WARRANT: Circuit court denies Ford's postconviction motion
James Ford's execution is scheduled for February 13. The circuit court entered has entered an Order denying Ford’s motion.
James Ford’s execution is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 13, 2025—the first for the State in 2025.
Ahead of his execution, Ford filed a two-count successive motion for postconviction relief in the circuit court. (More here.) The circuit court denied Ford’s request for an evidentiary hearing on his motion. (More here.)
Late yesterday, the circuit court entered a 22-page Order denying Ford’s motion. (The motion was not publicly available until this afternoon.)
First, as to Ford’s claim that his death sentence is unconstitutional under Roper because of his mental age at the time of the crime, the circuit court determined that the claim is “untimely, was previously raised and explicitly abandoned by Defendant, and asserts no facts that can be considered ‘newly discovered.’” The court discusses that Ford was 36 at the time of the crime, but the evidence at trial established and the trial court found that his “developmental age was fourteen . . . .” However, it was not determined that he is intellectually disabled to be ineligible for the death penalty under Atkins.
Second, as to Ford’s claim that his death sentence is unconstitutional due to the jury’s 11-1 jury recommendation for death, the court concluded that Ford was “simply attempting to re-argue'“ his previously denied Hurst claim “under the guise of there being ‘newly discovered’ case law, vis-a-vis, Erlinger.” The court found that the claim is procedurally barred and, otherwise, without merit. Therefore, the court denied relief.
The full Order can be accessed on the Florida Supreme Court docket here.
According to the Florida Supreme Court’s Scheduling Order (outlined here), Ford’s notice of appeal of the circuit court’s ruling and any habeas petition is due Monday at 9:00 a.m.
TFDP Prior Coverage of the Ford Warrant
My thoughts are with everyone involved in the warrant- and execution-related process.
It sounds like the lower FL courts are getting tired of denying, denying, denying responsibility to look at justice, justice, justice = "just us"-"go away". One could see the safeguard cliffs start crumbling when the previously unbreachable "unanimous verdict" feature of DP litigation gave way (relatively) recently. My heart goes out to him and others like him, especially in Florida. As a now-retired public defender death penalty trial attorney during the 1980s New Orleans area, I know what it is all about. I am just outdated by now, however.