The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea to block the execution of a Florida man who was convicted of gunning down a Jacksonville couple more than 30 years ago.
Category: Criminal Justice
Posted inFlorida
Florida Supreme Court denies Duval Death Row inmate’s appeal ahead of execution
The Florida Supreme Court upheld a decision by a Duval circuit judge that rejected relief for a Death Row inmate – despite signed affidavits by two prosecution witnesses who said they were coerced by the state to lie. Michael Bell is scheduled to die on July 15.
Posted inFlorida
JSO blocks release of emails in days after fatally injured inmate was taken to hospital
In the three days after Charles Faggart, a 31-year-old father and food truck vendor, was rushed to UF Health with fatal injuries from the Duval County jail, Sheriff T.K. Waters sent and received no email – or at least none that the sheriff’s office is willing to disclose – according to heavily redacted records obtained by The Tributary.
Posted inFlorida
Cops had a choice of witnesses. They used the liar to put a Jacksonville man on Death Row
A cache of records recently obtained by The Tributary paints a vivid portrait of Sidney Jones, who was at once a petty thief, burglar, gunman, and liar, as well as a longtime paid police informant whose controlled buys gave cops probable cause for arrests.
Posted inFlorida
Duval judge denies new trial for Death Row inmate scheduled for execution
If put to death, Michael Bell will be the eighth person executed by the state this year.
Posted inFlorida
Witnesses say their lies put a man on Death Row. Then they took it back
On June 16, Henry Edwards signed a detailed affidavit acknowledging that he gave false testimony in a 1995 capital murder case as a favor to a Jacksonville detective – false testimony that put a man on Death Row. On Monday, after prosecutors and a judge told Edwards that recanting his past testimony could lead to criminal charges, he took it all back.
Posted inFlorida
Witnesses in Duval Death Row case say they were coached by detective to lie
The legal team representing Michael Bell submitted handwritten affidavits from both witnesses, each saying he was coached to give false testimony by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Detective William Bolena.
Posted inJail Conditions
Autopsy into controversial jail death complete, but findings a mystery
That report’s findings about what ultimately caused Faggart’s controversial death will prove consequential, so the report’s completion is a significant step.
Posted inFlorida
Sergeant suspended after Duval jail death broke use of force policy before
The sergeant who was among nine guards suspended by Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters after a Duval County inmate was allegedly brutalized to death in April was reprimanded in 2021 after he pepper sprayed a restrained inmate at close range.
Posted inFlorida
Death Row attorneys fight state for records in case highlighted by The Tributary
Lawyers for Kenneth Hartley, a Jacksonville Death Row inmate convicted of murder more than 30 years ago on the word of a known liar and three jailhouse snitches, are fighting to pry loose records they hope will undo the case, which was the subject of a recent investigation by The Tributary called ‘Cold-Blooded.’