The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly. This information, however, is subject to changeand may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not berelied upon for statistical or legal purposes.
FARR, Victor (W/M)
DC# 541170
DOB: 07/03/61
Third Judicial Circuit, Columbia County Case # 91-002
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Royce Agner
Attorney, Trial: William Slaughter – Assistant PublicDefender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: W.C. McLain – Assistant PublicDefender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: James Lohman – Registry
Date ofOffense: 12/11/90
Date of Sentence: 05/13/91
Date ofResentence: 12/08/93
Circumstances of Offense:
On 12/11/90, Victor Farr attempted to kidnap and then shottwo women outside a Lake City, Florida bar. He escaped by forcibly takinga car in which a man and woman were sitting. The man fled, but Farrmanaged to escape with the woman still in the car. Later, while beingpursued by police officers, Farr deliberately crashed the car into a tree,attempting to kill both himself and his hostage. The woman was severelyinjured in the crash and subsequently died from the injuries, while Farr wasonly slightly injured.
Additional Information:
Farr entered into a plea agreement with the State in whichhe pled guilty to all twelve counts of the indictment and requested that theState ask for the death penalty, explaining that he wanted to die. Afterdetermining that Farr was capable of knowingly and voluntarily entering theplea and that he understood the consequences, the trial court accepted theplea. Farr waived his right to a jury for both the guilt and penaltyphases of the trial. Farr was sentenced to death on 05/13/91, but thissentence was overturned by the FSC on 06/24/93. Farr was re-sentenced todeath on 12/08/93, and this was affirmed by the FSC on 05/04/95.
On 07/12/96, Farr wrote a letter to Assistant AttorneyGeneral Richard Martell, indicating that he wanted to waive all postconvictionappeals. The Florida Supreme Court (FSC) ordered that a waiver hearing beheld in the trial court. After the 10/17/96 hearing, the trial courtfound that Farr had knowingly and voluntarily waived counsel and appeals.
On 11/18/96, Michael Minerva, former Capital CollateralRepresentative, sent a letter to the FSC, enclosing a letter that Minerva hadreceived from Farr. In the letter, Farr requested that he be appointedcounsel so that he could file postconviction appeals. The FSC granted Farr’srequest.
Farr again requested to waive counsel and postconvictionappeals and a waiver hearing was ordered by the FSC to be held in the trialcourt. On 10/03/97, after a waiver hearing, the court ruled that Farr hadknowingly and voluntarily waived counsel and postconvictionappeals. An appeal to the FSC was filed on 10/24/97.
On 12/10/98, the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel for theMiddle Region of Florida (CCRC-M) received a letter from Farr requestingrepresentation in pursuing postconviction appeals. On 12/11/98, JohnMoser, CCRC-M, filed a motion with the FSC to dismiss the appeal filed on10/24/97. The motion was granted on 06/30/99.
Currently, Farr has postconviction counsel.
Trial Summary:
01/03/91 Indicted as follows:
Count I GrandTheft
CountII Attempted ArmedBurglary
CountIII Attempted Armed Robbery
CountIV Attempted Armed Kidnapping
CountV Attempted ArmedKidnapping
Count VI Attempted First-Degree Murder
CountVII Attempted First-Degree Murder
Count VIII Armed Burglary
CountIX Armed Kidnapping
CountX Armed Kidnapping
CountXI Armed Robbery
CountXII First-Degree Murder
04/02/91 Pled guilty to all counts of the indictment and waived jury recommendation forthe guilt and penalty phase.
05/13/91 Sentenced as follows:
CountI Grand Theft– 5 years
CountII Attempted ArmedBurglary – 15 years
CountIII Attempted Armed Robbery –15 years
CountIV Attempted Armed Kidnapping –15 years
CountV Attempted ArmedKidnapping – 15 years
Count VI Attempted First-DegreeMurder – 30 years
CountVII Attempted First-Degree Murder – 30years
CountVIII Armed Burglary – Life imprisonment
CountIX Armed Kidnapping – Lifeimprisonment
CountX Armed Kidnapping – Lifeimprisonment
CountXI Armed Robbery – Lifeimprisonment
Count XII First-Degree Murder – Death
12/08/93 Resentenced to death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 77,925
621 So.2d 1368
05/14/91 Appeal filed
06/24/93 FSC affirmed the conviction, but vacated the death sentence
08/23/93 Rehearing denied
09/22/93 Mandate issued
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (afterresentencing)
FSC# 82,894
656 So.2d 448
12/16/93 Appeal filed
05/04/95 FSC affirmed death sentence
06/21/95 Rehearing denied
07/21/95 Mandate issued
Circuit Court – Waiver of Counsel and PostconvictionAppeals Hearing
CC# 91-002
10/17/96 Waiver hearing held – counsel and proceedings waived
Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 91-002
04/02/97 Motion filed
07/15/97 Amended motion filed
10/03/97 Waived by defendant
Circuit Court – Waiver of Counsel and PostconvictionAppeals Hearing
CC# 91-002
10/03/97 Waiver hearing held – counsel and proceedings waived
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal (Waiver ofCounsel)
FSC# 91,682
735 So.2d 1284
10/24/97 Appeal filed
06/30/99 Motion to dismiss appeal granted and appeal dismissed
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Mandamus
FSC# 91,836
704 So.2d 520
11/18/97 Petition filed
12/31/97 FSC denied petition
Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 91-002
12/21/04 Motion filed
06/03/05 Motion amended
05/19/08 Motion denied
06/02/08 Motion for rehearing
06/23/08 Rehearing denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 08-1406
(Pending)
07/24/08 Appeal filed
05/28/10 FSC relinquished the case to the CC for120 days
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 09-1010
(Pending)
06/15/09 Petition filed
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:
The delay is due to Farr’s multiple requests to waivecounsel and appeals and then requests to reinstate counsel and appeals havecontributed to the delay.
Case Information:
On 05/14/91, Farr filed a Direct Appeal with the FloridaSupreme Court, citing the following errors: failure to weigh allmitigating evidence in the court record, including the psychiatric evaluationand the pre-sentence investigation; and the finding of the aggravatingcircumstances (previous felony conviction; murder committed during a felony;hindering the enforcement of laws; and heinous, atrocious or cruelmurder). On 06/24/93, the FSC affirmed the convictions, but vacated thedeath sentence due to the trial court’s failure to weigh all mitigatingevidence.
On 12/16/93, Farr filed a Direct Appeal with the FloridaSupreme Court which centered on the rejection of the case for mitigation. During resentencing, Farr took the witness stand and refuted and controvertedthe case for mitigation, and, according to the FSC, it is within the discretionof the trial court to reject opinion or factual evidence in mitigation wherethere is support for the conclusion that the evidence is untrustworthy. On 05/04/95, the FSC affirmed the death sentence.
On 10/17/96, a hearing to consider a motion to waive counseland future postconviction proceedings was held in the circuit court. Thecourt found that Farr had knowingly and intelligently waived both his counseland future postconviction proceedings.
On 04/02/97, Farr filed a 3.850 Motion with the circuitcourt, which was amended on 07/15/97.
On 10/03/97, a hearing to consider a motion to waive counseland future postconviction proceedings was held in the circuit court. Thecourt found that Farr had knowingly and intelligently waived both his counsel andfuture postconviction proceedings.
On 10/24/97, Farr’s counsel filed an appeal of the circuitcourt’s decision with the Florida Supreme Court. The appeal was treatedas a 3.850 Motion appeal; however, on 06/30/99, Farr’s motion to dismiss theappeal was granted and the appeal was dismissed.
On 11/18/97, Farr filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus withthe Florida Supreme Court that was denied on 12/31/97.
On 12/21/04, Farr filed a 3.850 motion with the circuitcourt, which was amended on 06/03/05. This motion was denied on 05/19/08.
On 07/24/08, Farr filed a 3.850 appeal with the FloridaSupreme Court. On 05/28/10, the FSC relinquished the case to the Circuit Courtfor 120 days. This appeal is currently pending.
On 06/15/09, Farr filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpuswith the Florida Supreme Court. The petition is pending.
Institutional Adjustment:
THE FOLLOWING ENTRIESREFLECT DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS AGAINST THE INMATE FOR VIOLATION OF THE RULE CITEDAND INDICATE THE GAIN TIME DAYS LOST.
DATE DAYS VIOLATION LOCATION
07/12/96 0 BARTERING WITH OTHER UNION C. I.
09/26/00 0 DEFACING STATEPROP. UNION C. I.
11/05/01 60 DISORDERLY CONDUCT UNION C. I.
04/29/02 0 FIGHTING UNION C. I.
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Report Date: 11/28/01 JFL
Approved: 12/05/01 WS
Updated: 08/10/10 KKR