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.
SPENCER, Dusty (W/M)
DOB: 02/13/52
Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County, Case #92-0473
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Belvin Perry
Resentencing Judge: The Honorable Belvin Perry
Attorney, Direct Appeal (1st and 2nd): James R. Wulchak – Assistant Public Defender
Attorneys, Collateral Appeals: Maria Chamberlin – CCRC-M
Date of Offense: 01/18/92
Date of Sentence: 12/21/92
Date of Resentence: 01/18/95
Circumstances of Offense:
Dusty Spencer was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of his wife, Karen Spencer.
Karen Spencer asked her husband, Dusty Spencer, to move out of their home early in December 1991. On 12/10/91, Dusty Spencer questioned Karen about money that she had withdrawn from the banking account for their painting business. This argument led to a physical altercation in which Dusty choked, hit, and threatened to kill Karen. Karen called the police, and the police subsequently arrested Dusty. Dusty later called and threatened Karen from jail.
Karen Spencer requested that Dusty Spencer spend the holidays at their home, but asked him to leave after Christmas. On New Year’s Day, Dusty told friends that he had considered throwing Karen off of his boat, in order to drown her.
On 01/04/92, Dusty Spencer again went to Karen’s home, and they fought. During the fight, Timothy Johnson, Karen’s son awoke, and went into his mother’s bedroom where Dusty and Karen Spencer were fighting. According to Johnson, Dusty was on top of Karen and was hitting her with a clothes iron. When Johnson intervened, Dusty hit him with the clothes iron as Johnson retreated to his bedroom. Karen fled the home to find help. Johnson tried to call for help, but Dusty Spencer pulled the phone out of the wall. Dusty then fled the house and left town. Karen Spencer and Timothy Johnson were taken to the hospital, and a physician confirmed that Karen’s wounds were consistent with being struck by a clothes iron.
On 11/18/92, Timothy Johnson heard fighting in the backyard. He retrieved a firearm from his mother’s bedroom and went outside. Once outside, Johnson saw Dusty Spencer hitting his mother with a brick. He also observed blood on Karen Spencer’s face. Johnson reported that he tried to shoot Dusty Spencer, but the firearm misfired. Thus, he hit Spencer in the head with the butt of the firearm. Dusty then pulled up Karen’s nightgown and made lewd comments and slammed Karen’s head against a concrete wall. Karen was begging Dusty to stop, and Johnson tried to help his mother get away from Dusty. Dusty threatened Johnson with a knife; therefore, Johnson ran to a neighbor’s home to find help.
The police were called, and upon arrival, they found the dead body of Karen Spencer. The police determined that she had been stabbed four or five times in the chest. She also had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and defensive cuts to the hands and arms.
Trial Summary:
02/06/92 Spencer was indicted on the following counts:
Count I: First-Degree Murder
Count II: Aggravated Assault without a Weapon
Count III: Attempted First-Degree Murder
Count IV: Aggravated Battery
11/07/92 Spencer was found guilty on Counts I, II, and IV charged the indictment. Spencer was found guilty of the lesser charge of Attempted Second-Degree Murder for Count III.
12/09/92 Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 7 to 5 majority, voted for the death penalty.
12/21/92 Spencer was sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death
Count II: Aggravated Assault without a Weapon – 5 years, less 338 days for time served
Count III: Attempted First-Degree Murder – 15 years, less 338 days for time served
Count IV: Aggravated Battery – 15 years, less 338 days for time served
09/22/94 FSC affirmed the convictions but reversed the sentence of death and remanded for reconsideration by the trial judge.
01/18/95 Spencer was resentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC #80,987
645 So. 2d 377
12/12/92 Appeal filed.
09/22/94 FSC affirmed the convictions but reversed the sentence of death and remanded for reconsideration by the trial judge.
12/06/94 Rehearing denied.
01/05/95 Mandate issued.
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (Resentencing)
FSC #85,119
691 So. 2d 1062
02/07/95 Appeal filed.
09/12/96 FSC affirmed the sentence.
04/14/97 Rehearing denied.
05/14/97 Mandate issued.
U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC #97-5249
522 U.S. 884
07/14/97 Petition filed.
10/06/97 USSC denied the Petition.
Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC #92-473
07/16/98 Motion filed.
04/24/00 Motion denied.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC #00-1051
842 So.2d 52
05/15/00 Appeal filed.
04/11/02 FSC affirmed the 3.850 Denial.
01/09/03 FSC withdrew the 04/11/02 opinion and substituted the opinion with a revised opinion. FSC affirmed the 3.850 Denial.
01/09/03 Rehearing denied.
03/25/03 Rehearing denied.
04/24/03 Mandate issued.
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
FSC #00-2588
842 So.2d 52
12/18/00 Petition filed.
04/11/02 Petition denied.
01/09/03 FSC withdrew the 04/11/02 opinion and substituted the opinion with a revised opinion. FSC denied the petition.
01/09/03 Rehearing denied.
03/25/03 Rehearing denied.
04/24/03 Mandate issued.
U.S. District Court, Middle District – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
USDC #03-CIV-991
07/17/03 Petition filed.
10/14/03 Amended petition filed.
09/07/06 USDC denied petition.
12/13/06 Motion for Certificate of Appealability filed.
01/12/07 Certificate of Appealability denied.
09/08/09 Renewed Certificate of Appealability granted in part and denied in part
U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Appeal
USCA #06-16503
609 F.3d 1170
12/13/06 Appeal filed.
06/22/10 USCA affirmed denial of Petition
Circuit Court – 3.851 Motion
CC #92-473
10/29/07 Motion filed.
02/05/08 Motion denied.
02/20/08 Motion for Rehearing filed.
05/20/08 Motion for Amended Motion filed.
10/03/08 Successive Motion denied.
10/27/08 Motion for Rehearing filed.
11/04/08 Motion for Rehearing dismissed.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.851 Appeal
FSC# 08-2270
23 So.3d 712
12/08/08 Appeal filed.
11/18/09 FSC affirmed denial of 3.851 Motion.
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC# 10-7637
131 S.Ct. 1049
09/18/10 Petition filed.
01/24/11 Petition denied.
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition of Sentence:
The original sentence of death was overturned and the case was remanded to the trial court for reconsideration by the judge. Spencer was again sentenced to death on 01/18/95.
Case Information:
Spencer filed his Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 12/21/92. Addressed issues included that the trial court erred in denying Spencer’s motion for a dismissal based on insufficient evidence, motion to sever charges and this motion for a mistrial because of improper comments made by the prosecutor. Finally, Spencer argued that the trial court mishandled aggravating and mitigating factors. The Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warranted reversing the conviction. The Florida Supreme Court, however, determined that the trial court mishandled evaluating aggravating and mitigating circumstances and doubted that the trial court could have determined if the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions, but vacated the death sentence and remanded the case for reconsideration by the trial court judge on 09/22/94. Rehearing was denied on 12/06/94. A mandate was issued on 01/05/95.
On remand from the Florida Supreme Court, the judge heard arguments from the defense and prosecution. Spencer was resentenced to death on 01/18/95.
Spencer filed his second Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 02/07/95. Addressed issues included that the trial court erred in improperly imposing the sentence of death because of a lack of evidence. Spencer also argued that the trial court mishandled mitigating and aggravating factors. The Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warranted reversing the conviction or sentence and affirmed the conviction and sentence on 09/12/96. Rehearing was denied on 04/14/97. A Mandate was issued on 05/14/97.
On 07/14/97, Spencer filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. The petition was denied on 10/06/97.
Spencer filed a 3.850 Motion in the circuit court on 07/16/98. The motion was denied on 04/24/00.
On 05/15/00, Spencer filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. Spencer argued that there was prosecutorial misconduct, that trial counsel was ineffective and that there was a Brady Error[a]. The Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warranted reversing the 3.850 Denial and affirmed the 3.850 Denial on 04/11/02. On 01/09/03, the Florida Supreme Court withdrew the 04/11/02 opinion and substituted the opinion with a revised opinion. The Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warranted reversing the 3.850 Denial and affirmed the 3.850 Denial. Rehearing denied 01/09/03. Rehearing denied 03/25/03. Mandate issued 04/24/03.
On 12/18/00, Spencer filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court. Spencer argued that the death penalty was unconstitutional and that appellate counsel was ineffective. The Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warranted granting the petition and denied the petition on 04/11/02. On 01/09/03, the Florida Supreme Court withdrew the 04/11/02 opinion and substituted the opinion with a revised opinion. The Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warranted granting the petition and denied the petition. Rehearing was denied on 01/09/03. Rehearing denied 03/25/03. Mandate issued 04/24/03.
Spencer filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on 07/17/03 and an amended petition on 10/14/03 in the United States District Court, Middle District. On 09/07/06, the USDC denied the petition. On 12/13/06, Spencer filed a Motion for Certificate of Appealability which was denied on 01/12/07. On 09/08/09, a renewed Certificate of Appealability was granted in part and denied in part.
Spencer filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Appeal on 12/13/06 in the United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit. On 06/22/10, the USCA affirmed the denial of the Habeas Petition.
On 10/29/07, Spencer filed a 3.851 motion in the Circuit Court. This motion was denied on 02/05/08. On 02/20/08, Spencer filed a Motion for Rehearing. On 05/20/08, Spencer filed a Motion for Leave to Amend. This motion was denied on 10/03/08. On 10/27/08, Spencer filed another Motion for Rehearing which was denied on 11/04/08.
On 12/08/08, Spencer filed a 3.851 appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the lower court on 11/18/09.
Spencer filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on 09/18/10. This petition was denied on 01/24/11.
Institutional Adjustment:
|
DATE |
DAYS |
VIOLATION |
LOCATION |
|
09/16/93 |
0 |
POSS OF CONTRABAND |
UNION CI |
|
06/04/97 |
0 |
FIGHTING |
UNION CI |
Report Date: 04/01/02 SQ
Approved: 04/15/02 WS
Updated: 04/12/11 EMJ
[a] Brady error: An error that occurs when the prosecution withholds information favorable to the defendant’s case.