Friday, April 11, 2014

CNN New Series "Death Row Stories"

I contacted Jigsaw Productions in September 2013 after I noticed they purchased the transcripts from Lake County regarding James Aren Duckett.  I spoke with a researcher there and provided him with the information I had regarding the James  Duckett case and I also sent him a copy of Jeanne Bragg's book "The Truth Shall Set Him Free". 

Jigsaw Productions in conjunction with Robert Redford's Sundance Productions will be presenting a new television series on CNN called "Death Row Stories".  James Duckett's story will appear Sunday March 30, 2014 at 9 PM est.


And here is a link to their interview with James Duckett

<iframe width="416" height="234" src="http://www.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/crime/2014/03/25/orig-death-row-stories-ep-4-clip-2-going-to-death-row.cnn" frameborder="0"></iframe>



Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Theory of Crime in the Teresa McAbee Tragedy


Teresa's life cut short on the shores of Lake Knight...1500 feet from her house next to a "pump house" pictured below. Notice that her jeans are pulled up and her shirt is tucked inside her jeans. It appears that she dressed herself.
















If I were "writing" the scene about that fateful night in a story this is what I believe happened.

Teresa liked teenage boys. she was secretly talking to an older teenage boy behind the dumpster. He was one of three teenage boys that she had been talking to at the laundromat. When James Duckett pulled up in his police cruiser, two boys walked toward him but the third boy walked behind the Circle K.  He never emerged. I believe Teresa told her mother she needed a pencil because she wanted to meet this boy behind the Circle K.
 
Then after James pulled away in his cruiser (like he stated in his testimony, and affirmed by many witnesses with the exception of Gwen Gurley who lied to get out of prison early) Teresa went around the back of the Circle K - looking like she was headed home- but went with the  boy for a walk by the lake.
 
They walked to the "pump house" to kiss and make out (I believe it started to drizzle at that time). Things probably went too far sexually and Teresa got scared  because it hurt her - but her hymen was not completely torn.  Then the teenage boy probably ejaculated his semen outside her pants on her jeans.  Then Teresa pulled up her own pants and tucked in her shirt  while she was threatening to tell her uncles on him.
 
He got scared and choked her while she was standing. She put her hands on his forearms to try to protect herself. When she went unconscious he pushed her down toward his right side and the lake - and that is why her right foot is over her left foot still on the edge of the lake and she fell face down in the water. She may have still been alive but the teenage boy then ran away and she drowned.
 
If a man had raped her he wouldn't have tucked her shirt/blouse in her jeans, her hymen would have been  completely torn, and he would have been strong enough if he were James' size to throw her into the lake not leave her on the edge of the lake.
 
I believe this young girl who was at the age to be interested in boys met with a tragic end...not an abduction and rape and murder. This young boy probably had no intention of killing her but was scared.
 
But now an innocent man is facing a death penalty because of a prejudiced investigation where the detectives picked their suspect and made their case to convict him using any means including coaching a fabricated eye witness to testify she saw Teresa drive away with James in his car.
 
Do the DNA test on her jeans.
 
 
 
 

Monday, March 31, 2014

Death Row Stories - Deleted Interview with Jeanne Bragg

I watched Death Row Stories Sunday March 30th at 9 PM on CNN featuring James Duckett. Although the researchers for the show interviewed Jeanne Bragg - champion defender of James Duckett  and author of the book about his mis-trial "The Truth Shall Set Him Free" , they decided to eliminate her entire 2 hour interview and did not even mention her on the show.  Instead they decided to feature Marshall Frank and his illogical conclusion that James was guilty and maybe even a serial killer of another young girl. If you want actual transcripts from the trial you can order her book.


It's interesting to note that Jimmy's ex-wife Carla Duckett Boggs Massero (she had a much younger boyfriend - Brian Lee Boggs - waiting in the wings when Jimmy was on his way to prison).


An aside:
Just a note about the Bragg book: James and Carla dated since she was 13. They married 7/11/77 at Ft Meade just before Carla's 18th birthday (8/3/59) Josh was born May 15, 1985 and his brother Justin was born November 13, 1982. That's 5 years with no kids. I wonder if Carla worked during that time, also it was mentioned that she cleaned offices in the book. It also mentions that James worked as a computer room operator at W.R. Grace, a phosphate company. He was laid off in 1986. That's when he went to police academy in Eustis. It was May 11, 1987 that the child was raped and killed. That was just 4 days before Josh's 2nd birthday and 1 day after Mother's day.

My thoughts...Maybe Carla was suffering from post partum depression at that time. Supposedly before all this, they were a happy loving couple and went everywhere together. James' childhood was a really good one. He was loved by his brothers and sisters, his mother and he loved his step dad and vice versa. He was mild mannered and very likeable. He may have had a dark side, but somehow, maybe I'm prejudiced, Carla developed a very dark side. James worked the night shift, so he was gone from 7 pm until 7 am. Maybe Carla wanted affection and was seeking it elsewhere. She had the two babies all day and no husband at night, and he probably slept a lot during the day so he was only available to Carla about 4 hours per day. And like he said there was nothing to do in Mascotte. They had 2 bars, a laundry and a convenience store. Also, as I understand it, James' mother was very independent and controlling. I wonder how she felt about Carla..or how Carla felt about her.

 According to Jeanne Bragg, Carla came to see James and the kids said "Look at Mommy’s new ring (from Boggs)"  Boggs was 17 when Carla started seeing him. I think that means she was seeing Boggs on the side before James went to prison. Carla went to Brian Bogg's high school prom when she was 27!

It was Carla who called Prosecutor Hurm to inform him that she found a toy in a bag (with bloody underwear) that Jimmy brought home one night. This was to implicate Jimmy in the murder of Jennifer Weldon a 14 year old girl. Of course she no longer had it because she told police that her sister Susan Harrell (now Peterson) conveniently threw it out.

" Killer seen as suspect in Polk girl's '87 death

By Sherri M. Owens | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted June 26, 2003


 


 

TAVARES -- Polk County authorities have revived an unsolved 16-year-old murder case, saying a new witness emerged recently against James Duckett, a former police officer already on death row for raping and murdering a Lake County girl around the same time.

A Polk Sheriff's Office investigator said Wednesday that the department intends to present the new information to the State Attorney's Office within two weeks. Duckett always was a suspect in the 1987 Polk case, but officials said the new witness only came forward after reading recent news reports about Duckett's appeal -- and claims of his innocence -- in the Lake County case.

"We're rather confident we have a pretty good case," said Maj. W.J. Martin, chief of the Polk County Sheriff's Office criminal-investigation division.

He would not elaborate on the new information. Duckett never was charged in the death of Jennifer Weldon, a 14-year-old Lakeland girl who disappeared on Sept. 19, 1987. That slaying came about a month before Duckett was indicted on charges of killing an 11-year-old girl in Mascotte, where he had worked as a police officer.

Duckett's lawyer, Beth Wells of Atlanta, doubts the case is as strong as Polk officials say.

"They have nothing more now than they had years ago and they didn't indict him then," she said, conceding she had heard little about the new witness. "We think we'll be able to prove he didn't do it."

According to law-enforcement reports, Jennifer Weldon was last seen walking home alone on Highway 98 just north of Lakeland. The date and time printed on a gas receipt puts Duckett in the area the same time the teen was said to have been there.

At the time, Duckett already was considered a suspect in the rape and murder of Teresa McAbee, a Mascotte schoolgirl. He was seen talking to her in his squad car on May 11, 1987, and said he was warning her to get home before the city's curfew. The next morning she was found floating in a nearby lake.

Duckett was fired from the Mascotte Police Department that June and was indicted that October. In the meantime, he worked for a Polk phosphate mining company.

"He was supposed to have been at work at 11 the night [Jennifer Weldon] went missing, but we found out he was late that night and didn't arrive until 1," Martin said.

Other witnesses said that they saw Jennifer carrying a lime green bag and a stuffed cat the last night she was seen alive. Duckett's wife at the time said he brought home a lime green bag and a stuffed animal the next day.

"Not only do we have Duckett's ex-wife saying she saw the bag, but [the ex-wife's] sister cleaned out the home and found the bag and a stuffed animal and bloody underwear," Martin said, referring to events shortly after the girl's death."


She also wrote a letter to then Governor Jeb Bush to ask him to execute Jimmy.  She hated Jimmy (She hates me too). She once told Melinda's grandparents Nancy and Billy Eubank that "she got even with Jimmy". (Just like she got even with Melinda Duckett and Stephani and Debi).



It's also interesting that the then Sheriff - Noel Griffin - had a stepson named Joey Rothel Bowden who was jailed around that time and was a sexual offender of a child under age 12..



One of Noel's sons Monte Griffin - a policeman for Wildwood, Florida was running drugs using their private air strip and later was involved in "cracking" a case with none other than lead investigator in the Melinda Duckett case... Rich Giles. 



 
 
Sheriff Noel also has another son who is with FDLE also mentioned in the article about Monte and Rich Giles:


Rocky Harris the Lake County detective on the Death Row Stories who believes James to be guilty has a checkered past of his own:


Booze-sting Team Quits Underage Secretary, Officer Reported Drinking In Bar


April 05, 1985|By Jim Runnels of The Sentinel Staff

"TAVARES — An 18-year-old secretary who worked in a sheriff's sting operation to stop the sale of alcohol to teen-agers and the sergeant who supervised her work resigned Thursday when confronted with allegations that they had been seen drinking together in a Leesburg bar.

The underage secretary was used in the sting operation so officers could prove the law was broken by virtue of her age.

Rocky Harris, the supervising sergeant of the Lake County Sheriff's Department Criminal Investigation Division, and secretary Becky Robbins resigned Thursday when confronted with the allegations.


Sheriff Noel Griffin said that the 11 criminal cases that Robbins helped officers create will not be affected by the resignations or the accusations.

''What happened with our employees doesn't technically affect the criminal cases at all,'' Griffin said.

Defense attorneys, however, said they think the cases will be jeopardized because juries probably will refuse to impose criminal sanctions on clerks on Robbins' word.

''How can they expect a jury to find somebody guilty when the informant and a supervisor in the unit are accused of violating the same law?'' one attorney asked. He said he did not want to be identified.

Deputies began the sting operation in the wake of criticism of a similar operation in which the department used an employee of WCPX-Channel 6 to make cases; three clerks who were arrested March 13. The television station provided the undercover agent -- a young female intern -- and deputies made arrests after store clerks sold the underage girl alcoholic beverages.

Shortly after the arrests were made, sheriff's spokesman Chris Giachetti said the department would begin doing its own sting operations, using a department employee. He said the change was because the stings were so successful, not because the department and the television station were being criticized.

The employee chosen to work undercover in the sting was Robbins, whose full-time department job was to act as Giachetti's secretary.

Giachetti said Thursday that most of the 11 cases in which Robbins assisted were filed in the past week.

In those cases, Robbins was sent into various stores to purchase alcohol while other officers videotaped the transactions.

While the criminal cases proceeded through the preliminary stages of the court system this week, rumors began to circulate that defense attorneys were planning to attack the sheriff's department because Harris and Robbins had been seen drinking together at a Leesburg restaurant lounge.

When inquiries by The Orlando Sentinel were made to the sheriff's department Thursday, Griffin said he ordered an internal affairs investigation.

Independent investigations of Harris and Robbins ended almost as soon as they began, Giachetti said, with both Robbins and Harris resigning as soon as they were confronted with the allegations.

Giachetti said the investigations went no further.

Harris was reached by telephone but refused to comment. Robbins could not be reached."


And one of the many letters I received from James this one dated 4 years ago:






 
 
 
 
I am disappointed that this episode presented by CNN Death Row Stories did NOT give the full story nor present the information researched by Jeanne Bragg nor myself and the many others who carry the torch for this injustice.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, August 16, 2012

The Witness...Gwen Gurley




The day before I visited James Duckett in prison, I received this comment on my website. I chose not to publish it but instead I informed Beth Wells, James Duckett's attorney. I sent all the info to her.


In one of the followup emails from Brandie to me:



Beth Wells was able to contact her.  And this past year Brandie was charged with felony child neglect. This seems par for the course as anytime anyone speaks up for James, bad things happen, especially since  Brandie commented about protecting her children is most important to her.



The following is a real-time transcript taken as closed captioning during the oral argument proceedings, and as such, may contain errors. This service is provided solely for the purpose of assisting those with disabilities and should be used for no other purpose. These are not legal documents, and may not be used as legal authority. This transcript is not an official document of the Florida Supreme Court.  YEAR 2003
 
James Aren Duckett v. State of Florida


CHIEF JUSTICE: GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. GOOD MORNING. WELCOME TO THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT. WE APPRECIATE COUNSEL BEING READY TO GO ON THE FIRST CASE. WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ADO, WE WILL CALL THAT CASE IN DUCKETT VERSUS STATE. IF COUNSEL IS READY TO PROCEED, YOU MAY PROCEED.  

This is a current picture of Gwen Gurley now incarcerated at the Lowell Prison in Ocala, Florida.  
MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT. THE ONLY WITNESS WHO PUTS JAMES DUCKETT WITH THE VICTIM IN THIS CASE, THERESA McABEE, AFTER MR. DUCKETT IS SEEN DRIVING BY HIMSELF ON HIGHWAY 50, IS GWEN GURLEY. THE TRIAL COUNSEL DIDN'T DO HIS JOB AND PRESENT EVIDENCE THAT WOULD HAVE SHOWN SHE WAS LYING. THERE WAS A WEALTH OF EVIDENCE THAT COUNSEL DIDN'T PRESENT.   DIDN'T MR. SALVATORE AND HIS UNCLE, MR. RUBIO, DIDN'T THEY ACTUALLY PLACE THE VICTIM IN THE VEHICLE OF THE POLICE OFFICER AND SHE GOT IN ON ONE SIDE AND THE OFFICER WAS STANDING THERE, AND YOU CAN CONCLUDE BY THAT THAT THE OFFICER WAS ABOUT TO GET INTO THE CAR, SO DO WE JUST HAVE MS GURLEY'S TESTIMONY CONCERNING THE OFFICER BEING WITH THE VICTIM?

YES, YOUR HONOR, AND THERE WERE SEVERAL STATEMENTS THAT THERESA McABEE THEN GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND HE DROVE OFF TOWARD THE POLICE STATION AND HE THEN CAME AROUND AND PICKED HER UP AGAIN, AND THERE WERE SEVERAL WITNESSES WHO TESTIFIED AT THE TRIAL THAT HE WAS SEEN DRIVING OFF ON HIGHWAY 50, WITHOUT ANYBODY IN HIS CAR, AND ALSO THERE WAS AN ADDITIONAL WITNESS.

WHO WERE THOSE WITNESSES?  

THEY WERE SHIRLEY WILLIAMS AND KIM VARGAS, AND COUNSEL SAID HE KNEW ABOUT HER AND HAD A PRETRIAL STATEMENT. SHE WAS IN CALIFORNIA AND HE DIDN'T BRING HER BACK. TRIAL COUNSEL DIDN'T PRESENT HER. SHE NOT ONLY SAYS HE DROVE OFF ON HIGHWAY 50 BUT SAYS SHE WALKED HOME FROM THE CONVENIENCE STORE, AND THE STATE NEVER SAID THAT HE TOOK THERESA McABEE FROM THE POINT SHE WAS SITTING IN HIS CAR AND HE WAS QUESTIONING HER. NO ONE TESTIFIED THAT SHE WAS IN THE CAR WHEN THE CAR LEFT THE PARKING LOT,

IN OTHER WORDS THAT SHE WAS IN THERE WITH HIM?  

NO. THAT WAS NOT THE STATE'S CASE. WHAT THEY SAID WAS, AND THEY HAD TO COME UP WITH THIS IMPLAUSIBLE THEORY BECAUSE HE WAS SEEN DRIVING OFF ALONE THAT HE THEN DROVE AROUND A LARGE AREA AND CAME AROUND AND PICKED HER UP BY THE DUMPSTER, AND THAT IS WHEN GWEN GARLEY COMES IN. SHE SAYS AT THE TRIAL I SAW THERESA McABEE. I HEARD HIS VOICE AND I TALKED TO HIM EARLIER IN THE NIGHT, SO I RECOGNIZED HIS VOICE. AND I WALKED TO THE CAR AND SAW A SMALL GUN IN THE PASSENGER SEAT.  

SO THERE WAS A WITNESS, THEN, THE WITNESS YOU ARE ALLUDING TO THAT TESTIFIED THAT THE CHILD WAS WITH HIM IN THE CAR, LEAVING THE CONVENIENCE STORE PROPERTY.  

YES, YOUR HONOR. I AM SORRY. I MISUNDERSTOOD YOUR QUESTION. THERE WERE SEVERAL WITNESSES WHO WERE THERE WHEN MR. DUCKETT WAS QUESTIONING THERESA McABEE ABOUT HER AGE AND CURFEW. THOSE WITNESSES, THE TESTIMONY FROM EVERYBODY THEN WAS THAT MR. DUCKETT LEFT. SOME OF THE WITNESSES DIDN'T SEE MR. DUCKETT LEFT, MR. CARUSO, THAT JUSTICE QUINCE HAS REFERRED TO, BUT GWEN GURLEY SAID I SAW HIM PICK HER UP, AND SHE CAME ALONG, INTERESTINGLY FIVE MONTHS LATER. SHE WAS ALLOWED TO TESTIFY BY VIDEO DEPOSITION BECAUSE SHE WAS FIVE MONTHS PREGNANT. TRIAL COUNSEL DID NOT CROSS-EXAMINATION HER. HE SENT ANOTHER ATTORNEY TO DO THAT. HE WAS NOT EVEN A PARTNER WITH TRIAL COUNSEL BUT SOMEONE WHO SHARED OFFICE SPACE WITH MR. EDMOND. .

WHAT ABOUT THE FINGERPRINTS FOUND ON THE POLICE CAR?  

THERE WERE FINGER PRINTS FOUND ON THE POLICE CAR, AND AFTER THE EVIDENTIARY HEARING, THERE WAS NO RELIABLE EVIDENCE AND MR. EDMOND DROPPED THE BALL HERE, TOO. HE SAID CAN YOU TELL US WHETHER ONE FINGERPRINT IS SUPER IMPOSED? HE SAID, NO, I CAN'T TELL YOU --  

(unrelated text omitted for this article)

BACK TO GWEN GURLEY, THOUGH, SHE WAS THE ONLY WITNESS THAT COULD PUT MR. DUCKETT WITH --  

YOU SAID HER TESTIMONY WASN'T TRUE. WE HAVE THE RECANTATION AND DON'T WE ALSO HAVE THE TESTIMONY OF THE PROSECUTOR AND THE POLICE OFFICER WHO SAY THAT HER RECANTATION IS NOT TRUE, SO HOW ARE WE TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT STORIES?  

WELL, THERE ARE REALLY TWO ISSUES THERE. ONE IS WHETHER OR NOT THE RECANTATION IS TRUE OR NOT. WHEN SHE WAS CALLED TO TESTIFY IN THE EVIDENTIARY HEARING, THE STATE REFUSED TO GRANT HER IMMUNITY AND WAIVE THE APPLICATION OF THE PERJURY STATUTE TO HER AND SHE TOOK THE FIFTH. I WOULD ARGUE THAT THAT MAKES HER UNAVAILABLE AS A WITNESS AND THESE RECANTATIONS SHOULD HAVE COME IN AND WHAT HAPPENED IS THE CIRCUIT COURT DID NOT CONSIDER THE RECANTATIONS. HE DID NOT ADMIT THEM INTO THE EVIDENCE BUT HE MADE A CREDIBILITY FINDING, SAYING SHE WAS NOT CREDIBLE. THERE IS NO TESTIMONY THERE TO SHOW SHE IS OR IS NOT CREDIBLE. IT IS MY POSITION THAT THE CREDIBLE FINDING IS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE RECORD.  

THE OFFICERS DID TESTIFY, CORRECT?  

THE OFFICERS DID TESTIFY.   AND HE WAS ABLE TO WAIVE THE CREDIBILITY OF THE OFFICERS.   HE DID WAIVE THE CREDIBILITY OF THE OFFICERS, YES, YOUR HONOR. SO IF ONE PERSON SAYS A AND THE OTHER PERSON SAYS NOT "A-", AND THE PERSON THAT SAYS NOT "A" TESTIFIES AND THE COURT FINDS HER CREDIBLE, AND THEY SAY NOT "A", AND THEN I AM NOT GOING TO FIND NOT "A". HE DIDN'T ALLOW ANY OF HER STATEMENTS IN, SO HE HAS GOT JUST OFFICERS' STATEMENTS IN AND OF COURSE THEY ARE CREDIBLE. THERE IS NOTHING TO COMPARE IT TO AT THIS TIME. THERE WERE STATEMENTS MADE, BUT THEY ARE NOT IN THE RECORD. ADDITIONALLY, ASIDE FROM WHETHER OR NOT HER RECANTATION IS TRUE, THERE WAS EVIDENCE AT TRIAL THAT TRIAL COUNSEL COULD HAVE PRESENTED THAT WOULD HAVE SHOWN THE JURY THAT MISS GURLEY WAS NOT TESTIFYING TRUTHFULLY. SHE WAS WITH TWO OTHER PERSONS ON THE NIGHT IN QUESTION. VICKI DAVIS AND JESSICA HAND. THEY BOTH GAVE STATEMENTS, DIFFERENT VARIATIONS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WHAT MS. GURLEY SAYS HAPPENED, DID HAPPEN. BUT --  

DID THEIR STATEMENTS SAY THAT THEY WERE WITH HER THAT ENTIRE TIME THAT NIGHT?

BECAUSE SHE SAYS THAT SHE CAME BACK AT SOME POINT, WITHOUT THEM, AND THAT IS WHEN SHE SAW WHAT SHE TESTIFIED TO AT TRIAL.   JESSICA HAND'S STATEMENT IS JUST ALL OVER THE PLACE AND I WOULD ASK THE COURT TO READ THAT. HE SAYS I REMEMBER WE WENT DOWN TO THE CIRCLE K THAT NIGHT AND I DON'T REMEMBER SEEING A POLICE OFFICER AND I DON'T REMEMBER GETTING A QUESTION ABOUT CURFEW. WHAT GWEN GURLEY TESTIFIED TO WAS THAT SHE GOT QUESTIONED, ALONG WITH JESSICA HAND GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR AGE ANSWER HID IN THE BUSHES AND CAME BACK LATER AND THAT IS WHEN SHE SAW THERESA DUCKETT WALKING TOWARD -- THERESA WALKING TOWARD MR. DUCKETT'S CAR. VICKI DAVIS DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT AGE IN HER STATEMENT BUT TRIAL COUNSEL NEVER INTERVIEWED THESE PEOPLE. HAD HE INTERVIEWED THEM, HE WOULD HAVE DISCOVERED THAT VICKI DAVIS SAID THAT  GWEN WANTED ME TO SAY THIS, BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO GET OUT OF JAIL IN TIME TO HAVE HER BABY, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE STATEMENT, IT SAYS THEY NEED TO GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT, AND IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT THAT WAS, SHE SAYS THIS IS WHAT I WAS TOLD TO SAY, IN ORDER TO GET OUT OF JAIL. SHE TURNED OFF THE TAPE DURING THAT STATEMENT: HAD THEY ASKED, SHE SAID THEY TURNED THE TAPE OFF, IN ORDER THAT THEY GET THEIR STORIES STRAIGHT.  

SHE DID SAY THAT?  

ON THE RECORD SHE TESTIFIED. AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE A DOG IN THIS FIGHT. SHE HAS NO INTEREST IN THIS CASE, ONE WAY OR. SHE WAS NOT QUESTIONED AT ALL. SHE WAS NOT CALLED AS A WITNESS. YOU SAID TO JUSTICE CANTERO THAT THE RECANTATION IS NOT IN EVIDENCE, THAT THE JUDGE COULD NOT CONSIDER IT BECAUSE IT WAS NOT EVIDENCE.

HOW ARE WE ARGUING IT?  

WE OFFERED THE RECANTATION INTO EVIDENCE AND THE JUDGE RULED IT WAS HEARSAY AND DIDN'T ALLOW IT IN. WE HAVE ARGUED THAT SHE WAS UNAVAILABLE AS A WITNESS AND IT SHOULD HAVE COME IN. IT ACTUALLY IS IN THE PAPERWORK YOU HAVE, BUT THE JUDGE IN HIS ORDER, DID NOT RELY UPON IT AND RULED IT INADMISSIBLE IN HIS FINAL ORDER.   OKAY.   THE OTHER THINGS THAT VICKI DAVIS AND JESSICA TAND COULD HAVE MADE CLEAR WHEN GURLEY WAS BEING, TESTIFIED, THEY NEVER WENT TO THE CIRCLE K AND SAW JAMES DUCKETT. NONE OF THEM. VICKI DAVIS TESTIFIED THAT GWEN NEVER LEFT HER, ALL NIGHT. THEY NEVER SAW THERESA GETTING INTO THE CAR. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WERE EIGHT OTHER PEOPLE AT THE CIRCLE K THAT NIGHT.   THIS SAYS NOTHING ABOUT OFFICER SALVE CORE AND ALL OF THAT, WERE THEY QUESTIONED ABOUT MS. GURLY?   ONE WAS ASKED DO YOU REMEMBER HER COMING IN THE STORE AND BUYING A COKE. THE OTHERS WERE NEVER ASKED IF THEY HAD SEEN MS. GURLEY. OTHER PEOPLE WERE INTERVIEWED THAT NIGHT AND NONE OF THEM REMEMBERED THIS. THESE WERE STATEMENTS THAT HE HAD.  

CHIEF JUSTICE: THE MARSHAL REMINDS US THAT YOU ARE IN YOUR REBUTTAL TIME. I WOULD LIKE TO SUMMARIZE THIS POINT THAT THERE WAS CROSS-EXAMINATION THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE FOR GWEN GURLEY. A, SHE HADN'T LEFT THE STATE AND PROBATION RECORDS SHOW THAT SHE WAS IN THE TOWN THREE MONTHS AFTER THIS TRIAL AND ALSO THAT SHE WAS RELEASED THREE OR FOUR WEEKS EARLY FROM HER SENTENCE AND THAT WAS NOT TOLD TO THE JURY THAT SHE WAS, IN FACT, OUT WHEN HER BABY WAS BORN. I WILL SAVE THE REMAINDER FOR REBUTTAL.  

CHIEF JUSTICE: GOOD MORNING.  

GOOD MORNING. I AM KEN NUNNELLEY, AND I REPRESENT THE STATE ON THIS APPEAL.  

CAN YOU ADDRESS THE GWEN GURLEY ISSUE?  

THE GWEN GURLEY ISSUE IS QUITE SIMPLY, A CREDIBILITY DETERMINATION THAT, UNDER LONG STANDING PRECEDENT OF THIS COURT, IS THE PROVINCE OF THE TRIAL COURT. UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE HAD THE MISFORTUNE  TO ARGUE MOST OF THE CASES THAT YOU ALL CITE FOR THAT PROPOSITION AND THAT WE CITE FOR THAT PROPOSITION, THE LEAD CASE BEING STATE VERSUS SPAZIANO. THE CIRCUIT COURT HEARD THE WITNESSES TESTIFY WITH RESPECT TO GWEN GURLEY. THEY HEARD VICKI -- TO GWEN GURLEY. JUDGE LOCKETT, HEARD VICKI DAVIS TESTIFY. HER CREDIBILITY WAS BEFORE THE TRIAL COURT, AS WAS THE TESTIMONY OF THE OTHER INDIVIDUALS WHO TESTIFIED ABOUT THE ALLEGED RECANTATION. RECANTED TESTIMONY IS EXCEEDINGLY UNRELIABLE, AS THIS COURT HAS REPEATEDLY SAID, AND I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE CIRCUIT COURT DID, IN FACT, HAVE EVIDENCE BEFORE IT THAT REQUIRED IT TO WEIGH CREDIBILITY, AND THE FACT THAT VICKI, EXCUSE ME, GWEN GURLEY TOOK THE FIFTH AMENDMENT ON THE WITNESS STAND, DOES NOT MEAN THE CIRCUIT COURT HAD NOTHING BEFORE IT THAT COULD BE ASSESSED FOR CREDIBILITY. WITH RESPECT TO THE SUGGESTION THAT GWEN GURLEY'S TESTIMONY AT THE CIRCUIT LEVEL,

NOW LET ME BACK UP, WITH, THE IDEA OR THE SUGGESTION THAT THE STATE'S REFUSAL TO GRANT MISS GURLEY IMMUNITY IS, IN SOME FASHION, EQUAL TO UNAVAILABILITY UNDER THE EVIDENCE CODE, IS YET ANOTHER NEW CLAIM THAT IS BEING RAISED FOR THE FIRST TIME HERE.

WHILE COUNSEL WAS MAKING THAT ARGUMENT, I REVIEWED THE BRIEF AS QUICKLY AS I COULD. WHAT I THOUGHT OR HOPED WAS THE RELEVANT PORTION, AND I FIND NO REFERENCE TO UNAVAILABILITY UNDER THE EVIDENCE CODE CONTAINED WITHIN THE DEFENDANT'S BRIEF, NOR DO I FIND A CITATION TO THE EVIDENCE CODE IN THE TABLE OF AUTHORITIES IN THE DEFENDANT'S BRIEF. THEREFORE I WOULD SUGGESTION THAT THAT ISSUE IS NOT PROPERLY BEFORE THE COURT.

THAT ARGUED TO THE TRIAL COURT?  

THAT IS A THAT, BECAUSE SHE TOOK THE FIFTH OR BECAUSE THE STATE WOULDN'T OFFER HER A DEAL, THAT HER TESTIMONY WAS UNAVAILABLE, AND THEREFORE THE COURT SHOULD CONSIDER HER OUT OF COURT STATEMENT?  

WELL, JUSTICE ANSTEAD, I AM NOT TRYING TO DEFLECT YOUR QUESTION, BUT THE SHORT ANSWER IS I DON'T REMEMBER, AND THE REASON I DON'T REMEMBER IS BECAUSE IT WASN'T RELEVANT, BECAUSE IT WASN'T RAISED ON APPEAL TO THIS COURT. NO REASON I WOULD BE READING IT FOR THAT, WHEN THE ISSUE IS NOT BEFORE THE COURT IN THE FIRST PLACE.  

THIS WITNESS, THOUGH, THAT IS ALLEGED TO HAVE RECANTED, HAS NEVER TESTIFIED BEFORE A COURT, RECANTING HER TESTIMONY, IS THAT CORRECT?  

THAT'S CORRECT, YOUR HONOR.  

CAN YOU ADDRESS THE ARGUMENT THAT COUNSEL DID MAKE IN THE BRIEF, REGARDING GWEN GURLEY, AND THAT IS THAT COUNSEL FAILED TO CROSS-EXAMINATION OR EVEN INVESTIGATE A FALSE ALLEGATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT THAT SHE HAD MADE ABOUT ANOTHER, ABOUT A SHERIFFS OFFICER, I THINK?  

WELL, YOUR HONOR, FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T KNOW THAT THE, THAT THAT IS AN ISSUE OR A MATTER THAT RISES TO THE LEVEL OF STRICKLAND VERSUS WASHINGTON, DEFICIENT PERFORMANCE IN PREJUDICE. IT IS CERTAINLY A MATTER THAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOOKED INTO BY TRIAL COUNSEL. THE FACT THAT HE DID NOT LOOK INTO THAT, GIVEN THE FACTS THAT THIS CASE, WHICH WERE THAT GWEN GURLEY WAS MERELY A WITNESS. SHE WAS NOT ALLEGING SOME IMPROPRIETY ON THE PART OF MASCOT POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS, WITH RESPECT TO HER. THE FACT THAT SHE HAD AN ALLEGATION WITH RESPECT TO ANOTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, DOES NOT, REALLY, HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CASE. I MEAN --

IT DOES IMPEACH HER TESTIMONY, RIGHT?

IT IS IMPEACHMENT MATERIAL,

AND ISN'T, IS SHE THE ONLY ONE WHO TESTIFIED THAT, WHEN OFFICER DUCKETT RETURNED TO THE CONVENIENCE STORE, SHE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO SAID SHE, THAT HE, THEN, LEFT WITH THE VICTIM?  

SHE IS THE WITNESS WHO PUTS THE VICTIM IN THE CAR WITH THE DEFENDANT.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

The Case - Mascotte, Florida

To have a better understanding of the layout of the important places in Mascotte, Florida pertinent to this case, I have "google-earthed" and marked the area. In this first picture it is a shot of Teresa McAbee's house located at 29 South Sunset Avenue in Mascotte, Florida 34753. This is how the house appears today, not too different than in 1987.




This next picture is of the convenience store that was called the Circle K and the laundromat next door, again very similar to 1987. The dumpster is to the right of the building  behind the pickup truck.



The next picture shows Polly's Bar now under a different name. This street leads to Teresa's house.


The next is a series of pictures as if walking from the convenience store toward Teresa's house. The lake (where her body was found) is on the right.


It is a very short walking distance from the store to her house (under 5 minute walk).

This is the view of the dumpster from Teresa's house (see how close it is).


This is the view of the lake across the street from Teresa's house.
Teresa's body was found on the edge of the shore of the lake behind the pump house 1500 feet from her home on the curve of the lake. Google states that it is only a 5 minute walk from Teresa's house.


As you can see by the pictures, the crime of raping and murdering Teresa McAbee was all within walking distance from her home.  There is no logic to this case, that Teresa would have to  be taken in a car (or police cruiser) in order to commit this crime.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Commission on Capital Cases


Duckett's Brief

STATEMENT OF THE CASE AND FACTS
The Statement of the Case and Facts as set out on pages 1-19
of Duckett’s brief is argumentative and is denied.
The Facts from Direct Appeal
On direct appeal, this Court summarized the facts of this
case in the following way:
The facts in this opinion are set forth in extensive
detail since the convictions are based on
circumstantial evidence. Duckett, a police officer for
the City of Mascotte, was the only officer on patrol
from , May 11, 1987, to , May 12,
1987. Between and on May 11, Teresa
McAbee, an eleven-year-old girl, walked a short
distance from her home to a convenience store to
purchase a pencil. Teresa left the store with a
sixteen-year-old Mexican boy, who was doing laundry
next door. The boy testified that they walked over to
the convenience store's dumpster and talked for about
twenty minutes before Duckett approached them. A clerk
at the convenience store testified that Duckett
entered the store and asked her the girl's name and
age, at which time she advised him that Teresa was
between ten and thirteen years old. After indicating
that he was going to check on her, Duckett exited the
store and walked toward the dumpster, where he located
the two children. Duckett testified that he conversed
with the children and subsequently, acting in his
capacity as a police officer, instructed Teresa to
return home. The sixteen-year-old boy testified that,
after speaking with Duckett, he went to the laundromat
to wait for his uncle, who arrived soon thereafter;
that Duckett and Teresa were standing near the patrol
car; and that Duckett asked the uncle the nephew's
age. Subsequently, Duckett suggested that the uncle
talk to his nephew while he spoke to Teresa. According
to the uncle and the boy, Duckett placed Teresa in the
passenger's side of his patrol car and shut the door
before proceeding to the driver's side. The uncle also
testified that he never saw Teresa touch the hood of
Duckett's car.
At approximately , Teresa's mother walked to
the convenience store, searching for her daughter.
Upon arrival, she was told by the store's clerk that
Duckett may have taken her daughter to the police
station. The mother then left the store and spent
about an hour with her sister driving around Mascotte
in search of Teresa. During this time, the mother did
not see a police car. She next went to the Mascotte
police station and, finding no one there, she drove a
short distance to the Groveland police station. There,
she told an officer that she wanted to report her
daughter as missing. The officer told her that he
would contact a Mascotte officer to meet her at the
Mascotte police station. Teresa's mother returned to
the Mascotte police station and waited for fifteen to
twenty minutes before Duckett arrived. After arriving,
Duckett told her that he had spoken with Teresa at the
store; that she had been in his police car; and that
he had directed her to return home. Before returning
home, the mother also filed a missing person report
with Duckett. Subsequently, Duckett went to the
mother's residence to get a picture of her daughter,
called the police chief to inform him of the missing
person report, and advised the police chief that he
had made a flyer and did not need any help in the
matter. Duckett then returned to the convenience store
with a flyer but told the clerk not to post it since
it was not a good picture. Although he told the clerk
that he would return with a better one, he never did.
Duckett did bring flyers to two other convenience
stores. The clerk at one of these stores testified
that, while the police usually drove by every
forty-five minutes to an hour, Duckett came by at
p.m. but failed to return until he brought the flyer
later that evening. A tape of Duckett's radio calls
indicated none between and At
, Duckett went to the uncle's house to
question his nephew about Teresa, and Duckett returned
to the mother's home around
Later that morning, a man saw what he believed to be
a body in a lake and went to find the police chief,
who determined that it was Teresa's body. The lake is
less than one mile from the convenience store where
Teresa was last seen.

James Aren Duckett - Introduction

James Duckett was born James Hunter on September 4, 1957 to Louise Jordan and James Hunter. When James was 3 years old his mother married James Duckett. When young James Hunter turned 12 years old he signed his own adoption papers and he became James Aren Duckett. He met Carla Roberts when she was 13 years old and he was 15. They married July 11, 1977 when he was almost 20 and Carla almost 18. They had two sons, Justin Samuel born November 13, 1982 and Joshua Ryan born May 15, 1985. To support his family, James enrolled at the police academy in Eustis, Florida. Mascotte Police Chief Mike Brady hired James Duckett before he graduated in November 1986.

While James was on duty as a Mascotte policeman, working the 7pm till 7am shift Monday May 11, 1987 (the day after Mother's Day) a little girl, named Teresa Mae Mcabee, was reported missing by her mother Dorothy Mcabee a little after 11pm. Teresa's body was found on the edge of Knight Lake just a few hundred yards from her home at 9am the next morning. At that time, James was off duty and called to the crime scene. When he shook hands with an investigating officer from the Lake County Sheriff's office, his fate was sealed. That handshake made James the prime suspect, regardless of any facts in the case. Like the Melinda Duckett case, this case was built upon picking a suspect, then building a case, even when the evidence proved otherwise.

Melinda Duckett did not know that James Duckett was Josh's father. When she met Josh he went by the name of Josh Boggs, his mother's second husband. When James' case came up for appeal in Lake County Florida in 2003, Josh told Melinda that his name was not Boggs but Joshua Duckett. Melinda became interested in James' case and wrote him letters. She also acquired a  book written by Jeanne Bragg called "The Truth Shall Set Him Free". Jeanne believed in James' innocence and spent over 10 years researching his case. Melinda also believed James innocent and told him she wanted to help him. She also wanted to reconcile Josh and James as Josh hadn't seen him since James was incarcerated. Melinda and Josh went to visit James in 2005 then Melinda went to see him in May 2006.  Unbeknown to Melinda, Josh Duckett visited James on August 12, 2006. He was  very angry when he found out that James was siding with Melinda regarding the threatening email and also sending child support for Trenton. That same night Melinda was frantically calling friends to get her hands on $5,000 cash because she needed to protect herself and Trenton from Josh.  She was scheduled to visit James again on Sunday August 27, 2006, but James cancelled the visit.That fateful day, Trenton Duckett was abducted.