HUTCHINSON WARRANT: Clemency video and circuit court update
The circuit court litigation ahead of Hutchinson's execution scheduled May 1 is off to a fast start.
On Monday, Gov. DeSantis signed the fourth death warrant for the year setting Jeffrey Hutchinson’s execution for May 1 at 6:00 p.m. (More here.)
Clemency denied in December 2024
Jeffrey Hutchinson was recently denied clemency in December 2024. This week, Floridians to Alternatives to the Death Penalty posted a video from Hutchinson’s clemency proceedings, which you can watch at the link below:
Since the warrant was issued, Hutchinson’s family has been outspoken on social media. This week, his niece posted the video above with the following comment:
Circuit Court
The circuit court litigation ahead of Hutchinson's execution scheduled May 1 is off to a fast start. On Tuesday:
The State filed a Motion for Scheduling Order—as they have in the other three warrant cases this year.
Hutchinson filed a motion to stay the execution.
The State filed a response to Hutchinson’s motion to stay.
The circuit court held a hearing on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. CST/4:30 p.m. EST.
The circuit court entered an Order on First Case Management Conference.
Hutchinson’s Motion to Stay
Hutchinson’s motion to stay argues that DeSantis “inappropriately signed a death warrant despite the pendency of a postconviction motion in [the circuit court] based on newly discovered evidence raising serious and complex issues relating to Mr. Hutchinson’s mental health stemming from his service in the Gulf War, where he was exposed to sarin gas and repeated blast overpressure injuries to his brain.” The circuit court held a case management conference on these claims on March 6. Hutchinson argues that the court “should not tolerate the executive’s attempt to extinguish meritorious postconviction claims by seeking to simply fast-track the defendant’s execution before any meaningful judicial consideration can take place.”
The motion further argues that Gov. DeSantis “sought an unfair litigation advantage by informing nonparties of the upcoming warrant in advance while keeping it secret from Mr. Hutchinson and his counsel.” The motion references the following comment made on social media on March 21 (over a week before the warrant) by a member of the victims’ family:
The motion concludes:
Mr. Hutchinson is a decorated combat veteran of the Gulf War whose brain and body were damaged by his service to his country, and the new scientific evidence presented in the pending postconviction motion deserves meaningful consideration by this Court as the information directly impacts the validity of his capital convictions and death sentences. The Court itself acknowledged the need for time and consideration at the recent case management conference. The issues present in Mr. Hutchinson’s case require review that is not truncated by the exigencies of an imminent execution. The Court should grant a stay to ensure that Mr. Hutchinson’s pending motion is decided in the regular course and is not simply swept under the rug by a hasty execution.
The full motion can be downloaded here.
In response, the State argues that “neither the applicable statute, the applicable rule of court, nor the Florida Supreme Court’s caselaw authorize a stay merely because there is pending litigation.” The State argues that neither of Hutchinson’s pending claims are substantial and, therefore, do not warrant a stay. Further, the State argues that Gov. DeSantis “has complete discretion regarding the signing of a death warrant and the length of the warrant litigation” and that “[a] month-long warrant litigation schedule does not deprive Hutchinson of due process.”
As to notice of the warrant, the State argues that Hutchinson had notice of the warrant, writing: “Undersigned counsel emailed the signed warrant to both his state postconviction counsel and his federal habeas counsel at 7:07 p.m. on March 31, 2025.”
The full response can be downloaded here.
Case Management Order
The Court’s Order on First Case Management Conference and Notice of Filing Deadlines and Hearings outlines the following schedule:
April 2 at 1:00 CST: public records requests (PRRs) due
April 3 at 1:00 CST: objections to PRRs
April 4 at 9:00 CST: hearing on PRRs
April 4 at 2:00 CST: Court’s Order on PRRs
April 7 at 2:00 CST: postconviction motion due
April 8 at 3:00 CST: State’s Answer due
April 9 at 9:00 CST: case management conference
April 9 at 3:00 CST: Order on evidentiary hearing
April 11 at 8:00 CST: evidentiary hearing (if granted)
April 11 at 3:00 CST: final order
TFDP Prior Coverage of the Hutchinson Warrant
My thoughts are with everyone involved in the warrant- and execution-related process.
I feel so bad for Jeff. I wonder if any veteran's groups are going to come forward to help him. There is something very wrong with executing anyone, especially a war veteran. The film was excellent and touching. Melanie Kalmanson always does an amazing job with her writing. I wish that they would just abolish this barbaric practice.
I have some questions. How come Hutchinson has just been denied clemency in December 2024 when his appeals were exhausted in 2012?
Are there other inmates that have been denied clemency recently? This process does seem very random.