Murderer proclaims innocence

Bennie Demps once wagered $1 on whether he would live or die.

When he was convicted of capital murder in the 1976 death of prison inmate Alfred Sturgis, Demps told his lawyer he was sure he'd get the death penalty. So sure, he'd bet a dollar on it.

During a news conference at Florida State Prison in Bradford County on Tuesday afternoon, Death Row inmate Bennie Demps refers to a memo that he says proves his innocence in the 1976 death of an inmate. JON M. FLETCHER/The Gainesville Sun

When Circuit Judge Wayne Carlisle handed down his death sentence, Demps turned to his lawyer with a wink and a smile. A photographer caught the expression, and from then on, he was known as the "Smiling Killer."

Demps gambled again Tuesday, ignoring the advice of his lawyers and holding a news conference on the eve of his scheduled execution. Demps is scheduled to die by lethal injection for Sturgis' death at 6 p.m. today -- 22 years after his sentence was handed down -- unless the U.S. Supreme Court grants him a stay of execution.

"This is my last chance," Demps told a crowd of newspaper and TV reporters Tuesday at Florida State Prison in Bradford County.

Demps was already in prison for double murder in 1976 when Sturgis, a 23-year-old serving a life sentence, was discovered wounded and bleeding in his cell.

Sturgis died, and a correctional officer testified that Sturgis said Demps and another inmate held him down while a third inmate stabbed him.

Demps was tried for the Sturgis killing in 1978. With his previous two murder convictions as aggravating factors, he was sentenced to death in the case. The other two inmates received life sentences.

Demps says that a prison memo written the day after Sturgis' death should be enough evidence to overturn his conviction. The memo, written by a prison official after a preliminary investigation, states that Sturgis named one of his attackers before he died. Demps isn't named in the memo.

"They had all the information right there," Demps said. "They had every reason to include me, if he had mentioned me. But they didn't."

Demps claims prison officials named him in the case because of his political beliefs.

"I had been identified as a black militant who wanted to change the prison system," he said.

The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday to reject an appeal based on the memo. Attorneys for Demps filed an appeal for a stay of execution with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, but they acknowledge that stays from the Supreme Court are uncommon.

"Looking at it from a statistical standpoint, it's very rare for the Supreme Court to offer a stay in this type of case," said George Schaefer, one of Demps' attorneys.

The history of Demps' Death Row convictions is as long and full of reversals as the plot of a Victorian novel. Demps was sentenced to death in 1971 after his convictions for the murders of R.N. Brinkworth and Celia Puhlick, fatally shot in a Lake County citrus grove as they inspected some land for sale.

Demps, who had fled to the grove with a stolen safe, locked Brinkworth, Puhlick and another person in the trunk of a car and fired a rifle into the trunk. His sentence was commuted to life in prison when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.

By the time he was convicted in the murder of Sturgis, Florida once again had an electric chair. He was scheduled to be executed in 1982, 1987 and 1990, but each time he was granted a stay.

He scheduled a press conference the day before his scheduled 1987 execution date, but canceled it at the last minute, saying that his lawyers had advised that speaking to the press would interfere with his appeal.

Demps said he held Tuesday's news conference against the advice of his attorneys.

"Only a miracle from God can save me now," Demps said.

Asked whether he felt remorse for the 1971 double murder that brought him his first death sentence, Demps said he would make no comment on the case. But later, Demps accused the state of using the Sturgis case to make up for the loss of Demps' earlier death sentence.

"They can't get a free execution," he said. "This isn't Monopoly. In Monopoly, you get a 'Get out of jail free' card, and the state wants a 'free execution card.' "

Demps, a Vietnam veteran, converted to Islam 10 years ago. Six months ago, he said, he married a woman who corresponded with him by mail for three years. He declined to give her name, citing privacy concerns.

He said he is no longer interested in reform of the prison system.

"I don't want to talk about conditions on Death Row," he said.

Asked if he was ready to face execution, Demps dismissed the question as absurd.

"What is this, 'Am I ready to die?' " he said. "I think no man is ready to die."

Tim Lockette can be reached at 374-5088 or lockett@gvillesun.com.

Back to the front page

Back to Top