Facts of the Crime:
Gary Whitton was convicted and sentenced to death for the October 10, 1990 murder of James Mauldin. Gary Whitton met James Mauldin in March 1989 at a halfway house in Pensacola where the two men were receiving alcohol treatment. After leaving the halfway house, Whitton and Mauldin would see each other occasionally at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. On October 7, 1990, Mauldin spent the night at Whitton’s home after showing up intoxicated.
On October 8, 1990, the two men drove to Destin so Mauldin could withdraw money from his bank. The bank was closed, so the men returned the following day. Mauldin closed his account after he was told by the bank teller that he could not withdraw money without his passbook, which he did not have. Whitton assisted Mauldin with filling out the forms required for closing his account because Mauldin was too intoxicated to do so himself. Mauldin left the bank with $1,135.88 in cash. Both men then checked into a hotel in Destin.
Whitton filled out the hotel forms, giving a false license plate number. The hotel clerk noticed the discrepancy in the license plate numbers and recorded the correct information on the hotel forms. After checking in, Whitton left the hotel at approximately 12:00 p.m., and he claimed he did not return to the hotel again.
During the investigation, Whitton told officers that he did not return to the hotel the night of the murder. Whitton later told the officers that he did return for a few minutes, but that Mauldin was already dead when he arrived. The hotel clerk said that he saw Whitton’s car arrive at approximately 10:30 p.m. and leave again at approximately 12:30 a.m. The same hotel clerk found Mauldin’s body the next day.
Mauldin’s body was found with numerous injuries, including a fractured skull and stab wounds to the shoulder, cheek, neck, scalp, back and heart. Tests indicated that he had a 0.34 blood alcohol level at the time of his death and, according to police records, Mauldin had no money on him besides some spare change. Police brought Whitton to the station for questioning on October 11, 1990, after being alerted by the hotel clerk about the false information given by Whitton on the hotel forms.
A search of Whitton’s home revealed a pair of boots that were stained with blood that matched Mauldin’s blood-type. The police then searched Whitton’s car where they found bloodstains that also matched Mauldin’s blood type. While in jail awaiting trial, Whitton confessed to an inmate (and was overheard by a second inmate) that he returned to the hotel to steal Mauldin’s money and killed him because he was afraid that Mauldin would have testified against him in a parole violation hearing as a result of the robbery. Both inmates gave statements attesting to this information.
Whitton was sentenced to death in Walton County on September 10, 1992.
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