Post by CCADP on Aug 15, 2005 6:29:28 GMT -5
Death penalty cases delayed
Since Chief Assistant Public Defender James Slater died unexpectedly in
May, the legal system in which he played a crucial role has felt the loss.
Friends and colleagues described him as diligent and passionate in the
defense of his clients against the death penalty. He was the most
experienced counsel in local capital cases, and his departure created a
void that has rippled through Manatee County's four pending death penalty
cases.
Slater's death at the age of 57 - from a rare and aggressive form of
lymphatic cancer that killed him a little more than two weeks after its
diagnosis - left others in the Manatee public defender's office scrambling
to gain the experience they need under state law before they can take the
pending cases to trial.
"Jim's death put us in a very bad position," said Steven Schaefer, an
attorney in the office.
"It certainly complicated matters because he was our lead capital attorney
in the Manatee County office," said Assistant Public Defender Adam
Tebrugge, who is based in Sarasota.
Key to preventing additional delays in the 4 cases is the upcoming trial
in Sarasota of Joseph P. Smith.
Two Manatee public defenders, Schaefer and Carolyn DaSilva, will earn the
experience they need before they can take the pending cases to trial by
assisting Tebrugge in his defense of Smith, who is accused of kidnapping,
raping and killing 11-year-old Carlie Brucia in February 2004. Smith's
trial is set to start in November in Sarasota.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Smith.
Once the Smith trial is complete, Schaefer and DaSilva will be qualified
to defend suspects in the 4 pending death penalty cases in Manatee County,
starting with Gary Cloud.
Cloud, 48, is charged with killing former actress Barbara Jean Laney in
her Lakeside Drive condominium on Aug. 3, 2002. The two were acquaintances
and Cloud had borrowed money from Laney, who was 67, in the past, the
sheriff's office said.
At the time of Slater's death, the state had just announced that it would
seek the death penalty for Cloud.
"The Cloud case is ready," Tebrugge said. "They were ready to walk in and
pick a jury."
But Cloud's trial has now been pushed back to January, and Manatee's 3
other cases most likely will fall in line behind that trial.
The 3 other Manatee County defendants currently facing a possible death
sentence are:
- Blaine Ross, 22, who is charged with beating his parents to death with a
baseball bat on Jan. 7, 2004. The bodies of Richard and Kathleen Ross were
found in the bedroom of their East Manatee home.
- Darrell Mitchell, 35, who is charged with strangling Susan E. Tharp in
her East Manatee home on July 16, 2004. Prosecutors announced in March
that they had obtained new evidence and would seek the death penalty for
Mitchell.
- Jeffrey Leonard Pompey, 24, who is charged with fatally shooting store
clerk Dong Sub Lim and customer Ramon Coto-Delgado during a robbery
attempt on Aug. 14, 2002, at the Food Land grocery store on 15th Street
East. Pompey was charged six months later as being the masked gunman
captured on video by a store security camera.
Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties make up the 12th Judicial Circuit.
There are public defender offices in each county, but together they
operate as a unit, Tebrugge said.
A 6th death penalty case pending in the circuit is in Sarasota County.
Elton Brutus Murphy is accused of stabbing Sarasota art gallery owner
Joyce Wishart to death on Jan 16, 2004. Her body was found five days later
in her gallery.
Under the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, to be lead counsel on a
capital case, attorneys must have at least five years of experience in
criminal law, and have experience as lead counsel or have served as co
counsel in at least two state or federal death penalty cases tried to
completion, among other qualifications.
Schaefer and DaSilva have each worked on one death penalty case. In the
Smith trial, they will work on one of the most high-profile cases in
Florida in recent years.
Prosecutors say Smith was caught on camera leading Brucia away from a car
wash. It is a case that has brought great scrutiny of the probation
system, as Smith had violated the terms of his probation, but was not
incarcerated at the time of the slaying.
Schaefer and DaSilva will assist Tebrugge in witness preparation - a
demanding task in major trials, which frequently have 100 witnesses,
Tebrugge said.
They may also make some arguments in court. But, Tebrugge said, "I'll be
captain of the ship."
The trial is expected to take about a month. Upon its completion, the
Manatee cases can proceed, starting with the Cloud trial in January.
Tebrugge couldn't take on the Manatee cases because of his involvement in
the Smith case and another upcoming trial, he said.
He also said that the judicial district's chief judge, Robert Bennett,
could have made an exception to the qualifications needed so that the
delay in the docket could be avoided. But, Tebrugge said, Bennett chose
not to and will preside over a Sept. 16 hearing in which all pending death
penalty trials in the circuit will be discussed and scheduled.
"I think that Judge Bennett felt there was no reason why we couldn't
technically comply with the rule," Tebrugge said.
Bennett, who was on medical leave last week, was not available for
comment.
- Jeffrey Leonard Pompey, in the shooting deaths of store clerk Dong Sub
Lim and customer Ramon Coto-Delgado during a robbery attempt at the Food
Land grocery store on 15th Street East, August 2002.
- Gary M. Cloud, in the death of former actress and model Barbara Laney in
her Lakeside Drive condominium, August 2002.
- Blaine Ross, in the beating deaths of his parents, Richard and Kathleen
Ross of East Manatee, January 2004.
- Elton Brutus Murphy, in the stabbing death of Joyce Wishart inside her
Sarasota art gallery, January 2004.
- Joseph P. Smith, in the abduction, rape and slaying of 11-year-old
Carlie Brucia of Sarasota, February 2004.
- Darrell W. Mitchell, in the strangulation death of Susan E. Tharp in her
East Manatee home, July 2004.
(source: Bradenton Herald)
Since Chief Assistant Public Defender James Slater died unexpectedly in
May, the legal system in which he played a crucial role has felt the loss.
Friends and colleagues described him as diligent and passionate in the
defense of his clients against the death penalty. He was the most
experienced counsel in local capital cases, and his departure created a
void that has rippled through Manatee County's four pending death penalty
cases.
Slater's death at the age of 57 - from a rare and aggressive form of
lymphatic cancer that killed him a little more than two weeks after its
diagnosis - left others in the Manatee public defender's office scrambling
to gain the experience they need under state law before they can take the
pending cases to trial.
"Jim's death put us in a very bad position," said Steven Schaefer, an
attorney in the office.
"It certainly complicated matters because he was our lead capital attorney
in the Manatee County office," said Assistant Public Defender Adam
Tebrugge, who is based in Sarasota.
Key to preventing additional delays in the 4 cases is the upcoming trial
in Sarasota of Joseph P. Smith.
Two Manatee public defenders, Schaefer and Carolyn DaSilva, will earn the
experience they need before they can take the pending cases to trial by
assisting Tebrugge in his defense of Smith, who is accused of kidnapping,
raping and killing 11-year-old Carlie Brucia in February 2004. Smith's
trial is set to start in November in Sarasota.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Smith.
Once the Smith trial is complete, Schaefer and DaSilva will be qualified
to defend suspects in the 4 pending death penalty cases in Manatee County,
starting with Gary Cloud.
Cloud, 48, is charged with killing former actress Barbara Jean Laney in
her Lakeside Drive condominium on Aug. 3, 2002. The two were acquaintances
and Cloud had borrowed money from Laney, who was 67, in the past, the
sheriff's office said.
At the time of Slater's death, the state had just announced that it would
seek the death penalty for Cloud.
"The Cloud case is ready," Tebrugge said. "They were ready to walk in and
pick a jury."
But Cloud's trial has now been pushed back to January, and Manatee's 3
other cases most likely will fall in line behind that trial.
The 3 other Manatee County defendants currently facing a possible death
sentence are:
- Blaine Ross, 22, who is charged with beating his parents to death with a
baseball bat on Jan. 7, 2004. The bodies of Richard and Kathleen Ross were
found in the bedroom of their East Manatee home.
- Darrell Mitchell, 35, who is charged with strangling Susan E. Tharp in
her East Manatee home on July 16, 2004. Prosecutors announced in March
that they had obtained new evidence and would seek the death penalty for
Mitchell.
- Jeffrey Leonard Pompey, 24, who is charged with fatally shooting store
clerk Dong Sub Lim and customer Ramon Coto-Delgado during a robbery
attempt on Aug. 14, 2002, at the Food Land grocery store on 15th Street
East. Pompey was charged six months later as being the masked gunman
captured on video by a store security camera.
Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties make up the 12th Judicial Circuit.
There are public defender offices in each county, but together they
operate as a unit, Tebrugge said.
A 6th death penalty case pending in the circuit is in Sarasota County.
Elton Brutus Murphy is accused of stabbing Sarasota art gallery owner
Joyce Wishart to death on Jan 16, 2004. Her body was found five days later
in her gallery.
Under the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, to be lead counsel on a
capital case, attorneys must have at least five years of experience in
criminal law, and have experience as lead counsel or have served as co
counsel in at least two state or federal death penalty cases tried to
completion, among other qualifications.
Schaefer and DaSilva have each worked on one death penalty case. In the
Smith trial, they will work on one of the most high-profile cases in
Florida in recent years.
Prosecutors say Smith was caught on camera leading Brucia away from a car
wash. It is a case that has brought great scrutiny of the probation
system, as Smith had violated the terms of his probation, but was not
incarcerated at the time of the slaying.
Schaefer and DaSilva will assist Tebrugge in witness preparation - a
demanding task in major trials, which frequently have 100 witnesses,
Tebrugge said.
They may also make some arguments in court. But, Tebrugge said, "I'll be
captain of the ship."
The trial is expected to take about a month. Upon its completion, the
Manatee cases can proceed, starting with the Cloud trial in January.
Tebrugge couldn't take on the Manatee cases because of his involvement in
the Smith case and another upcoming trial, he said.
He also said that the judicial district's chief judge, Robert Bennett,
could have made an exception to the qualifications needed so that the
delay in the docket could be avoided. But, Tebrugge said, Bennett chose
not to and will preside over a Sept. 16 hearing in which all pending death
penalty trials in the circuit will be discussed and scheduled.
"I think that Judge Bennett felt there was no reason why we couldn't
technically comply with the rule," Tebrugge said.
Bennett, who was on medical leave last week, was not available for
comment.
- Jeffrey Leonard Pompey, in the shooting deaths of store clerk Dong Sub
Lim and customer Ramon Coto-Delgado during a robbery attempt at the Food
Land grocery store on 15th Street East, August 2002.
- Gary M. Cloud, in the death of former actress and model Barbara Laney in
her Lakeside Drive condominium, August 2002.
- Blaine Ross, in the beating deaths of his parents, Richard and Kathleen
Ross of East Manatee, January 2004.
- Elton Brutus Murphy, in the stabbing death of Joyce Wishart inside her
Sarasota art gallery, January 2004.
- Joseph P. Smith, in the abduction, rape and slaying of 11-year-old
Carlie Brucia of Sarasota, February 2004.
- Darrell W. Mitchell, in the strangulation death of Susan E. Tharp in her
East Manatee home, July 2004.
(source: Bradenton Herald)