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Henry Alexander DAVIS
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics:
Robbery
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder:
March 18, 1987
Date of birth:
April 25, 1965
Victim profile: Joyce
Ezell, 73
Method of murder: Stabbing
with knife
Location: Polk County, Florida, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on January 12, 1990. Resentenced to
death on November 17, 1992
Tenth
Judicial Circuit, Polk County Case # 87-1347
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable
J. Tim Strickland
Attorney, Trial: Dan Brawley –
Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Robert
F. Moeller – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals:
Marie Parmer – CCRC-M
Date of Offense:
03/18/87
Date of Sentence:
01/12/90
Date of Resentence: 11/17/92
Circumstances of Offense:
On the evening of 03/18/87, the
body of Joyce Ezell, 73, was discovered in the foyer of her home. Ms.
Ezell had suffered twenty-one stab wounds.
There were no signs of
forced entry into the home and several items were missing, including
silver serving pieces, Ezell’s purse and wallet, a pearl-handled pistol,
rare coins, jewelry, and Ezell’s car.
A neighbor saw a black man,
later identified as Henry Davis, approach Ezell’s house around 7:15 a.m.
on 03/18/87. Davis had done yard work at her house with his
stepfather. The day after the murder, Ezell’s car was found in a nearby
sinkhole. Fingerprints taken from the car and inside the house belonged
to Davis.
An acquaintance of Davis’, John Johnson, testified that he
took Davis to a pawn shop the morning after the murder so that Davis
could pawn a ring and an old pistol. The ring and pistol were later
identified as belonging to Ezell.
Additional Information:
On 05/17/88, Davis was found
incompetent to stand trial because he had performed poorly on certain
tests and had no recollection of events on the day of the murder. Davis
was sent to Florida State Hospital, where he was treated and evaluated
for nine months. Upon his release from the hospital, Davis was
evaluated again and was found to be competent to stand trial.
Prior Incarceration
History in the State of Florida:
At
the time of the murder, Davis had an extensive criminal record.
Trial Summary:
04/09/87 Indicted as follows:
Count I First-Degree
Murder
Count II Armed Robbery
Count III Burglary
01/09/90
Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
01/11/90 Jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of 12-0
01/12/90
Sentenced as follows:
Count I First-Degree
Murder – Death
Count II Armed Robbery –
Life imprisonment
Count III Burglary – Life
imprisonment
11/17/92Resentenced to death
Case Information:
Davis filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 02/01/90,
citing the following trial court errors: State alleged that Davis had
been involved in other criminal activity; improper questioning by the
State during the penalty phase; denial of a motion for mistrial; and
unsupported aggravating circumstances (heinous, atrocious, or cruel
murder and murder committed for the purpose of avoiding arrest).
On
07/16/92, the FSC vacated Davis’ death sentence due to insufficient
evidence of an aggravating circumstance (murder committed for the
purpose of avoiding arrest) and improper doubling of two aggravating
circumstances (murder committed during a burglary and murder for
pecuniary gain). The FSC remanded the case to the trial court to reweigh
the evidence without the aggravating circumstances and resentence Davis.
After resentencing, Davis filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme
Court on 12/28/92, citing the following circuit court errors:
inconsistent use of the heinous, atrocious, or cruel murder aggravating
circumstance; failure to follow the FSC’s resentencing mandate by not
allowing for a new penalty phase jury; improper penalty phase jury
instructions; and disproportionate sentencing compared to other cases.
The FSC affirmed the death sentence on 11/10/94.
Davis filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme
Court on 05/02/95 that was denied on 10/02/95.
Davis filed a 3.850 Motion with the circuit court on 03/17/97 and
amended the Motion on 03/23/00. The Motion was denied in part and
granted in part on 03/12/02, and a new sentencing hearing was ordered by
the circuit court.
The State filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal and Davis filed a cross-appeal
with the Florida Supreme Court on 04/08/02. The issues raised by Davis
focus on allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel.
On 02/19/04,
the FSC determined that Davis received ineffective assistance of counsel
through trial counsel’s blatant expressions of racial prejudice, which
affected the outcome of the trial. The FSC ordered a retrial for
Davis.
Davis filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida
Supreme Court on 02/04/03, citing allegations of ineffective assistance
of counsel. On 02/19/04, the FSC determined that the issues raised
in the Petition were moot, due to the retrial order in the 3.850 Motion
Appeal.
