INNOCENT ON
DEATH ROW
IN FLORIDA 17 YEARS
JUST EXONERATED!!!!
Juan Melendez smiling again
JUAN MELENDEZ
WON A NEW TRIAL!!!
The evidentiary hearing was held on May 29, 2001 and May 30, 2001 with Special Assistant CCC-NR Martin McClain, Assistant CCC-NR Linda McDermott, and Assistant CCC-NR Brett Strand representing the Defendant. Hardy Pickard, Assistant State Attorney and Candance Sabella, Assistant Attorney General appeared on behalf of the State of Florida.
IN THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT
FOR POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA
Criminal Justice and Trial Division
STATE OF FLORIDA CASE NO: CF-84-1016A2-XX
v.
JUAN ROBERTO MELENDEZ, DIVISION:
Defendant.
________________________/
ORDER GRANTING AMENDED MOTION TO VACATE JUDGMENTS OF CONVICTION AND SENTENCE AND GRANTING NEW TRIAL
Counsel timely complied with the filing deadline and the Court has thoroughly reviewed the Motion, the evidentiary hearing transcript, the previous motions and orders, hearing transcripts, the trial transcript, the court file, the closing arguments, and the applicable case law. After an extensive examination of the above, the Court finds that the Defendant’s Judgment and Sentence must be set aside and that the Defendant is entitled to a new trial.
The case was moved from Polk Court to Hillsborough Court
On October 19, 2000, the Defendant filed his third Motion for Postconviction Relief. His claims were based on newly discovered evidence, ineffective assistance of trial counsel, and Brady violations. On November 6, 2000, the Chief Judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit Court requested that the Florida Supreme Court assign the undersigned judge with the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit to preside over future proceedings in this case. The Chief Judge indicated that the Motion for Postconviction Relief includes allegations of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, and said trial counsel is now a sitting circuit judge in Polk County. All of the judges in the Tenth Circuit had therefore recused themselves. The Florida Supreme Court issued an order on November 9, 2000 designating the undersigned as a temporary judge of the Tenth Circuit to hear all matters connected with this case. As such, the current Motion is pending before this Court.
Some info from the judge`s order
Although Mr. Alcott attempted to attack John Berrien’s motive to testify against the Defendant, the record reflects that there were pages of inconsistencies between the trial testimony of John Berrien and his sworn statement to the assistant state attorney, none of which Mr. Alcott was able to use. Thus, the jury was not given an opportunity to fully assess the credibility of this key State witness.
Vernon James made statements to numerous friends, as well as to Cody Smith, Roger Alcott, Arthur Meeks, and Dwight Wells that he either was present when Mr. Del was killed or that he actually killed Mr. Del. In any case, the testimony of the witnesses, the assistant state attorney's notes and letters, and the taped statement of Vernon James’ interview with Roger Alcott tend to corroborate that Vernon James was present and that Juan Melendez was not. If Mr. Alcott had known that Vernon James had implicated himself to Mr. Meeks, Mr. Alcott would have called Mr. Meeks to testify as to what Vernon James had stated. (See EH transcript, pp. 331-333, attacked). Mr. Alcott knew that Vernon James had spoken to attorney Dwight Wells, but Mr. Alcott did not follow up with Mr. Wells. The testimony of an assistant state attorney investigator and an attorney would likely be more credible to a jury than that of an inmate, who said that Vernon James confessed to him three days before trial. The jury was precluded from hearing that Vernon James had confirmed his involvement to Mr. Wells and Mr. Meeks.
The State’s case contained no physical evidence which connected Mr. Melendez to the murder of Mr. Del. Rather, his conviction and sentence of death hinged on the jury’s and the judge’s belief of John Berrien and David Luna Falcon. The Court does not find that additional information which attacks the credibility of the State’s key witnesses would be non-material, cumulative or speculative, when the Defendant’s conviction rests primarily on these witnesses’ testimony. The jury was precluded from hearing crucial evidence relative to each of these witnesses. The Court believes that the State’s case is seriously damaged by this new evidence. The Court further believes
that the newly discovered evidence, the Brady violations, and defense counsel’s failure to investigate what Vernon James had disclosed to Dwight Wells, combine to undermine the confidence in the outcome of the Defendant’s original trial. The Court also believes that a reasonable probability exists of a different outcome. After a thorough cumulative analysis of all of the evidence, the Court cannot find that these errors are harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Kyles, 115 S.Ct. at 1565. Thus, the Defendant’s conviction and death sentence from September 20 and 21, 1984 must be set aside. The Defendant is entitled to a new trial.
THE ORDER
It is therefore ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Defendant’s judgment of guilty rendered on September 20, 1984 and his sentence of death rendered on September 21, 1984 shall be vacated and set aside.
It is further ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Defendant shall be granted a new trial.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers, at Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida this day of December, 2001.
BARBARA FLEISCHER, Circuit Judge
The court has evaluated these documents :
Evidentiary Hearing transcript, 5/29/01
Evidentiary Hearing exhibits #1-44
Deposition of Leslie Delk, 5/14/01
Responses to Request for Discovery (State and Defendant)
Finding in Support of Death Penalty with Exhibit B attached
Trial transcript, 9/17/84-9/20/84, Vol. 1-5
Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence with Special Request for Leave to Amend, 1/16/89
Order Denying Motion to Vacate, 7/12/89
Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence with Special Request for Leave to Amend, 9/22/94
Evidentiary Hearing transcript, 5/23/96 & 5/24/96, Vol. 1-2
Order Denying Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence, 7/17/96
By DAVID KARP
© St. Petersburg Times,
published December 6, 2001
In an opinion highly critical of a Polk County prosecutor, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Barbara Fleischer overturned Melendez's murder conviction and ruled prosecutors must try Melendez again if they want to keep him in prison. Fleischer concluded, however, that new evidence has "seriously damaged" the state's case.
Fleischer wrote that prosecutors withheld evidence that "seriously undermines" the credibility of both witnesses. The withheld evidence supports the defense's theory that another man committed the murder, the judge said.
In her ruling, Fleischer discussed at length the duty of prosecutors to disclose information favorable to the defense.
The prosecutor, Hardy Pickard, withheld notes of interviews he conducted with key witnesses, and kept police reports about the key witness' conduct secret. Prosecutors in Polk County had a practice of issuing secret subpoenas to hide investigative work from defense lawyers, testimony showed.
"The court now has a substantial amount of additional evidence before it that supports the defendant's theory of defense and trial strategy, but which was not presented to the jury," Fleischer wrote.
After
17 Years on Death Row, Murder Conviction Overturned
Published:
The evidence that prosecutors withheld from Melendez's trial attorney "seriously undermines the credibility of the two key state witnesses," Fleischer wrote.
The jury also did not hear testimony from several other witnesses that a man by the name of Vernon James told them he had killed Baker, Fleischer wrote.
"The evidence also helps to substantiate the defense theory that someone other than the defendant committed the homicide," she wrote, noting that police didn't prepare their reports until six months after the investigation.
That delay, she wrote, "provides an opportunity to question law enforcement regarding its methods, procedures, and motives in conducting its investigation."
When everything is added up, confidence in Melendez's sentence and conviction is undermined, she wrote.
"Without knowledge of and access to the suppressed evidence, the defendant did not receive a fair trial," the judge wrote.
A summary of the Juan Melendez case
In 1994, Mr. Melendez presented another four witnesses during his postconviction appeals, who testified that Vernon James had confessed to participating in Delbert Baker's murder. One of the witnesses was an attorney in whom Vernon James confided prior to Mr. Melendez's trial. Additionally at that hearing, John Berrien recanted much of his inculpatory testimony against Mr. Melendez.
Governor Jeb Bush
In November, a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale suggested that the same prosecutor intentionally misled a jury to win a death sentence in another Polk murder.
Billy Kelley
Melendez's attorney, Martin McClain, called the prosecutor's behavior "shocking.
"The system is not premised on the notion that the prosecutor wants to win, but that he wants justice to be done," McClain said. "The way this was done is not consistent with that notion."
The lawyers`closing arguments for innocence
CLOSING ARGUMENT IN SUPPORT
OF GRANTING POSTCONVICTION RELIEF
Prosecutors have an affirmative duty to correct false or misleading evidence. If the prosecutor intentionally or knowing presents false or misleading evidence in order to obtain a conviction or sentence of death, the conviction and/or death sentence must be set aside unless the error is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Kyles, 115 S.Ct. at 1565 n.7. Similarly, a prosecutor’s deliberate deception of the defendant and his counsel warrants the same standard. Gray v. Netherland, 116 S.Ct. 2074, 2082 (1996).
Hardy Pickard orchestrated a scenario so that Mr. Melendez was unable to inform the jury of Mr. James’ statements which placed Mr. James at the scene of the homicide and exonerated Mr. Melendez.
Mr. Pickard was successful in keeping the jury from knowing that Vernon James had acknowledged to five members of the criminal justice system that Terry Barber’s belief that he saw Vernon James at Mr. Baker’s was accurate.
Mr. Pickard in keeping the truth from coming out, has been successful in subverting justice for seventeen years and preserving his win.
The time has come for justice to prevail and for Mr. Melendez to have what the constitution guaranteed, a constitutionally adequate adversarial testing that conforms with the rules of law.
Mr. Melendez’ evidence of innocence is overwhelming: three witnesses provide Mr. Melendez with an alibi, Vernon James was at Mr. Baker’s when the murder happened, he was later seen on the night of the homicide wearing bloody clothes, Mr. James admitted being present at the scene of the homicide to several individuals and was in possession of jewelry matching the description of Mr. Baker's stolen jewelry, including to a State Attorney's investigator and in a taped statement.
This evidence proves that Mr. Melendez is innocent of the crimes for which he has been convicted and sentenced to death.
Relief must be granted.
Jerry Townsend
Read how Melendez strived
to get his innocence up to light
alone and helpless
and how the COURT used this to keep his conviction
In assessing counsel's performance during the penalty stage, it must be viewed in light of Melendez's statement that he wanted the death penalty because it would allow him to receive a speedy trial and more publicity to prove his innocence and that he would rather take that gamble than go to prison for a long time for something he didn't do. He informed the court that he did not want to present mitigating evidence and that he would rather receive the death sentence than a life sentence.
Governor Chiles
THE OPINION OF FLORIDA STATE COURT 1998
JUAN ROBERTO MELENDEZ, Appellant, vs. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. No. 88,961 [June 11, 1998]
KOGAN, C.J., OVERTON, SHAW, HARDING, WELLS and ANSTEAD, JJ., and GRIMES, Senior Justice, concur.
The facts of the case
See Melendez v. State, 498 So. 2d 1258 (Fla. 1986). Juan Roberto Melendez was convicted of the first-degree murder and armed robbery of Delbert Baker and was sentenced to death. We affirmed. Id. The trial court summarily denied Melendez’s first motion for post-conviction relief in July 1989, and we affirmed. Melendez v. State, 612 So. 2d 1366 (Fla. 1992), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 934 (1993). We denied his subsequent petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Melendez v. Singletary, 644 So. 2d 983 (Fla. 1994). Melendez filed the present motion for post-conviction relief in September 1994, seeking to present newly discovered evidence that another man, Vernon James, was the killer.
Melendez argues that the trial court failed to consider the cumulative effect of newly discovered evidence, the Brady violation, and ineffective assistance of trial counsel. These claims were either meritless or procedurally barred; therefore, there was no cumulative effect to consider. We find no error.
Based on the foregoing, we affirm the denial of Melendez’s rule 3.850 motion.
His defense lawyers 1997
Gregory C. Smith, Capital Collateral Counsel, Northern Region, Tallahassee, Florida, and Gail E. Anderson, Special Assistant CCRC, Greensboro, Florida,
PROSECUTION 1997
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Candance M. Sabella, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, Florida,
An Appeal from the Circuit Court in and for Polk County,
Dennis P. Maloney, Judge -
Case No. CF84-1016A2
in Florida Supreme Court 1997
Court releasing Townsend
in Florida Supreme Court 1997
Lawyer Gail Anderson is arguing.
Danny Brown exonerated
December 9, 1997
Tuesday
(9:00am - 12:00pm)
| Tuesday, December 9, 1997 (9:00) Docket Number : 88,961 Juan Roberto Melendez vs State of Florida
|
Mourners
Read the CCRC lawyers`reply-brief
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 88,961
JUAN ROBERTO MELENDEZ,
Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
ON APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,
IN AND FOR POLK COUNTY, STATE OF FLORIDA
REPLY BRIEF OF APPELLANT
GREGORY C. SMITH
Florida Bar No. 279080
Capital Collateral Counsel
Northern Region
Post Office Drawer 5498
Tallahassee, FL 32314-5498
(904) 487-4376
GAIL E. ANDERSON
Florida Bar No. 0841544
Special Assistant CCRC
P.O. Box 9
Greensboro, FL 32324
(904) 442-6480
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT
Juan Melendez 1999
JUAN MELENDEZ
APPELLATE PANEL:
SHAW, J., GRIMES, C.J., and OVERTON, KOGAN, HARDING and WELLS, JJ., concur.
Juan Roberto Melendez petitions this Court for writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(9), Fla. Const. Melendez was convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery for which he received a death sentence and a life sentence respectively. This Court affirmed the convictions and sentences. Melendez v. State, 498 So.2d 1258 (Fla. 1986). We subsequently denied Melendez's appeal of the denial of his motion for post-conviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Melendez v. State, 612 So.2d 1366 (Fla. 1992), cert. denied, 114 S. Ct. 349, 126 L. Ed. 2d 313 (1993). Melendez then filed the present petition for writ of habeas corpus. Melendez claims that his appellate counsel was ineffective for a number of reasons.*fn1 We find his claim to be without merit. We deny the petition. |
Wayne Tompkins
JUAN MELENDEZ
The denial of the motion for post-conviction relief is affirmed.
It is so ordered.
OVERTON, McDONALD, SHAW, GRIMES, KOGAN and HARDING, JJ., concur.
BARKETT, C.J., concurs in result only.
Date Decided: November 12, 1992 Released for Publication February 17, 1993. An Appeal from the Circuit Court in and for Polk County, Charles A. Davis, Jr., Judge - Case No. CF84-1016A2 Rehearing Denied February 17, 1993. |
Melendez raises eleven issues in his motion for postconviction relief. Issues 6, 8, and 10 do not involve ineffective assistance of counsel or call into question the fundamental fairness of the trial. These issues relate to alleged errors which even if meritorious must be raised on direct appeal if they are to be raised at all. Blanco v. Wainwright, 507 So.2d 1377 (Fla. 1987).
We find these issues to be
procedurally barred and decline to further address the claims.
Joseph Green
Frank Lee Smith
FLORIDA INNOCENCE NIGHTMARE :
Nearly killed here
Joel Dale Wright
A never ending story
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