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Date of Sentence: 12/18/98
Circumstances of the Offense:
Raymond Morrison was sentenced
to death on 12/18/98, for the murder of 82-year-old Albert Dwelle.
On 01/08/97, Morrison visited
his girlfriend, Sandra Brown, at her apartment. The victim lived across
from Brown’s apartment. At approximately 9:00 p.m., Morrison told Brown
he was going to take out the trash. Morrison did not return to the
apartment.
Morrison was arrested on
01/10/97 for an unrelated offense. When he was taken into custody, he
asked Officer Richardson if the arrest was about an old man. The
officer told Morrison it was an unrelated offense but homicide
detectives wanted to question him. Morrison was then read his
constitutional rights. In the car, Morrison learned Richardson was a
pastor at a local church. They talked about religion and the steps
Morrison needed to take to get his life in order.
Morrison was then interviewed by
the detectives about the murder of Dwelle. While being interviewed,
Morrison stated that he wanted to talk to Officer Richardson again. The
detectives paged Officer Richardson, who then went and spoke with
Morrison.
After speaking with Officer Richardson, Morrison gave a
written statement of what took place on 01/08/97. He stated that at
9:00 p.m., he started smoking crack with a man named “Big Man.”
They
ran out of crack and Morrison knocked on Dwelle’s door and asked him for
a cigar. Dwelle told Morrison he could not come into his apartment.
After taking the cigar from Dwelle, Morrison asked for a light. While
Dwelle went into his bedroom to retrieve a light, Morrison entered the
apartment and followed him into the bedroom.
Morrison then noticed some
money in a shirt pocket that Dwelle had hanging from a chair. He
grabbed the money. When Dwelle saw Morrison take his money, he picked
up a knife and started swinging it around. Morrison then claimed he
grabbed Dwelle’s arm and swung him around so he was facing away from
him.
When Morrison did that, the man began lashing the knife over his
shoulder. While doing so, Morrison claimed that Dwelle accidentally cut
his throat and then started swinging the knife even harder. Morrison
also claimed that he did not notice that Dwelle had cut himself. Then,
Dwelle accidentally stabbed himself in the neck. Morrison then stated
that he laid Dwelle down and took the knife to hide it.
Morrison then went back to “Big
Man” and asked him to drive him out of town. When they got to Marietta,
they spent the money on drugs and prostitutes. Morrison was also seen
selling coins that resembled coins that were missing from Dwelle’s
apartment.
They then went back to the apartment complex where Morrison
stated that he saw his Uncle Cap. Morrison stayed with his uncle until
the police picked him up on 01/10/97. Morrison later led the police to
where he hid the knife that was used to kill the victim.
Trial Summary:
01/23/97 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-Degree
Murder
Count II: Armed Robbery
Count III: Burglary with an
assault
09/25/98 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the
indictment
10/08/98 Jury
recommended death by a vote of 12-0
12/18/98
Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-degree
murder – Death
Count II: Armed robbery –
Life
Count III: Burglary with an
assault – Life
Case Information:
Morrison filed his Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on
01/11/99. Among his claims, he contended that the trial court erred
during the jury selection and in allowing certain statements from the
prosecutor during closing arguments. Morrison also claimed that the
trial court erred in excluding testimony aimed to impeach the State’s
witness and in denying his motion for acquittal of the charges against
him.
The Court found no merit in any of his claims and affirmed his
convictions and sentences on 03/21/02.
Subsequently, Morrison
filed for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court on
08/15/02, which was denied on 10/15/02.
On 09/18/03, Morrison filed a 3.850
Motion to the Circuit Court, which is currently pending.
FloridaCapitalCases.state.fl.us |
