of convincing the judge that the challenge is not racially motivated. Though Marshall agreed that the ruling is a “historic step toward eliminating the shameful practice of racial discrimination in the selection of juries, it did not go far enough.” Once challenged, contended Marshall, “any prosecutor can easily assert . . . neutral reasons for striking a juror, and trial courts are ill-equipped to second-guess those reasons.” It is well known that district attorneys have abused peremptory challenges to stack juries, so that Black defendants are usually judged by all-white panels. “The misuse of peremptories has become the standard method for excluding Blacks from jury service,” said Steve Ralston of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. “The problem is nationwide in scope,” he added. But, as Marshall pointed out, the ruling should have been stronger. Instead, the decision exemplifies the half-hearted fairness that represents the best we can expect from the current majority. On the other hand, while the court is open to some long overdue concessions in the racially biased structure of the trial system, there is a deeply ingrained hostility against death-row prisoners. “Most disturbing,” says Mike Mello of Florida’s Capital Collateral Representatives, “was the tone of the ruling and the cavalier way the court approached the situation. It was another example of the court’s unwillingness to consider any systematic assault on the death penalty,” concludes Mello, who is an attorney for many of the state’s 200 prisoners on death row. At one time a trial judge could exclude anyone who happened to express the mildest reservation concerning the death penalty. But in 1968 the court ruled that only those who refused to vote for a death sentence were to be excluded—not from participating in the trial, only in the process of passing sentence. Now, any prospective juror who is against the death penalty can be barred from a capital case. “It is outrageous,” declared Henry Schwartzchild, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Capital Punishment Project. Mello said the decision forces attorneys for death-row prisoners into mainly “rearguard challenges.” “We are forced to avoid anything,” Mello told the Guardian, “that raises general issues and simply deal on a case-by-case basis.” As a consequence, most of the 1750 prisoners currently on death row have lost virtually all grounds for appealing their sentences. And that means the rate of executions will pick up sharply. In addition, we can expect a lot more convictions with death sentences, as prosecutors are given a freer hand to pick jurors predisposed to that outcome. That’s not justice—that’s lynch law. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Magazine Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Reschke, Daniel 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 Lynch law justice Subject The topic of the resource Lynch law Capital punishment--United States--Periodicals Jury selection--United States Description An account of the resource A magazine article that discusses the United States Supreme Court's decision on attorneys' usage of peremptory challenges for minority jurors when the defendant is also a minority. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Guardian (New York) 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 1986-05-14 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant United States Henry Schwartzchild John Paul Stevens Mike Mello Steve Ralston Thurgood Marshall William Brennan https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/5b03081c77576e986379a740eb8e19cc.jpg 75420f5b5334936911d250f3cf0cf3a9 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 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Stewart, James Text Any textual data included in the document The Florida Flambeau is published by the Florida Flambeau Foundation, Inc., an independent, non-profit corporation which is solely responsible for the contents of the paper. Florida Flambeau Foundation, Inc., Newsroom, 505 S. Woodward Avenue, phone 681-6695; Mailing address, P.O. Box 20287, Tallahassee, Florida, 32316. Eileen M. Drennen.............Editor Moni Basu..........Editor Designate Joe Pankowski, Jr....Sports Editor Rodney Campbell..Ast. Sports Ed. J.L. Branch..............Arts Editor B.G. Dilworth...Asst. Arts Editor Deborah Thomas..............Photo Editor Staff: Kathy Armistead, Pete Butler, John Dixon, G. Alan Fineout, Linda Hall, Ted Hardin, Steve Johnson, John Lowndes, Jack McCarthy, Mia Lucas, Mike Odgen, Bill Otersen, D.K. Roberts, Jeffrey Romance, Barrington Salmon, Mark Stevens, Mark Sullivan, Maria Telli, Don Watz, Nancy Wonder, Linda Young Words can come back to haunt you. Listen to Gov. Bob Graham at the dedication of the Viet Nam War Memorial in Nov. 11, 1985. He mourns the 386,000 Floridians who gave their lives in service to their country during the Viet Nam War, and recognizes how the experience "marked" the lives of those who didn't lose their lives there: "Today we take a giant step in the healing process. . . We say to all who served, welcome home—and we express our heart-felt gratitude for your bravery and spirit of sacrifice. . . We who live in freedom salute you, as we commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Your actions speak more eloquently than our words, even a decade or more later...Many have fought to overcome the physical as well as the spiritual effects of that conflict. The contributions the Viet Nam veterans are making today is powerful testimony to their character, and to their talent." Listen to Graham defending his decision to ignore the last wish of an ex-Marine—one of those Florida veterans he's so proud of. The vet is the first ever to face the electric chair in America, and is compelling evidence of how the war and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder turned him into a broken heroin addict, sending him ever downward, until he kills two people in a Jacksonville bar and winds up on Death Row. Listen to Graham tell the man, as he told us at the dedication ceremony last year, that time has opened the eyes of the American public to the ultimate sacrifice he and all veterans made for us, and how anxious we are to try and pay them back: Sure, PTSD is a problem—but he had his chance at raising the issue before the court already, and there is no reason to bring it up again. But, David Livingston Funchess' claims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder were never heard by the jury that convicted him of murder. His friends and family from Jacksonville, who saw him come back from the war a stranger, were never given the opportunity to tell the court what they knew. No one cared then; no one cares now. Least of all the man who claimed to honor this veteran, but turned a deaf ear to his last request on this earth. 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 Graham's gratitude Description An account of the resource An article about Florida Gov. Bob Graham's speech at the dedication of the Vietnam memorial and how Graham ignored the last wishes of David Livingston Funchess, a veteran convicted to the electric chair. 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 1983-04-23 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. 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, United States Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Florida Flambeau Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Subject The topic of the resource Post-traumatic stress disorder Graham, Bob 1936- Veterans--Vietnam Death Row electric chair Florida Florida veterans Vietnam veterans https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/8ee509b6b058ffa5ad54aa01cd95f17c.jpg 5dafb906475d652eb6d02e2b0e3ebdaa 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 JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 7 (AP) — On the eve of his execution date in November 1984, Gary Alvord was interviewed by three psychiatrists who asked him about his understanding of of how and why he was to die in the electric chair. The doctors reported their findings to Gov. Bob Graham. He decided Mr. Alvord did not understand the impending punishment, so the inmate was sent to a state mental institution. This month, in a separate capital punishment case, the United States Supreme Court is to hear arguments on whether the Constitution protects the mentally incompetent from execution and whether Florida's method of determining competence is proper. The Florida law says that if the inmate "understands the nature of the death penalty and why it is to be imposed on him" he can be executed. A 'Narrow and Precise' Issue "That's a very, very narrow and precise thing," said Dr. David Taubel, director of mental health for the State Department of Corrections. "If a person knows he is going to be executed because he killed a person, he fits the definition of competence in the law." Opponents say the law improperly leaves the decision to the Governor, in this case one who has ordered more than 100 execution, 13 of which have been carried out. Dick Burr, a public defender, said: "We believe the decision of competence should be made by a judge, not by the Governor. The Governor of this state is too pro-death. The decision should be decided by a neutral judicial process." Another Man Awaits Outcome Mr. Burr had raised the competency question on behalf of Alvin Ford, another death row inmate. His is the case the Supreme Court is scheduled to review. Mr. Ford's lawyers say that since he entered prison 11 years ago for the 1974 killing of a Fort Lauderdale police officer he has gone insane and is "flamboyantly schizophrenic." The state maintains that Mr. Ford is mentally competent to be executed. Also awaiting the court's ruling will be Aubrey Dennis Adams Jr., who was determined fit to be executed by a panel of psychiatrists who examined him March 6. His attorneys say the inmate has amnesia and does not remember the day in January 1978 that an 8-year-old Ocala girl was strangled, the death for which he was convicted. Dr. Ernest Miller, one of the psychiatrists who examined Mr. Adams, said competency should be decided in a court setting "and stand the test of adversarial proceedings." "Let the psychiatrists defend their reasoning," said Dr. Miller, of University Hospital in Jacksonville. In a recent interview, Governor Graham said the issue was whether the inmate understood what the punishment was while execution was imminent. "It's not a question of guilt or innocence," he added. Dr. George Barnard, a University of Florida psychiatrist who participated in one panel considering competence and vows never to do it again, said that no clear standards governed what the psychiatrists should do and how they should report and that a more detailed examination was needed. In Mr. Adam's case the psychiatrists asked him if he knew why they were examining him, if he understood the execution process, his feelings about his family, what he remembered about the day of the crime, what his trial defense was and what he had for lunch the day before, said Michael Radelet, a sociologist at the University of Florida. "They didn't gather enough information or the right information," said Mr. Radelet, who sat in on the interview. Mike Mello, who helped defend Mr. Adams, questioned how three psychiatrists could rule that he was competent to die in the hour they spent with him in what he called a "circus environment." They psychiatrists reported to the Governor's office. Governor Graham determined that Mr. Adams could die the next morning. The execution was stayed by the Supreme Court. Mr. Mello, who researched the competency issue in the Adams and Ford cases, sail all that defense attorneys wanted was "a fair determination of competency." 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. Steele, Andrew Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. The duplication of 'of' in the first paragraph is present in the original, as is the omission of a comma between 'was' and 'and' in the 17th paragraph. "They psychiatrists" is "The psychiatrists" in original text- James Stewart 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 Florida Challenged on Determining Sanity of Condemned Inmates Description An account of the resource Determining whether a person is competent to be executed should be left to judges and not governors. Psychiatrists have no real guidelines for examining the competence of a death row inmate. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The New York 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 1986-04-08 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 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 Jacksonville, FL Subject The topic of the resource Ford, Alvin E. (Alvin Earle), 1937- Prisoners--Mental health services. United States. Supreme Court. Alvin Ford Aubrey Dennis Adams Jr. Bob Graham David Taubel Dick Burr Ernest Miller Florida Fort Lauderdale Gary Alvord George Barnard Jacksonville Michael Radelet Mike Mello Ocala Supreme Court University of Florida 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/92185f32846490589c2f4313346c8f96.jpg cbfd0cc10f02c0bbf4497ce99eddcb2a 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 Warrenton, VA-As a part of its ongoing Death Penalty Project, NACDL co-sponsored the Annual Capital Punishment Conference held at the Arlie Conference Center in Warrenton, Virginia on July 18-20. The Conference has served for a number of years as the national strategy session for lawyers handling death penalty appeals and collateral attacks. Programmatic and logistical responsibilities were handled by the other co-sponsors, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The seminar drew 103 participants from around the United States. The program covered a multitude of issues and types of information including a status report of the various death rows around the U.S., Supreme Court developments, developments in the state and Circuit Court of Appeals, habeas litigation and the special problems pertaining to it, clemency proceedings, state organizations, and dealing with the personal (as opposed to legal) aspects of executions. This years conference was jeopardized because of funding curtailments, a fact which moved the NACDL Board of Directors to authorize a co-sponsorship funded by a grant from the ABA Bar Information Project. Other activities funded by the grant were production of the NACDL Collateral Attack Manual and production of extra issues of the March Death Penalty Issue of the CHAMPION. The death penalty issue of the CHAMPION has been widely distributed throughout the death penalty community. 1984 marked the first year in which NACDL has co-sponsored this very important conference. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Magazine Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) July 1984 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 NACDL Co-Sponsors Death Penalty Conference Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Description An account of the resource The article describes the Annual Capital Punishment Conference and the issues it deals with. It also tells of the Conference's lack of funding and how the NACDL (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) stepped in to sponsor the event. The Conference was held July 18th-20th, 1984. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Champion 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 1984-07 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpg 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Annual Capital Punishment Conference National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/68e7d5dc940a7531c7bf8e06b1f6cc48.jpg 914d8c899b63c4fa8bd8251449268502 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 ORLANDO- Juries, not judges, should decide whether convicted killers are sentenced to death, the Florida Bar’s board of governors said in voting its support for a bill that would take away judges’ power to override juries. “Juries are better than judges as yardsticks of community outrage in deciding whom to execute,” said Michael Mello, an attorney who is paid by the state to defend Death Row inmates. The board voted 21 to 7 Thursday to urge Legislature to change a 1972 law that lets trial judges impose a death sentence for first-degree murder even if the jury recommends life in prison with no parole for 25 years. Since the law took effect, trial judges have ignored jury recommendations for life sentences and sentenced convicted murderers to death in 92 cases. The change would force judges to accept juries’ recommendations against the death penalty. The bill making the change has been proposed in the past two legislative sessions but was opposed by prosecutors and judges. Mello said juries seem to recommend life sentences when they have “a lingering doubt about the defendant’s guilt.” In a 1975 case, a circuit court jury convicted motorcycle gang member Joseph Spaziano of the murder and mutilation of a woman near Orlando, but only after twice telling the judge they couldn’t reach a verdict. The jury voted 9-3 for life imprisonment. But Circuit Judge Robert McGregor sentenced Spaziano to death, and reimposed the penalty after the state Supreme Court asked him to reconsider it. One of the jurors in the case said the panel favored the life sentence because of doubts about Spaziano’s guilt. The sentence was the upheld by state and U.S Supreme Court justices, but U.S. Justice John Paul Stevens said the law which lets judges override jury recommendations is defective. The board of governors consists of 39 attorneys elected by lawyers in the state’s 20 judicial circuits. The board’s vote Thursday was the first time it has taken a position on the bill. According to a bar study, most of the judges’ overrides of jury recommendations were later reversed by the state Supreme Court. In Florida, 221 murders have been sentenced to death and 13 have been executed since 1997. Only one Death Row inmate, Ernest Dobber, has been executed against a jury’s will. A jury recommended life in prison on a 10-2 vote, but Dobbert was electrocuted in 1984 for the slayings of his 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son. 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. Scanlon, 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 Panel: Jurors Should Decide the Fate of Killers Description An account of the resource An article in support of juries having the final say in death penalty cases. Says that judges should not have the ability to overrule a jury decision. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Tallahassee Democrat 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 1986-01-11 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpg 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Jury--United States--Decision making. 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 death penalty Florida juries Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f6d818a534019a56ed35b3983f7f1765.jpg 9f3c091fdcb5b2788f4974f4babeb166 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/79d8cc8afadddc8c35bb30a8b44a7f5a.jpg 3a3a9d20d1292f7bed5c13c2fce79b6a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Huffman, Suzanne Text Any textual data included in the document SUPPOSE trial judges were free to dispatch a criminal defendant to prison even after a jury of his peers had declared him not guilty. Unthinkable? Of course it is. Yet that's precisely how the death sentence is administered in Florida, where judges are empowered to condemn a convicted murderer to death even if the jury unanimously recommends a life prison sentence.<br /><br />Aldebert Rivers was convicted of first-degree murder in 1982 for his role in the shooting death of a North Miami waitress. Nine men and three women deliberated only an hour before returning their guilty verdict. Later, after another hour of deliberation, the same jury recommended that Rivers be sentenced to life in prison. <br /><br />Dade Circuit Judge Ellen Morphonios accepted the jury's finding of guilt but rejected its recommendation for mercy, arguing that the aggravating circumstances of Rivers's crime compelled his execution. Last week, in a unanimous ruling, the Florida Supreme Court rebuked Judge Morphonios for defying the jury's recommendation and ordered Rivers's sentence commuted to life in prison. <br /><br />Of the 38 states that permit capital punishment, only three allow trial judges to override a jury's recommendation for mercy. Judges in Alabama and Indiana have invoked that authority sparingly. But in Florida, already home of the nation's largest condemned-inmate population, trial judges have imposed the death penalty over the jury's objections 87 times since capital punishment was restored in 1972. <br /><br />The state supreme court wisely has declared that judges who overrule a jury's recommendation of life will be sustained only when the facts suggesting a sentence of death are "so clear and convincing that virtually no reasonable person could differ" with the judge's decision. After reviewing 62 cases in which a judge imposed the death penalty over the jury's objections, the high court has upheld only 19 death sentences. Seven of the 19 subsequently were overturned by Federal appellate courts. <br /><br />Capital punishment is the state's proper prerogative, but there is great folly and danger inherent in a system that allows a single judge to override the collective wisdom of 12 ordinary citizens. Florida juries have showed no reluctance to recommend the ultimate penalty when the circumstances of a particular murder compel it. The customary practice of excluding from first-degree murder juries those who acknowledge an unalterable opposition to the death penalty should endow a jury's recommendation of mercy with even greater weight. <br /><br />State legislators have ducked several opportunities to bring Florida into step with the vast majority of states who have circumscribed the judge's sentencing authority in capital cases. Judge Morphonios's overzealousness in the Aldebert Rivers case underlines the need to reassert the jury's role as the community's conscience. Oh, Danny! THERE'S probably no truth to the rumor that the residents of San Marino Island along the Venetian Causeway, with an eye toward the Don Shula Expressway to the west, are considering changing the name of their winning surroundings to Dan Marino Island. On the other hand, if the NFL's Wunderkind leads the Dolphins to a 16-0 season, he may well qualify for sainthood - and make the name change unnecessary. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jury's Precedence Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment--Florida. Protest movements--United States. Capital punishment--Florida--Public opinion. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Miami Herald Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984-11-07 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 jpgs 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida capital punishment Florida juries https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3b8b70ddae78c2aba2bd553dced8a637.jpg bcb7e15a27d6cd1e58ccc0530e72a1ce Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 1, 1976-1979 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper cartoon Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image 4x3 inches 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 Balance of Administrative Power against Student and Faculty Power Subject The topic of the resource School management and organization Description An account of the resource A political cartoon depicting an unbalanced scale, with the Administrative Power bag weighing significantly more than the smaller Student Power and Faculty Power bags. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Prometheus, October 17, 1977, 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 1977-10-17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context mello: 14 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Fredericksburg, VA https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/775107f4638603772daa3115f1622cf1.jpg d780a6a7358666fcd8c0940e5d9ab6e8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 4 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [heading] Spaziano insists he's innocent<br /> <ul> <li>The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments today in the case of the rape-murder convict scheduled to die Sept. 21.</li> </ul> By Ron Word<br /><br />[start of the first column]<br /><br />STARKE -- Outlaws motorcycle gang member Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano grows quiet when asked about his impending death in the electric chair for the rape, mutilation and murder of a teenage hospital clerk.<br /><br />He rubs his handcuffed hands against his chin and tears fill his eyes as he proclaims his innocence.<br /><br />[Image of Spaziano]<br /><br />"I'm not guilty of no murder. I'm not guilty of no rape," Spaziano said in an hourlong prison interview Wednesday just two weeks before his scheduled Sept. 21 execution.<br /><br />"The only thing Im guilt of is smoking a few reefers," he said from behind a glass partition.<br /><br />Unless his last-minute appeals are successful, Spaziano will be put to death for the 1973 rape, torture, murder and mutilation of Laura Lynn Harberts, an 18-year-old Orlando woman.<br /><br />"I don't know the girl, I know nothing about it," the heavily tattooed Spaziano said.<br /><br />Spaziano, 49, who wears a skull and crossbones ring and has the same emblem with the name of the Outlaws tattooed on the inner side of his right arm, believes he was framed because of his membership in the gang.<br /><br />"I never took the stand. Who would believe an Outlaw?" he said. "There were so many lies. I figured a higher court would see that."<br /><br />Spaziano has shaved his head, something he said he has done after all five of his death warrants. He did not want prison guards to do it in preparation for his electrocution.<br /><br />"So they don't have to touch my head. I don't like people to touch me," he said. <br />[end of the first column]<br /><br />[start of the second column]<br />Spaziano had been scheduled to die in June, but Gov. Lawton Chiles delayed the execution after Spaziano's attorney Michael Mello raised questions about Spaziano's guilt.<br /><br />Oral arguments in his appeal are scheduled today before the Florida Supreme Court. <br /><br />Anthony DiLisio, the star witness against Spaziano, has said he lied when he testified Spaziano allowed him the bodies of Ms. Harberts and another woman at a Seminole Count Dump. <br /><br />Dilisio, 38 and living in Pensacola, now says the information came from police, who had him hypnotized to help his memory.<br /><br />After interviewing DiLisio and conducting an investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a secret report to Chiles that persuaded him to sign a new death warrant.<br /><br />"I really thought the governor was looking at my case," Spaziano said.<br /><br />Several witnesses linked Spaziano to Ms. Harberts and the dump where the decayed bodies were found Aug. 22, 1971. But DiLisio, who has a long history of alcohol and drug abuse, was the only one who could directly connect Spaziano to the bodies.<br /><br />The governor has refused to release the secret report, saying he didn't want to reveal the names of confidential witnesses. The report reportedly contains allegations that a witness tied Spaziano to two murders and another rape.<br /><br />Spaziano, who got a life sentence in an unrelated 1975 rape conviction, has spect much of his 19 years on death row drawing and painting cartoon characters. He is especially fond of Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters. He also likes to paint pictures of motorcycles and their riders.<br /><br />Since being placed in a cell just steps from Florida's electric chair, "Old Sparky." Spaziano said, he has been restless.<br /><br />"Every day is hard. I've got to get ready for it," he said. "I'm just waiting to die. I do a lot of walking back and forth. I don't sleep much.<br /><br />"I want to get as much life in as I can. People can sleep when they are dead."<br /><br />[end of article] Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Dacey, Rachel Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Spaziano insists he's innocent Subject The topic of the resource Spaziano, Joe Capital Punishment Description An account of the resource Spaziano later claims his innocence in court and Gov. Lawton Chiles delayed Spaziano's execution based on this information. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Word, Ron Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-09-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Capital punishment. death penalty Gov. Lawton Chiles Michael A. Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/d7bb7069862cf29087629b18512341f9.jpg 487343b24320a728019cfd6102e9dccf 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 To the Editor, Michael Mello, professor at Vermont Law School, wrote about the “absurd humanity” of convicts on death row in Florida (Forum, April 16). He does not seek to justify the “hideous crimes” of his Florida clients. He asks readers instead to recognize “that prisoners are more like us normal people than we often want to admit or acknowledge.” Mello points out that “if you were to meet (convicted serial killer Ted) Bundy in your local bar, you’d never know he had confessed to many, many murders. You’d think he was just like you, and for the most part you’d be right … we are similar to him.” Mello does not exactly say what we should make of this, but he seems to be advancing it as an argument against the death penalty. But his observations warrants and sound like normal people, most of them could not have killed anyone. If Ted Bundy had 30-inch horns and behaved as Hulk Hogan pretends to, he could not have murdered so many unsuspecting young women. If John Wayne Gacy had not been an outwardly charming and jovial guy, he could not have enticed dozens of boys to his home in order to rape, torture and murder them. It is precisely because of many murderers’ deceptive ordinariness that society has to treat perpetrators of hideous crimes harshly. Mello’s letter suggests a more disturbing message than confusion about the functions of punishment. Mello is not just saying that it is hard to tell who is a murderer. He asserts that Ted Bundy is essentially like any one else, including, we are to infer, an innocent person who would not commit murder. This implies that we should suspend any moral judgment on such crimes, since it could be any one of us sitting there on death row. How else could one interpret Mello’s conclusion about normal people an criminals: “There is no ‘us’ and ‘them.’ We’re all part of ‘us.’” Appearing as it did during Easter and Passover, the letter might be intended as an appeal to our sense of forgiveness. This is not reprehensible, though the appeal seems better directed at the relatives and friends of Ted Bundy’s victims. What is wrong is Mello’s extraordinary moral relativism. It is strange to have to say this, but ordinary people are not like Ted Bundy. Ordinary people, even those who had unpleasant childhoods, do not go around systematically murdering others. A society that loses its moral capacity to distinguish evil from innocence is one that will ultimately be dominated by evil. William A. Fishcel 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. Evans, Kaitryn 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 Yes, Ted Bundy Is Different Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-04-26 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource William A. Fishcel 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 Florida Subject The topic of the resource Florida. Death row. Serial killers. Death penalty. Description An account of the resource A letter to the editor concerning Michael Mello's involvement with death row convicts in Florida. The text focuses on Mello's unique coverage of serial killer Ted Bundy. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 DPI Ted Bundy