Gregory Capehart

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About Gregory:
DOB: 08/09/67
Date of Sentence: 04/11/89 

 
 
Who is Gregory?

Gregory was born on August 9, 1967, lived in Dade City, Florida. His mother was an alcohol addicted, during her pregnancy never more than two days passed by without being completely drunk. 

As the mother arrived at home with the baby after a difficult delivering, the father throw the baby through the window out into the rain. In the following years the parents took rarely care of Gregory, they did not speak to him, apart from letting him know that he was unwanted and unloved. Added to this his parents fought all the time and didn't stop from being violent. These familiar surroundings left their marks, Gregory had mental problems and later went to a school for mentally retarded children.  

After his parents separated, Gregory lived with his maternal grandmother in Orlando. Life got not better there, it only changed. Grandmother's favorite was Gregory's older brother Raymond. He was intelligent, an athlete and could do no wrong to his grandmother. The same could not be said for Gregory, who suffered from the rage of his Grandmother and got beaten by her, even then Raymond was the wrongdoer.

Gregory's childhood was stamped by constant rejection on one hand and a permanent struggling for acceptance on the other hand.

Gregory started drinking in a very young age and like father and mother he drank till being completely drunk. 

All this could have caused him getting a angry young man. But this did not happen. Even when attacked, he would not fight back. Many times he was beaten by the children of the neighborhood, but he never fought back. His nonviolent behavior and the open talks about his Christian believes earned him the nickname "Preacher".

As a youth he went back to his father in Dade City. It didn’t went well between the two and Gregory lived on the streets. He came into the wrong crowd and did all that older children told him to do, to get accepted by them. This way he became toy of drug-addicted and criminals.

In the age of 15 he was transferred to a youth-center because of burglary, he described that time as the “best in his life”. After this he went back to the streets.

During a time in jail in 1985 he tried several time to commit suizide.

In his psychological report of Feb. 2nd, 2002 Dr. Bill E. Mosman finds, that Gregory is classified as mentally retarded after Florida’s law.

The Crime and Circumstances of the Crime

Gregory was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of 62-year-old Marlene Reeves.

Marlene Reeves, the victim, was an elderly woman who lived independently in her apartment. She was physically ill and also mentally retarded, wasn’t able either to read nor write. This was reason why people around her took advantage of her. Edith Snow, a friend of the victim, testified that many people took advantage of Reeves.

Reeves’ body was discovered by Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Clark. He investigated a reported break-in at Rebecca Henry’s apartment. She was awaken by an intruder at 5 a.m. Henry described the intruder as a black male, 5’9’’ tall, 165 lbs – no similarity to Gregory.

Deputy Clark wanted to question the direct neighbor of Henry – Marlene Reeves.

He found Reeves’ apartment ransacked and her body lying on her bed, with a pillow covering her face. She was smothered with a pillow and after the Medical examiners she was sexual assault prior to death. Investigators lifted a palm print from the scene, which was later found to match Gregory Capehart’s.

Witnesses

A neighbor of Reeves – R. Caruthers – testified that he saw a man wearing a yellow/orange trench-coat between 4.40 and 6.00 a.m. heading to Reeve’s apartment.

D. Harrison testified, she saw Capehart that night with a black trench-coat.

Rebecca Henry – the woman next door – who was awakened by an intruder: In trial the state made the jury believe that Gregory also burglarized her apartment. However Henry had not identified him and her description did not fit Gregory.

Further Facts

There was another crime suspect, the state knew his name and had access to this individual's fingerprints. His fingerprints were never compared to those retrieved from the scene of the crime. Nothing of that all was revealed to the defense - possible evidence for Gregory's innocence.
  
Gregory made statements. The state knew that these statements were coerced. The statements were consistent with the initial results of the investigation. However later it was discovered that the initial interpretation of the evidence was wrong, therefore the coerced statements of Gregory didn't fit the evidence anymore. That fact too the state tried to hide from defense and jury. The state asked the jury simply to ignore evidence that was inconsistent with the statements. 
  
The mental health experts, who testified for the state, got the statements presented as the truth, therefore they reached completely forged conclusions and presented these conclusions to the jury.
  
They found a partial palm print at the outer window-screen, that fit Gregory's. The state presented this as evidence of his guilt and clamed that the perpetrator entered the victim's bedroom through the window. However this is contrary to the other evidence, during investigation it became clear, that the perpetrator came through the door and left through the window. Therefore the palm print is without conclusiveness.
The coerced statements was consistent with what the state wrongly believed at first (perpetrator entered through the window).
   
Gregory's story:
He was selling drugs at that day. Somebody wanted to buy drugs, but told Gregory he had no money with him. Therefore this man had to get his money. Greg accompanied him. Greg was waiting outside. When he looked through the window, he saw the man on that woman, pushing a pillow on her face. Greg panicked and run...
 
 
 
 

Trial Summary

02/24/88 – Gregory indicted on First Degree Murder and Burglary with intent to commit assault

04/20/88 – Gregory entered a plea of “not guilty”

02/22/89 – An all-white jury (the victim was white too – Gregory is black) found Gregory guilty of First Degree Murder and Burglary Without Intent to Commit Assault

02/23/89 – The jury voted for the death penalty by a 7 to 5 majority. , voted for the death penalty. The official sentencing is on 04/11/89

In the following direct appeal the Florida Supreme Court confirmed conviction and sentence. The US Supreme Court refused in January 1992 to hear the case.