Eddie Wayne Davis v. State of Florida

142 So. 3d 867, 39 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 485, 2014 WL 3034008, 2014 Fla. LEXIS 2148
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJuly 7, 2014
DocketSC14-1178
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 142 So. 3d 867 (Eddie Wayne Davis v. State of Florida) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eddie Wayne Davis v. State of Florida, 142 So. 3d 867, 39 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 485, 2014 WL 3034008, 2014 Fla. LEXIS 2148 (Fla. 2014).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Eddie Wayne Davis, a prisoner under sentence of death for whom a death warrant has been signed, appeals the circuit court’s denial of his successive motion for postconviction relief, which was filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851 after his death warrant was signed. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the circuit court’s denial of postconviction relief. In addition, we deny Davis’ motion for stay of execution, which he filed on June 23, 2014.

BACKGROUND

Davis was convicted of the first-degree murder of eleven-year-old Kimberly Waters, as well as burglary with assault or battery, kidnapping a child under thirteen years of age, and sexual battery on a child under twelve years of age. The murder conviction was based on Davis’ confession and several pieces of incriminating evidence linking Davis to the crime, including DNA evidence that revealed Davis’ DNA matched scrapings taken from the victim’s fingernails and blood on boots found in Davis’ recently vacated trailer that was consistent with the victim’s blood. After the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty, the trial court imposed a sentence of death for the murder conviction. The trial court found that the following aggravators applied to the murder: (1) the murder was committed by a person under sentence of imprisonment; (2) the murder was committed during the commission of a kidnapping and sexual battery; (3) the murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest; and (4) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. Davis v. State, 698 So.2d 1182, 1187 (Fla.1997). As statutory mitigation, the trial court found that the murder was committed “while the defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance and gave this factor great weight.” Id. In addition the trial court found several non-statutory mitigating circumstances. 1

This Court affirmed Davis’ convictions and death sentence on direct appeal. Id. at 1194. Davis subsequently filed a motion *870 for postconviction relief, which the circuit court denied following an evidentiary hearing. On appeal, this Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of postconviction relief and denied Davis’ accompanying petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Davis v. State, 875 So.2d 359, 374 (Fla.2003). Additionally, Davis sought habeas corpus relief in the federal courts, which was also denied. Davis v. McNeil, No. 8:04-cv-2549-T-27MAP, 2009 WL 860628, at *44 (M.D.Fla. Mar. 30, 2009). Following the federal district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, Davis sought a certificate of appealability, which was subsequently denied by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Davis v. Sec’y Dep’t of Corr., No. 09-11907-P (11th Cir. Sept. 8, 2009).

On June 2, 2014, Governor Rick Scott signed a death warrant for Davis, and the execution was set for July 10, 2014. Subsequently, Davis filed a successive motion for postconviction relief, pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851, in which he raised the following three claims: (1) an as-applied challenge to Florida’s lethal injection protocol based on his allegation that he suffers from the medical condition porphyria; (2) that he is not eligible for the death penalty because, although age twenty-five at the time of the murder, he was “the functional equivalent of a child”; and (3) that his clemency proceedings were unconstitutional. The circuit court denied each of Davis’ claims without holding an evidentiary hearing. In summarily denying Davis’ challenge to Florida’s lethal injection protocol, the circuit court stated that Davis had “not met his burden to demonstrate that the risk to him is sure or very likely to cause serious illness and needless suffering” because Davis had “not provided the Court with any evidence that the injection of Midazo-lam [as the first drug in the protocol] will not have the desired effect of rendering the Defendant unconscious and insensate and thereby eliminating any pain on the part of the Defendant as a result of his possible condition of suffering from Por-phyria.”

Davis appealed the circuit court’s order, arguing that the circuit court erred in summarily denying his three claims, and also filed a motion for stay of execution. Along with his motion for stay of execution, Davis attached an affidavit, which he had not produced during the circuit court proceedings, alleging that he suffers from the medical condition porphyria, and that the use of midazolam hydrochloride as the first drug of Florida’s lethal injection protocol, as applied to him, is unconstitutional. Specifically, the affidavit of Dr. Joel Zivot stated that it is his expert medical opinion “that a substantial risk exists that, during the execution, Mr. Davis will suffer from extreme or excruciating pain as a result of abdominal pain, tachycardia, hypertension, nausea, and vomiting.” Based on the allegations in the affidavit and our constitutional obligation to ensure that the method of lethal injection in this state comports with the Eighth Amendment, we relinquished jurisdiction to the circuit court, consistent with our prior decisions in Howell v. State, 133 So.3d 511, 515 (Fla.), cert. denied, — U.S.—, 134 S.Ct. 1376, 188 L.Ed.2d 372 (2014), and Henry v. State, 134 So.3d 938, 944 (Fla.), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 134 S.Ct. 1536, 188 L.Ed.2d 466 (2014), to permit the parties and the circuit court to address the allegations in Dr. Zivot’s affidavit, as related to Davis’ as-applied challenge. See Davis v. State, No. SC14-1178 (Fla.Sup.Ct. order filed June 26, 2014). After holding a hearing and taking testimony, the circuit court ultimately denied Davis’ claim.

In addition to his claim on appeal regarding the circuit court’s denial of his as-applied challenge to Florida’s lethal injec *871 tion protocol, Davis also asserts that it was error for the circuit court to allow the State’s expert, Dr. Roswell Lee Evans, to render an expert opinion regarding Davis’ as-applied challenge. Further, Davis also appeals the circuit court’s summary denial of his claims regarding his eligibility for the death penalty and the constitutionality of his clemency proceedings. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the postconviction court’s denial of relief and deny Davis’ motion for stay of execution.

ANALYSIS

Before this Court, Davis argues that the circuit court erred in denying his as-applied challenge to Florida’s lethal injection protocol, and that the circuit court erred in summarily denying his remaining two claims: that he is not eligible for the death penalty because, although age twenty-five at the time of the murder, he “was the functional equivalent of a child” and that his constitutional rights were violated during the clemency proceedings. We address each claim in turn.

As-Applied Challenge to Florida’s Lethal Injection Protocol

In his first issue on appeal, Davis argues that the circuit court erred in denying his as-applied challenge to Florida’s lethal injection protocol.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
142 So. 3d 867, 39 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 485, 2014 WL 3034008, 2014 Fla. LEXIS 2148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eddie-wayne-davis-v-state-of-florida-fla-2014.