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Thread: Joseph Clifton Smith - Alabama

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    Joseph Clifton Smith - Alabama


    Joseph Clifton Smith


    Facts of the Crime:

    Convicted and sentenced to death in 1998 for the murder of Durk Van Dam during the course of a robbery on November 25, 1997.

    The State's evidence tended to show the following. On November 25, 1997, police discovered the badly beaten body of Durk Van Dam in his mud-bound Ford Ranger truck in a wooded area near Shipyard Road in Mobile County. Dr. Julia Goodin, a forensic pathologist for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, testified that Van Dam died as a result of 35 different blunt-force injuries to his body. Van Dam had marks consistent with marks made by a saw on his neck, shoulder, and back;  he also had a large hemorrhage beneath his scalp, brain swelling, multiple rib fractures, a collapsed lung, multiple abrasions to his head and knees, and defensive wounds on his hands. Dr. Goodin testified that the multiple rib fractures that caused one lung to collapse were probably the most immediate cause of death.

    Smith gave two statements to the police. In the first statement he denied any involvement in the robbery-murder but said that he was with Larry Reid when Reid beat and robbed Van Dam. Smith denied taking anything from the victim. When police were questioning Reid, Smith repeatedly knocked on the interrogation room door and requested to talk to the officer who had taken his first statement. In his second statement Smith admitted that he and Reid had planned to rob Van Dam because they had been told that Van Dam was carrying $1,500 in cash. Smith said that he, Reid, and Van Dam left the Highway Host motel in Van Dam's red truck on November 23, 1997. Van Dam was driving. Reid directed Van Dam, who had been drinking, to an isolated location. Once there, Reid began hitting Van Dam. He said that when Reid kicked Van Dam in the face he thought Van Dam was dead. Smith said that Van Dam then got up and Smith hit him on the head with his fist, kicked him in the ribs several times, threw a handsaw at him, and may have hit him with a hammer but he wasn't entirely sure because he suffers from blackouts.

    Reid then got a power saw from the back of Van Dam's truck, Smith said, and ran the saw against Van Dam's neck. Smith held Van Dam down while Reid took the money from his pockets. Smith and Reid then attempted to move the truck, because they had planned to steal it, but it got stuck in the mud. Smith also admitted that he took the victim's boots, because his shoes were wet, and that he took the victim's tools. The two discussed where to take Van Dam's body and Smith suggested that they take it to a nearby lake. However, they left the body, Smith said, under a mattress near Van Dam's truck. Smith said that when they divided the money he got only $40 and Reid kept the rest, approximately $100. Smith also told police that he had just been released from custody on Friday-two days before the robbery-murder on Sunday.

    http://caselaw.findlaw.com/al-court-...s/1096178.html

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    September 28, 2008

    Ala. appeals court upholds death sentences

    The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld death sentences for killings in Marion and Mobile counties.

    The court ruled Friday that a death sentence was appropriate for Jamie Ray Mills' capital murder conviction for the deaths of Floyd and Vera Hill. The elderly couple was killed with a machete, tire tool and hammer during a robbery at their home in the Marion County town of Guin in 2004.

    In another decision Friday, the appeals court rejected Joseph Clifton Smith's argument that he shouldn't get the death penalty because he is mentally retarded. The appeals court said Smith didn't even indicate his IQ in his court pleading.

    Smith was convicted of the beating death and robbery of Durk Van Dam in Mobile County in 1997.

    (Source: The Associated Press)

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    On August 15, 2005, Smith filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/ala...5cv00474/37121

    On September 30, 2013, Smith's habeas petition was DENIED.

    http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal...00474/37121/59

    On February 20, 2014, Smith filed an appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cir.../ca11/14-10721

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    On April 16, 2015, oral argument will be heard in Smith's appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

    http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/sites/d...H%20Public.pdf

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On August 3, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit REVERSED and REMANDED Smith's case to Federal District Court on an Atkins (mental retardation) claim.

    The judges were Tjoflat (Ford), Hull (Clinton) and Wilson (Clinton).

    http://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opini.../201410721.pdf

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    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    On December 30, 2021, Smith filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/ci.../ca11/21-14519
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    On February 15, 2023, oral argument will be heard in Smith's appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

    https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/sites/...29_J_Smith.pdf

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
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    The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has VACATED Smith's death sentence, over a claim of intellectual disability.

    https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opin.../202114519.pdf

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    The panel was made up of Judges Wilson (Clinton), Jordan (Obama) and Rosenbaum (Obama).

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    Killer who battered man dead saved from Death Row thanks to his incredibly low IQ

    Joseph Clifton Smith has been on Death Row for nearly 25 after murdering Durk Van Dam, but a battle rages on about whether or not his very low IQ should save him from the death penalty

    By Adam Cailler
    Daily Star

    A bloke has been saved from Death Row after it was decided that his very low IQ meant killing him would be “unconstitutional”.

    Joseph Clifton Smith, 52, was convicted of the 1997 murder of Durk Van Dam.

    The victim had a shocking 35 blunt-force injuries on his body, and he was found dead in a pickup truck in Atlanta, Georgia, US.

    Smith was given the death penalty and remained on Death Row for nearly 25.

    However, he has now been given a reprieve thanks to his very low IQ, which is just 72.

    This, it was ruled, means that he is “intellectually disabled and, as a result, that his death sentence violates the Eighth Amendment”.

    For those not fully aware of what the Eight Amendment is, it was signed in 1791 and protects against imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments.

    According to the New York Post, a 2002 US Supreme Court ruling meant that anyone with an IQ of 70 or below was deemed to have “significant or substantial deficits in adaptive behaviour” – and could not be put to death.

    Senior US District Judge Callie said: “This is a close case, but the evidence indicates that Smith’s intelligence and adaptive functioning has been deficient throughout his life.”

    However, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshal is not happy about the ruling, and plans to appeal it.

    He said: “Joseph Smith brutally murdered Durk Van Dam in 1997, and for that, he was sentenced to death.

    “Smith’s IQ scores have consistently placed his IQ above that of someone who is intellectually disabled.

    “The Attorney General thinks his death sentence was both just and constitutional.”

    The appeal date has not yet been set, but the man's fate is now up in the air as a result.

    https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/wor...-dead-30031237
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