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Thread: Paul Hawthorne Evans - Florida

  1. #1
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    Paul Hawthorne Evans - Florida




    Summary of Offense:

    The murder of Alan Pfeiffer was the result of a murder-for-hire conspiracy involving Connie Pfeiffer (Alan Pfeiffer’s wife), Paul Evans, Sarah Thomas (Evans’ girlfriend), and Donna Waddell (Evans’ roommate). A few weeks prior to the murder, Connie Pfeiffer approached several individuals regarding the killing of her husband, but each individual refused. Connie Pfeiffer’s co-worker, Donna Waddell, suggested that her roommate, Paul Evans, might be willing to commit the murder.

    On the morning of March 23, 1991, Evans, Pfeiffer, and Waddell arranged the Pfeiffer’s trailer to look as if a robbery had taken place, stacking electronic equipment near the back door of the trailer. After the trailer was arranged, Waddell and Evans went to Waddell’s house to steal her father’s gun. Evans, Thomas, and Waddell went to the fair that evening, but later left to go to the trailer.

    Thomas and Waddell dropped Evans off at the trailer, where he was to wait for Alan Pfeiffer to arrive and then shoot him. Evans arranged for Thomas and Waddell to pick him up at the trailer one to two hours after they dropped him off. On March 23, 1991, Alan Pfeiffer left work at 7:30 p.m. for the thirty-minute drive to the trailer. Neighbors testified that gunshots were heard coming from the Pfeiffer’s trailer between 8:00 and 8:30 p.m. After picking up Evans at the trailer, Evans, Thomas, and Waddell went back to the fair, where they met up with Connie Pfeiffer. Early the next morning, police found Alan Pfeiffer’s body on the living room floor with three gunshot wounds – two in the head and one in the spine. After an investigation in which no arrests were made, the case grew cold and was eventually closed.

    In 1997, six years after the murder, the case was reopened and the investigation focused on Evans, Connie Pfeiffer, Waddell, and Thomas. Thomas first agreed to cooperate with police and wore a wire to get incriminating statements from Waddell. Waddell was arrested, and when presented with the tape-recorded statements, she also agreed to cooperate with the police. As a result of the statements of Thomas and Waddell, Evans and Connie Pfeiffer were implicated in the murder and arrested.

    Evans was sentenced to death in Indian River County on June 16, 1999.

    Co-defendant information:
    Connie Pfeiffer was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Donna Waddell pled guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Sarah Thomas, who was 16 years old at the time of the murder, testified at the trial but was never charged with a crime.

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    August 29, 2008

    Florida Supreme Court denies Evans appeal

    TALLAHASSEE - Florida's highest court Thursday rejected the final state appeal of a Vero Beach man sentenced to death for a 1991 murder.

    By unanimous ruling, the Florida Supreme Court rejected all arguments brought on behalf of Paul Evans, sentenced to death in 1999 for the murder of Alan Pfeiffer, who was gunned down in his mobile home as part of a plot to collect insurance money.

    The rejection ends Evans' appeals in the state court system, although he can appeal the court's ruling to the 11th District Court of Appeals, a federal appellate court in Atlanta.

    Evans' attorney argued in April that his client received inadequate representation during his trial and later during the penalty phase, when his attorney choose not to call witnesses on his behalf.

    The court disagreed, saying decisions made by attorneys who represented Evans were strategic in nature, based on the evidence in the case.

    "In sum, counsel clearly made an informed decision about not presenting any witnesses during the guilt phase, which is exactly what he told the judge at the guilt phase," the court wrote in a group opinion.

    The court also dismissed allegations the death penalty was unconstitutionally cruel.

    Thursday's ruling is the latest development in a chapter in a 17-year saga. Evans entered Pfeiffer's mobile home before 9 p.m. March 22, 1991. He laid in wait for Pfeiffer and shot him three times.

    The murder, the jury ruled, was part of a conspiracy launched by Connie Pfeiffer to kill her abusive husband and collect a $120,000 life insurance payout.

    During his unsuccessful direct appeal in 2001, Evans' attorney tried to poke holes in the state case by saying Connie Pfeiffer may have instead pulled the trigger hours later, killing her estranged husband in a conspiracy that would not be unraveled for six years. Connie Pfeiffer is serving life in prison.

    The conspirators' alibi, which included being seen at a local fair the night of the shooting, was not unraveled until 1997, when law-enforcement officials persuaded conspirator Sara Thomas to come forward.

    Evans' first trial resulted in a hung jury, and the judge declared a mistrial during jury selection during his second trial. Evans finally was convicted at his third trial.

    Evans, 19 at the time of the murder, was sentenced to death in June 1999 by a 9-3 vote. He is being held at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford.

    http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...tory?track=rss

  3. #3
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    US judge: Fla. death sentences unconstitutional

    MIAMI -- A Miami federal judge has ruled that Florida's method of imposing the death penalty is unconstitutional, but the decision alone does not strike down the law.

    The ruling Monday by U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez applies only in the case of convicted murderer Paul H. Evans, who is on Florida's Death Row. The ruling means that Evans will get a new sentencing hearing.

    Martinez said Florida's system violates the Constitution because jurors are not required to announce specific findings on aggravating factors required to justify the death penalty. The jurors make only a general recommendation of death or life by majority vote. The final decision is up to a judge.

    The U.S. Supreme Court in 2002 held that jurors must determine the specific aggravating factors.

    Martinez's ruling could be appealed.

    http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/2...#ixzz1Q2DQWWDo

  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Other inmates could appeal under this ruling and get new sentencing hearings right?

  5. #5
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    The ruling will be quashed on appeal.

  6. #6
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    What makes you think so, Heidi?

  7. #7
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    I don't think the case falls under RING v. Arizona. In Ring, the jury was deadlocked on an aggravating factor of premeditated murder, and Evan's appeal deals with whether or not the jury decided on specific aggravating factors. In Ring the judge decided the aggravating factor and sentenced Ring to death. In Florida the jury only gives a recommendation of sentence, but a Florida judge can not override a life without parole recommendation with the juries majority vote. Evans received a death sentence.

    I personally don't see where the Constitution has been violated, and that is why I think the State of Florida will win on appeal.

  8. #8
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    Prosecutors wait on latest death penalty ruling

    TAMPA -- Local prosecutors are casting a wary eye toward a ruling last week by a Miami federal judge striking down the way Florida imposes the death penalty.

    The ruling, so far, applies only to convicted murderer Paul H. Evans, and runs contrary to decisions by other judges in other courtrooms.

    "I thought that issue had been resolved by other courts at other times," said Bernie McCabe, state attorney for Pinellas and Pasco counties.

    U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez upheld the Evan's conviction, but ordered he receive a new sentencing hearing.

    Martinez said Florida's death penalty statutes are unconstitutional because jurors aren't required to make specific findings on what factors led them to recommend a punishment of death over life imprisonment.

    And because jurors only make a recommendation, the ultimate decision is left to the judge.

    Martinez said the existing procedure contradicts a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

    "The defendant has no way of knowing whether or not the jury found the same aggravating factors as the judge," wrote Martinez, a 2002 appointee of President George W. Bush. "Indeed, the judge, unaware of the aggravating factor or factors found by the jury, may find an aggravating circumstance that was not found by the jury."

    Attorney General Pam Bondi said she will ask Martinez to reconsider his ruling, the first step in an appeal.

    Bondi said the ruling will have no immediate effect in Florida and maintains the ruling contradicts others issued by judicial bodies with higher authority than Martinez.

    Charles Rose, a professor at Stetson University College of Law and director of its Center for Excellence in Advocacy, said Martinez's opinion doesn't set any precedents, only casting "a different opinion in interpreting the [death penalty] statute."

    But Rose said Martinez's ruling and reasoning will be cited in future and pending cases.

    The professor said the Florida Legislature would be wise to tweak state law to head off those challenges.

    "If they thumb their noses at the ruling, they may well find more and more challenges and down the line another court-imposed moratorium." Rose said.

    Local prosecutors said they won't change anything unless and until an appellate court backs Martinez – a task that could take years, particularly if the matter reaches the U.S. Supreme Court.

    "It's business as usual until upper courts give us definite direction," said Mark Cox, a spokesman for Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober. "We're monitoring it."

    McCabe is taking the same tack.

    "It's more a wait-and-see situation," he said. "It is going to take a while to get the case resolved one way or the other."

    Hillsborough County has pending death penalty cases against 15 people, according to the State Attorney's Office. The defendants are accused cop killers, baby beaters and spree slayers.

    The U.S. Supreme Court, in the 2002 ruling upon which Martinez relied, specifically stated its decision would not be retroactive. Just five of the 35 inmates Hillsborough County juries have sent to death row still awaiting execution possibly could be affected by Martinez's decision.

    The last death penalty imposed in Hillsborough County didn't even involve a jury.

    Charles Grover "Chuck" Brant pleaded guilty in May 2007 to killing and raping Sara Radfar, 21. He put his fate before a judge rather than a jury. Circuit Judge William Fuente heard arguments and ordered Brant to die by lethal injection.

    Rose said while the effect of Martinez's ruling is limited, it should not be totally discounted.

    "It is a small victory for the folks fighting the way the state of Florida imposes the death penalty and may lead others to look at the process differently," he said.

    http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-ne...-by-ar-240093/

  9. #9
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    Fla. says US judge erred in death sentence ruling

    MIAMI — A federal judge who declared Florida's method of imposing the death penalty unconstitutional made several key legal and factual errors that should force a reversal, the state attorney general's office said in a new court filing.

    The decision last week by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez could impact all Florida death cases and must be changed, Assistant Attorney General Leslie Campbell said in Monday's filing. The state wants Martinez to overturn his own opinion so that the sentencing system is preserved and also to deny a death row inmate a chance at a life sentence.

    "Because this ruling represents manifest errors of both fact and law, the state respectfully requests that this court alter or amend its judgment," Campbell wrote.

    As of Tuesday, Martinez had issued no response but could rule at any time.

    The judge determined June 20 that Florida's death sentencing practices violate the U.S. Constitution because jurors are not required to make specific findings on the aggravating factors necessary to enhance a murder sentence from life in prison to death. Aggravating factors include such things are whether the crime was particularly heinous and cruel or done for monetary gain.

    Martinez found Florida's system, in which juries make death penalty recommendations to a judge by majority vote, violates a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Arizona's death penalty sentencing practices. The Florida case involves death row inmate Paul H. Evans, 39, who was sentenced to die for killing a man in a 1991 murder-for-hire plot in Vero Beach. If Martinez's ruling stands, Evans will get a new sentencing hearing.

    In its filing, the state contends that Martinez misread the law on several points and made factual errors regarding the timing of Evans' latest appeal, which affects what law should be applied. For example, the state says that Martinez was incorrect in saying that Evans' claim regarding jury problems was not raised on his first direct appeal in Florida courts.

    "This is simply untrue," Campbell said, adding that it was considered and rejected by the Florida Supreme Court a decade ago.

    The state also says that Martinez should give deference to the Florida Supreme Court in how state laws are interpreted, and the state court has concluded that the Arizona ruling does not apply to its death penalty sentencing scheme.

    In Evans' case, the jury voted 9-3 to recommend the death penalty to the judge. The state says that vote, and others like it by juries around the state, are sufficient to show that there were aggravating factors warranting the death sentence.

    "The fact the jury voted nine-to-three means that a majority of the jurors made a factual finding that at least one aggravator existed," Campbell wrote.

    Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the state will take its case to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if Martinez does not alter his ruling.

    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/st...e-1567147.html

  10. #10
    The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will reverse this ruling. Paul Evans will be right back where he belongs on death row. The only thing Judge Martinez did in this instance is give all the inmates on Floridas death row a new avenue for appeal. It's just another issue for inmates to raise in more successive postconviction motions.

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