Spaziano v. StateSpaziano v. State
Joseph Robert Spaziano appeals the trial court‘s denial of his second motion for relief pursuant to
This is the fourth time that this cause hаs been before this Court. In 1976, Joseph Robert Spaziano was convicted of first-degree murder for the killing of Laura Harberts. The jury recommended a life sentence; however, the trial judge declined to follow the jury‘s recommendation and imposed the death sentence. A detailed rendition of the facts is set forth in Spaziano v. State, 393 So.2d 1119 (Fla.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1037, 102 S.Ct. 581, 70 L.Ed.2d 484 (1981), in which we affirmed Spaziano‘s сonviction but remanded the cause for resentencing after finding error in the sentencing process. On resentencing, the trial judge again sentenced Spaziano to deаth. We affirmed the death sentence in Spaziano v. State, 433 So.2d 508 (Fla. 1983), aff‘d, 468 U.S. 447, 104 S.Ct. 3154, 82 L.Ed.2d 340 (1984), noting that the trial judge properly considered evidence in aggravation that was not presented to the jury. After the governor signed a death warrant, Spaziano sought postconviction relief pursuant to
Defendant‘s initial motion alleged ineffective assistance of counsel during trial and the original penalty phase. Defendant‘s present motion alleges ineffective assistance of counsel at resentencing. Unless petitioner shows justification fоr failure to raise the present issue in the first petition, the second successive petition pursuant to
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 may be dismissed as an abuse of procedure. Witt v. State, 465 So.2d 510 (Fla. 1985). In addition, where the initial motion for post-conviction relief raises the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, the trial court may summarily deny successive motions raising additional grounds for that ineffectiveness. Christopher v. State, 489 So.2d 22 (Fla. 1986). Since the presеnt motion does not allege that Defendant was precluded from asserting the issue of ineffectiveness of counsel at the resentencing in the initial motion, the allegatiоn should have been raised in the initial motion. Tafero v. State, 524 So.2d 987 (Fla. 1987). Based on the foregoing, that Defendant has shown no issue in the first motion, the second successive motion presently before the Court is inappropriate for consideration and must be summarily denied.
Spaziano appeals the trial court‘s denial, arguing that he was denied the right to effective assistance of counsel because his lawyer, at both the resentencing hearing and the initial rule 3.850 motion, failed to introduce mitigating evidence, most of
Spaziano‘s motion is procedurally barred for the reasons set forth in the trial court‘s order. Alternatively, and in any event, the evidence which Spaziano contends was not introduced is merely cumulative. At the original trial, the jury recommended that Spaziano be given a life sentence bаsed in all probability on evidence of Spaziano‘s mental condition. On resentencing, the trial judge, after properly considering additional evidence which was not presented to the jury, overrode the jury‘s recommendation and imposed a death sentence. The additional evidence included a prior violent felony conviсtion and a pre-trial sentencing report, which revealed the automobile accident which Spaziano was involved in and the accident‘s effect on his mental сondition. That aspect of Spaziano‘s condition has been before this Court previously, as is clearly articulated in Justice McDonald‘s dissent, in which he stated: “After all, Spаziano was known as `Crazy Joe.’ When he was 20 years old he was involved in a serious accident. Ever since then he has not been `normal.’ The jury could well find that he was entitled to thе statutory mental mitigating factors.” 433 So.2d at 512 (McDonald, J., dissenting). Additionally, this evidence was before this Court in Spaziano‘s initial rule 3.850 motion. 489 So.2d at 721. We hold that, under the principles set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), Spaziano‘s counsel did not provide ineffective аssistance of counsel either at resentencing or at the initial rule 3.850 motion.
Accordingly, we affirm the trial court‘s denial of Joseph Robert Spaziano‘s rule 3.850 motion.
It is so ordered.
EHRLICH, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW and GRIMES, JJ., concur.
McDONALD, J., concurs with an opinion.
KOGAN, J., dissents with an opinion, in which BARKETT, J., concurs.
McDONALD, Justice, concurring.
I concur in this opinion because I find no merit to the latest application for postconviction relief. I strongly adhere to my previously stated view that this was not a proper case for the trial judge to impose death in the face of the jury‘s recommendation of life imprisonment.
KOGAN, Justice, dissenting.
I agree with Justice McDоnald‘s conclusion that this is not a proper case for the trial judge to impose death in the face of the jury‘s recommendation of life. However, I must disagree that this Cоurt is powerless to correct past mistakes, particularly in light of the evolving standards for reviewing an override of a life recommendation. Accordingly, I dissent from the majоrity opinion‘s failure to address this issue.
Once we acknowledge that cases involving the imposition of the death penalty are different from other criminal proceеdings, Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972); State v. Dixon, 283 So.2d 1, 7 (Fla.), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 943, 94 S.Ct. 1950, 40 L.Ed.2d 295 (1974), we must assume the responsibility to impose our harshest, most final penalty only in those cases in which the penalty is appropriate. Because I believe that the death penalty is totally inappropriate in this case, I dissent from the majority opinion.
While it is true that the details of the crime for which Spaziano was convicted support a conclusion that the murder was a truly heinous killing, the evidence in mitigation equally supports the jury‘s recommendation of life. In rejecting Spaziano‘s argument in this regard, this Court hеld that “the facts suggesting that the death sentence be imposed over the jury‘s recommendation of life ... meets the clear and convincing test to allow the override of the jury‘s recommendation in accordance with the previous decisions of this Court. Tedder v. State, 322 So.2d 908 (Fla. 1975).”
While the majority, on direct appeal, rejected this contention, I believe it did so wrongly. This Court has an obligation to rectify that error now. To fail in this regard would render our capital punishment system utterly arbitrary. The majority relies on the formalities of procedure to justify the imposition of the death penalty in this case, despite the inappropriateness of such impоsition.
Since the time Spaziano was sentenced to death, and this Court affirmed that sentence, our cases have more fully refined the standards under which the death penаlty may be imposed over a recommendation of life. These cases clearly enunciate that in the presence of any reasonable basis for such a recommendation, that recommendation must be upheld. While aggravation and mitigation are not irrelevant, there is no weighing process involved here. Even when the judge determines that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances, we are obligated to view a jury recommendation of life with the highest regard. Under our present law, a life recommendation can only be overridden in cases where there is absolutely no basis for the recommendation, when the recommendation appеars based on emotion, caprice, or some other irrelevant factor. Otherwise, the life recommendation must be upheld.
If we are to administer a death pеnalty that is not arbitrary, then we must do so in a consistent fashion. The standards by which the majority justified the jury override are no longer acceptable. We are empowered to correct a sentence according to our evolving standards, as we did in Proffitt v. State, 510 So.2d 896 (Fla. 1987). To allow the execution of Spaziano to proceed would defy our own cаses, as well as common sense and logic. For these reasons, I would vacate Spaziano‘s sentence and order the trial court to sentence him to life in prison without possibility of parole for twenty-five years.
BARKETT, J., concurs.