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.
REYNOLDS, MICHAEL (W/M)
DC# 324170
DOB: 07/27/55
Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Seminole County Case # 98-3341
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Kenneth Lester Jr.
Attorney, Trial: Steven Lawrence – Special Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Robert Strain & David Gemmer – CCRC-M
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Melodee A. Smith – Registry
Date of Offense: 07/21/98
Date of Sentence: 09/19/03
Circumstances of Offense:
On July 22, 1998, Shirley Razor went to visit her daughter, Robin Razor, who lived in a trailer lot in Geneva. Robin Razor lived there with Danny Privett and their two daughters. Shirley Razor went to the lot to help with renovating two mobile home trailers. When Shirely arrived, she saw Privett lying on the ground outside one of the trailers next to a jug of moonshine. Since Privett was often drunk and passed out, Shirley thought nothing of it and went inside to have lunch. After finishing her lunch, Shirley went outside and took a closer look at Privett and discovered he was dead and had a hole in his head. Shirley then looked into one of the other trailers and saw her daughter and 11-year-old granddaughter, Christina Razor, both dead inside.
Privett died from blunt force trauma to the head from a broken concrete block. Privett had no defensive wounds and was thought to have not seen the attacker coming at him. Evidence showed he was standing outside urinating when he was hit from behind. Inside the trailer, Robin was found lying on the floor while Christina was in a seated position on the couch. Robin had stab wounds to her neck and torso, multiple blows to the head, a broken neck and defensive wounds on her arms and hands. The associate Orange County medical examiner testified that Robin had several shallow slash marks that indicated her attacker was trying to hurt or torment her without immediately killing her. Christina died from a stab wound to her sternum and also had contusions to her left eye and mouth. When Christina’s body was discovered, her underwear were found off her body across the room, however, there was no evidence of sexual assault.
Razor and Privett’s other daughter, Danielle, had spent the night at a friends’ house on the evening the murders took place. She helped police investigators with solving the crime. She provided evidence of people who had disputes with the family and had ill feelings toward them. Although Danielle did not name Michael Reynolds as a possible suspect, he soon became one. Reynolds lived on the same road as the victims and had gone to the local hospital the morning after the murders with a lacerated finger and sprained ankle that he supposedly received from an accident unrelated to the murders.
Reynolds had a previous dispute with Privett over a trailer frame that was given to Privett that Reynolds had wanted for himself. The dispute, however, was resolved and the two seemed to get along fine afterwards.
Several pieces of evidence (cuttings from the victims’ couch, bedding and clothing and cuttings and sweepings of Reynolds’ car) were not submitted for forensic testing. These pieces of evidence could possibly exonerate Reynolds or implicate him further. The footprints found at the murder scene did not match Reynolds’. The results of the DNA testing of the blood samples found on the victims compared to Reynolds were inconclusive. Blood samples found on the victims’ clothing, bed linen and other household items were a positive match to Reynolds. Hairs were retrieved from the bloody hands of Robin Razor. The hairs did not match Reynolds, and they were never compared to any other possible suspect.
Additional Information:
Several mitigating factors were presented during trial, which included: Reynolds had a mentally and physically abusive father although he had a loving relationship with his mother and cared for his wheelchair-bound sister while growing up.
Prior Incarceration History in the State of Florida:
|
Offense Date |
Offense |
Sentence Date |
County |
Case. No. |
Sentence |
|
11/07/79 |
GRAND THEFT, $300 LESS &20,000 |
03/14/83 |
ORANGE |
7904499 |
1Y 1M 0D |
|
05/29/83 |
ESCAPE |
08/07/86 |
BROWARD |
8306062 |
5Y 6M 0D |
|
08/18/91 |
AGG BATTERY W/DEADLY WEAPON |
01/27/99 |
HILLSBOROUGH |
911679 |
3Y 6M 0D |
Reynolds has also served time in prisons in Arizona, for shooting two people, and in Texas, for robbing a man at knifepoint.
Trial Summary:
08/25/98 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Danny Ray Privett)
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Robin Razor)
Count III: First-Degree Murder (Christine Razor)
Count IV: Armed Burglary
05/07/03 Jury returned guilty verdicts on counts II through IV and guilty of second-degree murder of Privett.
05/09/03 Jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0.
09/19/03 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: Second-Degree Murder – Life
Count II: First-Degree Murder – Death
Count III: First-Degree Murder – Death
Count IV: Armed Burglary – Life
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 03-1919
934 So.2d 1128 (2006)
10/27/03 Appeal filed
05/18/06 FSC affirmed Reynolds’ convictions and sentences
07/11/06 Rehearing denied
07/27/06 Mandate issued
U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC# 06-7143
10/10/06 Petition filed
01/08/07 USSC denied petition
Circuit Court – 3.851 Motion
CC# 98-3341
12/28/07 Motion filed
07/07/10 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.851 Appeal
FSC# 10-1602
(Pending)
08/16/10 Appeal filed
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
FSC# 11-693
(Pending)
04/11/11 Petition filed
Case Information:
On 10/27/03, Reynolds filed a direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. Reynolds raised many issues in the appeal including: error by the trial court for excluding the entire sworn statement of an unavailable witness, the circumstantial evidence was insufficient to overcome reasonable doubt and convict the charges of murder, and the court refused to permit Reynolds to waive his right to a sentencing jury recommendation. Reynolds also argued that error occurred in the court allowing the presentation of testimony regarding Reynolds’ prior violent crimes. Reynolds contended that Florida’s capital sentencing scheme and penalty phase jury instructions unconstitutionally shift the burden of proof to the defendant, and that error occurred in refusing to consider residual doubt as a nonstatutory mitigating circumstance to Reynolds’ guilt. It was also contended that the death sentence was impermissibly imposed, since the court included improper aggravating circumstances, excluded existing mitigating circumstances, and failed to properly find the aggravating circumstances thus rendering the death sentence unconstitutional. Also, comparison to other capital cases revealed that the only appropriate sentence is life. Reynolds’s final argument is that the Florida death penalty procedure violated the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments under Ring v. Arizona. On 05/18/06, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences.
On 10/10/06, Reynolds filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court that was denied on 01/08/07.
On 12/28/07, Reynolds filed a 3.851 Motion for Postconviction Relief in the Circuit Court. This motion was denied on 07/07/10.
Reynolds filed 3.851 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 08/16/10. This case is currently pending.
Reynolds filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court on 04/11/11. This case is currently pending.
Institutional Adjustment:
DATE DAYS VIOLATION LOCATION
-------- ---- ---------------------------- -------------------
06/30/04 18 DISOBEYING ORDER FLORIDA STATE PRISON
11/16/04 4 POSS OF CONTRABAND FLORIDA STATE PRISON
11/15/05 0 FIGHTING UNION C.I.
04/21/06 0 SPOKEN THREATS UNION C.I.
04/24/06 30 SPOKEN THREATS UNION C.I.
________________________________________________________________________
Report Date: 08/24/06 DDK
Approved: 08/25/06 JFL
Updated: 04/12/11 EMJ