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.
DUFOUR, Donald (W/M)
DC# 061222
DOB: 03/22/56
Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County Case # 82-5467
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Michael F. Cycmanick
Attorney, Trial: Jay P. Cohen – Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal: BrynnNewton – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Hunter Harris Chamberlin– CCRC-M
Date of Offense: 09/04/82
Date of Sentence: 07/03/84
Circumstances of Offense:
Donald Dufour’s former girlfriend,Stacey Sigler, testified that on the evening of 09/04/82, Dufourtold her that he planned to find a homosexual man, and then rob and killhim. Dufour requested that Sigler drop him offat a bar and await his call. About one hour later, he called Sigler tohave her pick him up at his brother’s house. When she arrived, Dufour was searching the trunk of a car that Sigler did notrecognize and was wearing new jewelry – both the car and jewelry belonged tothe victim, later determined to be Zack Miller.
An associate of Dufour, RobertTaylor, testified that Dufour told him that he (Dufour) had used a .25 caliber pistol to shoot Zack Millerin an orange grove and then take his car. Taylor purchased a piece of thestolen jewelry from Dufour and helped him disassemblethe pistol and discard the pieces in a junkyard.
Another associate of Dufour,Raymond Ryan, testified that Dufour told him of thekilling and admitted to stealing the jewelry. Ryan also saw Dufour and Taylor disassemble the pistol.
A prison acquaintance of Dufour,Henry Miller, testified that Dufour also told him thedetails of the murder.
Zack Miller was found in an orange grove, with two gunshotwounds to his back and head.
Trial Summary:
01/20/83 Information presented by the State, charging one count of First-Degree
Murder
05/31/84 Jury returned a guilty verdict
05/31/84 Jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of 12-0
07/03/84 Sentenced to death
Additional Information:
On 03/06/86, Dufour pled nocontest and was sentenced to Life Imprisonment for the First-Degree Murder ofEdward Wise (Case# 83-319), committed on 07/04/82. In return for theplea, the State agreed to drop another murder charge against Dufour for the murder of John Stinson, who was killed atthe same time as Wise.
Dufour was convicted and sentencedto death for the 10/14/82 murder of Earl Peeples inMississippi. Robert Taylor, who testified against Dufouras to the murder of the Florida man, was a codefendant of Dufourand was convicted and sentenced to death for another murder committed at thesame time as Dufour’s murder of Peeples.
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 65,694
495 So.2d 154
08/06/84 Appeal filed
09/04/86 FSC affirmed conviction and sentence
10/27/86 Rehearing denied
12/02/86 Mandate issued
U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC# 86-6194
479 U.S. 1101
12/27/86 Petition filed
02/23/87 USSC denied Petition
Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
Case# 82-5467
09/21/92 Motion filed
10/16/01 Motion amended
05/30/03 Circuit Court denied Motion
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Motion Appeal
FSC# 03-1326
905 So.2d 42
07/30/03 Appeal filed
04/14/05 FSC affirmed denial of Motion
06/14/05 Rehearing denied
06/30/05 Mandate issued
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 04-232
905 So.2d 42
02/19/04 Petition filed
04/14/05 FSC denied Petition
06/14/05 Rehearing denied
06/30/05 Mandate issued
Circuit Court – 3.203 Motion
CC# 82-5467
11/24/04 Motion filed
08/09/05 Motion amended
12/19/08 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.203 Appeal
FSC# 09-262
(Pending)
02/16/09 Appeal filed
02/03/11 Denial affirmed
02/18/11 Motionfor rehearing
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:
The time between the denial of the Petition for Writ ofCertiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court and the filing of the 3.850 Motion inthe Circuit Court (02/23/87 – 09/21/92 have contributed to the delay. The3.850 Motion was pending from 09/21/92 – 05/30/03.
Case Information:
Dufour filed a Direct Appeal withthe Florida Supreme Court on 08/06/84, citing the following errors: denial of motion to suppress evidence; admission of evidence from Miller thatviolated his 6th Amendment right to counsel; denial of several motions formistrial (inappropriate prosecutorial evidence during opening statements);inappropriately limiting the cross-examination of Taylor; allowing a witness toread into evidence a statement made by Taylor; failure to issue a mistrial forprosecutorial comments during closing arguments that drew attention to Dufour’s failure to take the stand during the trial;conducting pretrial motion hearings in Dufour’sabsence; denial of Dufour’s motions for continuance;declining to impose sanctions for prosecutorial misconduct regarding discovery;forcing Dufour to wear leg shackles during trial ledto jury prejudice; denial of Dufour’s motion formistrial due to failure to dismiss a juror that had received a “strange” phonecall; denial of proposed special jury instructions during the penalty phase oftrial; admission of evidence of another murder in Mississippi; denial of amotion to strike death as a possible penalty due to failure to list allaggravating circumstances that might apply in the case; failure to establishtwo aggravating circumstances (avoiding a lawful arrest and cold, calculated,and premeditated murder); and unconstitutionality of Florida’s death penaltystatute. The FSC affirmed the conviction and sentence on 09/04/86.
Dufour filed a Petition for Writof Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on 12/27/86 that was denied on02/23/87.
Dufour filed a 3.850 Motion withthe Circuit Court on 09/21/92 and amended the Motion on 10/16/01. On05/30/03, the Circuit Court denied the Motion.
Dufour filed a 3.850 Motion Appealwith the Florida Supreme Court on 07/30/03, primarily citing allegations ofineffective assistance of counsel. On 04/14/05, the FSC affirmed the denialof the Motion.
Dufour filed a Petition for Writof Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court on 02/19/04, citing allegationsof ineffective assistance of counsel. On 04/14/05, the FSC denied thePetition.
Dufour filed a 3.203 Motion withthe Circuit Court on 11/24/04 and amended the motion on 8/9/05. A partialEvidentiary Hearing was held on 08/06/07 and 10/11/07. The motion wasdenied on 12/19/08.
Dufour filed a 3.203 Motion Appealwith the Florida Supreme Court on 02/16/09. The denial of Dufour’s3.203 motion was affirmed on 02/03/11. On 02/18/11, Dufour filed a motion for rehearing. That motion ispending.
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
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09/05/78 30 DISOBEYINGORDER LANTANA C.I.
11/30/80 30 POSS OFNEGOTIABLES MARIONC.I
03/10/81 0 BEING IN UNAUTH AREA MARIONC.I
03/30/81 0 BEING IN UNAUTH AREA MARIONC.I
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Report Date: 01/13/04 JFL
Approved: 01/26/04 WS
Updated: 03/18/11 JJK