Bevel v. State
Decision Date | 15 June 2017 |
Docket Number | No. SC14–770,No. SC14–2106,SC14–770,SC14–2106 |
Citation | 221 So.3d 1168 |
Parties | Thomas BEVEL, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. Thomas Bevel, Petitioner, v. Julie L. Jones, etc., Respondent. |
Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Frank Tassone of Tassone & Dreicer, LLC, Jacksonville. Florida; and Rick A. Sichta, Susanne K. Sichta, and Joe Hamrick of The Sichta Firm, LLC., Jacksonville, Florida, for Appellant/Petitioner
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Carine L. Mitz, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, for Appellee/Respondent
Stephen K. Harper, Clinical Professor, Death Penalty Clinic, Florida International University College of Law, Miami, Florida; and Stuart L. Hartstone, Acting Executive Director, Florida Capital Resource Center, Miami, Florida, for Amici Curiae The Florida Capital Resource Center and The Death Penalty Clinic at Florida International University College of Law
Robert C. Josefsberg of Podhurst Orseck, P.A., Miami, Florida; Robert G. Kerrigan of Kerrigan, Estess, Rankin, McLeod & Thompson, LLP, Pensacola, Florida; Karen M. Gottlieb of Florida Center for Capital Representation, Miami, Florida; and Sonya Rudenstine, Gainesville, Florida, for Amici Curiae Justice Harry Lee Anstead, Judge Rosemary Barkett, Martha Barnett, Talbot D'Alemberte, Hank Coxe, Justice Gerald Kogan, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Florida Capital Resource Center, and Florida Center for Capital Representation
In this appeal from the denial of an initial motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851, death-sentenced prisoner Thomas Bevel raises the sole claim that his attorney provided constitutionally ineffective assistance during the penalty phase of his capital murder trial. Bevel also raises, in an accompanying petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel for not presenting an issue on direct appeal pertaining to allegedly improper prosecutorial comments. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), (9), Fla. Const. For the reasons explained in this opinion, we deny the habeas petition, but reverse the postconviction court's order denying Bevel's motion for postconviction relief, vacate Bevel's death sentences, and remand for a new penalty phase proceeding.
The facts of Bevel's crimes were set forth in this Court's opinion affirming the convictions and sentences on direct appeal:
to her pelvis and upper legs.
After hiding for almost a month, Bevel was finally found by officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on March 27, 2004. Bevel was informed of his constitutional rights and indicated his understanding of each right by signing the rights form. The police questioned Bevel on two occasions over the course of twenty-four hours. During these two interviews, Bevel gave four different versions of the story but ultimately confessed to the murders.
that grazed his chest and exited his arm but that he died as a result of massive trauma due to a gunshot wound to the head. Dr. Aurelian Nicolaescu, who performed the autopsy of Stringfield, testified that he died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head. Both doctors testified that each victim had stippling injuries, which is indicative of being shot at close to intermediate range. The State also presented evidence technicians and crime-scene analysts who discussed bullet fragments, casings, and fingerprints lifted from the scene. In addition, the State introduced the two videotaped interviews with Bevel and letters that Bevel wrote to Dumas from prison, in which he attempted to convince her to change her testimony and lie at trial to save his life.
In his defense, Bevel presented testimony to contradict Smith's version of events. Officer Kenneth Bowen, one of the first officers to arrive at the crime scene, stated that Smith told him that two black males with ski masks committed the crimes. Francis Smith, Smith's ...
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