Spaziano's lawyer wants off case
Dublin Core
Title
Spaziano's lawyer wants off case
Subject
Law
Description
Lawyer for Joseph Spaziano, Michael Mello, asks The Florida Bar if he should remain on the case. Due to lack of time and money, Mello finds this case hindered.
Creator
Michael Griffin
Source
The Orlando Sentinel
Publisher
HIST 298, University of Mary Washington
Date
1995-08-30
Rights
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
1 JPG
300 DPI
Language
English
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Tallahassee -- Citing lack of money and time, the lawyer for condemned killer Joseph "Crazy Joe" Spaziano has asked The Florida Bar whether he should remove himself from the case.
In a letter to the Florida Supreme Court, Michael Mello said his job as a law professor and his inability to hire full-time secretaries. researchers or investigators may hinder his ability to represent Spaziano.
Also Tuesday, the governor's legal counsel said he may release part of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report that Gov. Lawton Chiles cited to justify signing Spaziano's fifth death warrant last week.
The former motorcycle gang member is scheduled to be executed Sept. 21 for the 1973 murder and mutilation of Laura Lynn Harberts, an 18-year-old Orlando hospital clerk. Her body was dumped in rural Seminole County, near Altamonte Springs.
General Counsel Dexter Douglass said he had no objection to releasing an edited report of the FDLE findings "if we can be assured that this would not expose these witnesses to harm." Any version released would have witnesses' naems removed, he said.
Chiles' spokesman Ron Sachs said the governor is wary of releasing the report in any form but would consult with Douglass.
The Orlando Sentinel, The Miami Herald and The St. Petersburg Times have asked for the report, in which several witnesses corroborate the original testimony of a key witness against Spaziano who recently changed his story. Chiles ordered the report kept secret as part of a clemency request filed by Mello.
Douglass said another piece of the Spaziano inquiry -- a videotaped interview made this summer with witness Anthony Dilisio, who says 1976 trial testimony was manufactured
by police
Please see SPAZIANO, C-4
In a letter to the Florida Supreme Court, Michael Mello said his job as a law professor and his inability to hire full-time secretaries. researchers or investigators may hinder his ability to represent Spaziano.
Also Tuesday, the governor's legal counsel said he may release part of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report that Gov. Lawton Chiles cited to justify signing Spaziano's fifth death warrant last week.
The former motorcycle gang member is scheduled to be executed Sept. 21 for the 1973 murder and mutilation of Laura Lynn Harberts, an 18-year-old Orlando hospital clerk. Her body was dumped in rural Seminole County, near Altamonte Springs.
General Counsel Dexter Douglass said he had no objection to releasing an edited report of the FDLE findings "if we can be assured that this would not expose these witnesses to harm." Any version released would have witnesses' naems removed, he said.
Chiles' spokesman Ron Sachs said the governor is wary of releasing the report in any form but would consult with Douglass.
The Orlando Sentinel, The Miami Herald and The St. Petersburg Times have asked for the report, in which several witnesses corroborate the original testimony of a key witness against Spaziano who recently changed his story. Chiles ordered the report kept secret as part of a clemency request filed by Mello.
Douglass said another piece of the Spaziano inquiry -- a videotaped interview made this summer with witness Anthony Dilisio, who says 1976 trial testimony was manufactured
by police
Please see SPAZIANO, C-4
Original Format
Newspaper
Contributor of the Digital Item
Cary, Colton
Student Editor of the Digital Item
Williams, Megan
Files
Citation
Michael Griffin, “Spaziano's lawyer wants off case,” HIST299, accessed March 12, 2026, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/195.