The Commission on Capital Cases updates this informationregularly. This information; however, is subject to change and may not reflectthe latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be relied upon forstatistical or legal purposes.
KOON, Raymond Leon (W/M)
DOB: 01/12/32
Twentieth Judicial Circuit, Collier County, Case # 82-134CFA
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Charles T. Carlton
Attorney, Trial: Michael R.N. McDonnell – Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Thomas S. Biggs, Jr. – Private
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Richard M. Creel – Registry
Date of Offense: 11/21/79
Date of Sentence: 01/28/83
Date of Resentence: 12/23/85
Circumstances of the Offense:
On 11/21/79, Raymond Leon Koon was convicted for the murderof Joseph Edward Dino.
Dino, Koon’s counterfeiting consort, was arrested by a UnitedStates Secret Service agent on 03/20/79. Following his arrest, Dino agreed tocooperate with the agency and mentioned the extent of his companionship withKoon. On 05/31/79, Koon was arrested and charged with custody and the distributionof counterfeit money. Koon was later indicted by a federal grand jury oncounterfeiting charges and Dino had agreed with the government to testifyagainst him. The case never took place on the trial date due to Dino’s murderon 11/21/79. As a result, the counterfeiting charges against Koon weredismissed. Yet, Koon pled guilty to two federal counts: the first on Dino’smurder and the second on a conspiracy to threaten a witness in a courtproceeding that resulted in Dino’s death.
According to the facts provided by Koon’s nephew, J.L. Koon,the Koons made up false names and tricked Dino into meeting them for a businessmeeting at the parking lot of a lounge later that evening. In preparation forthis meeting, Koon concealed a shotgun in the trunk of his nephew’s car. Whenthe three met, a fist fight took place between Dino and Koon, leaving Dinoseverely beaten. The Koons forced Dino into the nephew’s car, and drove to acanal west of Miami. When they arrived, the nephew was ordered to remain inthe car while Koon and Dino walked down into a rockpit. Minutes later,gunshots were heard and Dino was found dead in a lake by the nephew.
Codefendant Information:
J.L. Koon
Koon’s nephew, J. L.Koon, who also pled guilty to Dino’s murder, was sentenced to ten years (CC#82-533). He testified against his uncle on 11/28/79. The nephew’s prosecutionwas conducted separately.
Trial Summary:
02/16/82 Indictedas follows:
CountI: First-Degree Murder
11/19/82 Juryreturned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
11/22/82 Jury recommendeddeath by a vote of 12-0
01/28/83 Sentencedas follows:
CountI: First-Degree Murder – Death
12/23/85 Resentencedto death
Additional Information:
On 12/02/05, Raymond L.Koon died of natural causes.
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 63,322
463 So.2d 201 (1985)
02/24/83 Appealfiled
01/10/85 FSC reversedconviction and remanded for new trial
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (RS)
FSC# 68,132
513 So. 2d 1253 (1987)
01/06/86 Appealfiled
08/20/87 FSCaffirmed sentence and conviction
11/16/87 Rehearingdenied
12/21/87 Mandateissued
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 87-6223
485 U.S. 943 (1988)
01/14/88 Petitionfiled
03/07/88 Petitiondenied
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 82-134 CFA
05/31/89 Motionfiled
11/22/89 Motiondenied
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofHabeas Corpus
FSC# 74,245
619 So.2d 246 (1993)
06/01/89 Petitionfiled
03/25/93 Petitiondenied
06/09/93 Rehearingdenied and mandate issued
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 75,380
619 So.2d 246 (1993)
01/26/90 Appealfiled
06/19/92 Motionfor rehearing filed
03/25/93 AffirmedCircuit Court’s denial
06/09/93 Rehearingdenied and mandate issued
United States District Court, Middle District –Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
USDC# 93,218
08/06/93 Petitionfiled
04/07/03 Casereopened
04/07/05 Petitiondenied
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofHabeas Corpus
FSC# 03-1139
874 So.2d 1192 (2004)
06/23/03 Petitionfiled
05/04/04 Petitiondenied
Death Warrant:
05/01/89 Death warrant signed by GovernorRobert Martinez and execution was scheduled to take place on 07/07/89.
Clemency Hearing:
09/14/88 Clemency hearing held and denied
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:
Koon was undergoingnumerous appeals upon the actual imposition of death sentence. Having nodesire to legally represent himself, Koon was inconsistent with legalrepresentation, replacing almost every attorney, whether public or private,over the six-year period prior to his death resentencing.
It took four years forthe Florida Supreme Court to rule on the first petition for the Writ of HabeasCorpus, and three years and five months to rule on the 3.850 motion.
Case Information:
On 02/24/83, Koon filed aDirect Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. Koon claimed that the federalprosecution and subsequent Florida prosecution violated the appellant’s rightagainst double jeopardy. The Court rejected that appellant’s claim becausethere was no burden of proof that federal authorities had little or noindependent options in the state court proceedings. Koon argued that the courterred in requiring his wife to testify on confidential relations between themduring the trial. According to the husband-wife privilege of the FloridaStatutes, either spouse has the privilege to refuse disclosure on confidentialmatters and to prevent others from disclosing communication that was intendedto be confidential between the spouses. The state, however, argued that thisprivilege had been waived by Koon in that he has the right to voluntarilydisclose communications so long as he does not have any reasonable expectationor consents to privacy. The Court found requiring Koon’s wife to testify wasreversible error. They reversed Koon’s conviction and remanded for a new trialon 01/10/85.
On 12/25/85, Koon wasresentenced to death by the Circuit Court. On 01/06/86, he filed a secondDirect Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. The Court affirmed Koon’s deathsentence on 08/20/87.
On 01/14/88, Koon filed aPetition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, which wasdenied on 03/07/88.
On 05/31/89, Koon filed a3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court, which was denied on 11/22/89.
On 06/01/89, Koon filed aPetition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court, which wasdenied on 03/25/93. The rehearing was denied and the mandate was issued on 06/09/93.
Koon filed a 3.850 Appealto the Florida Supreme Court on 01/26/90, and the Court affirmed the CircuitCourt’s denial on 03/25/93. On 06/09/93, the rehearing was denied and themandate was issued.
On 08/06/93, Koon filed aPetition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the United States District Court, MiddleDistrict. A stay was issued and the case was reopened on 04/07/03. Thepetition was denied on 04/07/05.
Koon filed a Petition forWrit of Habeas Corpus on 06/23/03 to the Florida Supreme Court, which wasdenied on 05/04/04. In the course ofthe petition, it was ordered on 07/23/03 that Richard M. Creel berecognized as Koon’s counsel of record.
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Report Date: 10/12/04 NRC
Approved: 10/12/04 JFL
Updated: 12/03/07 AEH