Veterans on Florida's Death Row, Part III
This is Part III of the latest series from Tracking Florida’s Death Penalty: Veterans on Florida’s Death Row, exploring information about veterans who are or have been on Florida's death row.
This is Part III of the latest series from Tracking Florida’s Death Penalty: Veterans on Florida’s Death Row.1 In case you missed it, Part I addressed the veterans who have been executed in the State of Florida; it is available here. Part II addressed the veterans who died while on Florida’s death row; it is available here.
Exonerated
Florida has the highest number of death row exonerations in the nation, with 30 death-row exonerations since 1973. Two of Florida’s 30 death row exonerees are veterans.
Robert Cox
Robert Cox was a Lieutenant in the Army. He was convicted of first-degree murder in Orange County, Florida, and sentenced to death despite “adamantly and continuously proclaim[ing] his innocence.”
Cox spent 1.5 years on Florida’s death row before becoming Florida’s 12th death row exoneree following the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling on direct appeal reversing his 1988 conviction for first-degree murder and vacating his sentence of death.
Upon his release from death row, Cox “was turned over to prison authorities from California, where he [was required to] finish serving time on a previous kidnapping charge.”
Ron Wright
Ron Wright was an Air Force Sergeant and Orange County Deputy Sheriff before being sentenced to death following a jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 7-5. On direct appeal in May 2017, the Florida Supreme Court held that “the evidence [was] insufficient to sustain Wright's convictions.” Wright was Florida’s 27th death row exoneree.
Currently on Death Row
Several prisoners currently on Florida’s death row are U.S. military veterans. The list is in alphabetical order by last name and will be split into parts, as it is too long to be included in just one post. This post covers A-J. The entire list of Florida’s death row prisoners can be found on the Department of Corrections website here.
Raymond Bright (Duval County)
Raymond Bright was sentenced to two sentences of death for crimes that occurred in 2008 following the jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 8-4.2 At trial, there was testimony about Bright’s military service:
Attorney and former marine James Hernandez testified that Bright served nine-plus years in the United States Marine Corps (USMC), during which he served as a fighter jet mechanic. Hernandez described Bright's multiple promotions during his service in the USMC. Hernandez testified that Bright received two separate awards for good conduct, a prerequisite of which is three continuous years of honorable service in the USMC. Hernandez also explained that Bright received a Meritorious Mast Award for noticing a problem on a jet upon take-off which required it to land, thereby preventing a “tragic mishap.” Bright received two separate honorable discharges from the USMC, and one general discharge under honorable conditions. The reason for the general discharge was listed as “Alcohol Abuse Rehabilitation Failure.”3
At sentencing, the trial court considered Bright’s military service as follows and assigned the noted weight:
ten years of service in the USMC with two honorable discharges and a third discharge under honorable circumstances (considerable weight);
Bright has skills as a mechanic and served as an aviation mechanic in the USMC (some weight); and
Bright's actions as a USMC aviation mechanic likely saved lives (some weight)4
Bright is 70 years old.
Daniel Conahan, Jr. (Charlotte County)
Daniel Conahan was sentenced to death in 1999 for crimes that occurred in 1996 following a jury’s unanimous recommendation for death.5 There’s some indication in the record that Conahan served in the Navy. Other sources provide that Conahan joined the Navy in 1977 and was stationed at the Naval Base in Great Lakes, Illinois, but was soon discharged for inappropriate behavior.
Conahan is 69 years old.
James Dailey (Pinellas County)
James Dailey was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in 1985 following a jury’s unanimous recommendation for death.6 On direct appeal in 1991, the Florida Supreme Court struck two aggravating factors, reversed the sentence of death, and remanded for resentencing before the trial judge.
On remand, Dailey was again sentenced to death. In 1995, on direct appeal from resentencing, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed Dailey’s sentence of death.7
There has been extensive litigation related to Dailey’s sentence of death, including Dailey’s claims of innocence. In 2018, the Florida Supreme Court denied Dailey’s request for Hurst relief because his sentence became final before 2002.8 In 2019, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of Dailey’s second successive motion for postconviction relief.9 In 2020, Dailey was under an active death warrant.
While his military service is generally not discussed in the various decisions about his case, news reports (linked below) state that Dailey is a Vietnam veteran.
Dailey is 78 years old.
News Articles
Floyd Damren (Clay County)
Floyd Damren was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in 1994. Damren served in Vietnam. In 2022, Damren filed a motion for postconviction relief in part based on “newly discovered evidence of his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of the offenses” that he argued “renders his death sentence unreliable.”10 The claim was denied.
Damren is 73 years old.
Leon Davis, Jr. (Polk County)
Davis was sentenced to more than one sentence of death in two separate cases. The record indicates that “Davis . . . joined the military and while enlisted, he attempted suicide by hitting a concrete pole while driving at a high rate of speed. Thereafter, he was discharged from the military.”11 At sentencing in one case, the trial court considered Davis’s service in the Marine Corps as mitigation and gave it little weight.12
Davis is 47 years old.
TFDP Prior Coverage
Gary Hilton (Leon County)
Gary Hilton was sentenced to death in 2011 for crimes that occurred in 2007 following a jury’s unanimous recommendation for death.13 At sentencing, the trial court considered Hilton’s service in the U.S. military as mitigation and assigned it “very little weight.”14
Hilton is 78 years old.
George Hodges (Hillsborough County)
George Hodges was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in 1987. On direct appeal, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed Hodges’ conviction and sentence. However, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and vacated the Court’s decision for further consideration. On remand, the Florida Supreme Court reaffirmed its prior decision.
In postconviction, Hodges argued that his trial counsel failed to adequately research his school, military, and medical records for presenting mitigation at trial. The Florida Supreme Court denied this claim in 2004. However, Chief Justice Pariente dissented, writing that Hodges’ case is “particularly troubling” based on counsel’s “failure to investigate and present mitigation, in conjunction with defense counsel's failure to object to a patently improper penalty-phase closing argument.”15 According to the dissent, “the military records [in the postconviction record] indicate that Hodges was discharged after only fifty-five days by ‘reason of unsuitability’/’defective attitude.’ Internal military documents describe Hodges as ‘unable to adjust to a disciplined environment.’”16
Hodges is 67 years old.
Jeffrey Hutchinson (Okaloosa County)
Jeffrey Hutchinson was sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend and her three children in 1998.17 He waived a penalty-phase jury and was given three sentences of death—one for each child.18 In sentencing Hutchinson to death, the trial court considered that he was “a decorated military veteran of the Gulf War” as mitigation and assigned it “significant weight.”19 The Florida Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and sentences on direct appeal, and his sentences of death became final in 2004.
Bryan Jennings (Brevard County)
After two trials, Bryan Jennings was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in 1979 following the jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 9-3. At sentencing, the trial court did not find any mitigation. On direct appeal, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed Jennings’ convictions and sentence. This decision addressed Jennings’ military service.
However, on certiorari, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated and remanded for further consideration. On remand, the Florida Supreme Court vacated Jennings’ case for a new trial.
At the third trial, Jennings was again sentenced to death. On direct appeal, in 1987, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed Jennings’ convictions and sentence.
Jennings is 66 years old.
Tyrone Johnson (Hillsborough County)
Tyrone Johnson was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in 2018. In July 2024, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and sentence of death on direct appeal.
The Court’s opinion indicates that Johnson served in the military and had no prior criminal history. He had also been diagnosed with Depressive Disorder and Anxiety Disorder by the Veteran’s Administration.
Johnson is 48 years old.
Ray Johnston (Hillsborough County)
Ray Johnston was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in August 1997 following a jury’s unanimous recommendation for death.20 At sentencing the trial court considered Johnston’s service in the U.S. Air Force and honorable discharge as mitigation and assigned it “slight weight.”21
Johnston is 70 years old.
Randall Jones (Putnam County)
Randall Jones was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in 1987 following a jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 11-1.22 The record reflects that Jones served in the Army.23
Jones is 56 years old.
Due to the age of some records and the unavailability of some information, it is possible that the lists in this series are incomplete. If you know of a veteran who is not included on the lists in this series, please let me know. Also, for purposes of thoroughness, this series includes those who were discharged from the military. Thank you to the Death Penalty Information Center for their assistance with research.
Bright v. State, 90 So 3d 249, 255 (Fla. 2012).
Id.
Id. at 257.
Conahan v. State, 118 So. 3d 718, 725 (Fla. 2013).
Dailey v. State, 594 So. 2d 254 (Fla. 1991).
Dailey v. State, 659 So. 2d 246 (Fla. 1995).
Dailey v. State, 247 So. 3d 390 (Fla. 2018). For a full explanation of Hurst, see the five-part TFDP series available here. Even if his sentence was eligible for retroactive application of Hurst, he likely would not have been eligible for relief based on the jury’s unanimous recommendation for death.
Dailey v. State, 279 So. 3d 1208 (Fla. 2019).
Damren v. State, 2023 WL 5968167, at *1 (Fla. Sept. 14, 2023).
Davis v. State, 207 So. 3d 177, 187 (Fla. 2016).
Id. at 188.
Hilton v. State, 117 So. 3d 742, 749 (Fla. 2013).
Id.
Hodges v. State, 885 So. 2d 338, 363 (Fla. 2004) (Pariente, C.J., dissenting).
Id.
Hutchinson v. State, 343 So. 3d 50, 52 (Fla. 2022).
Id.
Hutchinson v. State, 882 So. 2d 943, 959 (Fla. 2004).
Johnston was also sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in February 1997 following a jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 11-1. Johnston v. State, 863 So. 2d 271, 277 (Fla. 2003). However, that sentence was later reduced to life.
Johnston v. State, 841 So. 2d 349 (Fla. 2002).
This was the jury’s recommendation in Jones’ second trial. On direct appeal after his first trial, Jones was granted a new trial.
Id. at n.27.