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Thread: Matthew Lee Caylor - Florida Death Row

  1. #11
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Murderer wants to continue appeals

    A man on death row for the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl has asked for a chance at life, though he previously requested his execution be expedited.

    Matthew Caylor, 38, has been on death row since being convicted in 2009 of raping and killing 13-year-old Melinda Hinson in a Panama City motel room. Caylor strangled the girl with a phone chord, then hid the body under his bed, placing the bed frame on her head.

    In letters to his attorney and Judge James Fensom, Caylor said he was ready to give Hinson’s family “what they want,” he wrote. However, Caylor said Friday he has changed his mind and wants to live to appeal his case.

    “I need help,” Caylor told the court. “I can’t explain when I go into these mood swings; it’s almost like I can’t help how I’m feeling.”

    Caylor said he wanted to continue to appeal his sentence of death and his attorney requested he be prescribed appropriate mood-stabilizing medication for the process.

    During one of his “mood swings” in April, Caylor wrote Fensom to say he wanted to dismiss his attorney, waive his right to post-conviction appeals and be executed.

    “I ask that you consider my request and allow me to move on to whatever is next,” Caylor wrote. “It has to be better than the last 38 years here.”

    At that time Fensom ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Caylor to determine his competency to make such a decision, according to court records. The psychiatrist testified Caylor wrote the letter from the depths of a depressed state.

    “He was not competent, but at the same time he did state he did not want to waive his right to appeal,” said Barry Crown, a psychologist. “He only did that when he was depressed and wanted to end things by state suicide.”

    The court granted Caylor’s request to retain counsel, continue with his appeal and suggested a mood-stabilizer regiment to address his mood.

    https://www.newsherald.com/news/crim...50?page=1wings.
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  2. #12
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Whatever medication he was on that made him want to volunteer for the DP, should be given to him continuously, right up until he is strapped to the gurney..then it won't matter.
    "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."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #13
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Killer of teen girl denied appeal for state execution

    PANAMA CITY — A man who raped and killed a 13-year-old girl has had his appeal to state execution denied by the local court, according to court records.

    Matthew Caylor, 39, has been on death row since he was convicted in 2009 of raping and killing Melinda Hinson in a Panama City motel room. Caylor strangled the girl with a telephone cord and then hid her body under the bed and placed the bed frame on her head.

    Bay County Circuit Judge James Fensom on Thursday denied Caylor’s motion vacate the court’s judgment and sentence. It now can be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.

    According to court records, Caylor confessed to the murder and detailed the events leading up to a housekeeper at the Valu-Lodge Motel finding Hinson’s naked body under the bed.

    Her parents had reported her missing two days earlier, records show.

    Officers reported that Caylor was on felony probation from Georgia in July 2008 after he molested a 14-year-old, which he claimed to be falsely accused.

    After he said he came to Panama City to relax, he told investigators Hinson came to his room to ask for a cigarette. Caylor said he felt that he had “been through all this because of something I didn’t do,” and he decided to “make it worth it,” according to court transcripts.

    Caylor claimed Hinson came on to him when he became angered and he began to choke her, investigators reported.

    “It was like, more or less like you’re the … reason I’m in this situation I’m in now because I did the right thing,” he told investigators. “I think it was more of a hate, like a hate, like I was really angry, I think it was… That she was 13 coming on to me.”

    Caylor said after he strangled Hinson with the phone cord and hid her under the bed, he left the motel, officers reported.

    Jurors found him guilty of first-degree murder, sexual battery with serious force and aggravated child abuse.

    However, Caylor claimed he was denied a fair trial because his attorney failed to challenge jurors during the selection process; did not perform a sufficient investigation during the penalty phase; failed to obtain an adequate mental health evaluation; and did not provide effective counsel in pursuing post conviction remedies.

    He also argued that execution by electrocution or lethal injection violated his constitutional rights, court records indicate.

    Fensom denied Caylor’s claims.

    http://www.newsherald.com/article/20...NEWS/150919873

  4. #14
    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    In today's opinions, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's denial of post-conviction relief, but vacated his death sentence in light of Hurst.

    http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/d.../sc15-1823.pdf
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  5. #15
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Caylor's petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Florida
    Case Numbers: (SC15-1823, SC16-399)
    Decision Date: May 18, 2017

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/17-6383.html

  6. #16
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Death penalty hearing held for Matthew Caylor

    By Thomas Shults
    WMBB News

    PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — After more than a decade in prison, Matthew Caylor’s future is still in question. On Friday, Caylor had his second death penalty hearing.

    In July 2008 Caylor raped and killed 13-year-old Melinda Hinson at the Value Lodge Hotel in Panama City. Her mother reported her missing and two days later, cleaning staff discovered her body in a vacant room.

    Caylor later confessed to the murder while already behind bars for a home invasion.

    On Friday he pled for his life.

    “If you spare my life there’s so much good to come that I can do,” Caylor said.

    Caylor was initially sentenced to death by an 8-4 jury decision. But since that ruling, Florida laws changed so death penalty sentences must now be unanimous.

    After the change, Caylor waved his right to a jury and initially wanted to be sentenced to death. But in recent years he changed his mind after the victim’s mother died.

    Caylor’s parents testified Friday that Caylor had a very difficult upbringing. They said they were addicted to meth for years throughout his childhood.

    “We would just be up for seven days and didn’t have to sleep,” his mother Kimberly Caylor said. “The kids would just have to fend for themselves the best they could.”

    His mother said sometimes the kids didn’t have anything to eat.

    “We were sleeping and I woke up to them eating toothpaste because they were hungry,” Kimberly Caylor said.

    His parents also testified Caylor’s father, Kerry, would beat him when he was younger. They said when Caylor was a month old his father would cut off his breath, knocking the infant out two or three times.

    “I never really brought him up correctly,” Kerry Caylor said.

    Matthew Caylor said he was sexually molested by a police officer who stayed with the family in Georgia. But prosecutors said his crime was too heinous to not get the death penalty.

    “The death penalty is made people like this,” 14th Circuit State Attorney Larry Basford said. “It is made for the most serious, heinous, atrocious, cruel cases. And I would submit to you that this is one of those your honor.”

    Caylor’s son said in the past few years, they have established a relationship. He hopes to continue getting to know his father better.

    “I think my dad is a good man,” Caylor’s son Devin McCloud said. “He did something pretty bad and he shouldn’t have done that but I think that he’s a good man.”

    Florida death penalty hearings only include testimony from the defense. No one testified on behalf of the victim. Judge Christopher Patterson will decide Caylor’s fate.

    https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/loc...atthew-caylor/
    "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."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  7. #17
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Georgia man sentenced to death in Bay County court for the second time

    By WJHG Newsroom

    BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - A Georgia man convicted of killing a 13-year-old girl in Panama City was sentenced to death for a second time Thursday.

    Matthew Caylor, 47, who was a registered sex offender, raped and strangled Melinda Hinson at the Valu-Loge Motel more than 14 years ago. A maid found Hinson’s body underneath the bed two days later.

    Chief Circuit Judge Christopher Patterson issued the sentence with a sentencing order 13 pages long, ending with “The Court finds that the aggravating factors in this case far outweigh the mitigating circumstances.”

    In November, Caylor was given a Spencer hearing, where he asked the judge to consider life in prison. This came after his original death sentence was thrown out due to a 2016 Florida Supreme Court law that forced death penalty verdicts to be unanimous.

    Caylor waived his right to a jury trial this time, opting to allow a judge to make the decision.

    “I originally prosecuted and convicted the defendant 13 and a half years ago and I remember well the agony caused by his horrific actions,” State Attorney Larry Basford said. “I also remember the tireless efforts of the Panama City Police Department and others to investigate and solve this case. In 2009 a Bay County jury and Judge Dedee Costello decided that death was the appropriate sentence for sexually battering and killing this child. Judge Patterson, after reviewing the records and hearing all the other relevant evidence has also found that the death sentence was and is proper in this case, I agree.”

    Judge Christopher Patterson sentenced Caylor to death for the second time Thursday at the Bay County Courthouse in Panama City.

    “It is now hereby ordered that you Matthew Lee Caylor be taken by the proper authority to the Florida Department of Corrections to be housed there till the date of your execution,” said the Judge. It is further ordered that upon set scheduled date you Matthew Lee Caylor shall be put to death.”

    Officials say Caylor’s case is the second death penalty retrial in the circuit following the passing of the 2016 Florida Supreme Court Law.

    https://www.wjhg.com/2023/02/09/geor...outputType=amp
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  8. #18
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Oral arguments in Caylor’s direct appeal were held 3/7/24.

    https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/Ne...2024-Summaries
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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