Veterans on Florida's Death Row, Part VIII
This is Part VIII 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.
Welcome to Part VIII of the latest series from Tracking Florida’s Death Penalty: Veterans on Florida’s Death Row—the final Part of this series.1 In case you missed it:
Part I addressed the veterans who have been executed in the State of Florida;
Part II addressed the veterans who died while on Florida’s death row;
Part III addressed the 2 veterans who have been exonerated from Florida’s death row as well as the first part of the veterans currently on Florida’s death row
Part IV addressed the second group of veterans currently on Florida’s death row;
Part V addressed the third group of veterans currently on Florida’s death row;
Part VI addressed the first set of veterans who were sentenced to death but later resentenced to a lower sentence;
Part VII addressed the second set of veterans who were sentenced to death but later resentenced to a lower sentence
NOTE: The prior posts in this series have been updated as research is completed to add information. Check back to the prior posts for up-to-date information.
Resentenced
In addition to the veterans currently on Florida’s death row (Parts III-V), there are several veterans who were previously sentenced to death in Florida and have since been resentenced. Part VI addressed the first group of such veterans. This is the second set.
Lionel Miller (Orange County)
Lionel Miller was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in April 2006 following the jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 11-1.1 In sentencing Miller to death, the trial court considered Miller’s “prior military service” as mitigation.2 On direct appeal in 2010, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed Miller’s conviction and sentence. His sentence became final in January 2011.
After Hurst, Miller was granted a new penalty phase. DOC records show he was resentenced to life in prison and died in custody on November 3, 2018.
George Porter (Brevard County)
George Porter was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in 1986 following the jury’s unanimous recommendation for death.3 On direct appeal, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and sentence. His sentence of death became final in 1990.
In 2001, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of postconviction relief. In part, Porter claimed his penalty phase counsel was ineffective for failing to present evidence related to his “military combat service in Korea.”4 Justice Anstead’s concurring in part and dissenting in part opinion noted that Porter “was decorated numerous times and honorably discharged,” writing:
Lieutenant Colonel Sherman Pratt testified in great detail at the postconviction evidentiary hearing that Porter provided heroic service during the Korean War and, more importantly for purposes of mitigation, he testified that Porter clearly suffered both physically and mentally, and that his company suffered the heaviest casualties in battle. Porter joined the Army at age sixteen. Porter's service in the war earned him several combat medals, including: three Bronze Stars; the Combat Infantry Badge; and a Purple Heart (with first cluster). Moreover, he was favorably considered for the Good Conduct Medal, was entitled to award of the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, and was subsequently honorably discharged.5
Porter’s federal habeas litigation ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2009, the Court issued a decision that explored Porter’s military service in detail, writing that Porter' “is a veteran who was both wounded and decorated for his active participation in two major engagements during the Korean War” and explaining:
To escape his horrible family life, Porter enlisted in the Army at age 17 and fought in the Korean War. . . . Porter was with the 2d Division, which had advanced above the 38th parallel to Kunu-ri when it was attacked by Chinese forces. Porter suffered a gunshot wound to the leg during the advance but was with the unit for the battle at Kunu-ri. While the 8th Army was withdrawing, the 2d Division was ordered to hold off the Chinese advance, enabling the bulk of the 8th Army to live to fight another day. As Colonel Pratt described it, the unit “went into position there in bitter cold night, terribly worn out, terribly weary, almost like zombies because we had been in constant—for five days we had been in constant contact with the enemy fighting our way to the rear, little or no sleep, little or no food, literally as I say zombies.” 1 Tr. 138 (Jan. 4, 1996). The next morning, the unit engaged in a “fierce hand-to-hand fight with the Chinese” and later that day received permission to withdraw, making Porter's regiment the last unit of the 8th Army to withdraw. Id., at 139–140.
Less than three months later, Porter fought in a second battle, at Chip'yong-ni. His regiment was cut off from the rest of the 8th Army and defended itself for two days and two nights under constant fire. After the enemy broke through the perimeter and overtook defensive positions on high ground, Porter's company was charged with retaking those positions. In the charge up the hill, the soldiers “were under direct open fire of the enemy forces on top of the hill. They immediately came under mortar, artillery, machine gun, and every other kind of fire you can imagine and they were just dropping like flies as they went along.” Id., at 150. Porter's company lost all three of its platoon sergeants, and almost all of the officers were wounded. Porter was again wounded, and his company sustained the heaviest losses of any troops in the battle, with more than 50% casualties. Colonel Pratt testified that these battles were “very trying, horrifying experiences,” particularly for Porter's company at Chip'yong-ni. Id., at 152. Porter's unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for the engagement at Chip'yong-ni, and Porter individually received two Purple Hearts and the Combat Infantryman Badge, along with other decorations.
Colonel Pratt testified that Porter went absent without leave (AWOL) for two periods while in Korea. He explained that this was not uncommon, as soldiers sometimes became disoriented and separated from the unit, and that the commander had decided not to impose any punishment for the absences. In Colonel Pratt's experience, an “awful lot of [veterans] come back nervous wrecks. Our [veterans'] hospitals today are filled with people mentally trying to survive the perils and hardships [of] . . . the Korean War,” particularly those who fought in the battles he described. Id., at 153.
When Porter returned to the United States, he went AWOL for an extended period of time. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for that infraction, but he received an honorable discharge. After his discharge, he suffered dreadful nightmares and would attempt to climb his bedroom walls with knives at night. . . .6
As a result of that decision, Porter was granted a new trial. He was later resentenced to life. He died in custody on February 19, 2016, at the age of 84.
James Walker (Miami-Dade County)
James Walker was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in 1993 following the jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 7-5.7 At the penalty phase, Walker’s grandmother testified that “James served in the military for several years just after high school and, upon receiving an honorable discharge, returned home . . . .”8
On direct appeal in 1997, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed Walker’s “convictions and his sentences for the noncapital felony offenses, but remand[ed] . . . for a careful and proper reconsideration by the trial court to be completed within 120 days as to the sentences for capital felonies where Walker's abusive upbringing—a significant mitigating factor—as well as the other ‘positive’ nonstatutory mitigators . . . are accorded appropriate consideration and weight in the trial court's sentencing process.”9
According to DOC records, Walker was resentenced to life and remains in custody. He is currently 64 years old.
Darcus Wright (St. Lucie County)
Darcus Wright was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in 1993 following a jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 8-4. In mitigation, the trial court determined “Wright had a good military . . . record.”10
On direct appeal, in 1996, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed his conviction but reversed the death sentence after determining the sentence was disproportionate.11 The Court remanded for a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
Wright remains in DOC custody. He is 64 years old.
Sentence Pending
At least two veterans are awaiting trial on capital charges on which the State seeks the death penalty.
Nathan Gingles (Broward County)
Nathan Gingles is charged with killing several of his family members. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. According to news reports, Gingles is an Army veteran. He “served in the U.S. Army from February 2011 to January 2019, leaving as a captain, according to Army records. He was deployed to Afghanistan from July 2013 to January 2014.”
TFDP Prior Coverage
Bryan Riley (Polk County)
Bryan Riley is charged with four counts of first-degree murder. According to news reports, Riley is a Marine veteran “who served as a sharpshooter in Iraq and Afghanistan. . . . He worked as a private security guard and had no criminal history.”
TFDP Prior Coverage
Miller v. State, 42 So. 3d 204, 212 (Fla. 2010).
Id.
Porter v. State, 788 So. 2d 917, 920 (Fla. 2001). Porter was convicted of a second count of first-degree murder for which the jury recommended death by a vote of 10-2; however, the trial court did not sentence Porter to death on that count.
Id. at 921.
Id. at 933 (Anstead, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
Porter v. McCollum, 558 U.S. 30 (2009) (footnotes omitted).
Walker v. State, 707 So. 2d 300 (Fla. 1997).
Id. at 307.
Id. at 319.
Wright v. State, 688 So. 2d 298, 301 (Fla. 1996).
Id. Note that the Florida Supreme Court no longer conducts proportionality review.
I do not believe in the death penalty