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Thread: Donald Lee Bradley - Florida Death Row

  1. #1
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    Donald Lee Bradley - Florida Death Row




    Summary of Offense:

    Donald Bradley was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Jack Jones on November 7, 1995. Linda Jones, wife of the victim, became distressed and infuriated upon learning her husband was having an affair with Carrie Davis, a teenager she had befriended and brought into their home. Linda Jones, after many unsuccessful attempts to break up the affair, propositioned Donald Bradley to intimidate Davis and assault her husband. At the request of Mrs. Jones, Bradley and three of his employees went to Davis’ apartment on October 31, 1995 to retrieve a diamond ring that Mr. Jones had given his young lover. When Davis would not answer the door, Bradley ordered his employees to vandalize the girl’s car. Mrs. Jones then solicited Bradley to assault Mr. Jones and the two conjured up a plan to make the attack look like a home invasion. Bradley enlisted the help of Brian and Patrick McWhite, two of the employees that had previously helped vandalize Davis’ car. While picking up the brothers on November 7, 1995, Bradley instructed Patrick to get a large “zulu war stick” to use on Mr. Jones during the attack. According to trial testimony, the brothers agreed to help assault Mr. Jones for $100 each, but that Bradley never mentioned killing him.

    Prior to the arranged burglary, Bradley had many telephone conversations with Mrs. Jones in which she informed him of the location of Mr. Jones’ gun and that both the front and side doors would be left unlocked. On the evening of November 7, 1995, when Mr. Jones saw the McWhite brothers enter his home, he ordered them to leave. When they refused, a physical altercation ensued. Bradley began an unyielding assault on Mr. Jones with the “war stick” and a gun. At one point, the McWhite brothers taped Mr. Jones' hands and feet and pulled him into another room. Mr. Jones pleaded for the beating to stop, but Bradley continued. Bradley tried to shoot Mr. Jones in the head, but the gun malfunctioned. Mr. Jones died from the injuries he suffered in the beating. During the episode, Mrs. Jones watched without emotion as her husband was severely beaten. Bradley taped her hands as well to make the scene look more believable. When the men left, she called 911. Patrick McWhite’s fingerprints were lifted from the scene, which led to his arrest, and eventually to the arrest of his brother, Bradley and Mrs. Jones. Evidence presented at trial indicated that Mrs. Jones tried to solicit two other men to kill her husband prior to contacting Bradley. When Mrs. Jones received the life insurance money from her husband’s death, Bradley expected a payoff of $100,000-$200,000.

    Bradley was sentenced to death in Clay County on June 25, 1998.

    Co-defendant information:

    Linda Jones was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. She was also convicted of two counts of solicitation to commit murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. Each of the three charges carried a 13-year sentence.

    Brian and Patrick McWhite both pled to third-degree murder and were sentenced to 10 years each.

  2. #2
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    Bradley's conviction was upheld by the Florida Supreme Court in an opinion on April 22, 2010.

    Opinion is here:

    http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/d.../sc07-1964.pdf

  3. #3
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition of the Sentence:

    Bradley’s Direct Appeal took approximately three years to resolve.

    Case Information:

    On 07/06/90, Bradley filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. In that appeal, he argued that there was insufficient evidence to support a First-Degree, Premeditated Murder conviction and insufficient evidence for a felony-murder conviction. Bradley argued that the court erred in allowing testimony regarding the 10/31/95 vandalization of Davis’ car; as such evidence was irrelevant to any material issue. He also contended that Detective Redmond’s out-of-court statement that Bradley had his van detailed five times since the murder should have not been admitted as evidence. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence of death on 03/01/01, and the mandate was issued on 07/05/01.

    On 09/04/01, Bradley next filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, which was denied on 11/26/01.

    On 11/14/02, Bradley filed a 3.850 Motion in the State Circuit Court, and on 09/14/05, 11/14/05, and 05/25/06, Evidentiary Hearings were held. On 06/21/07, this motion was denied. On 07/05/07, Bradley submitted a motion for rehearing, which was denied on 07/13/07.

    On 10/19/07, Bradley filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. On 01/07/10, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of the 3.850 motion.

    On 09/24/08, Bradley filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court, which was denied on 01/07/10.

    On 11/24/10, Bradley filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, Middle District. That petition is pending.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/flo...cv01078/251931

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On March 12, 2014, Bradley's habeas petition was DENIED in Federal District Court.

    http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal...1078/251931/15

    On April 10, 2014, Bradley filed an appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cir.../ca11/14-11630

  5. #5
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Florida Supreme Court rejects 10 Death Row appeals, including in Duval and Clay

    By News Service of Florida
    Florida Times-Union

    The Florida Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals by 10 Death Row inmates, including three in Duval County and one in Clay County.

    The Supreme Court’s release of 10 nearly identical rulings at the same time was a somewhat-unusual move. But each of the cases involved inmates challenging their death sentences because juries did not unanimously recommend execution.

    The appeals were rooted in a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case known as Hurst v. Florida and a subsequent Florida Supreme Court decision. The 2016 ruling found Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional because it gave too much authority to judges, instead of juries. The subsequent Florida Supreme Court ruling said juries must unanimously agree on critical findings before judges can impose death sentences and must unanimously recommend the death penalty.

    But the Florida Supreme Court made the new sentencing requirements apply to cases since 2002. That is when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling known as Ring v. Arizona that was a premise for striking down Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system in 2016.

    In each of the cases Monday, the Death Row inmates had been sentenced to death before the Ring decision and argued that the jury-unanimity requirements should also apply to their cases.

    The Jacksonville cases were Marvin Burnett Jones, Pressley Bernard Alston and Jason Demetrius Stephens. In Clay County, Donald Bradley’s appeal was denied.

    The others were Eric Scott Branch in Escambia County, Kayle Barrington Bates in Bay County, Daniel Jon Peterka in Okaloosa County, Harry Franklin Phillips in Miami-Dade County, Ernest D. Suggs in Walton County and Frank A. Walls in Okaloosa County.

    http://jacksonville.com/news/public-...ding-duval-and
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
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    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

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  6. #6
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court DENIED Bradley's petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Florida
    Case Numbers: (SC17-1219)
    Decision Date: January 22, 2018

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/17-9386.html

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