Rick Scott

Fla. Gov. Scott signs death warrant for 1987 killer Robert Henry

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb. 14 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed a death warrant for convicted killer Robert Lavern Henry, the day after the execution of Juan Carlos Chavez. his office said.

Chavez, convicted for the 1995 rape, dismemberment and death of Jimmy Ryce, 9, in Redland, Fla., was put to death Wednesday.

Scott announced Thursday he had signed an order for the execution of Henry, who bludgeoned and burned two Deerfield Park, Fla., coworkers in a 1987 staged robbery.

Henry’s execution is scheduled for March 20. He will become the 84th person executed in Florida since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1976, and the 14th during Scott’s tenure as governor.

Since the death penalty returned, no other Florida governor has presided over as many executions in his first term, the Miami Herald said Friday.

(Source: UPI)

With 132 Death Row Inmates Readied for Execution, Lawyers Contest Fast-Track Law Before Florida Justices

February 4, 2014 (flaglerlive.com)

A new law intended to speed up executions did little to change the status quo, an attorney representing the state told the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday.

But a lawyer representing Death Row inmates argued that the “Timely Justice Act” is premised on a faulty list that violates the constitutionally protected separation of powers as well as inmates’ rights to due process.

More than 150 lawyers and Death Row inmates are challenging the law, signed by Gov. Rick Scott in June.

The law requires the Supreme Court clerk to give the governor a certified list of Death Row inmates whose initial state and federal appeals have been exhausted. The law orders the governor to sign death warrants for the condemned on the list within 30 days and to direct the warden to schedule their executions within 180 days — but only once the executive clemency process has been completed. Scott and his lawyers maintain that the clemency process ends when the governor signs a warrant.

In October, then-Supreme Court Clerk Tom Hall certified to Scott an initial list of 132 inmates who are at least partially “warrant ready” under the requirements of the law.

Scott has signed four death warrants since the law went into effect. Prior to that, Scott ordered nine executions since taking office in 2011.

Marty McClain, who represented the lawyers and inmates during oral arguments before the court on Tuesday morning, said the “warrant ready” list was flawed and included some Death Row convicts whose litigation was still pending.

But Assistant Attorney General Carol Dittmar told the justices that “the list is just to provide for information purposes” and did not change the process by which warrants are signed by the governor. Lawmakers who sponsored the legislation said it was intended to shorten the time between conviction and execution, which now is longer than two decades.

“It seems that the argument being made is that the Timely Justice Act was all for show and didn’t actually change anything,” McClain argued. “Certainly that was not what was expressed by the Legislature at the time. They meant to make changes.”

Some of the justices took issue with McClain’s argument that the Legislature had encroached on their power by forcing their administrator to generate the list.

Justice R. Fred Lewis said he found “difficult to understand why it’s unconstitutional for this court to give information” because that is “very natural and normal” within court operations.

Justice Barbara Pariente suggested that, although “we may not all agree that this is the best policy,” the court could add more information to the list and give lawyers representing Death Row inmates the chance to show why their clients should not be included on it before sending it to the governor.

And she pointed out that there is nothing in the new law that prohibits the court from issuing a stay once a warrant has been signed, pointing to the case of Ray Swafford, whose execution was halted by the court hours before he was scheduled to be put to death in 1990. Swafford, who was deemed “warrant ready” by Hall in October, has spent 28 years on Death Row for the abduction, rape and murder of a gas station attendant in Volusia County.

In November, the Florida high court vacated Swafford’s sentence and ordered a new trial based on new DNA evidence. But McClain said the Swafford case was a perfect example why the law is problematic.

Swafford had at least five appeals before the court ordered a new trial in the fall, McClain pointed out.

“Twenty-one years after the conviction, the information develops. He could have been executed in 1990,” McClain said.

Florida: Execution of Marshal Lee Gore halted again

For the second time in less than three weeks, a court has stayed the execution of Miami killer Marshall Lee Gore, who was set to die by lethal injection Wednesday.

Gore was convicted and set to Death Row for the 1988 slaying of Lauderhill’s Robyn Novick, whose body was found stabbed and beaten in a trash heap near Homestead.

On Tuesday, a Bradford County circuit judge agreed with Gore’s defense lawyers and found “reasonable grounds” that the Death Row inmate was too insane to be executed. Circuit Judge Ysleta McDonald ordered more hearings.

The U.S. Supreme Court has said that executing insane inmates is cruel and unusual punishment.

Gov. Rick Scott originally scheduled Gore to be executed on June 24 at the Florida State Prison in Starke. However, one hour before the execution, the Atlanta-based U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeal stayed the execution, giving Gore a chance to flesh out the issue. Three days later, the court lifted the stay, saying Gore had not met the criteria for delaying the execution. (Source: Miami Herald)

FLORIDA – UPCOMING EXECUTION MARSHALL GORE – JUNE 24 2013 – STAYED

Characteristics: Rape – Robberies
Number of victims: 2
Date of murder: January 31/March 11, 1988
Date of arrest: March 17, 1988
Date of birth: August 17, 1963
Victim profile: Susan Roark / Robyn Novick
Method of murder: Stabbing with knife – Strangulation
Location: Columbia County, Florida, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on April 3, 1990

June 24, 2013

Convicted killer Marshall Lee Gore received a stay of execution just 30 minutes for his scheduled death Thursday evening.

It would have been the state’s third execution of the month.

Gore is the former owner of a South Florida escort service who was scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m.

Gore was convicted of the 1988 killing of Robyn Novick, a 30-year-old exotic dancer whose naked body was found in a rural part of Miami-Dade County. Gore also was sentenced to die for the slaying that same year of Susan Roark, whose body was found in Columbia County in northern Florida.

Besides the two death sentences, Gore was given seven life sentences and another 110 years in a case involving the attempted murder of a third woman. That attempt led to Gore’s arrest; he was convicted of stealing the woman’s red Toyota, which the FBI tracked to another state.

Gore’s execution will end a bizarre case. During his trial, Gore laughed, cursed and howled at the prosecution and even his own defense.

At one point Gore’s frustrated attorney turned to him and said, “He deserves to die.”

That led the Florida Supreme Court in 1988 to stay Gore’s execution, ruling that the attorney exceeded proper conduct and professionalism. A year later, though, Gore was retried and re-convicted and again sentenced to death.

Florida has had two other executions within the past month. On June 12, the state executed William Van Poyck for the 1987 murder of a prison guard during a botched attempt to free another inmate, and on May 29, Elmer Carroll was executed for the 1990 rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl.

The execution of Marshall Lee Gore is once again scheduled for 6 pm EDT, on June 24, 2013, at the Florida State Prison in Raiford, Florida.Forty-nine-year-old Marshall is scheduled to be executed for the murder of 30-year-old Robyn Novick on March 11, 1988, in Columbia County, Florida.Marshall has spent the past 23 years on death row.

On May 23, 2013, Florida Governor Rick Scott granted a temporary stay of execution to Marshall after his lawyer claimed he was insane and therefore ineligible for execution.The stay was lifted after a three-doctor commission examined Marshall and found him to be mentally competent and eligible for execution.After the doctors presented their findings to Governor Scott, the stay was lifted.Marshall’s execution will be carried out as originally planned.

On March 16, 1988, police were searching Dade County, Florida area for a missing juvenile.A police officer noticed a blue tarp on the ground.Under it was the remains of a female, later identified through dental records as Robyn Novick.She was naked, with a silver belt around her neck and a lace cloth around her left ankle.An autopsy discovered that she had been strangled and stabbed through the heart and lung.All were fatal injuries.

Upon investigation, police discovered that on Friday, March 11, 1988, a girl wearing a black dress with a silver belt was seen at a local bar around 8 pm.She was driving a yellow Corvette and had a male passenger.A night manager identified Robyn as the female and Marshall Gore as the passenger.Both were identified through a photo lineup.

Between 10 and 11 pm, a yellow Corvette was seen parked on the street in front of a house where Gore was staying with friends.The house was “within a few hundred feet” of where Robyn’s body was found.Another resident of the house acknowledged seeing the yellow Corvette around 2 am.Gore then left the house and returned a short time later, saying he had been in a car accident.Keys to the yellow Corvette were later found in the house.Gore then sought shelter at a different friend’s house, saying the police were looking for him and that he had been involved in a car accident while driving a yellow Corvette.

Police were called to the scene of a car crash involving a yellow Corvette.The occupants were missing when the police arrived.The vehicle bore the vanity tag “Robyn N,” and inside the vehicle was a gold cigarette case with the initials RGN, various credit cards and a Florida’s driver license.The credit cards and the driver’s license both bore the name Robyn G. Novick.

Gore was arrested on March 17, 1988, in Paducah, Kentucky, driving the stolen vehicle of Tina Coralis, a woman who had survived an attempted murder by Gore.Tina’s case and Robyn’s case shared many similarities.Gore denied murdering Robyn, claiming he did not know her.He also claims he was not responsible for Tina’s injuries as they occurred when she jumped out of a moving car.Gore was convicted and the jury recommended the death penalty by a vote of 12 to 0.

During Gore’s trial, evidence was presented linking him to the murder of Susan Roark.He was later convicted for her murder and received a second death penalty.Susan and Robyn’s murders shared many similarities, along with his attempted murder of Tina Coralis.All three were stabbed and choked before being abandoned.Gore was also known to have been in possession of all three victims’ cars, after the victims went missing.

In addition to two death sentences, Gore has received seven life sentences for kidnappings, sexual batteries with a weapon or force, and robbery with a gun or deadly weapon.Gore has also received 110 years for various attempted murder, rape, and theft convictions.

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Florida – David Alan Gore – execution – serial killer’s last hours

Angelica Lavallee, 14Lynn Elliott, 17Hisang Huang Ling, 48Judy Daley, 35Ying Hua Ling, 17

angelica lavallee                     Lynn Elliot                           Hisang Huang Ling                Judy Daley                    Ying Hua Ling

Barbara Ann Byer, 14   Barbare Ann Byer

     “I seen her running down the road so I started running after her and I was hollering for her to stop, and when she wouldn’t, I shot over her head,” recalled Gore in a deposition. “I kept running after her and then she tripped and … she was trying, like, resisting, fighting me, so I throwed (sic) her to the ground. That’s when I shot her in the head.”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

David Alan Gore, 58, was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. 

Gore gave a hand-written statement before the execution process started.

“I would like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Elliott, that I truly am sorry for my part in the death of your daughter. I wish above all else my death could bring her back,” the statement said. “I am not the same man today that I was 28 years ago. When I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, I became a new creature in Christ and I know God has truly forgiven me for my past sins.”

Update: 4.30 pm

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied all of David Alan Gore’s 11th-hour appeals, clearing the way for the scheduled 6 p.m. execution at Florida State Prison, officials said.

“The Supreme Court has denied everything,” said Assistant State Attorney Ryan Butler, adding officials received the information via telephone late this afternoon. “A written order of denial will be forthcoming.”

During the 4:30 p.m. media update, Florida Department of Corrections Communications Director Ann Howard announced Gore has prepared a hand-written a press statement. It won’t be released until the execution is completed.

When asked about the tone of the statement, she said, “I would say it’s remorseful.”

To the surprise of some, no formal protests — regarding Gore or the general execution process — were evident.

Gore received his last meal early this afternoon and was visited for an hour by his mother and an ex-wife in preparation for the execution.

update :

STARKE — Condemned killer David Alan Gore has received his last meal and was visited for an hour by his mother and an ex-wife in preparation for his 6 p.m. execution at Florida State Prison.

Ann Howard, Florida Department of Corrections communications director, said it appears Gore’s execution is on schedule.

“So far so good,” she said. “We’re on schedule and things are looking normal for us.”

Gore is being executed for the July 1983 first-degree murder of Lynn Elliott, 17, of Vero Beach. He also confessed to killing five other women and girls.

During the 1:30 p.m. update, Howard said Gore was being visited by a religious advisor, but she didn’t say who it was, what religion the advisor represented or what they discussed.

He spent an hour visiting with his mother Velma Gore and an ex-wife, Howard said. She didn’t say which of Gore’s three wives had visited him.

Gore also has received his last meal, Howard confirmed.

“It was fried chicken, French fries, butter pecan ice cream and a soft drink,” she said. “So pretty simple.”

Gore’s demeanor today has been “calm,” Howard said, without elaborating.

Howard said prison officials have not received word on whether the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the two motions filed this week seeking to stop his execution.

State prosecutors on Wednesday indicated the high court would likely rule Thursday afternoon.

The next update on Gore’s execution is scheduled for 4 p.m.

april 12, source : http://treasurecoastdeathrow.com

When David Alan Gore woke up today — the day of his scheduled execution — he had more interaction with people than he has had since his death warrant was signed six weeks ago.
After Gov. Rick Scott signed the warrant on Feb. 28 for the first-degree murder of Lynn Elliott in Vero Beach, Gore was moved from his 6-foot by 9-foot death row cell at Starke’s Union Correctional Institution to a 12-foot by 7-foot death watch cell at Starke’s Florida State Prison.

There, he has been secluded from all other death row inmates with whom he regularly got the chance to talk at the prison’s exercise yard. Gore also was allowed one legal and one social phone call, but officials did not release whether he used those privileges.

Gore on Thursday will have the opportunity to spend two hours with approved visitors. A religious adviser will meet with him, if he requests it. And he’ll have his last meal, which will be prepared by prison staff with local ingredients that cost no more than $40 total. Officials at the Florida Department of Corrections would not release details on these items.

Gore also had the opportunity to grant a final media interview, but declined it

While Gore was on death watch, prison officers checked him every 30 minutes to make sure he had not harmed himself, according to prison officials. During Gore’s last week, officers have had 24-hour in-person surveillance on him.

Shortly before 6 p.m., officers are scheduled to escort Gore through a quarter mile-long corridor to Florida’s execution chamber.

The chamber is a small room with hospital-white walls that are bare, except for a telephone, several mirrors and a large digital clock that hangs on one wall. A black curtain covers the execution witness room window.

Gore’s executioner will be an anonymous private citizen who is paid $150.

Extra prison staff will be on duty inside and outside the prison for heightened security. Highway patrols will keep the traffic moving across the street from the prison, where media representatives and protesters are expected.

“The atmosphere at the prison will be more somber,” said Randall Polk, assistant warden at the prison. “On that day, the staff is respectful, the inmates calm down. If you can get one of the inmates to tell you the truth, they’ll tell you they quiet down out of respect.”

Polk said the prison’s execution team was scheduled to perform a mock execution about a week ago, mimicking the method Gore has chosen for his death — lethal injection.

DEATH WATCH TIMELINE

After the governor signs the death warrant

The warden at Florida State Prison selects two executioners, who are 18 years old or older and are trained to perform an execution. The anonymous executioners are paid $150 each.

The warden designates the members of the execution team, who will perform such tasks as moving the inmate to the gurney and mixing the lethal chemicals.

Lethal chemicals are purchased and stored securely.

A week before the execution

The execution team reviews the inmate’s medical file and gives him a physical examination, making sure no medical issues will interfere with the administration of the lethal injection.

The execution team performs a mock execution.

Execution day

A food service director will prepare the inmate’s last meal.

The inmate will shower.

Lethal injection chemicals are prepared. The inmate will be offered an intramuscular injection to ease anxiety.

The execution team establishes telephone communication with the governor’s office.

The warden reads the death warrant to the inmate.

Officers strap the inmate to the gurney in the execution chamber and insert one intravenous line on each of his arms.

Witnesses are secured

n the witness room. The witness room curtains open. The public address system is turned on.

The inmate says final words, if he chooses.

The primary executioner administers the lethal injection.

A physician pronounces the inmate’s time of death.

Florida Department of Corrections

FLORIDA – William Dillon – Governor approves $1.35 million for man wrongfully convicted

TALLAHASSEE — William Dillon didn’t believe the day would come when he would be compensated for sitting in a Florida prison nearly three decades for a crime he didn’t commit. But on Thursday lawmakers approved a $1.35 million payout that was immediately signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott.

Now 52, Dillon was cleared by DNA testing in the beating death of James Dvorak on a Brevard County beach in 1981. A jailhouse informant also has since recanted his testimony against Dillon and authorities reopened the murder investigation. Dillon was freed in November 2008.

The Senate voted 38-1 Thursday to compensate Dillon for spending 27 years in prison. The House passed it on a 107-5 vote last week.

Scott apologized to Dillon on behalf of the state for the wrongful conviction. “It’s a real honor to be the governor who is signing this bill,” said Scott, who shook Dillon’s hand and wished him well.

Dillon, now lives in Chapel Hill, N.C., where he writes and performs music. “It doesn’t give me back what was taken from me, but at the same time it’s such a joy to be here because my life was gone,” Dillon said. “I can’t do anything but look forward

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