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.
PHILLIPS, Harry Franklin (B/M)
DC# 008035
DOB: 04/21/45
Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County Case# 83-435
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Arthur I. Snyder
Attorney, Trial: Ronald Guralnick – Special AssistantPublic Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Eric William Hendon
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: William Hennis, III – CCRC-S
Date of Offense: 08/31/82
Date of Sentence: 02/01/84
Date of Resentence: 04/20/94
Circumstances of the Offense:
During the evening of 08/31/82, several rounds of gunfirewere heard in the vicinity of the Parole and Probation building in Miami. The body of parole supervisor Bjorn Svenson was found in the parking lot, thevictim of multiple gunshot wounds. Forensic evidence demonstrated thatSvenson was shot twice in the chest and fled a short distance before beingkilled by repeated shots in the head and back.
Svenson was the supervisor of several probation officers whowere in charge of Phillips’ parole. For two years prior to the murder,Svenson and Phillips had encounters regarding Phillips’ unauthorized contactwith a probation officer, with Phillips being advised to stay away from probationofficers and the parole building unless making an authorized visit. Afterone such incident, Phillips’ parole was revoked and he was returned to prisonfor approximately twenty months.
On 08/24/82, several rounds of gunfire were shot through thefront window of a home occupied by the two probation officers who had testifiedagainst Phillips.
Following Svenson’s murder, Phillips was incarcerated forparole violations. Several inmates testified that Phillips told them thathe had killed a parole officer.
Additional Information:
During Phillips’ 3.850 Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court(filed on 12/21/04), the Court relinquished the case back to the Circuit Courton 05/27/05 to determine mental retardation. An extension of time for therelinquishment proceedings were granted on 11/10/05. The case is expectedto be due back to the Florida Supreme Court on 02/06/06.
Trial Summary:
01/04/83 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder
12/16/83 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment and recommendeddeath by a vote of 7-5
02/01/84 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death
04/20/94 Resentenced to death. The juryrecommended a death sentence by a vote of 7-5.
Appeals Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 64,883
476 So.2d 194
02/16/84 Appeal filed
08/30/85 FSC affirmed conviction and sentence
10/28/85 Rehearing denied
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 71,404
515 So.2d 227
11/04/87 Petition filed
11/19/87 Petition denied
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 83-435
11/04/87 Motion filed
11/13/87 Trial court granted stay of execution forevidentiary hearing
09/15/88 Evidentiary hearing held
02/13/89 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 75,598
608 So.2d 778
02/27/90 Appeal filed
09/24/92 FSC affirmed conviction, vacated death sentence, and remanded for resentencing
12/24/92 Rehearing denied
12/24/92 Mandate issued
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 92-8292
509 U.S. 908
03/24/93 Petition filed
06/21/93 Petition denied
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (Resentencing)
FSC# 83,731
05/19/94 Appeal filed
09/25/97 FSC affirmed death sentence
02/23/98 Rehearing denied
03/25/98 Mandate issued
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 98-5003
525 U.S. 880
06/23/98 Petition filed
10/05/98 Petition denied
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 83-435
12/02/99 Motion filed
09/26/00 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 00-2248
894 So.2d 28
10/30/00 Appeal filed
10/14/04 Affirmed denial of 3.850 motion
10/28/04 Motion for a rehearing filed
01/27/05 Rehearing denied
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 01-1460
894 So.2d 28
07/20/01 Petition filed
10/14/04 Petition denied
10/28/04 Motion for a rehearing filed
01/27/05 Rehearing denied
02/14/05 Mandate issued
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 83-435
09/23/04 Motion filed
10/14/04 Motion dismissed
12/23/04 Rehearing denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 04-2476
12/21/04 Appeal filed
05/27/05 Case relinquished to the Circuit Court to determine mental retardation
02/12/06 Evidentiary hearing held
05/14/06 Relinquishment ended
06/14/06 Order from the Circuit Court denying Phillips’ 3.850 Motion
06/21/07 Disposition affirmed.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.203 Appeal
FSC# 06-2554
984So.2d 503
06/12/06 Appeal filed
03/20/08 Disposition affirmed; Motion denied
04/04/08 Motion for Rehearing filed
06/12/08 Rehearing denied
06/30/08 Mandate
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 83-435
08/21/07 Motion filed.
09/24/07 Motion denied.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.851 Appeal
FSC# 07-2072
996So.2d 859
10/29/07 Appeal filed.
09/23/08 Disposition affirmed.
10/08/08 Motion for Rehearing filed.
11/20/08 Rehearing denied.
United States District Court, Southern District –Habeas Petition
USDC# 08-23420
(Pending)
12/10/08 Petition filed.
Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 83-435
11/24/10 Motion filed
01/27/11 Motion denied
02/28/11 Appeal filed
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 11-472
(Pending)
03/07/11 Appeal filed
Death Warrant:
10/05/87 Governor Martinez signed death warrant
11/13/87 Stay of execution granted by the trial court
Clemency Hearing:
09/03/87 Clemency hearing held (denied)
Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition of theSentence:
The delay was due toPhillips being resentenced and the appeal process beginning anew. Phillips’ 3.850 Appeal, filed to the Florida Supreme Court on 10/30/00, wasdelayed for four years until the Court affirmed the trial court’s denial ofPhillips’ 3.850 Motion on 10/14/00.
Case Information:
Phillips filed a DirectAppeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 02/16/84, citing the following issues:error in allowing testimony concerning a collateral crime, error in allowingtestimony of a prosecution witness, error in refusing to allow certain jury instructions,and challenging the finding of two aggravating circumstances in the penaltyphase of the trial – the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel andwas committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner. The Courtaffirmed the conviction and sentence on 08/30/85.
Governor Martinez signeda death warrant for Phillips, and the execution was scheduled for 12/10/87.
Phillips filed a Petitionfor Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court on 11/04/87, arguingthat comments from the prosecutor and judge to the jury that their role in thesentencing proceeding was only advisory diminished the jury’s sense ofresponsibility for its actions. The Court denied the petition on11/19/87.
Phillips filed a 3.850Motion to the Circuit Court on 11/04/87. The court granted a stay ofexecution so that an evidentiary hearing could be held. The hearing washeld on 09/15/88. The trial court denied the motion on 02/13/89.
Phillips filed a 3.850Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 02/27/90, citing the following: theinmate testimony presented at trial was obtained by promises of the state toreduce the inmate’s sentence and provide monetary payments, witnesses lied onthe stand and the state failed to correct the false testimony, jailhouseinformants were used to elicit testimony from Phillips after he asserted hisright to counsel, ineffective assistance of counsel at the guilt phase of trialand ineffective assistance of counsel at the penalty phase of trial due tofailure to raise sufficient mitigating circumstance evidence. The Courtreversed the denial of the 3.850 motion by the trial court, vacated the deathsentence, and remanded for resentencing
Phillips filed a Petitionfor Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court on 03/24/93, whichwas denied on 06/21/93.
Phillips filed a DirectAppeal for resentencing to the Florida Supreme Court on 05/19/94, citing thefollowing: the resentencing did not follow the Court’s opinions; the trialcourt mishandled the jury and improperly influenced the jury to return a deathsentence; improper definition of an aggravating circumstance; the stateimproperly used Phillips’ prior bad acts as the focus of the resentencing; thetrial court improperly allowed the state to strike an African-American juror;and the cold, calculated and premeditated aggravating circumstance was toobroad. The Court affirmed the trial court’s sentence on 09/25/97.
Phillips filed a Petitionfor Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court on 06/23/98, whichwas denied on 10/05/98.
Phillips filed a 3.850Motion to the Circuit Court on 12/02/99, which was denied on 09/26/00.
Phillips filed a 3.850 Appealto the Florida Supreme Court on 10/30/00, which was affirmed on 10/14/04.
Phillips filed a Petitionfor Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court on 07/20/01, which wasdenied on 10/14/04. On 10/28/04, Phillips filed a motion for a rehearing,which was denied on 01/27/05. A mandate was issued on 02/14/05.
On 09/23/04, Phillips filed a 3.850 Motion to the CircuitCourt. The State’s response was a motion to dismiss, which was granted on10/14/04. The rehearing was denied on 12/23/04.
On 12/21/04, Phillipsfiled a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. On 05/27/05,Phillips’s case was then relinquished to the Circuit Court to determine mentalretardation. On 05/27/05, Phillips’s case was relinquished to the Circuit Courtwhere he raised the claim of mental retardation. The evidentiary hearingwas held on 02/12/06. The relinquishment ended on 05/14/06 and theCircuit Court ordered the denial of Phillips’s 3.850 Motion on 06/14/06 by theCircuit Court. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the Circuit Courtdecision on 06/21/07.
On 06/12/06, Phillipsfiled a 3.203 Motion for determination of mental retardation in the FloridaSupreme Court. On 03/20/08, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trialcourt’s disposition and denied the 3.203 Motion. On 04/04/08, Phillipsfiled a Motion for Rehearing which was denied on 06/12/08. A mandate wasissued 06/30/08.
Phillips filed a 3.850motion in the circuit court on 08/21/07, which was denied on 09/24/07.
On 10/29/07, Phillipsfiled an appeal of the Circuit Court’s denial of his 3.850 motion. On09/23/08, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s disposition anddenied Phillips his appeal. On 10/08/08, Phillips filed a Motion forRehearing which was denied on 11/20/08. No mandate will be issued in thiscase.
On 12/10/08, Phillipsfiled a Habeas Petition in the United States District Court. Thispetition is currently pending.
On 11/24/10, Phillipsfiled a 3.850 Motion in the Circuit Court. This motion was denied on01/27/11.
On 03/07/11, Phillipsfiled a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. This appeal is currentlypending.
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Report Date: 06/11/01 JFL
Approved: 09/26/01 WS
Updated: 04/27/11 CAR