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.
FLOYD, Franklin Delano (W/M)
AKA Warren Judson Marshall, Clarence Hughes
DC# R30302
DOB: 06/17/43
Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pinellas County Case # 97-20160
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Nancy MoateLey
Attorney, Trial: Pro Se / Michael Schwartzberg & RichardWatts – Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Douglas Connor – Assistant PublicDefender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Maria Chamberlin &David Gemmer – CCRC-M & Pro Se (Fed)
Date of Offense: 03/13/89 – 06/16/89
Date of Sentence: 11/22/02
Circumstances of Offense:
In the spring of 1989, Franklin Floyd was living under analias with his daughter Sharon and her son. Sharon and Cheryl Commesso worked as exotic dancers at a club. Shortlyafter St. Patrick’s Day of 1989, Floyd and Commessowere engaged in a heated argument outside the club, when a coworker of Commesso intervened. Floyd claimed that Commesso was responsible for Sharon’s loss of Medicaidcoverage for her son (Floyd’s grandson). The coworker also knew thatFloyd had recently struck Commesso and caused abruise on her face.
Commesso was last seen aliveduring the first week of April 1989. She left her house with a packed bagand told her relatives that she would see them the following week. Hercar was located at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport, where it had beenparked since April 7, 1989.
In May of 1989, Floyd told a neighbor that he was going onvacation and asked the neighbor to mow the lawn and collect his mail. OnJune 15, 1989, Floyd and Sharon, using assumed names, married in NewOrleans. On June 16, 1989, Floyd’s trailer burned down, and Floyd latercalled the neighbor and asked that his mail be burned.
In March of 1995, landscape workers found the skeletalremains of Commesso in an area off Interstate 275 inPinellas County, Florida. Roots growing in the skeleton indicated herremains had been there for six or seven years.
In March of 1995, the owner of a Kansas auto repair businessfound a large envelope stuck between the truck bed and the top of the gas tankof a truck he had recently purchased at an auction. In the envelope, hefound 97 small and irregularly cropped photos, including many
pictures of a woman, beaten andbound, later identified as Commesso. The truckwas traced back to Floyd, who had stolen it in Oklahoma in September 1994, buthad abandoned it in Texas the following month.
The medical examiner determined that injuries to the cheekof Commesso’s skull were consistent with injuriessustained by Commesso in the pictures recovered fromthe truck. Also, similarities in clothing and jewelry were found betweenthe pictures of Commesso and items found with herremains. One of the pictures of Commessocontained an image of someone else’s thumb, which was found by an FBI analystto contain multiple similarities to Floyd’s thumb. Many of the picturescontained images of furniture, a boat, and areas of a trailer, all of whichbelonged to Floyd.
Additional Information:
After serving a federal prison sentence for a 1963 bankrobbery conviction, Floyd absconded from federal parole in 1973. He was afugitive at the time of the Commesso murder.
Floyd also has a 1995 federal conviction for carjacking andkidnapping, as well as a 1997 Oklahoma conviction for burglary with intent toassault and assault with a dangerous weapon.
A competency hearing was held in the Circuit Court on01/30/07, and on 03/12/07, Floyd was declared incompetent to proceed.
Trial Summary:
11/12/97 Indicted on one count of First-DegreeMurder
09/27/02 Jury returned a guilty verdict on the sole count of the indictment
10/01/02 Jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0
11/22/02 Sentenced to Death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC # 03-35
913 So. 2d 564
01/09/03 Direct Appeal filed
10/12/05 FSC affirmed conviction and sentence
11/10/05 Mandate issued
Circuit Court – 3.851 Motion
CC# 97-20160
(Pending)
01/08/07 Motion filed
03/12/07 Declared Floyd incompetent to proceed.
07/03/07 Amended motion filed
08/17/07 Motion denied in part and holding in abeyance in part
07/21/09 Declared Floyd incompetent to proceed
U.S. District Court, Middle District – Petition forWrit of Habeas Corpus
USDC# 06-01065
06/06/06 Petition filed
06/28/06 USDC dismissed petition
U.S. District Court, Middle District – Petition forWrit of Habeas Corpus
USDC# 06-1402
(Pending)
07/27/06 Petition filed
11/30/06 Petition dismissed
12/11/06 Certificate of Appealability filed
01/18/07 Certificate of Appealability denied
04/09/08 Petition denied on remand
07/14/10 Petition amended
07/14/10 Motion to stay proceedings
08/02/10 Order granting motion to stay proceedings until resolution of statepost-conviction proceedings
U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit – Petition forWrit of Habeas Corpus Appeal
USCA# 06-16702
12/11/06 Appeal filed
05/10/07 Mandate issued: denial of appeal is reversed and remanded to District Court
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 08-1148
06/03/08 Petition filed
12/17/08 Petition dismissed
Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition ofthe Sentence
The 3.851 Motion filed in 2007 has been pending due tocompetency proceedings.
Case Information:
On 01/09/03, Floyd filed a Direct Appeal with the FloridaSupreme Court, raising the following issues: sufficiency of evidence, admissionof collateral crime evidence, admission of photographic evidence, admission ofexpert testimony, improper State closing argument, applicability of Ring v.Arizona, and applicability of the Eighth Amendment. On 10/12/05, the FSCaffirmed the conviction and sentence.
On 01/08/07, Floyd filed a 3.851 Motion with the CircuitCourt. A competency hearing was held on 01/30/07, and on 03/12/07, theCircuit Court declared Floyd incompetent to proceed. On 07/03/07, Floyd filedan amended motion. On 08/17/07, this motion was denied in part, and heldin abeyance in part. On 07/27/09, Floyd was declared incompetent to proceed.This motion is currently pending.
On 06/06/06, Floyd filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus with the U.S. District Court, Middle District, which was dismissed on06/28/06.
On 07/27/06, Floyd filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus with the U.S. District Court, Middle District, which was dismissed on11/30/06. The Certificate of Appealability was denied on 01/18/07. On07/14/10, the petition was amended and a motion to stay proceedings was filed.On 08/02/10, the USDC granted the motion to stay proceedings pending theresolution of state proceedings. This appeal is currently pending.
On 12/11/06, Floyd filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus Appeal with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, whichreversed the lower court’s denial and remanded the case back to the U.S.District Court on 05/10/07. The petition was denied by U.S. DistrictCourt on 04/09/08.
Floyd filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with theFlorida Supreme Court on 06/03/08 that was dismissed on 12/17/08.
Institutional Adjustment:
THE FOLLOWING ENTRIES REFLECTDISCIPLINARY ACTIONS AGAINST THE INMATE FOR VIOLATION OF THE RULE CITED ANDINDICATE THE GAIN TIME DAYS LOST.
DATE DAYS VIOLATION LOCATION
02/24/03 4 LYING TOSTAFF FLORIDA STATE PRISON
05/09/03 0 DISRESP.TO OFFICIALS UNIONC.I.
05/09/03 4 DISRESP.TO OFFICIALS UNION C.I.
05/30/03 0 DISRESP.TO OFFICIALS UNION C.I.
06/20/03 0 DISRESP.TOOFFICIALS UNION C.I.
06/20/03 0 DISORDERLYCONDUCT UNIONC.I.
06/28/03 0 UNARMED ASSAULT UNIONC.I.
06/28/03 0 UNARMEDASSAULT UNIONC.I.
07/05/03 0 SPOKEN THREATS UNION C.I.
07/06/03 0 DEST. OF ST. PROP. UNION C.I.
11/24/03 12 DISORDERLY CONDUCT UNION C.I.
04/19/04 0 DISRESP.TO OFFICIALS UNION C.I.
07/19/04 40 DISOBEYING ORDER UNIONC.I.
10/28/04 16 DISRESP.TOOFFICIALS UNION C.I.
05/17/05 30 BARTERING WITH OTHER UNION C.I.
04/11/06 90 UNARMED ASSAULT UNION C.I.
________________________________________________________________________
Report Date: 01/11/06 JFL
Updated: 08/11/10 KKR