Spaziano gets stay of execution
Dublin Core
Title
Spaziano gets stay of execution
Subject
Capital punishment
Description
On September 13, 1995, Joe Spaziano gets an indefinite stay of execution from the Florida Supreme Court. In addition, Spaziano's lawyers get a chance to prepare their case while Mello runs into legal trouble
Creator
Metz, Kevin
Source
The Tampa Tribune
Publisher
HIST 298, University of Mary Washington
Date
1993-09-13
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
Coverage
Florida
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
[Title]: Spaziano gets stay of execution
[Text]: TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Supreme Court granted convicted murderer Joseph Spaziano an indefinite stay of execution Tuesday after a dispute among the condemned man's attorys left him without legal representation.
Spaziano, an Outlaws motorcycle gang member convicted in 1976 of mutilating and murdering an 18-year old Orlando hospital clerk, was set to die at & a.m. Sept. 21. It was his fifth death warrant in 20 years and second stay in three months.
The Supreme Court postponed a lower court hearing in Seminole County set for Friday and ordered another one held by Nov. 15 to allow Spaziano's attorneys a chance to prepare.
"My overriding feeling is relief and joy that my innocent client isn't going to be killed on schedule," said Michael Mello, a Vermont Law School professor who represented Spaziano. Spaziano, who turned 50 Tuesday, was relieved at the news, Mello said.
The delay came after Mello refused to represent Spaziano at the Friday hearing, arguing he didn't have the time or money to prepare. He also refused the court's order to cooperate with state-paid attorneys assigned to represent the biker.
"The court had very little choice except to do what they did," said Dexter Douglass, Gov. Lawton's chief legal counsel. "Mr. Mello created a situation where it couldn't be handled fairly, did it purposely."
Mello has behaved unprofessionally and displayed contempt for the court, Douglass said. "What he's done doesn't enhance the views of lawyers, or the courts or the media," Douglass said.
Last week, the court ruled in a 4-3 opinion not to grant a stay but ordered the hearing Friday on evidence that the key witness against Spaziano had lied.
The witness, Anthony DiLisio of Pensacola, recently told the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that he was coaxed into lying at Spaziano's by police officers who hypnotized him and offered him favors.
Several justices argued that if DiLisio was telling the truth, Spaziano deserved a new trail, but they refused to call off the execution before the hearing Friday.
The court envisioned Mello and the office of the Capital Collateral Representative, the state appointed attorneys for Death Row, working together this week to prepare for the new hearing, but that was not to be.
Over the weekend, a feud between Mello and the CCR over who should represent Spaziano escalated into a full-scale war, fought with legal briefs and and accusations of misconduct.
The court lose patience with Mello on Tuesday and ruled unanimously that he had "effectively withdrawn" as Spaziano's attorney. Spaziano now must accept representation by CC, some other volunteer lawyer or no attorney at all, the court said.
[end text]
[photograph]: Spaziano behind bars
[photograph text]: Motorcycle gang member Joseph Spaziano was convicted in 1976 of mutilating and and murdering an 18-year old hospital clerk.
[Text]: TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Supreme Court granted convicted murderer Joseph Spaziano an indefinite stay of execution Tuesday after a dispute among the condemned man's attorys left him without legal representation.
Spaziano, an Outlaws motorcycle gang member convicted in 1976 of mutilating and murdering an 18-year old Orlando hospital clerk, was set to die at & a.m. Sept. 21. It was his fifth death warrant in 20 years and second stay in three months.
The Supreme Court postponed a lower court hearing in Seminole County set for Friday and ordered another one held by Nov. 15 to allow Spaziano's attorneys a chance to prepare.
"My overriding feeling is relief and joy that my innocent client isn't going to be killed on schedule," said Michael Mello, a Vermont Law School professor who represented Spaziano. Spaziano, who turned 50 Tuesday, was relieved at the news, Mello said.
The delay came after Mello refused to represent Spaziano at the Friday hearing, arguing he didn't have the time or money to prepare. He also refused the court's order to cooperate with state-paid attorneys assigned to represent the biker.
"The court had very little choice except to do what they did," said Dexter Douglass, Gov. Lawton's chief legal counsel. "Mr. Mello created a situation where it couldn't be handled fairly, did it purposely."
Mello has behaved unprofessionally and displayed contempt for the court, Douglass said. "What he's done doesn't enhance the views of lawyers, or the courts or the media," Douglass said.
Last week, the court ruled in a 4-3 opinion not to grant a stay but ordered the hearing Friday on evidence that the key witness against Spaziano had lied.
The witness, Anthony DiLisio of Pensacola, recently told the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that he was coaxed into lying at Spaziano's by police officers who hypnotized him and offered him favors.
Several justices argued that if DiLisio was telling the truth, Spaziano deserved a new trail, but they refused to call off the execution before the hearing Friday.
The court envisioned Mello and the office of the Capital Collateral Representative, the state appointed attorneys for Death Row, working together this week to prepare for the new hearing, but that was not to be.
Over the weekend, a feud between Mello and the CCR over who should represent Spaziano escalated into a full-scale war, fought with legal briefs and and accusations of misconduct.
The court lose patience with Mello on Tuesday and ruled unanimously that he had "effectively withdrawn" as Spaziano's attorney. Spaziano now must accept representation by CC, some other volunteer lawyer or no attorney at all, the court said.
[end text]
[photograph]: Spaziano behind bars
[photograph text]: Motorcycle gang member Joseph Spaziano was convicted in 1976 of mutilating and and murdering an 18-year old hospital clerk.
Original Format
Newspaper
Contributor of the Digital Item
Gill, Dennis
Student Editor of the Digital Item
Williams, Megan
Files
Citation
Metz, Kevin, “Spaziano gets stay of execution,” HIST299, accessed March 12, 2026, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/230.