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Florida Supreme Court

Docket #75055 - Askari Abdullah Muhammad, Appellant, vs. State of Florida, Appellee. 603 So. 2d 488; June 11, 1992.

Florida executes Askari Abdullah Muhammad (Thomas Knight) for killing guard, couple

By Tamara Lush - Jacksonville.com

January 8, 2014

STARKE - A Florida inmate was executed Tuesday for fatally stabbing a prison guard with a sharpened spoon while on death row for abducting and killing a Miami couple.

Askari Abdullah Muhammad, previously known as Thomas Knight, was pronounced dead at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, the governor's office said. The execution took place in the same prison where Muhammad killed corrections officer Richard Burke in 1980.

"This is where my dad took his last breath," said the slain guard's daughter, 47-year-old Carolyn Burke Thompson. She was among several family members who witnessed the execution and could be seen crying in the front row as it was carried out.

"The system finally has worked. I am at peace knowing I don't have to wait any longer. I miss my dad a lot," she said.

Muhammad, 62, was initially condemned to die for the 1974 abduction and killings of Sydney and Lillian Gans of Miami. Tuesday's execution was specifically for Burke's killing.

Muhammad was visited by his four sisters Monday and earlier Tuesday by a friend. He declined to make any statement before the sentence was carried out. A small group opposed to the death penalty protested outside the prison.

His execution was delayed for so long by numerous appeals and rulings, including a 1987 federal appeals court tossing out his original death sentence because he hadn't been allowed to put character and background witnesses on the stand during the penalty phase.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his final appeals, but Justice Stephen Breyer said in a dissent he would have granted a stay to hear Muhammad's claims that it may be unconstitutional to execute an inmate after such a long time on death row.

Court documents show that Muhammad fatally stabbed Burke as he was being escorted to the prison shower. The inmate had become upset, the documents say, because he was told he couldn't see a visitor unless he shaved his full beard. The documents added he had been overheard by guards to remark that "it looks like I'll have to start sticking people."

In the earlier slayings, Muhammad had worked for Gans at a paper bag company before abducting him in the business parking lot with a rifle. He ordered Gans to drive home, pick up his wife and then head to a bank to withdraw $50,000.

Inside the bank, Gans asked a manager to alert authorities. Both the FBI and police were able to follow the car for a while, including use of aircraft, but lost track of it for a short time in a rural area of Miami-Dade County. Trial testimony showed that's when Muhammad shot the couple and tried to hide by burying himself, the rifle and the money in mud and weeds.

Muhammad was found soon after and arrested. While awaiting trial, he and 10 other inmates escaped from jail, leading to a nationwide manhunt including a top 10 fugitives listing by the FBI.

Authorities say Muhammad was involved after his escape in the fatal October 1974 shooting of a liquor store clerk during an armed robbery in Cordele, Ga., that wounded a second clerk. He was never tried in that case.

The FBI finally arrested Muhammad on New Year's Eve in 1974 in Florida.

Muhammad converted to Islam in prison, changing his name from Knight. During his 1996 resentencing, he cursed at the judge and lawyers and yelled "Allahu Akbar!" — "God is great" in Arabic.

Thomas Knight, who killed Miami couple and a prison guard, executed

By David Ovalle - MiamiHerald.com

January 7, 2014

STARKE -- Over a staggering four decades in Florida’s criminal justice system, Thomas Knight repeatedly staved off execution for the brutal 1974 murders of a Bay Harbor Islands couple — breaking out of jail, murdering a prison guard and disrupting court hearings with angry outbursts.

But when all the appeals had finally run out Tuesday evening, Knight exited the world without an apology to the families of his victims or any statement at all.

“No,” is all Knight muttered when a corrections official asked if he had any last words.

“He absolutely went out like a lamb, nothing like how he was in the courtroom,” said retired Miami-Dade homicide detective Greg Smith, who attended the execution with Miami-Dade prosecutor Gail Levine. “In the end, today was some measure of justice for the families.”

At 6:31 p.m. Tuesday at the Florida State Prison, his home for most of the past 40 years, Knight was injected with a lethal cocktail of drugs. The execution warrant was technically issued for the fatal stabbing of corrections officer Richard Burke in 1980. But he also had been sentenced to death for the brutal slayings of Sydney and Lillian Gans, who he had kidnapped and shot to death in the woods of South Miami-Dade six years earlier.

Knight’s blinking eyes snapped shut. Covered in a sheet, his hands wrapped in gauze, his arms pierced by IV’s, Knight seemed to drift into slumber. His breathing slowed. A prison official tapped his eyelids and slightly shook his shoulders.

At 6:45 p.m., a doctor pronounced the triple murderer — who had spent more time on death row than all but two other killers — dead.

Behind a glass pane, Burke’s daughters, who were raised near this same prison, watched in tears. So did two former co-workers of the slain officer.

“It’s hard to say this is where my dad took his last breath,” Carolyn Burke Thompson, 47, of Tennessee, told reporters afterward. “But I’m at peace now.”

Said Burke’s other daughter, Margaret Dela Vega: “My daddy can finally rest in peace.”

The execution caps Knight’s 40-year slog through the criminal justice system, which led one federal court to blast the “gridlock and inefficiency of death penalty litigation.”

Even on Tuesday, the possibility of another delay hung over the final minutes – the execution was pushed back about a half-an-hour as the U.S. Supreme Court mulled, but denied, a final attempt at a stay.

“It doesn’t bring my grandparents back … but it’s over. At least, in some sense, it allows us for move forward,” said Judd Shapiro, the grandson of the Ganses. Shapiro and his mother declined to attend an execution they believed would be too draining emotionally.

“I’d like to hope, in some fashion, this helps other people, that they realize that sooner or later the right thing does happen,’’ he said. “But it shouldn’t take this long. It shouldn’t take 40 years.”

At rifle-point, Knight kidnapped Sydney Gans, a prominent businessman, and his wife in July 1974, forcing them to withdraw $50,000 from a downtown Miami bank. Gans was able to alert police, who covertly tailed their car as Knight forced them to drive south.

But in a remote wooded area, Knight shot each of his hostages with a bullet to the neck before he was captured. He was found hiding in the woods, caked in mud, with the murder weapon and money.

While awaiting trial, Knight escaped from the Dade County jail. Police say he killed a shopkeeper in Georgia before his re-capture 101 days later.

Knight was convicted of the Ganses’ murders in 1975 and sent to Death Row.

It was there that Knight fatally stabbed Burke in the chest. He was later convicted and sent back to Death Row for the crime.

Years of appeals followed and his death sentence in the Gans case was reversed in 1986. One decade later, Knight was again sentenced to death for the Miami-Dade case.

A federal judge again reversed his death sentence in the Gans case, only to have it reinstated by a federal appeals court in September.

A December execution was again delayed by a month after Knight alleged that a new drug used in the lethal injection process amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. The state’s high court did not agree.

On Tuesday, the beard Knight grew for the 1996 re-sentencing was gone. So were his outbursts. His final meal, unlike his life, was mostly sweet: portions of sweet potato pie, coconut cake, banana nut bread, vanilla ice cream, strawberry-and-butter pecan ice cream and Fritos corn chips — all washed down by a quarter of a bottle of Sprite.

*****

Knight’s dark history

July 17, 1974 – Thomas Knight kidnaps and murders Sydney and Lillian Gans of Bay Harbor Islands. He is immediately arrested.

September 1974 – Knight and 10 other inmates escape from Dade County jail. He is placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List.

October 1974 – Police believe Knight and another man fatally shoot a liquor store clerk during a robbery for $641 in Crisp County, GA. He is not charged.

December 1974 – FBI agents capture Knight in New Smyrna Beach. He is found with a shotgun and two pistols, all stolen.

April 1976 – A Miami-Dade jury convicts Knight of murdering the couple. He is sentenced to death.

October 1980 – Using a sharpened spoon, Knight stabs and kills corrections Officer Richard Burke at the Florida State Prison in Starke.

March 1981 – Knight is scheduled to be executed after Gov. Lawton Chiles signs his death warrant. A federal judge stays his execution pending more appeals.

January 1983 – Knight is convicted and sentenced to death for the Burke murder.

January 1996 – A federal appeals court overturns his death sentence in the Gans case, ordering a new penalty phase trial.

February 1996 – After a new sentencing phase, Knight is again sentenced to death. He is repeatedly banned from the courtroom because of his disruptive behavior.

March 2006 – With state courts repeatedly affirming his conviction and sentence, Knight’s lawyers appeal to a Miami federal judge.

November 2012 – Six years after the appeal was first filed, Miami U.S. Judge Adalberto Jordan reverses Knight’s death sentence. He orders a new sentencing hearing or life sentences for the convict.

September 2013 – A federal appeals court reverses Judge Jordan, reinstating the death penalty for Knight. “To learn about the gridlock and inefficiency of death penalty litigation, look no further than this appeal,” the court writes.

October 2013 – Gov. Rick Scott signs death warrant for Knight, not for the Miami-Dade murders but for the slaying of Burke. The execution is scheduled for Dec. 3.

November 2013 – The Florida Supreme Court delays the execution, ordering a Bradford judge to hold a hearing to consider whether a new drug used in the lethal injection procedure constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

December 2013 – The state’s high court lifts the stay of execution after ruling Knight has failed to prove the drug is unsafe. Gov. Rick Scott re-schedules the execution for Jan. 7

Miami killer Thomas Knight slated for Dec. 3 execution

By David Ovalle - MiamiHerald.com

October 22, 2013

Miami killer Thomas Knight, one of Florida’s longest-serving prisoners on Death Row, will be executed Dec. 3 at 6 p.m., the governor’s office said Monday.

Gov. Rick Scott signed the death warrant for Knight for the 1980 fatal stabbing of state corrections officer Richard Burke.

When he killed Burke, Knight was awaiting execution for the 1974 murders of Bay Harbor Island’s Sydney and Lillian Gans.

Only two inmates have been on Death Row longer than Knight, 62. His death warrant was signed one month after a federal appeals court in Atlanta restored his death sentence in the Gans murders.

Although the warrant was signed for the Burke murders, Gans relatives will likely be allowed to attend the execution at the Florida State Prison in Starke. Knight will be executed via lethal injection.

Gans, a successful paper-bag company owner, had hired Knight, a parolee, in 1974. Ten days later, Knight kidnapped him and Lillian at rifle-point, forcing Gans to go to a downtown Miami bank to withdraw $50,000.

Afterward, FBI agents covertly tracked Knight and the two hostages to a secluded wooded area at Southwest 132nd Street and 117th Avenue, where Knight shot each of them with a bullet to the neck. Officers later found Knight, who had buried himself in mud, along with the money and his rifle.

While awaiting trial, Knight escaped from the Dade County Jail and was involved in a fatal robbery before his capture. A jury convicted Knight of the Gans murders in 1975. A judge sent him to Death Row.

While there in October 1980, Knight thrust a sharpened spoon into the chest of corrections officer Burke, 48. The reason: the prison would not let Knight see his mother, who was making her first visit.

Then-Gov. Bob Graham signed his death warrant for the Gans murders. The execution was set for March 3, 1981.

The prison system’s superintendent later remembered Knight’s reaction to the news: “How can you execute me when I haven’t even had my trial yet about killing the guard?”

A federal judge later stayed the execution. Jurors in 1983 convicted Knight of Burke’s murder.

His convictions have been bogged down in the legal system.

In 1987, a federal appeals court threw out the Gans death sentence, ruling that Knight should have been allowed to present character and background witnesses during a penalty hearing. He was again sentenced to death in 1996.

But then late last year, U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan ruled Knight’s constitutional right to confront and cross-examine witnesses had been violated at the 1996 sentencing.

But the U.S. 11th District Court of Appeals last month disagreed and restored the death sentence.

“To learn about the gridlock and inefficiency of death penalty litigation, look no further than this appeal,” the opinion said.

Judge throws out death sentence in 1974 Miami-Dade murders

Only two inmates have been on Death Row longer than Thomas Knight, who kidnapped, robbed and murdered a Bay Harbor Islands couple, and later a jail guard who wouldn’t let Knight see his mother.

By David Ovalle - MiamiHerald.com

February 2, 2013

As agents closed in on him in the woods of Southwest Miami-Dade, kidnapper Thomas Knight shot his two hostages execution-style, then buried himself in the mud atop $50,000 in stolen cash.

The savage 1974 murders of Bay Harbor Islands businessman Sydney Gans and his wife Lillian landed Knight on Death Row — but the legal case is still churning after nearly four decades.

The latest chapter: a Miami federal judge late last year tossed out Knight’s death sentence for the Gans murders. Prosecutors are now appealing the ruling.

Knight, 61, nevertheless remains on Death Row for a third murder: the fatal 1980 stabbing of corrections officer Richard Burke.

“It’s gotten to the point where it’s a slap in face,” said Judd Shapiro, 48, the Ganses’ grandson.

Said the Ganses’ daughter, Harriet Shapiro, now 72: “Even though I have no hatred in my heart and I don’t live with anger, I would be very happy to see him dead and stand there when they kill him.”

Only two prisoners have been on Florida’s Death Row longer than Knight. His murder of the Ganses, while unfamiliar to newer generations of South Floridians, was a major story in July 1974.

Sydney Gans, 64, owned a successful paper bag company and a minor league baseball team, the Miami Beach Flamingos. He taught his grandson to play baseball and served as a leader at his synagogue.

Gans also employed parolees looking for a second chance. Knight was one of them. He had worked for the paper company for 10 days when he kidnapped Sydney Gans at rifle point.

Knight forced him to drive to the Gans’ home, where he kidnapped Lillian Gans. The three drove to downtown Miami, where Knight forced Sydney Gans to enter a bank and withdraw $50,000.

Knight — armed with a semi-automatic .30-caliber carbine — held Lillian Gans in the back of the businessman’s car. Inside, Gans alerted the bank manager, who called authorities.

Gans, fearing for his wife’s safety, returned to the car. A slew of agents and cops covertly tailed the car as Knight ordered Gans to drive to West Miami-Dade.

In a blunder that still riles the Gans relatives today, agents lost track of the car. In a secluded wooded area at Southwest 132nd Street and 117th Avenue, Knight shot each of the Gans with a bullet to the neck. He disappeared as heavily armed officers swarmed the woods.

For hours, authorities scoured the woods. Teargas was deployed. A deputy found Knight buried in the mud, the money and the rifle underneath his body.

Not long after his arrest, Knight and a group of inmates escaped the Dade County Jail. He remained a fugitive for 101 days until agents burst in on him holed up in a New Smyrna Beach shack.

Judd Shapiro — 9 when his grandparents were killed — remembers that while Knight was on the lam, a teacher was assigned to guard him while at school.

“Every child at some point comes to the realization that the world is not necessarily a safe place, and for me it came at a young age and in an extreme fashion,” said Judd, now an English teacher.

A jury convicted Knight in 1975. A judge sent him to Death Row.

While there in October 1980, Knight thrust a sharpened spoon into the chest of corrections officer Burke, 48. The reason: the prison would not let Knight see his mother, who was making her first visit.

Then-Gov. Bob Graham signed his death warrant. Scheduled execution date: March 3, 1981.

The prison system’s superintendent later remembered Knight’s reaction to the news: “How can you execute me when I haven’t even had my trial yet about killing the guard?”

A federal judge later stayed the execution. Knight indeed went to trial for Burke’s murder, and was sentenced to die in January 1983.

By 1987, a federal appeals court threw out the Gans death sentence, ruling Knight should have been allowed to present character and background witnesses during a penalty hearing.

Knight’s 1996 resentencing was held under heavy security.

By then, he had grown a beard and changed his named to Askari Abdullah Muhammad. He proved too disruptive to keep in the courtroom, cursing daily at the judge and lawyers, hollering “ Allahu Akbar!” — “God is great” in Arabic.

The jury, in a 9-3 vote, recommended the death penalty, once again, for the Gans murders. Circuit Judge Rodolfo Sorondo Jr. agreed with the recommendation.

But it was a legal error in that 1996 re-sentencing that paved the way for Knight’s latest successful appeal, U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan ruled in November.

At the resentencing hearing , a Miami-Dade homicide detective recounted the words of a police helicopter pilot who never testified in previous court hearings. That, Jordan ruled, violated Knight’s right to confront and cross-examine witnesses.

Why was that testimony so important? The judge pointed out that defense lawyers claimed that Knight never planned to kill the husband and wife. Knight only shot the couple after he heard a police helicopter and suffered a schizophrenic “break,” defense attorneys claimed.

But prosecutors insisted to jurors that Knight never knew cops were covertly tailing him. As proof, they pointed to the detective’s testimony that the helicopter pilot did not arrive on the scene until well after the Ganses were dead.

“There is no question that the evidence about the helicopter was key,” Jordan wrote in a 56-page order.

Jordan also said prosecutors did not show all efforts were made to bring in the case’s original detective as a witness. Greg Smith, the now-retired Miami-Dade detective whose testimony was at the heart of Jordan’s decision, bristles at the ruling. The Florida Supreme Court, he pointed out, had already upheld the 1996 death sentence.

“I find laughable the thought that Thomas Knight killed the Ganses because of the police presence,” Smith said last week. “He wasn’t traveling to South Dade to take them on a picnic. He was going to kill them because they could identify him as their kidnapper.”

Jordan ruled that prosecutors must hold a new penalty phase for Knight, or agree to a life prison term.

Knight’s defense attorneys did not return calls for comment.

Prosecutors are asking a federal appeals court in Atlanta to overturn the judge’s decision. Jordan has since been named to that court, although he would not join any panel deciding on the case.

Thomas Knight

AKA:  Askari Abdullah Muhammad

DC# 017434
DOB:  02/04/51

Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County, Case 74-5978
Sentencing Judge:  The Honorable Gene Williams
Resentencing Judge:  The Honorable Rodolfo Sorondo
Trial Attorney:  James Mathews – Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal:  William J. Hutchinson – Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal (Resentencing):  Louis Campbell – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals:  D. Todd Doss – Pro Bono

Date of Offense: 07/17/74

Date of Sentence: 04/21/75

Date of Resentencing: 03/12/96

Circumstances of the Offense: 

On 07/17/74 the victim, Sydney Gans, arrived at his place of business and parked his automobile.  The defendant Thomas Knight, a former employee, who was carrying an automatic rifle, approached him.

Knight then ordered Mr. Gans to get back into the vehicle and drive to his residence and pick up his wife, Lillian Gans.  Once Mrs. Gans was in the vehicle Knight ordered Mr. Gans to drive to his bank in order to obtain $50,000.  

Mr. Gans did as instructed and entered the bank.  While inside the bank Mr. Gans notified the bank president of the abduction, and the police and FBI were alerted. Mr. Gans then returned to his wife and their car with the money.  

The defendant then ordered Mrs. Gans to drive the car in an evasive route toward South Dade County.  The FBI and local law enforcement were in pursuit, and had remained undetected, however they briefly lost sight of the vehicle.  

The defendant ordered the couple to stop the vehicle in a remote area and then shot both victims in the back of the head at close range.  

The defendant fled the scene, but was apprehended shortly thereafter.  Knight attempted to hide from the police by burying himself in the dirt and weeds of a heavily wooded area. Police noticed bloodstains on the defendant’s pants and discovered the automatic rifle and $50,000 hidden underneath him.

Additional Information:

On 09/19/74, while awaiting his trial, the defendant along with ten inmates escaped from the Dade County Jail.  The defendant was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List and an extensive manhunt ensued. 

While on escape status the defendant allegedly committed a murder and armed robbery in Cordele, Georgia. (Crisp County)

The following circumstances were received from the Crisp County Authorities:  Knight and another subject committed an Armed Robbery, Murder and Aggravated Battery.  

On 10/21/74, they both entered a liquor store and asked for a bottle. As the clerk retrieved the bottle, he was told to hand over the money.  The defendant and codefendant then demanded both clerks’ wallets and started shooting.   Mr. William Culpepper was shot three times and was killed; Mr. A.V. Norton was shot twice.  The defendant and codefendant fled taking $641.00.

FBI agents arrested the subject in New Smyrna Beach, FL on 12/31/74.  At the time of his arrest the subject was in possession of a sawed-off shotgun, a .38 caliber revolver and a 9mm automatic.  These weapons were reported stolen from Titusville, FL.

Previous reports indicate that Georgia authorities did not prosecute the subject due to his Florida death sentence.  The subject’s codefendant was charged with only the Aggravated Battery charge.

Knight was arrested and stood trial for the fatal stabbing of a prison guard while he was incarcerated on death row (CC# 80-341CF); the murder occurred on 10/12/80.  Knight was convicted and sentenced to death for this offense on 01/20/83

Knight’s new sentencing date in 1996 is the starting point for all subsequent appeals, although he was initially sentenced over 25 years ago.

There have been mental health issues throughout this case most of which were presented to the trial court.  Numerous mental health experts have testified on Knight’s behalf, claiming that he has longstanding mental health problems that may include schizophrenia. 

Experts for the State determined that Knight did, in fact, have a personality disorder but was a “malingerer” and not schizophrenic.  Knight was determined competent to stand trial.  There has not been any executive intervention relating to Knight’s alleged mental illness.

Trial Summary:

08/30/74 - Defendant arraigned, entered a plea of not guilty.

09/19/74 - Prior to trial, defendant escaped from jail.

12/31/75 - Defendant captured and returned to jail.

01/06/75 - Public Defender dismissed due to conflict, Court appointed Special Counsel James Mathews.

04/01/75 - Plea of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity entered.

04/19/75 - Defendant found guilty by the trial jury of two counts of First-Degree Murder, as charged in the indictment. Upon advisory sentencing the Jury, by a majority, recommended the death penalty.

04/21/75 - Defendant was sentenced as followed:

Count I: First-Degree Murder (Lillian Gans) – Death
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Sydney Gans) – Death

01/18/96 - Order to return defendant for resentencing.

02/01/96 - Hearing held regarding defendant’s competency. Court found defendant competent to proceed.

02/08/96 - Upon advisory sentencing, the jury recommended death sentence by a vote of 9-3

03/12/96 - Resentenced as followed:

Count I: First-Degree Murder (Lillian Gans) – Death
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Sydney Gans) – Death

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC# 47,599

338 So. 2d 201 (Fla.1976)

05/20/75 Appeal filed

09/30/76 FSC affirmed convictions and death sentence

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

FSC# 58,528

01/22/80 Petition filed

02/06/80 FSC transferred petition to the trial court to be treated as a 3.850 Motion for postconviction relief

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# 74-5978

02/12/80 Motion received per Florida Supreme Court order on 02/06/80

08/15/80 Trial court dismissed motion, and determined it should be treated as a Habeas by the FSC

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

FSC# 59,741

394 So.2d 997 (Fla. 1981)

10/01/80 Petition filed

02/24/81 Petition denied

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# 74-5978

02/20/81 Motion filed

08/25/81 Motion denied

United States District Court, Southern District – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

USDC# 81-391

02/24/81 Petition filed

02/26/81 USDC held Petition and granted a Stay of Execution

06/27/86 Petition dismissed

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC# 61,454

426 So. 2d 533 (Fla. 1982)

11/03/81 Appeal filed

12/16/82 FSC affirmed the trial court’s denial of 3.850 Motion

03/02/83 Rehearing denied

04/11/83 Mandate issued

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC# 82-6865

06/09/83 Petition filed

10/06/83 Petition denied

United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit – Habeas Appeal

USCA# 86-5610

863 F 2d at 708

07/30/86 Appeal filed

09/06/89 Remanded to United States District Court to grant Habeas Petition, unless State resentenced defendant in accordance with Lockett

09/06/89 Mandate issued

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (Resentencing)

FSC# 87,783

721 So. 2d 287 (Fla. 1998)

04/22/96 Appeal filed

11/12/98 FSC affirmed conviction and death sentence

03/11/99 Rehearing denied

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC# 98-9741

528 U.S. 990; 120 S. Ct. 459 (1999)

06/09/99 Petition filed

11/08/99 Petition denied

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# 74-5978

11/07/00 Motion filed

01/15/03 Motion denied

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC# 03-631

923 So.2d 387

04/08/03 Appeal filed

11/03/05 FSC affirmed Circuit Court’s order denying 3.850 Motion

02/24/06 Rehearing denied

03/13/06 Mandate issued

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

FSC# 04-1366

923 So.2d 38

07/12/04 Petition filed

11/03/05 Petition denied

02/24/06 Rehearing denied

03/13/06 Mandate issued

United States District Court, Southern District – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

USDC# 06-20570

(Pending)

03/07/06 Petition filed

Death Warrants:

01/29/81 Death Warrant signed by Governor Bob Graham

02/26/81 United States District Court granted a Stay of Execution

Clemency Hearing

12/12/79 Clemency hearing denied

Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition of Sentence:

The delay in this case is a result of the defendant being resentenced 21 years after initially being convicted and sentenced.

Case Information:

On 05/20/75, Knight filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. Among several issues raised, Knight claimed the trial court erred in the denial of his challenge for cause as to the impartiality of a juror. Second, Knight claimed the trial court erred in denying his motion for additional peremptory challenges because of pervasive pre-trial publicity. Third, Knight alleged the trail court erred in allowing the State to prosecute the charges under a theory of felony murder when the indictment charged premeditated murder to be absolutely contrary to established precedent. Fourth, Knight claimed the introduction of the testimony of Mr. Gill (the bank president), to the effect that Mr. Gans (the victim) had told him that he had been kidnapped and his wife was being held for $50,000 ransom and describing what had occurred thus far, into evidence was error as it was not within the res gestae of the crime charged. Finally, he claimed the trial court erred in denying his motion for change of venue. Having carefully evaluated all other points raised on appeal by appellant, the Court found none of them meritorious as to constitute reversible error. Furthermore, the allegations of the indictment were sufficient to charge Knight with First-Degree murder. On 09/30/76, the Court affirmed Knight’s convictions and sentence.

Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court on 01/22/80. On 02/06/80, the Court transferred the petition to the trial court and ordered that it be treated as a 3.850 Motion for Post Conviction Relief.

On 02/12/80, the trial court received and reviewed the motion. On 08/15/80, the trial court dismissed the motion, determined it was properly filed originally as a Habeas Petition, and requested that it be properly filed to the Florida Supreme Court.

On 10/01/80, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court, who acknowledged the trial court was correct in determining the appeal should be processed as a Habeas Petition. However, the Court denied the Petition on 02/24/81.

On 02/20/81, Knight filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court, which was denied on 08/25/081. Knight filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 11/03/81. The Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion on 12/16/82. The rehearing was denied on 03/02/83. The mandate was issued on 04/11/83.

On 02/24/81, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the United States District Court, Southern District. The Court held the Petition and granted a Stay of Execution on 02/26/81. The Court retained jurisdiction over the petition and ordered Knight to exhaust his appeals in State court. The Petition was dismissed on 06/27/86.

On 06/09/83, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 10/06/83.

On 07/30/86, Knight filed a Habeas Appeal to the United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit. On 09/06/89, the Court remanded the case to the trial court for resentencing based on a Hitchcock error, which requires the courts to consider non-statutory, as well as statutory mitigating evidence proffered by a capital defendant. This decision was made prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in Hitchcock, and was originally made in accordance with Lockett.

Knight filed a Direct Appeal after resentencing to the Florida Supreme Court on 04/22/96. On 11/112/98, the Court affirmed the conviction and sentence. The rehearing was denied on 03/11/99

On 06/09/99, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 11/08/99.

On 11/07/00, Knight filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court, which was denied on 01/15/03.

On 04/08/03, Knight filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. Upon careful review of Knight’s motion, the Court found no error in the Circuit Court’s determination that denial was appropriate on each claim made by Knight. On 11/03/05, the Court affirmed the Circuit Court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion because Knight’s claims are either procedurally barred, conclusively refuted by the record, facially or legally insufficient as alleged, or without merit as a matter of law. On 02/24/06, the rehearing was denied. The mandate was issued on 03/13/06.

On 07/12/04, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court. The petition was denied on 11/03/05 because Knight raised the same issues that were raised in his 3.850 Appeal, which cannot be relitigated in the Habeas Petition. On 02/24/06, the rehearing was denied. The mandate was issued on 03/13/06.

On 03/06/07, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, Southern District. This petition is currently pending.

FloridaCapitalCases.state.fl.us

FloridaCapitalCases.state.fl.us