Nineteenth
Judicial Circuit, Martin County Case# 89-174 CF
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Dwight L. Geiger
Attorney, Trial: Cliff Barnes – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Louis G. Carres – Assistant Public
Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Melissa M. Donoho – CCRC-S
Date of
Offense: 11/01/88
Date of
Sentence: 12/12/89
Circumstances of the Offense:
On 12/12/89,
Matthew Marshall was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced
to death.
Marshall and
Jeffrey Henry were both incarcerated at the Martin Correction
Institute on 11/01/88. At the time, Marshall was serving prison
time for previous offenses.
On the day
of the murder, witnesses heard moans and screaming emanating from
Henry’s cell. Marshall was seen exiting from the cell with blood on
his chest and arms.
Minutes
later, witnesses saw Marshall re-entering Henry’s cell and heard
similar noises emanating from his cell once again. After a moment
of silence, witnesses saw Marshall exiting from Henry’s cell, this
time covered in blood.
Henry was found dead, lying face-down in his cell
with his sweat pants pulled down to his ankles and his hands tied
behind his back. Henry’s cause of death was severe blows to the
back of the head.
During his indictment, Marshall stated that Henry was
known as the “muscle man” for inmates who operated football
game-pools. Marshall won sums of money and sought to collect his
winnings from the other inmates.
The inmates instructed Marshall to obtain his
winnings from Henry. When Marshall met Henry at his cell, a fight
broke out between the two men when Henry refused to pay. According
to Marshall, Henry attacked first and he killed Henry in
self-defense.
*****
Additional Information:
Marshall was convicted of the following offenses and was
incarcerated at the Martin Correction Institute at the time of
Henry’s murder:
|
Offense Date |
Offense |
Sentence Date |
County |
Case No. |
Prison Sentence Length |
|
08/10/1984 |
ESCAPE |
03/14/1985 |
MIAMI-DADE |
8418638 |
7Y 0M 0D
|
|
12/02/1983 |
KIDNAP;COMM.OR
FAC.FELONY |
05/07/1986 |
MIAMI-DADE |
8323746 |
13Y 0M 0D
|
|
12/02/1983 |
SEX BAT/INJURY
NOT LIKELY |
05/07/1986 |
MIAMI-DADE |
8323746 |
13Y 0M 0D
|
|
07/20/1984 |
ROBB.
GUN/DEADLY WPN |
05/07/1986 |
MIAMI-DADE |
8416823 |
13Y 0M 0D
|
|
06/29/1984 |
ROBB.
GUN/DEADLY WPN |
05/07/1986 |
MIAMI-DADE |
8423078 |
13Y 0M 0D
|
Prior
Incarceration History in the State of Florida:
|
Offense Date |
Offense |
Sentence Date |
County |
Case No. |
Community Supervision Length |
|
07/28/1983 |
GRAND
THEFT,$300 LESS &20,000 |
09/26/1983 |
BROWARD |
8308072 |
1Y 0M 0D
|
*****
Trial Summary:
02/16/89
Indicted as follows:
Count I:
First-Degree Murder
12/08/89
Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
12/11/89
Jury recommended the life sentence by a vote of 12-0
12/12/89
Trial judge rejected jury’s recommendation and imposed death
sentence
12/12/89
Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder
– Death
*****
Factors
Contributing to the Delay in Imposition of Sentence:
It took over five years
for the Circuit Court to deny Marshall’s 3.850 Motion. When Marshall
appealed the Circuit Court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion to the Florida
Supreme Court, it took three years for the Court to render a decision.
On 10/08/03, the Florida
Supreme Court remanded Marshall’s 3.850 Motion back to the Circuit Court
for an evidentiary hearing on the claim of juror misconduct. It took
nearly two years for the Circuit Court to render a decision, which
denied the issue of juror misconduct, on 09/28/05.
*****
Case
Information:
Marshall filed a Direct
Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 01/30/90. There were numerous
issues raised. First, Marshall claimed that the trial court erred in
permitting an inmate to testify identified only by number, not by name.
Second, he argued that the trial court erred in instructing the jury on
manslaughter. Third, Marshall claimed that the trial court erred in
instructing the jury that self-defense was unavailable to third-degree
murder where the underlying felonies were respectively burglary and
aggravated battery. Fourth, he argued that the trial court erred in
denying Marshall an instruction on aggravated assault in connection with
self-defense instruction. Fifth, Marshall claimed the trial court erred
in not declaring a mistrial after the prosecution conceded that it had
failed to link evidence to the alleged motive. Sixth, he argued that
the trial court erred in admitting evidence of gambling slips found in
Marshall’s cell six months after the murder. Seventh, Marshall claimed
that the trial court erred in refusing to poll prospective juror to
determine whether they had read an article about the murder appearing in
the Palm Beach Post. Eight, Marshall alleged that the trial court erred
in finding the murder to be heinous, atrocious, or cruel. Finally, he
argued that the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing Marshall
to death where the jury had made a recommendation of life imprisonment.
The Court affirmed
Marshall’s conviction and death sentence on 07/16/90.
Marshall filed a Petition
for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court on 02/11/93,
which was denied on 05/17/93.
On 01/19/95, Marshall
filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court. The Motion was amended on
01/29/99. The Motion was pending for five years until it was denied on
04/18/00.
Marshall filed 3.850
Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 06/22/00. On 06/12/03, the Court
remanded for an evidentiary hearing on claims of juror misconduct. On
06/23/03, Marshall filed a motion for a rehearing, which was denied on
09/08/03. The mandate was issued on 10/08/03.
On 02/22/02, Marshall
filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court,
which was denied on 05/26/05. On 06/10/05, Marshall filed a motion for
a rehearing, which was denied on 09/15/05.
On 10/08/03, the Florida
Supreme Court remanded Marshall’s 3.850 Motion back to the Circuit Court
for an evidentiary hearing on the claim of juror misconduct. On
09/28/05, the Circuit Court denied the issue of juror misconduct.
On 12/12/05, Marshall
filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, which is currently
pending.
On
02/09/06, Marshall filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United
States Supreme Court, which was denied on 05/15/06.
FloridaCapitalCases.state.fl.us |
