WARRANT: James files postconviction motion and other motions
Last week, Gov. DeSantis signed a death warrant scheduling the execution of Edward James for 6:00 p.m. on March 20. Yesterday, James filed several motions seeking relief from the execution.
Last week, Gov. DeSantis signed a warrant for Edward James’ execution,1 which is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on March 20. If completed, it will be the second execution in the State this year.
On Friday, the circuit court revised its case management order. The original post on the case management schedule has been updated with the revised schedule.
Yesterday, James filed a successive motion for postconviction relief ahead of his scheduled execution. Then he filed a motion for stay of execution and for leave to amend his successive motion for postconviction relief. James also filed a motion for MRI, CT Scan, PET or SPECT Scan and EEG.
Postconviction Motion
James raises three claims in his successive postconviction motion.
In this claim, James argues that he does not simply “rely on the length of his death row stay.” Rather, he “argues that the totality of his circumstances – including his rapidly declining mental and physical health during that period – render his execution unconstitutional in violation of the Eighth Amendment[] . . . .”
The motion explains that James suffered a “near-fatal” heart attack while on death row in January 2023. He was “found in his cell unresponsive and blue in color. It is unknown how long he went without oxygen before he was found. He required several rounds of resuscitation before being transferred to UF Health Gaineville, including three rounds of shocks delivered via an automated external defibrillator and followed by four rounds of compressions over a near thirty-minute period.” While he was in the hospital, he was intubated. In addition, the motion states that James “has, for years, suffered from a dementing process” that was exacerbated by the cardiac event.
In this claim, James argues that his 2023 brain scans show that his execution would violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.
This claim is based on the jury’s nonunanimous recommendation for death that underlies James’ sentence.
A full copy of the Motion can be downloaded here.
Motion for Stay
Shortly after the postconviction motion, James filed a motion for stay of execution and for leave to amend his postconviction motion. The Motion asks the court to “issue a stay in order to allow counsel for James a meaningful opportunity to review recently disclosed records, investigate, visit James, consult with experts, allow experts additional time to file their reports, allow James to undergo additional neurological imaging studies to support his claims, file an amended and comprehensive Rule 3.851 motion, and appear in person for the potential evidentiary hearing.”
A full copy of the Motion for Stay can be downloaded here.
Motion for Neoruoimaging
Finally, James filed a motion requesting the Court to allow him to be transported for imaging of his neurological functions. The motion argues that “[m]ultiple experts have concluded that additional neuroimaging scans are needed to support their diagnoses of his brain impairments.”
TFDP Prior Coverage of the James Warrant
My thoughts are with everyone involved in the warrant- and execution-related process.