Martin receives stay of execution
Dublin Core
Title
Martin receives stay of execution
Subject
Executions (Law)
Description
Before Martins execution he was grated more time to study his case before making a final ruling. It could possibly be six months to one year before any final appeals in the case are resolved. With the time originally given it was highly impossible for any judge to make a final ruling in the time originally given.
Creator
Pollack, Rich
Source
Sunday- Sentinel
Publisher
HIST 298, University of Mary Washington
Date
1984-09-07
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
Miami, FL
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Convicted killer Nollie Lee Martin, who was set to die in Florida’s electric chair today, was granted an indefinite stay by federal appeals court in Atlanta Thursday.
The stay was granted by a three-justice panel at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which said it needed more time to study the case before making a ruling, attorneys for Martin said.
“It means he’s not going to be executed at 7 a.m. as we had feared,” said Mike Mello, as assistant in the Palm Beach County Public Defender’s office. “We’re going to proceed with a normal appeal. We’re not going to be going to be going through three courts in four days.”
Attorneys said it could be a year before the case is resolved.
In 1978, Martin, 35, was convicted of fatally stabbing Patricia Ann Greenfield, a Boynton Beach college student who was abducted from the Delray Beach-area convenience store where she was working.
The detective who led the investigation that resulted in the arrest of Martin and his cousin Gary Lee Forbes, who pleaded guilty to second- degree murder and received a life sentence, said he is undisturbed by the court’s decision to grant the stay.
“The system’s just winding it’s way down,” said Sgt. J.J. Anderson of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s a big system and you just have to be patient.”
Anderson said he expects that Martin will eventually be executed. “He’s not on the street and I don’t think he’ll ever get out,” Anderson said.
Mello, who along with other attorneys representing Martin have been working day and night to obtain the stay, said it will be at least six months and probably a year before all appeals in the case are resolved.
The appeals court decision came on the heels of a Wednesday decision by a federal judge in Miami who granted a 24-hour stay of execution while Martin’s attorneys appealed to the higher court.
On Aug. 8, Gov. Bob Graham signed a death warrant for Martin. That warrant expires today but attorneys said another warrant can be issued later.
Since the signing of the warrant, Martin’s attorneys have appealed to a Palm Beach County circuit court, the Florida Supreme Court, the federal district court in Miami and the federal appeals court.
“The worst possible situation is litigating under an active warrant,” said Mello. “It’s very tough for any judge to resolve issues under [intense] time pressures.”
He said the appeals court, in granting the indefinite stay, indicated the indefinite stay, indicated it needed more time to rule on the case. He said the court was presented with lengthy written arguments containing eight points.
“The only issue before [the court] is whether any of the issues were substantial enough to grant a stay,” Mello said.
“All they said is ‘we can’t do it in a day, we need more time’.”
Mello said that when the appeals court rules on the case it can decide to grant Martin a new trial or a new sentencing or can send the cases to the lower federal court for an evidentiary hearing.
He said if the appeals court panel rejects arguments presented to it by Martin’s attorneys, they will appeal to the full court and if necessary will take the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The attorneys for Martin have argued that evidence showing that Martin suffers from brain damage was not presented during his trial.
They have contended that the evidence was recently discovered after tests were conducted by several doctors.
The stay was granted by a three-justice panel at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which said it needed more time to study the case before making a ruling, attorneys for Martin said.
“It means he’s not going to be executed at 7 a.m. as we had feared,” said Mike Mello, as assistant in the Palm Beach County Public Defender’s office. “We’re going to proceed with a normal appeal. We’re not going to be going to be going through three courts in four days.”
Attorneys said it could be a year before the case is resolved.
In 1978, Martin, 35, was convicted of fatally stabbing Patricia Ann Greenfield, a Boynton Beach college student who was abducted from the Delray Beach-area convenience store where she was working.
The detective who led the investigation that resulted in the arrest of Martin and his cousin Gary Lee Forbes, who pleaded guilty to second- degree murder and received a life sentence, said he is undisturbed by the court’s decision to grant the stay.
“The system’s just winding it’s way down,” said Sgt. J.J. Anderson of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s a big system and you just have to be patient.”
Anderson said he expects that Martin will eventually be executed. “He’s not on the street and I don’t think he’ll ever get out,” Anderson said.
Mello, who along with other attorneys representing Martin have been working day and night to obtain the stay, said it will be at least six months and probably a year before all appeals in the case are resolved.
The appeals court decision came on the heels of a Wednesday decision by a federal judge in Miami who granted a 24-hour stay of execution while Martin’s attorneys appealed to the higher court.
On Aug. 8, Gov. Bob Graham signed a death warrant for Martin. That warrant expires today but attorneys said another warrant can be issued later.
Since the signing of the warrant, Martin’s attorneys have appealed to a Palm Beach County circuit court, the Florida Supreme Court, the federal district court in Miami and the federal appeals court.
“The worst possible situation is litigating under an active warrant,” said Mello. “It’s very tough for any judge to resolve issues under [intense] time pressures.”
He said the appeals court, in granting the indefinite stay, indicated the indefinite stay, indicated it needed more time to rule on the case. He said the court was presented with lengthy written arguments containing eight points.
“The only issue before [the court] is whether any of the issues were substantial enough to grant a stay,” Mello said.
“All they said is ‘we can’t do it in a day, we need more time’.”
Mello said that when the appeals court rules on the case it can decide to grant Martin a new trial or a new sentencing or can send the cases to the lower federal court for an evidentiary hearing.
He said if the appeals court panel rejects arguments presented to it by Martin’s attorneys, they will appeal to the full court and if necessary will take the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The attorneys for Martin have argued that evidence showing that Martin suffers from brain damage was not presented during his trial.
They have contended that the evidence was recently discovered after tests were conducted by several doctors.
Original Format
Newspaper
Contributor of the Digital Item
Piazza, Rachel
Student Editor of the Digital Item
Williams, Megan
Files
Citation
Pollack, Rich , “Martin receives stay of execution,” HIST299, accessed July 12, 2026, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/87.