Jones v. Dep't of Corr., Case No.: 4:15cv12/MW/EMT

• Decision Date: 16 June 2015
• Docket Number: Case No.: 4:15cv12/MW/EMT
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Florida
• Parties: JOHN HENRY JONES, Petitioner, v. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS and FLORIDA COMMISSION ON OFFENDER REVIEW, Respondents.

JOHN HENRY JONES, Petitioner,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS and FLORIDA COMMISSION ON OFFENDER REVIEW, Respondents.

Case No.: 4:15cv12/MW/EMT

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TALLAHASSEE DIVISION

June 16, 2015

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

This cause is before the court on Petitioner's petition for writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (doc. 1). Respondent Florida Commission on Offender Review ("FCOR") filed an answer (doc. 8).¹ Petitioner filed a reply (see doc. 11).

The case was referred to the undersigned for the issuance of all preliminary orders and any recommendations to the district court regarding dispositive matters. See N.D. Fla. Loc. R. 72.2(B); see also 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B), (C) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b). After careful consideration of the issues raised by Petitioner, it is the opinion of the undersigned that no evidentiary hearing is required for the disposition of this matter, Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases 8(a). It is further the opinion of the undersigned that the pleadings and attachments before the court show that Petitioner is not entitled to relief.

I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Petitioner was charged in the Circuit Court in and for Brevard County, Florida, Case No. 87-CF-4645, with first degree murder (doc. 1-1 at 50).² On November 4, 1987, Petitioner entered a written plea agreement with the State, pursuant to which Petitioner agreed to plead guilty to the

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charge and to testify truthfully against a co-defendant, and the State agreed to waive the death penalty and to "stand mute" on the issue of whether Petitioner's sentence would run consecutive to or concurrent with his sentence on other charges (id. at 38-40). By signing the plea documents, Petitioner expressly acknowledged his understanding that if he pleaded guilty (1) the maximum possible sentence he could receive was life imprisonment, (2) the sentence was "up to the Court only," and (3) the mandatory minimum penalty for the charge was 25 years in prison (id.). The court accepted the plea (id. at 37). The trial court adjudicated Petitioner guilty of first degree murder and sentenced him to prison for a term of natural life, with a requirement that he serve no less than 25 years before becoming eligible for parole (doc. 8, Ex. B). Additionally, the court ordered Petitioner's sentence to run concurrently with any active sentence he was serving (id.).

Petitioner was also charged with first degree murder in the Circuit Court in and for Indian River County, Florida, Case No. 87-CF-32 (doc. 1-1 at 58). He pleaded guilty to the charge, and on January 10, 1989, the court adjudicated him guilty and sentenced him to prison for a term of natural life, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years (doc. 8, Ex. A). The court ordered Petitioner's sentence to run concurrently with his sentence in Brevard County Case No. 87-CR-4645 (id.).

Petitioner received an initial presumptive parole release date ("PPRD") interview with the FCOR on April 20, 2011 (doc. 8, Ex. C). The hearing examiner recommended a PPRD of January 16, 2047 (id.). The examiner calculated Petitioner's PPRD as follows:

Salient Factor Score: 1=1, 2=1, 3=2, 4=1, 5=0, 6=0, 7=0. TOTAL 5, or RCF ___.

Offense Severity: Level 6 Degree Capital Felony Offense First Degree Murder Case No. 87-004645.

Matrix Time Range: 240 to 300.	Top Of Range 300
Aggravating/Mitigating Factors:
Indian River County 87-000032, First Degree Murder - Life, 25 years MM, concurrent; (J & S)	+300
Use of firearm: Inmate killed victim by shooting him with a handgun.; (Information - 87-000032)	+60
Use of dangerous weapon: Inmate killed victim by stabbing him with a knife.; (Information - 87-004645)	+60

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Time Begins: 01/16/1987

Months Recommended: 720

Recommended Presumptive Parole Release Date: 01/16/2047.

(Ex. C).

At the FCOR's meeting on June 29, 2011, the Commission did not affirm the hearing examiner's recommended PPRD and restructured Petitioner's case as follows:

Salient Factor Score: 1=1, 2=1, 3=2, 4=1, 5=0, 6=0, 7=. TOTAL 5, or RCF ___.

Offense Severity: Level 6 Degree Capital Felony Offense First Degree Murder Case No. 87-004645.

Matrix Time Range: 240-300.	Set at the top 300 months
Aggravating/Mitigating Factors:
1. The offense behavior in Case #87-0046[45]CFA involved the use of a deadly weapon; to wit, a knife, per the Post [sic] Sentence Investigation.	+60 months
2. Case #87-32, First Degree Murder	+300 months
3. The offense behavior in Case #87-32 involved the use of a firearm,; to wit, a .34 caliber handgun, per the PSI	+60 months
4. The offense behavior in Case #87-32 and Case #87-004645CFA involved a murder for hire; to wit per the PSI, the inmate states he was offered $500.00 in cocaine and $1,000.00 in cash; to kill each victim; per the PSI, the inmate's statement, Rationale and the Admission Classification; Summary	+300 months
5. The inmate has a documented history of substance abuse and was under the influence; at the time of the offense per the PSI and the Admission Classification Summary.	+60 months
6. The inmate has amassed a record of unsatisfactory institutional conduct as evidenced by; his processed disciplinary record which is a negative indicant of parole prognosis.	+30 months
Total of 1,110 months

Time Begins: 1/16/1987.

Months for Incarceration: 1,110.

(Ex. C). The FCOR set Petitioner's PPRD as July 16, 2079 (id.). Petitioner was notified he would be interviewed again in February of 2018 (id.). Petitioner sought administrative review of the FCOR's decision, but the FCOR did not change his PPRD or the date of his next parole interview (Ex. D).

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Petitioner sought judicial review of the FCOR's decision by filing a petition for writ of mandamus in the Circuit Court in and for Leon County, Florida, arguing that the FCOR violated his Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection by rejecting the hearing examiner's recommendation that his PPRD be set at January 16, 2047, and instead extending it to July 16, 2079 (doc. 1-1 at 26-31). Petitioner contended that the FCOR's decision exceeded the sentences set forth in the plea agreement(s) and imposed by the courts, namely life sentences with a 25-year mandatory minimum and eligibility for parole upon serving 25 years (id.). The state court summarily denied the petition in an order issued September 20, 2013 (doc. 8, Ex. E). Petitioner appealed the decision to the Florida First District Court of Appeal ("First DCA"), Case No. 1D13-5742, by filing a petition for writ of certiorari. The First DCA denied the petition on the merits on May 30, 2014 (doc. 1-1 at 20). Jones v. Fla. Parole Comm'n, 141 So. 3d 184 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014) (Table). The mandate issued July 24, 2014 (id. at 22). Petitioner filed a notice to invoke the discretionary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Florida, Case No. SC14-1524 (id. at 23). The state supreme court dismissed the case for lack ofjurisdiction on August 5, 2014 (id. at 24). Jones v. Fla. Parole Comm'n, 148 So. 3d 771 (Fla. 2014) (Table). Petitioner filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, No. 14-6310 (id. at 25). The Court denied the petition on November 17, 2014 (id.). Jones v. Fla. Parole Comm'n, 135 S. Ct. 685 (2014) (Mem).

Petitioner filed the instant federal habeas action on January 15, 2015 (see doc. 1).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Section 2254(a) of Title 28 provides that "a district court shall entertain an application for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court" upon a showing that his custody is in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States. As the instant petition was filed after April 24, 1996, it is subject to the more deferential standard for habeas review of state court decisions under § 2254 as brought about by the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). Pub.L. 104-132, § 104, 110 Stat. 1214, 1218-19. In relevant part, section 2254(d) now provides:

(d) An application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in

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