The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly. This information, however, is subject to change and maynot reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be relied uponfor statistical or legal purposes.
POPE, Thomas Dewey (W/M)
DC# 083040
DOB: 01/29/49
Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County Case# 81-3047CF
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Arthur J. Franza
Attorney, Trial: Scott T. Eber – Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Michael D. Gelety – SpecialPublic Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Celeste Bacchi – CCRC-S
Date of Offense: 01/19/81
Date of Sentence: 04/07/82
Circumstances of the Offense:
The two victims, Al Doranz and Caesar Di Russo, were killedon 01/16/81. Pope was convicted of their murder in addition to the murder ofKristine Walters.
Thomas Pope and Susan Eckard, Pope’s girlfriend, admittedbeing with Al Doranz and Kristine Walters, Doranz’s girlfriend, at Ms. Walters’apartment on the night of
01/16/81. Eckard testified that she and Pope had left theapartment to visit Clarence ‘Buddy’ Lagle and to pick up some hamburgers. Laglelater testified at the trial that he had made a silencer for an AR-7 rifle forPope. Eckard and Pope then returned to Walters’ apartment. Pope and Doranztalked Walters into going with Eckard to the apartment where Pope was stayingat the time. Pope did not go with the two women. Eckard testified that Pope hadarranged a drug deal with Doranz and Di Russo.
Sometime later that night, Pope showed up at his ownapartment. He told Walters that something had happened and Doranz had beeninjured, and that she should stay at his apartment for a while. Eckardtestified that, at this time, she knew that Di Russo and Doranz were dead. OnSaturday, 01/17/81, Walters checked into a hotel. From this time, up until herdeath, Pope supplied Walters with drugs. Pope told Eckard that he would have tokill Walters, and that he felt bad because he had started to like Walters.
On Sunday, 01/18/81, Pope told Walters that he would takeher to see Doranz. Pope drove her to a canal. According to the medicalexaminer’s testimony, Walters was shot six times with exploding ammunition. Shewas shot from the rear and shot twice with the gun pressed up to her abdomen.At some point, Walters had made an attempt to get away. The gunshot woundswould have been extremely painful, but would not have caused a loss ofconsciousness. Pope then hit Walters over the head with the gun barrel. Thisblow caused the barrel to break. Pope then dragged Walters to the nearby canaland threw her in. She was still alive, but subsequently drowned. Parts of therifle were found near the canal.
Eckard testified that Pope described the murder to her whenhe returned. He told her about the rifle breaking, and the next day the twowent back to the scene to pick up all of the pieces.
The bodies of Al Doranz and Caesar Di Russo were found inWalters’ apartment on 01/19/81. Doranz had been shot three times and Di Russohad been shot five times. A 22-caliber shell casing was found under Di Russo’sbody. Walters’ body was found on 01/21/81, floating in the canal.
Sometime in early January of 1981, Al Doranz had purchasedan AR-7 rifle for Thomas Pope.
Trial Summary:
03/25/81 Indicted as follows:
CountI: First-Degree Murder (Di Russo)
CountII: First-DegreeMurder (Doranz)
CountIII: First-Degree Murder(Walters)
02/25/82 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.
02/25/82 Jury recommended death by a vote of 9-3 for Count III.
04/07/83 Sentenced as follows:
CountI: First-Degree Murder – Life
CountII: First-DegreeMurder – Life
CountIII: First-Degree Murder –Death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 62,064
441 So. 2d 1073
05/13/82 Appeal filed
10/27/83 FSC affirmed conviction and sentence
01/11/84 Rehearing denied
02/17/84 Mandate issued
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 81-3047CF
09/18/84 Motion filed
12/30/86 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 67,054
496 So. 2d 798
05/22/85 Petition filed
10/16/86 FSC denied the petition
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 86-6203
480 U.S. 951
01/14/87 Petition filed
03/30/87 Petition denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 74,614
569 So. 2d 1241
08/24/89 Appeal filed
10/11/90 FSC affirmed the trial’s court denial of the postconviction relief
12/17/90 Rehearing denied
12/17/90 Mandate issued
United States District Court, Southern District –Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
USDC# 91-6717
Pending
09/09/91 Petition filed
03/28/94 Petition was denied without prejudice
02/19/99 Motion to reopen case filed
03/25/02 Case closed
12/11/03 Petition reinstated
04/26/04 Amended
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 81-3047CF
04/06/95 Motion filed
05/29/96 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 89,084
702 So. 2d 221
10/07/96 Appeal filed
12/04/97 FSC affirmed the trial’s court denial of the postconviction relief
02/19/98 Rehearing denied
03/23/98 Mandate issued
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 81-3047CF
02/04/02 Motion filed
04/23/02 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 02-1141
845 So. 2d 892
05/20/02 Appeal filed
04/11/03 Affirmed denial of 3.850 Motion
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 02-1833
08/21/02 Petition filed
04/11/03 Petition denied
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 05-1689
09/13/05 Petition filed
11/03/05 Petition denied
11/15/05 Motion for Rehearing
01/18/06 Rehearing denied
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 81-3047CF
06/28/06 Motion filed
11/21/06 Motion amended
08/22/07 Motion denied
09/10/07 Motion for Rehearing filed
11/21/07 Rehearing denied
State Circuit Court – Successive 3.850 Motion
CC# 81-3047CF
09/21/07 Motion filed.
11/21/07 Motion denied.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.851 Appeal
FSC# 07-2413
12/26/07 Appeal filed.
01/19/10 Appeal denied.
Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition ofthe Sentence:
Pope’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was pending in theUSDC for more than ten years before the Court decided to close the case. The USDC reinstated the Habeas Petition on 12/11/03, which has been pending forthe last three years.
Case Information:
Pope filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on05/13/82. His appeal included the following issues in regard to his conviction:the evidence at trial was insufficient to sustain a conviction and a videotapeddeposition of a witness should not have been admitted into evidence because thestate did not prove the witness’s unavailability at the time of the trial. Thecourt found both of these issues to be meritless. The remaining issues raisedon appeal were surrounding the aggravating and mitigating factors. The courtruled that there was no abuse of discretion by the trial court or that theissues were meritless. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction andsentence on 10/27/83. The rehearing was denied on 01/11/84, and the mandate wasissued on 02/17/84.
Pope filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court on 09/18/84.The motion was denied on 12/30/86.
Pope filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to theFlorida Supreme Court on 05/22/85. Pope claimed ineffective assistance ofcounsel because his attorney failed to raise the issue of alleged prejudicialcomments made by the judge and the prosecution during the trial. Pope contendedthat these comments denied him a fair trial, and therefore he deserves either anew trial or a new sentencing phase. The Court ruled that the comments did notrob Pope of a fair trial nor did they constitute fundamental error, therefore,the case did not merit a retrial or a resentencing. The Florida Supreme Courtdenied the petition on 10/16/86.
Pope filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the UnitedStates Supreme Court on 01/14/87. The petition was denied on 03/30/87.
Pope filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on08/24/89. The main issue in the appeal was again based on ineffectiveassistance of counsel, specifically that Pope’s trial attorney failed to objectto the separation of the jury during deliberations. The Court rejected this asfundamental error and affirmed the trial court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion on10/11/89. The rehearing was denied and the mandate was issued on 12/17/90.
Pope filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to theUnited States District Court, Southern District, on 09/09/91. The state arguedthat some of the claims raised in the petition had not been exhausted in thestate courts; therefore, the petition was dismissed without prejudice on03/28/94. Approximately five years later, Pope filed a motion to reopenthis case on 02/19/99. On 02/23/99, an order to reopen the case wasissued by the United States District Court. On 04/19/00, the Court filedan order dismissing certain claims in the petition and requiring furtherdebriefing on some remaining claims. On 02/05/02, Pope filed a Motion toHold Proceedings in Abeyance pending deposition of the State Courtproceedings. On 03/19/02, an order was issued by the Court granting theabove motion. On 03/25/02, the case was closed by the Court. Pope reinstatedthe Habeas Petition on 12/11/03. The petition was amended on 04/26/04,and is currently pending.
Pope filed a second 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court on04/06/95. After the filing of the 3.850 Motion, Pope filed the following pro semotions: Motion to Hold Proceedings in Abeyance Pending Resolution of Status ofRepresentation, Motion to Hearing to Determine Competency of AppointedCollateral Counsel and Consolidated Motion for the Appointment of the CapitalCollateral Representative. Pope’s volunteer counsel filed a motion to withdraw,but the court mandated that the attorney stay with the case until the 3.850Motion was resolved, and then they would be allowed to withdraw. The circuitcourt denied Pope’s 3.850 Motion on 05/29/96.
Pope filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on10/17/96. Pope again raised issues surrounding ineffective assistance ofcounsel. The state dubbed the motion successive due to the fact that all of theclaims should have been raised in the original 3.850 Motion. Pope’s stance wasthat his case had unique circumstances that constituted a need to vary fromprocedural guidelines even though the motion had been filed after theexpiration of the time limit. The Court found the issues that Pope raised to beprocedurally barred. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’sdenial of Pope’s 3.850 Motion on 12/04/97. The rehearing was denied on02/19/98, and the mandate was issued on 03/23/98.
Pope filed his third 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court on02/04/02. The motion was denied on 04/23/02.
Pope filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on05/20/02. The Court affirmed the denial of his 3.850 Motion on 04/11/03.
Pope filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to theFlorida Supreme Court on 08/21/02, which was denied on 04/11/03.
On 09/13/05, Pope filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpusto the Florida Supreme Court, which was denied on 11/03/05. On 01/18/06,the rehearing was denied.
On 06/28/06, Pope filed a successive 3.850 Motion to theCircuit Court, and amended the motion on 11/21/06. On 08/22/07, thecircuit court denied the 3.850 Motion. Pope filed a motion for rehearingon 09/10/07 which was denied on 11/21/07.
On 09/21/07, Pope filed a second successive 3.850 motion inthe circuit court which was denied on 11/21/07.
On 12/26/07, Pope filed a 3.851 appeal in the FloridaSupreme Court. This appeal is currently pending.
Institutional Adjustment:
DATE DAYS VIOLATION LOCATION
-------- ---- ---------------------------- -------------------
08/08/82 0 DISOBEYREGULATIONS CENTRALOFFICE
01/09/83 0 POSS OFNEGOTIABLES CENTRAL OFFICE
06/30/88 15 POSS OFCONTRABAND FLORIDA STATE PRISON
11/22/91 30 DISORDERLYCONDUCT FLORIDASTATE PRISON
11/02/94 0 POSS OFNARCOTICS UNION C. I.
11/02/98 0 UNAUTH USE OFDRUGS UNION C.I.
11/28/01 0 UNAUTH USEOF DRUGS UNION C.I.
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Report Date: 04/25/02 NMP
Approved: 07/15/02 WS
Updated: 02/12/10 CAR