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Thread: Scott Mansfield - Florida Death Row

  1. #1
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    Scott Mansfield - Florida Death Row




    Facts of the Crime:

    Jesus Alfonso and Sara Robles went to Rosie’s Pub on the night of October 14, 1995. According to Alfonso’s testimony, he left the pub around 1:30 a.m., but Robles stayed behind to play a game of pool with a man matching Mansfield’s description. Karen Hill, the bartender at the pub, told police that Robles, Mansfield and William Finnerman left the pub a little after 2:00 a.m. Finnerman testified that he left the pub with Mansfield and Robles around 2:00 a.m. and last saw them around 3:00 a.m.

    According the testimony of a night clerk at Winn-Dixie, a grocery store located in the same shopping center as the pub, Robles and Mansfield went into the store and purchased some items during the early morning hours of October 15, 1995. The clerk also stated she saw Robles and Mansfield outside of Winn-Dixie during her break at 3:00 p.m.

    On the morning of October 15, 1995, Robles’ body was found in a grassy area next to the Winn-Dixie. When her body was discovered, her clothing was moved to reveal her breasts and pelvis area. Robles’ breasts and genitals were mutilated. Receipts from Winn-Dixie, food stamps, and a pager were found around Robles’ body. According to the testimony of the medical examiner, Robles’ cause of death was asphyxia due to airway compression, which resulted from a blunt force trauma to her neck. The medical examiner explained that the perpetrator straddled Robles on the ground, strangling her with one hand while the other hand was used to press an object down on top of her lower neck, causing her trachea to collapse. The examiner concluded that prior to Robles’ death, she was conscious for a few minutes, struggling for air, and then fell unconscious; her breasts and genitals were mutilated while she was unconscious.

    Investigators of the scene discovered that the pager found near Robles’ body belonged to Mansfield. As investigators were questioning Mansfield, they noticed fresh scratches on his knees and hands. Mansfield admitted he went to the pub and Winn-Dixie with Robles. Police arrested Mansfield for the suspected murder of Robles. During the arrest, police noticed Mansfield was wearing a ring with a “Grim Reaper” design.

    The day after his arrest, Mansfield’s brother called and invited the police to the apartment they shared. Food stamps, a knife and sheath, some clothing, and a towel were found in Mansfield’s room. Officers questioned Mansfield’s ten-year-old niece. She recalled seeing Mansfield, during the early hours of October 15, 1995, soaking wet, wearing only his shorts. The niece also noticed possible blood stains on his shorts. Mansfield told his niece that he had gone for a swim at a pool complex.

    During his indictment on October 20, 1995, the medical examiner further stated that the injury pattern on Robles’ neck matched the pattern of Mansfield’s “Grim Reaper” ring, which he wore at the time of his arrest. Mike Derrick, Mansfield’s jail cell roommate, testified that Mansfield confessed to the murder during a conversation that the two had.

    Mansfield was sentenced to death in Osceola County on January 30, 1998.

  2. #2
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Fed Judge Tosses Conviction for Scott Mansfield FL DR in 1995 Brutal Murder

    Death-row inmate can get new trial in Osceola murder


    A federal judge has granted a new trial to a death-row inmate convicted in the sexual mutilation and strangulation of a woman more than a decade ago in Osceola County.

    U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Presnell in Orlando ruled that a videotape of Scott Mansfield being interrogated by Kissimmee police should not have been shown to a jury because he was not warned of his Miranda rights to remain silent and contact a lawyer.

    The judge wrote that the tape "consisted of two hours of accusations by the police and unconvincing denials and contradictions by Mansfield," who disavowed killing Sara Robles.

    "The Court has little doubt that the videotape had a substantial and injurious effect on the jury's verdict," Presnell wrote in an opinion published late Thursday.

    **

    The Sara Robles case

    • The partly naked body of Robles, a mother of six, was found near a Winn-Dixie in the Buenaventura Lakes neighborhood Oct. 15, 1995. She had been strangled and mutilated.

    • A woman on her way to church found Robles' body at 9:10 a.m.

    • The slaying was thought to have happened at 3 a.m.

    • Mansfield was sentenced to death Jan. 30, 1998, for the 1st-degree murder of Robles, 31. A jury unanimously recommended the sentence.

    Evidence:

    • Mansfield's pager, found near Robles' body

    • The 2 were seen together at nearby Rosie's Pub, where they shot pool, and at the Winn-Dixie, where they bought snacks about 2:30 a.m.

    • New ruling: U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Presnell in Orlando wrote Friday that videotape shown to jurors in the original trial "consisted of 2 hours of accusations by the police and unconvincing denials and contradictions by Mansfield."

    (Source: Sentinel Research)

    **

    Mansfield was sentenced to death Jan. 30, 1998, for the 1st-degree murder of Robles, 31. A jury unanimously recommended the sentence.

    The partly naked body of Robles, a mother of 6, was found near a Winn-Dixie in the Buenaventura Lakes neighborhood Oct. 15, 1995. She had been strangled in what trial Judge Belvin Perry, now chief of the Orange-Osceola Circuit Court, ruled a "conscienceless, pitiless and unnecessarily torturous" death.

    Mirza Valladares, grandmother of Robles' four daughters, told the Orlando Sentinel Friday that the latest ruling worries her family. She, her husband and her son, the girls' father, have been raising them. Robles' two sons are grown.

    "This takes our peace away," Valladares said. [But] we're Christians. We just believe in the justice of the Lord."

    Attorneys for Mansfield, 47, had previously appealed the case to the Florida Supreme Court, which ruled that the trial court's denial of Mansfield's bid to have the videotape thrown out was harmless. The federal court disagreed.

    Kissimmee police Capt. Warren Shepard, one of the investigators who questioned Mansfield, said the department views the latest ruling as one in a series of legal developments.

    "We stand by the work in this case," Shepard said. "It was a solid case. There was definitely physical evidence, strong physical evidence."

    Mansfield's conviction was based partly on a medical examiner's conclusion that a Grim Reaper ring he wore could have made marks on Robles' neck. Other evidence included a knife and food stamps found in his room, and testimony of a jailhouse informant. The federal court wrote that the informant had a motive to lie and the other evidence was inconclusive.

    The strongest evidence included Mansfield's pager, found near Robles' body, and the fact that the two were seen together at nearby Rosie's Pub, where they shot pool, and at the Winn-Dixie, where they bought potato chips, doughnuts and sunflower seeds about 2:30a.m.

    A woman on her way to church found the body at 9:10 a.m. The murder was thought to have happened at 3 a.m.

    James Driscoll, lead defense attorney, said the federal ruling is important.

    "The Constitution is never a technicality," he said. "It's the law that we've lived under for over 200 years."

    Presnell ordered Mansfield released if the state does not retry him within 120 days. But the Florida Attorney General's Office, which is handling the case, plans to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

    (Source: The Orlando Sentinel)

  3. #3
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    SCOTT MANSFIELD V SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

    A federal appeals court has reversed a judge's decision to grant a new trial to a death row inmate convicted in the 1995 slaying and mutilation of a Kissimmee woman.

    A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday said the judge who ordered a new trial for Scott Mansfield engaged in his own "fact-finding process" and failed to accept findings from the Florida Supreme Court.

    The decision also said the judge "afforded precious little weight" to other evidence the Florida Supreme Court relied upon, and ignored other evidence that incriminated Mansfield.

    Mansfield was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the Oct. 15, 1995 slaying of Sara Robles next to a grocery store.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  4. #4
    Jan
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    In today's United States Supreme Court orders, Mansfield's petition for writ of certiorari was DENIED.

    http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.a...es/12-6839.htm

  5. #5
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    SCOTT MANSFIELD v THE STATE OF FLORIDA

    In today's opinions, the Florida Supreme Court AFFIRMED the district court's DENIAL of Mansfield's petition for postconviction relief.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Florida
    Case Nos.: (SC15-411)
    Decision Date: August 25, 2016
    Rehearing Denied: November 14, 2016

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....es/16-7988.htm

  7. #7
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Today the Florida Supreme Court denied his Hurst claim.

    http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/d...8/sc17-690.pdf

  8. #8
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Mansfield's petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Florida
    Case Numbers: (SC17-690)
    Decision Date: July 5, 2018

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/18-6902.html

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