Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. To keep creating
new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help
the Murderpedia project stay alive. We have many
plans and enthusiasm
to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really
need your help for this. Thank you very much in advance.
Fourteenth Judicial Circuit, Bay
County Case # 75-486
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable
Mercer P. Spear
Attorney, Trial: William F.
Wager, Jr. – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal:
(1979): Louis G. Carres – Assistant Public Defender
(1992): Richard H.
Burr, III, Steven W. Hawkins, Steven L. Seliger – Private
(1995): Richard H.
Burr, III & Steven L. Seliger – Private
Attorney, Collateral Appeals:
Cate Bonner – Private
Date of Offense: 07/15/75
Date of Sentence: 10/04/75
Date of Resentence:
06/18/90, 08/12/93
Circumstances of Offense:
On 07/15/75, Charles Foster and
the victim, Julian Lanier, met two girls at a bar who agreed to go
somewhere else to drink with the two men. Lanier bought whiskey and
cigarettes and the four left in Lanier’s camper-trailer.
Foster and the girls had planned
for Lanier to have sex with one of the girls in exchange for money. The
vehicle was parked in a deserted area and Lanier and one of the girls
began to undress.
Foster then hit Lanier, put a
knife to Lanier’s throat and cut his neck. Lanier was then dragged into
the bushes where he was laid face down and covered with pine branches
and leaves. Lanier continued to breathe, so Foster took a knife and cut
Lanier’s spine at the base of his neck.
The girls and Foster then drove
away in Lanier’s vehicle and found his wallet underneath a mattress.
Foster and the girls split the money in the wallet and left the vehicle
in a motel parking lot.
One of the girls reported the
crime and was not charged.
Trial Summary:
08/07/75
Indicted as follows:
Count I First-Degree
Murder
Count II Robbery
10/03/75
Jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts
10/04/75 Jury
unanimously recommended a death sentence for the murder conviction
10/04/75
Sentenced as follows:
Count I First-Degree
Murder – Death
Count II Robbery – Life
imprisonment
06/18/90 Resentenced to death.
The jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of 8-4. Resentenced as
the result of the FSC vacating the original death sentence on 12/03/87.
08/12/93 Resentenced to death. The jury recommendation was the same 8-4 vote as on 06/18/90. Resentenced
as the result of the FSC remanding the case for a new sentencing order on
10/22/92.
Case Information:
Foster filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 11/18/75,
citing the following issues: the trial court erred in striking jurors
because of objections to the death penalty, admitting prejudicial
photographic evidence, no consideration of a mitigating circumstance,
and the death penalty statute is unconstitutional. The FSC affirmed the
conviction and death sentence on 02/22/79.
Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme
Court on 08/06/79 that was denied on 10/01/79.
On
05/05/81, Governor Graham signed a death warrant and the execution was
scheduled for 06/03/81.
Foster filed a 3.850 Motion with the Circuit Court on 05/13/81 that was
denied on 05/15/81.
Foster filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal and Application for Stay of Execution
with the Florida Supreme Court on 05/15/81, citing ineffective
assistance of counsel and incompetency during the trial. On 05/28/81,
the FSC affirmed the denial of the 3.850 Motion and denied the
Application for Stay of Execution.
Foster filed a federal Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Stay of
Execution with the U.S. District Court on 05/26/81, citing many issues,
but all involve claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and
competency during trial. The USDC denied the Petition and Stay of
Execution on 07/02/81.
Foster filed an appeal of the USDC’s denial of his Habeas Petition with
the U.S. Court of Appeals on 07/08/81. He cited ineffective assistance
of counsel, constitutionality of jury instructions regarding aggravating
and mitigating circumstances, use of non-record material in sentencing
review by the FSC, and constitutionality of jury instructions regarding
non-statutory mitigating circumstances.
On 06/27/83, the USCA vacated
the judgment of the USDC and ordered the USDC to order the Circuit Court
to enter findings of fact regarding the sentencing phase of trial.
Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme
Court on 03/19/84 that was denied on 05/14/84.
On
09/19/84, Governor Graham signed a death warrant and the execution was
scheduled for 10/16/84.
Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida
Supreme Court on 10/05/84, citing lack of meaningful appellate review of
his sentence, no consideration of mitigating circumstances by the trial
judge, and lack of proportionality in sentencing. The FSC denied this
Petition on 10/10/84.
Foster filed a federal Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the U.S.
District Court on 10/12/84, citing ineffective assistance of counsel.
The USDC denied this Petition on 06/05/86.
Foster filed an appeal of the USDC decision to deny the Habeas Petition
with the U.S. Court of Appeals on 08/08/86. The USCA affirmed the USDC
decision on 07/16/87
Foster filed a 3.850 Motion with the Circuit Court on 01/29/87 that was
denied on 02/05/87.
Foster filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal on 03/06/87 and a Petition for Writ
of Habeas Corpus on 05/26/87 with the Florida Supreme Court, citing
error in that the trial court did not consider non-statutory mitigating
evidence.
On 12/03/87, the FSC affirmed the denial of the 3.850 motion,
but granted the Habeas petition. The result was the vacating of the
death sentence, and a new sentencing hearing being ordered in which all
mitigating evidence could be presented.
Two petitions for Writs of Certiorari were filed with the U.S. Supreme
Court - one an appeal of the USCA decision filed on 12/02/87 (filed by
Foster) and the other of the FSC decision filed on 04/11/88 (filed by
the State). The USSC denied these Petitions on 06/30/88.
Foster filed a 3.850 Motion with the Circuit Court on 06/01/90 that was
denied on 07/18/90.
Foster was resentenced to death on 06/18/90. The jury recommended the
death penalty by a vote of 8-4.
After resentencing, Foster filed a Direct Appeal and 3.850 Motion Appeal
with the Florida Supreme Court on 09/20/90, citing numerous issues. The
FSC vacated the death sentence, remanding to the Circuit Court for a new
sentencing order, but affirmed the denial of the 3.850 motion.
Foster was resentenced to death on 08/12/93. The jury recommendation
vote of 8-4 was the same vote used to resentence Foster on 06/18/90.
Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme
Court on 06/30/93 that was denied on 11/01/93.
After resentencing, Foster filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida
Supreme Court on 09/10/93, raising three claims: the death penalty is
not proportionate in this case, the trial court erred in concluding that
a conflict existed with mental health mitigating circumstances, and the
trial court’s instruction regarding the cold, calculated, and
premeditated aggravating circumstance was flawed. The FSC affirmed the
death sentence on 02/23/95.
Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme
Court on 08/07/95 that was denied on 10/10/95.
Foster filed a 3.850 Motion with the Circuit Court on 03/18/97 that was
denied on 12/29/00.
Foster filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal on 01/31/01 with the Florida Supreme
Court, alleging the following errors: failure of the trial court to hold
a hearing as to Foster’s claim of violation of right to impartial jury,
failure of the trial court to hold a hearing as to Foster’s claim of
violation of double jeopardy, failure of the trial court to hold a
hearing as to Foster’s Brady claims, failure of the trial court to hold
a hearing as to Foster’s claim that his time spent on death row
constituted cruel and unusual punishment, and the FSC engaged in a
constitutionally flawed harmless error analysis in his Direct Appeal.
On 02/14/02, the FSC affirmed the denial of the 3.850 Motion.
Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on 04/12/01 with the
Florida Supreme Court, alleging ineffective assistance of trial and
appellate counsel. On 02/14/02, the FSC denied the Petition.
Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme
Court on 05/10/02 that was denied on 10/21/02.
Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the U.S. District
Court, Northern District of Florida, on 05/15/03 that was dismissed on
01/13/05.
Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Appeal with the U.S.
Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit on 02/17/05 that is pending.
Foster filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme
Court on 02/27/06 that is pending.
