The Commission on Capital Cases updates this information regularly. This information; however, is subject to change and may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be relied upon for statistical or legal purposes.
GREEN, Alphonso (B/M)
DOB: 01/07/51
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County Case # 86-14233
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable William Fuente
Attorney, Trial: Stuart Umbarger – Private
Attorney, Resentencing: Daniel M. Hernandez – Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Robert Moeller – Special Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: David Hendry – CCRC-M
Date of Offense: 10/10/86
Date of Sentence: 10/23/87
Date of Resentence: 10/03/02
Circumstances of Offense:
Alphonso Green lived in a duplex apartment in Hillsborough County that was rented from Robert and Dora Nichols. On 10/01/86, an eviction notice was posted in Green’s apartment. Green and the Nichols’s agreed that, in order to stay in the apartment, the $250 in unpaid rent must be paid by 10/10/86.
On the evening of 10/10/86, Green paid the $250 in rent. Sometime before midnight, Green went back to the Nichols’s, armed with a large butcher knife, and knocked on the Nichols’s door. Mr. Nichols let Green in the door, at which point he asked for his rent check back. Mrs. Nichols refused and Green stabbed her. Mr. Nichols fled to the bedroom, but Green followed him and stabbed him, as well.
Green fled the scene, returned to his apartment, changed clothes, and hitched a ride out of town. After Green fled the scene, neighbors of the Nichols’s responded to the noises coming from the home. Mrs. Nichols was found in the foyer and had been stabbed fourteen times. Mr. Nichols was found in the bedroom, with bed covers stuffed in his mouth, and had been stabbed twenty-eight times. Blood smears were found throughout the house, as well as on the entrance railing, doors, handles, and gate outside the house.
Green hitched a ride to St. Petersburg and then Ft. Lauderdale. A day after the murders, Green surrendered to police, and during police questioning, he admitted to the murders.
Prior Incarceration History in the State of Florida:
|
Offense Date |
Offense |
Sentence Date |
County |
Case No. |
Prison Sentence Length |
|
05/24/1974 |
SEXUAL BATTERY UNSPECIFIED |
05/24/1974 |
HILLSBOROUGH |
|
SENTENCED TO LIFE |
Trial Summary:
10/29/86 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Dora Nichols)
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Robert Nichols)
09/16/87 Jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts of the indictment
Jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0
10/23/87 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Dora Nichols) – Death
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Robert Nichols) – Death
02/14/02 Jury recommended death by a vote of 10-2
10/03/02 Resentenced to death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 71,540
583 So. 2d 647
12/07/87 Appeal filed
06/06/91 FSC affirmed convictions and sentences
08/23/91 Rehearing denied
09/23/91 Mandate issued
U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC# 91-6484
502 U.S. 1102
11/21/91 Petition filed
02/24/92 USSC denied Petition
Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 86-14233
06/02/93 Motion filed
11/18/94 Motion amended
08/14/98 Motion amended
04/09/99 Motion amended
04/03/00 Attorneys stipulate to new penalty phase
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (after Resentencing)
FSC# 02-2315
907 So. 2d 489
10/25/02 Direct Appeal filed
04/28/05 FSC affirmed sentence
07/07/05 Rehearing denied
07/25/05 Mandate issued
U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC# 05-7002
126 S. Ct. 832
10/05/05 Petition filed
12/12/05 USSC denied Petition
Circuit Court – 3.851 Motion
CC# 86-14233
(Pending)
11/27/06 Motion filed
03/26/07 Motion amended
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition of Sentence:
The Direct Appeal was pending from 12/07/87 – 06/06/91, and the 3.850 Motion was pending from 06/02/93 – 04/03/00.
Case Information:
Green filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 12/07/87, citing the following errors: allowing improper racially discriminatory peremptory challenges and relying on unproven aggravating factors. On 06/06/91, the FSC affirmed the convictions and sentences.
Green filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on 11/21/91 that was denied on 02/24/92.
Green filed a 3.850 Motion with the Circuit Court on 06/02/93 and amended the Motion on 11/18/94, 08/14/98, and 04/09/99. On 04/03/00, the attorneys stipulated to a new penalty phase, due to ineffective assistance of trial counsel.
Green filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 10/25/02, citing the following errors: failing to properly answer a jury question during deliberations, failing to issue written findings of fact after orally sentencing Green in 1987, finding the aggravating factors of pecuniary gain and murder committed during a burglary, and using an unconstitutional sentencing statute. On 04/28/05, the FSC affirmed the death sentences.
Green filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on 10/05/05 that was denied on 12/12/05.
Green filed a 3.851 Motion with the Circuit Court on 11/27/06 and amended the motion on 03/26/07. The motion is pending.
On 09/03/09, Green died of natural causes
Institutional Adjustment:
THE FOLLOWING ENTRIES REFLECT DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS AGAINST THE INMATE FOR VIOLATION OF THE RULE CITED AND INDICATE THE GAIN TIME DAYS LOST.
DATE DAYS VIOLATION LOCATION
01/30/91 0 DISOBEYING ORDER FLORIDA STATE PRISON
07/11/94 0 FIGHTING UNION C. I.
03/03/99 180 UNAUTH USE OF DRUGS UNION C. I.
Report Date: 08/03/05 JFL
Updated: 09/08/09 KKR