HUTCHINSON WARRANT: SCOTUS Petitions and Insanity Appeal
Hutchinson’s execution is scheduled for Thursday at 6:00 p.m. He now has three petitions pending at SCOTUS and a new appeal at the Florida Supreme Court.
Jeffrey Hutchinson’s execution is scheduled for Thursday at 6:00 p.m. As I covered yesterday, the Bradford County circuit court denied his claim of insanity for execution late Sunday night. He now has three petitions pending at the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) and a new appeal at the Florida Supreme Court related to the circuit court’s determination that he is competent for execution.
SCOTUS Petitions
So far, Hutchinson has filed three petitions for writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court. (He will likely end up with a total of four.)
Florida Supreme Court (No. 24-7079)
On Sunday, Hutchinson filed a petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision affirming the circuit court’s denial of his third successive postconviction motion raising newly discovered evidence related to his Gulf War Illness. He also filed an application for a stay of execution.
The petition presents the following questions:
Yesterday, the State filed its brief in opposition.
The State reframed the issues as follows:
Today, an amicus brief was filed in support of Hutchinson by three amici organizations: (1) the Center for Veteran Criminal Advocacy, (2) Disability Rights Florida, and (3) Cornell Law School Veterans Law Practicum.
Amici argue that executing Hutchinson dishonors veterans across the country who have suffered and continue to suffer from similar impacts from their military service. The Summary of Argument states:
Sergeant Jeffrey Hutchinson began his military service as part of the U.S. National Guard. He went on to honorably serve in the active U.S. Army for eight years and was deployed to Saudi Arabia. As a combat veteran of the 1990 Gulf War, he—like many veterans of the conflict—experienced brutal violence, multiple artillery explosions, and exposure to sarin nerve gas and other toxic substances from chemical weapons in the conflict. The experiences that Gulf War veterans faced, and their lasting effects today, mean that these veterans must be regarded not only with the utmost honor and respect, but with deep compassion and understanding for the burdens they bore, and continue to bear, on our behalf.
Service in the Gulf War came at the cost of health for many soldiers, including Sgt. Hutchinson. The ubiquitous use of burn pits near U.S. military bases exposed soldiers to toxic chemicals and caused, among other issues, significant organ damage. From 2022, scientific research began to conclusively establish that the use of nerve gas throughout the conflict introduced further lifelong physical complications. In fact, the particular symptoms that result from exposure to the various toxic agents used during the Gulf War are so prevalent and so particularized that Gulf War Illness has become a medically- and congressionally recognized condition suffered by veterans of the conflict.
Congress and courts alike have continually recognized the importance of acknowledging the effects of the Gulf War on those who served. Congress has passed legislation such as the [PACT Act], and this Court has acknowledged the importance of a capital defendant’s military history in the sentencing process.
Sgt. Hutchinson’s sacrifice for our nation during the Gulf War has left him with mental and physical scars shared by many who served with him—he suffers from PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and Gulf War Illness, among other healthcare issues. Recent discoveries about Gulf War Illness shed new light on Sgt. Hutchinson’s cognitive defects as a result of the conflict, information that likely would have changed the outcome of his case had it been discovered before his trial.
The failure to consider the effects of Sgt. Hutchinson military service in contemplation of his capital sentence is not only a failure to honor Sgt. Hutchinson’s and other veterans’ sacrifices to this nation, but an affront to the founding charter of the nation they so bravely defend. Veterans who served in the Gulf War deserve proper consideration of their battle scars, visible or not. To execute Sgt. Hutchinson without due consideration of his service—and its effects—is a violation of our constitution and of our patriotic duty to honor our veterans.
The filings can be accessed on the Court’s docket here.
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (No. 24-7084)
Yesterday, Hutchinson filed a petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of the Eleventh Circuit’s decision affirming the denial of his request for reconsideration of a prior judgment in his case. He also filed an application for a stay of execution.
The petition presents the following questions:
The filings can be accessed on the Court’s docket here.
Florida Supreme Court (No. 24-7087)
This morning, Hutchinson filed his third petition related to the Florida Supreme Court’s affirming the circuit court’s denial of his fourth successive postconviction motion and denying his petition for writ of habeas corpus.
The questions presented in the petition are as follows:
Florida Supreme Court Appeal on Insanity
Yesterday, Hutchinson filed a Notice of Appeal of the Bradford County court’s ruling that he is competent for execution (No. SC2025-0590). Shortly after, the Court entered a scheduling Order outlining the following briefing schedule:
April 29 at 10:00 a.m.: Initial Brief due
April 29 at 4:30 p.m.: Answer Brief due
April 30 at 10:00 a.m.: Reply Brief due
This morning, Hutchinson filed his Initial Brief and a motion to stay the execution.
In the Initial Brief, Hutchinson raises three claims: (1) the circuit court erred in finding Hutchinson competent to be executed, (2) the circuit court erred in denying Hutchinson’s motion to stay execution, and (3) the circuit court erred in denying Hutchinson’s discovery request.
In the motion to stay, Hutchinson argues he’s “entitled to a stay so that th[e] Court, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the lower federal courts may meaningfully consider his competency to be executed.”
The filings for this case can be accessed on the Court’s docket here.
TFDP Prior Coverage of the Hutchinson Warrant
My thoughts are with everyone involved in the warrant- and execution-related process.
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How many petitions for writ of certiorari have the four people he murdered filed? Asking for four dead people, including three children: Geoffrey (aged nine), Amanda (aged seven) and Logan (aged four).