http://jweb.flcourts.org/pls/docket/ds_docket?p_caseyear=1960&p_casenumber=83638
Case Docket
Case Number: SC60-83638 - Closed
DANNY HAROLD ROLLING vs. STATE OF FLORIDA
09/21/1998
ORDER-CIRCUIT COURT
APPOINTING COLLATERAL COUNSEL - FOR CAPITAL POSTCONVICTIONRELIEF (BAYA HARRISON, III)
12/30/1999
Fee Paid in Full
09/22/2006
DEATH WARRANT (JEB BUSH)
09/27/2006
ORDER-DEP WARRANT SCHEDULE
The Governor has signed a death warrant for the execution of Danny Harold Rolling.
The execution is scheduled to take place at 6:00 p.m., October 25, 2006.
We direct that further proceedings, if any, in this case be expedited.
Matters pending in the trial court, if any, shall be acted on and orders disposing of those matters entered by October 9, 2006.
A Notice of Appeal, if any, shall be filed by October 10, 2006.
The parties shall file simultaneous briefs, if any, by 3:00 p.m., October 12, 2006.
The record on appeal shall be filed by 3:00 p.m., October 12, 2006.
We hereby reserve October 18, 2006, for oral argument, if necessary, to hear any proceedings that may come before this Court.
Per this Court's Administrative Order In Re: Mandatory Submission of Electronic Copies of Documents AOSC04-84 dated September 13, 2004, counsel are directed to transmit a copy of all documents, including any attachments and appendices, in an electronic format as required by the provisions of that order.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Florida Supreme Court Scheduling Order - Danny Rolling
Filed_09-27-2006_SchedulingOrder.pdf
Supreme Court of Florida
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
CASE NO.: SC83638
Lower Tribunal No.: 91-3832-CF-A
DANNY HAROLD ROLLING vs. STATE OF FLORIDA
__________________________________________________________________
Appellant(s) Appellee(s)
The Governor has signed a death warrant for the execution of Danny Harold
Rolling. The execution is scheduled to take place at 6:00 p.m., October 25, 2006. We
direct that further proceedings, if any, in this case be expedited.
Matters pending in the trial court, if any, shall be acted on and orders disposing
of those matters entered by October 9, 2006. A Notice of Appeal, if any, shall be
filed by October 10, 2006.
The parties shall file simultaneous briefs, if any, by 3:00 p.m., October 12,
2006. The record on appeal shall be filed by 3:00 p.m., October 12, 2006. We
hereby reserve October 18, 2006, for oral argument, if necessary, to hear any
proceedings that may come before this Court.
Per this Court's Administrative Order In Re: Mandatory Submission of
Electronic Copies of Documents AOSC04-84 dated September 13, 2004, counsel are
directed to transmit a copy of all documents, including any attachments and
appendices, in an electronic format as required by the provisions of that order.
A True Copy
Served:
BAYA HARRISON, III
COURT REPORTERS
CAROLYN M. SNURKOWSKI
WILLIAM P. CERVONE
HON. J. K. "BUDDY" IRBY, CLERK
HON. STAN R. MORRIS, JUDGE
HON. FREDERICK D. SMITH, CHIEF JUDGE
Supreme Court of Florida
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
CASE NO.: SC83638
Lower Tribunal No.: 91-3832-CF-A
DANNY HAROLD ROLLING vs. STATE OF FLORIDA
__________________________________________________________________
Appellant(s) Appellee(s)
The Governor has signed a death warrant for the execution of Danny Harold
Rolling. The execution is scheduled to take place at 6:00 p.m., October 25, 2006. We
direct that further proceedings, if any, in this case be expedited.
Matters pending in the trial court, if any, shall be acted on and orders disposing
of those matters entered by October 9, 2006. A Notice of Appeal, if any, shall be
filed by October 10, 2006.
The parties shall file simultaneous briefs, if any, by 3:00 p.m., October 12,
2006. The record on appeal shall be filed by 3:00 p.m., October 12, 2006. We
hereby reserve October 18, 2006, for oral argument, if necessary, to hear any
proceedings that may come before this Court.
Per this Court's Administrative Order In Re: Mandatory Submission of
Electronic Copies of Documents AOSC04-84 dated September 13, 2004, counsel are
directed to transmit a copy of all documents, including any attachments and
appendices, in an electronic format as required by the provisions of that order.
A True Copy
Served:
BAYA HARRISON, III
COURT REPORTERS
CAROLYN M. SNURKOWSKI
WILLIAM P. CERVONE
HON. J. K. "BUDDY" IRBY, CLERK
HON. STAN R. MORRIS, JUDGE
HON. FREDERICK D. SMITH, CHIEF JUDGE
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Supreme Court to hear Rolling's Appeal
Article published Sep 27, 2006
Fla. Supreme Court to hear Rolling's appeal
By Bill Cotterell
Capitol Bureau
One week before he is scheduled to die for the murders of five Gainesville-area students, the Florida Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on any late appeals from Danny Rolling.
Gov. Jeb Bush has signed a death warrant setting Rolling's execution for 6 p.m. on Oct. 25.
The Supreme Court today ordered that any issues filed at the circuit court level be concluded by Oct. 9, with a notice of appeal -- if any -- filed with Florida's highest court on the following day. Attorneys will then have two days to file briefs and the justices reserved Oct. 18 for oral arguments.
Rolling was sentenced to die for the slayings of five students whose murders in 1990 spread fear through the university community.
A.D. Rutherford, a Milton native, is set to be executed the week before Rolling, on Oct. 18. He is sentenced to death for the beating and drowning death of Stella Salamon on Aug. 22, 1985.
Rutherford, who got a stay from a January execution date, has exhausted his state appeals. He still has appeals pending in federal court.
Fla. Supreme Court to hear Rolling's appeal
By Bill Cotterell
Capitol Bureau
One week before he is scheduled to die for the murders of five Gainesville-area students, the Florida Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on any late appeals from Danny Rolling.
Gov. Jeb Bush has signed a death warrant setting Rolling's execution for 6 p.m. on Oct. 25.
The Supreme Court today ordered that any issues filed at the circuit court level be concluded by Oct. 9, with a notice of appeal -- if any -- filed with Florida's highest court on the following day. Attorneys will then have two days to file briefs and the justices reserved Oct. 18 for oral arguments.
Rolling was sentenced to die for the slayings of five students whose murders in 1990 spread fear through the university community.
A.D. Rutherford, a Milton native, is set to be executed the week before Rolling, on Oct. 18. He is sentenced to death for the beating and drowning death of Stella Salamon on Aug. 22, 1985.
Rutherford, who got a stay from a January execution date, has exhausted his state appeals. He still has appeals pending in federal court.
Closure and Discomfort - Danny Rolling
http://www.alligator.org/edit/issues/00-summer/current/b01families24.htm
Closure and Discomfort
By Andrew Marra
Alligator Staff Writer
For a long time after the murders, Lisa Buyer could not take a shower without someone else in the house.
Tommy Carroll would weep when he read newspaper stories about the deaths of strangers. And the darkness in Ricky Paules' life lingered until the birth of her first grandchild.
Many who were close to the five murdered students do not see themselves as victims. The victims are those who fell under Danny Rolling's blade, they say. But they curse Rolling for robbing them of so much that was good. And they curse the fact that 10 years later he is still alive, breathing air that his victims never will.
In some ways the years have been kind to family and friends of the murdered Gainesville students. Where there were once tears and shock and what-ifs and more tears, there are now memorials and softball tournaments and grandchildren and a new sense of purpose. There are counseling sessions long since completed and a group of families closely united by common pain.
But there also are things that 10 years have not eclipsed.
Tommy Carroll will never forget the Tuesday morning he entered the apartment of his friends Tracy Paules and Manuel Taboada - fearing the worst - and found Tracy's butchered body in the hallway.
Ann Garren will never forget the last night she spent with her daughter, Christa Hoyt - the night before Hoyt was killed. She had told Garren she was looking for a new place in a better neighborhood.
Lisa Buyer will never forget talking to Tracy Paules the night before her murder, warning her to be careful because there was a killer on the loose. By then two bodies had been found.
Mostly, though, friends and family members say they will not forget Daniel Harold Rolling.
"It bothers me on a daily basis that he is still alive," said Buyer, who had known Manuel and Tracy since high school.
"I don't care if they stick him, gas him or fry him as long as they kill him," said George Paules, Tracy's father.
Carroll swears he will be a witness to Rolling's execution. When Carroll testified at Rolling's sentencing hearing in 1994, Rolling stared at him the entire time he spoke. Carroll looked in his eyes and saw evil, but he would not look away. He could not let Rolling win. It was the least he could do for Manny and Tracy, his high school friends.
Ricky Paules, Tracy's mother, is sure Rolling will die, but at 63 she is worried that she may not be around to see it happen. His death would bring closure for her, and the symbolic end to a long fight. The first few years after the murders were a battle with Rolling across the plains of her mind - a battle she says she has finally won.
"I'm not going to let him live in my head," she said. "I don't think about him every day."
The battle was made easier for Ricky and her husband, George, by the birth of Taylor Nicole Lahey, their first grandchild. Two years after Tracy's death, their granddaughter helped to ease the pain of her absence. Now, with six grandchildren, Ricky says time has softened the nights and the days.
The fight is not as easy for Garren, who says a day does not go by that she does not think of the man who killed her daughter. The murder was too gruesome, too violent.
"There is no closure," she said.
One thing the murders have done is make the victims' family and friends intense supporters of the death penalty. People who had never thought much about capital punishment before were quick to carry its flag. Many have become active proponents of streamlining the execution process and lowering the number of appeals a death row inmate can have. They know the legislative changes they push for would not affect Rolling. But they agree there will be other Danny Rollings.
Garren is angered that Rolling's appeals are pushing back his execution. How unfair, she says, that Rolling, who confessed his guilt, should be able to prolong his life.
"Our sentence is final," she said of her loss. "We don't get an appeal."
The victims are still remembered in little ways. Ricky Paules wears Tracy's birthstone ring. Tracy's brother, Scott, wears her class ring. Her sister, Laurie, has her jewelry. Taylor, the granddaughter, says a prayer every night for Aunt Tracy, who she never met.
When Buyer, who lives in Deerfield Beach, visits Gainesville she never leaves without passing the 34th Street Wall. Sometimes she will pull over. Or she will go to Gatorwood Apartments, where Tracy and Manuel were killed. Returning to Gainesville is easier now than it once was.
For Garren, the holidays are still terrible. Every year on Christa's birthday, she goes to her gravesite, writes notes on helium-filled balloons and lets them float away, imagining they are going to her daughter.
Such little reminders are footnotes to the larger things the murders have inspired. Garren, for example, goes to the state's prison for boys in Lancaster to tell young criminals about her struggle with Christa's violent death. She puts a face to murder and hopes it will do some good.
"I want to do things that will make Christa proud," Garren said.
Tracy's family has started the Tracy Paules Memorial Fund, which is administered by the Dade Community Foundation. It contributes to organizations like the American Cancer Society and schools for the blind. Her friends conduct fund-raising softball tournaments.
The murders have brought the families together. They trade cards and letters. They ask one another for advice, sharing a common perspective on life that few can have. Gainesville police Capt. Sadie Darnell acts as a liaison and keeps them informed about issues concerning the 34th Street Wall. Sometimes they have conference calls.
Friday's memorial service at the Wall will be an emotional event for all of them. Garren said it will be bittersweet to reunite with people she cares about in such a context.
George and Ricky Paules see the memorial as another way of moving on - a celebration of their daughter's life, not her death.
"That makes it a good thing," Ricky said.
Closure and Discomfort
By Andrew Marra
Alligator Staff Writer
For a long time after the murders, Lisa Buyer could not take a shower without someone else in the house.
Tommy Carroll would weep when he read newspaper stories about the deaths of strangers. And the darkness in Ricky Paules' life lingered until the birth of her first grandchild.
Many who were close to the five murdered students do not see themselves as victims. The victims are those who fell under Danny Rolling's blade, they say. But they curse Rolling for robbing them of so much that was good. And they curse the fact that 10 years later he is still alive, breathing air that his victims never will.
In some ways the years have been kind to family and friends of the murdered Gainesville students. Where there were once tears and shock and what-ifs and more tears, there are now memorials and softball tournaments and grandchildren and a new sense of purpose. There are counseling sessions long since completed and a group of families closely united by common pain.
But there also are things that 10 years have not eclipsed.
Tommy Carroll will never forget the Tuesday morning he entered the apartment of his friends Tracy Paules and Manuel Taboada - fearing the worst - and found Tracy's butchered body in the hallway.
Ann Garren will never forget the last night she spent with her daughter, Christa Hoyt - the night before Hoyt was killed. She had told Garren she was looking for a new place in a better neighborhood.
Lisa Buyer will never forget talking to Tracy Paules the night before her murder, warning her to be careful because there was a killer on the loose. By then two bodies had been found.
Mostly, though, friends and family members say they will not forget Daniel Harold Rolling.
"It bothers me on a daily basis that he is still alive," said Buyer, who had known Manuel and Tracy since high school.
"I don't care if they stick him, gas him or fry him as long as they kill him," said George Paules, Tracy's father.
Carroll swears he will be a witness to Rolling's execution. When Carroll testified at Rolling's sentencing hearing in 1994, Rolling stared at him the entire time he spoke. Carroll looked in his eyes and saw evil, but he would not look away. He could not let Rolling win. It was the least he could do for Manny and Tracy, his high school friends.
Ricky Paules, Tracy's mother, is sure Rolling will die, but at 63 she is worried that she may not be around to see it happen. His death would bring closure for her, and the symbolic end to a long fight. The first few years after the murders were a battle with Rolling across the plains of her mind - a battle she says she has finally won.
"I'm not going to let him live in my head," she said. "I don't think about him every day."
The battle was made easier for Ricky and her husband, George, by the birth of Taylor Nicole Lahey, their first grandchild. Two years after Tracy's death, their granddaughter helped to ease the pain of her absence. Now, with six grandchildren, Ricky says time has softened the nights and the days.
The fight is not as easy for Garren, who says a day does not go by that she does not think of the man who killed her daughter. The murder was too gruesome, too violent.
"There is no closure," she said.
One thing the murders have done is make the victims' family and friends intense supporters of the death penalty. People who had never thought much about capital punishment before were quick to carry its flag. Many have become active proponents of streamlining the execution process and lowering the number of appeals a death row inmate can have. They know the legislative changes they push for would not affect Rolling. But they agree there will be other Danny Rollings.
Garren is angered that Rolling's appeals are pushing back his execution. How unfair, she says, that Rolling, who confessed his guilt, should be able to prolong his life.
"Our sentence is final," she said of her loss. "We don't get an appeal."
The victims are still remembered in little ways. Ricky Paules wears Tracy's birthstone ring. Tracy's brother, Scott, wears her class ring. Her sister, Laurie, has her jewelry. Taylor, the granddaughter, says a prayer every night for Aunt Tracy, who she never met.
When Buyer, who lives in Deerfield Beach, visits Gainesville she never leaves without passing the 34th Street Wall. Sometimes she will pull over. Or she will go to Gatorwood Apartments, where Tracy and Manuel were killed. Returning to Gainesville is easier now than it once was.
For Garren, the holidays are still terrible. Every year on Christa's birthday, she goes to her gravesite, writes notes on helium-filled balloons and lets them float away, imagining they are going to her daughter.
Such little reminders are footnotes to the larger things the murders have inspired. Garren, for example, goes to the state's prison for boys in Lancaster to tell young criminals about her struggle with Christa's violent death. She puts a face to murder and hopes it will do some good.
"I want to do things that will make Christa proud," Garren said.
Tracy's family has started the Tracy Paules Memorial Fund, which is administered by the Dade Community Foundation. It contributes to organizations like the American Cancer Society and schools for the blind. Her friends conduct fund-raising softball tournaments.
The murders have brought the families together. They trade cards and letters. They ask one another for advice, sharing a common perspective on life that few can have. Gainesville police Capt. Sadie Darnell acts as a liaison and keeps them informed about issues concerning the 34th Street Wall. Sometimes they have conference calls.
Friday's memorial service at the Wall will be an emotional event for all of them. Garren said it will be bittersweet to reunite with people she cares about in such a context.
George and Ricky Paules see the memorial as another way of moving on - a celebration of their daughter's life, not her death.
"That makes it a good thing," Ricky said.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Thursday, September 28, 2006
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Please print this and send to addresses below
Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee
Florida 32399
September 28th, 2006.
Dear Governor Bush,
As a citizen of this world, I can’t help but being concerned about the developments in the USA and particularly in the State of Florida regarding the Death Penalty.
I have been watching the case of Mr. Clarence E. Hill and his requests for details about the chemicals and procedures that were used during executions.
I was shocked when I heard that, even though the appeals he pursued were still in process, the US Supreme Court overruled the Court of Appeals and denied mr. Hill his right to appeal. Despite the fact that the same Court allowed him to pursue the appeals in the first place, in January of this year.
In my opinion the US Supreme Court has denied Mr. Hill his civil rights to appeal to the lethal injection process. Even though the issue is still not cleared and many other States are questioning the humanity of this method of execution. At this moment California is questioning these same methods in Court. Executions have been halted in Missouri, New Jersey and Delaware because of this issue. Moratoriums are in place, for several reasons in Illinois, South Dakota and New York.
I have been reading many reports about the Lethal Injections, from organisations which were either in favour or against the Death Penalty. Both sides came to the same conclusion: the Lethal Injection is a cruel and unusual punishment. There is evidence that prisoners have experienced excruciating pain during their execution. The sequence of drugs used and the method of administration were created with minimal expertise over 3 decades ago. Which were adopted unquestionably by state officials with no medical or scientific background. Prisoners in the US are executed by means that the American Veterinary Medical Association regards too cruel to use on dogs and cats. In the case of Mr. Stanley Tookie Williams, investigation has proven that Mr Williams has died a slow and painful death. All these facts raise questions under the 8th Amendment.
The Human Rights Law is predicated on recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all people, including even those who have committed terrible crimes. It prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. These rights are being denied when using the lethal injection. Therefore I urge you to ensure the execution methods that will be used to execute an inmate, will be pain and suffering free. I also urge you to halt executions until a panel of aneasthesiologists, pharmacologists, doctors, correction officials,
procecutors, defense attorneys and judges have determined whether or not the lethal injections as currently practiced are indeed the most humane form of execution.
Respectfully yours,
Addresses :
Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee
Florida 32399
President Bush,
The White House,
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20500
Mr. Larry Cox - Executive Director,
Amnesty International USA,
5 Penn Plaza, NY 10001
USA
Mr. Bob Gremillion - President
Sun Sentinel,
200 E. Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
USA
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Please print this and send to addresses below
Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee
Florida 32399
September 28th, 2006.
Dear Governor Bush,
As a citizen of this world, I can’t help but being concerned about the developments in the USA and particularly in the State of Florida regarding the Death Penalty.
I have been watching the case of Mr. Clarence E. Hill and his requests for details about the chemicals and procedures that were used during executions.
I was shocked when I heard that, even though the appeals he pursued were still in process, the US Supreme Court overruled the Court of Appeals and denied mr. Hill his right to appeal. Despite the fact that the same Court allowed him to pursue the appeals in the first place, in January of this year.
In my opinion the US Supreme Court has denied Mr. Hill his civil rights to appeal to the lethal injection process. Even though the issue is still not cleared and many other States are questioning the humanity of this method of execution. At this moment California is questioning these same methods in Court. Executions have been halted in Missouri, New Jersey and Delaware because of this issue. Moratoriums are in place, for several reasons in Illinois, South Dakota and New York.
I have been reading many reports about the Lethal Injections, from organisations which were either in favour or against the Death Penalty. Both sides came to the same conclusion: the Lethal Injection is a cruel and unusual punishment. There is evidence that prisoners have experienced excruciating pain during their execution. The sequence of drugs used and the method of administration were created with minimal expertise over 3 decades ago. Which were adopted unquestionably by state officials with no medical or scientific background. Prisoners in the US are executed by means that the American Veterinary Medical Association regards too cruel to use on dogs and cats. In the case of Mr. Stanley Tookie Williams, investigation has proven that Mr Williams has died a slow and painful death. All these facts raise questions under the 8th Amendment.
The Human Rights Law is predicated on recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all people, including even those who have committed terrible crimes. It prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. These rights are being denied when using the lethal injection. Therefore I urge you to ensure the execution methods that will be used to execute an inmate, will be pain and suffering free. I also urge you to halt executions until a panel of aneasthesiologists, pharmacologists, doctors, correction officials,
procecutors, defense attorneys and judges have determined whether or not the lethal injections as currently practiced are indeed the most humane form of execution.
Respectfully yours,
Addresses :
Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee
Florida 32399
President Bush,
The White House,
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20500
Mr. Larry Cox - Executive Director,
Amnesty International USA,
5 Penn Plaza, NY 10001
USA
Mr. Bob Gremillion - President
Sun Sentinel,
200 E. Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
USA
A Little History - Danny Rolling
Daniel Harold Rolling (born 26 May 1954),
known as the "Gainesville Ripper", is the convicted murderer and mutilator of five students in Gainesville, Florida, in August 1990.
He was also suspected of—but never tried on—a triple homicide on November 24, 1989, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the attempted murder of his father in May 1990.
As a result of his murder convictions, Rolling is scheduled to die by lethal injection on October 25, 2006, at 6 p.m. EST.
Danny Rolling was born to James and Claudia Rolling. His father was abusive to both him and his mother, and later his brother, Kevin. Claudia Rolling made repeated attempts to leave her husband, but always returned. Rolling's father was a police officer.
After several incarcerations as a teen and young adult for a string of robberies in Georgia, Rolling had trouble trying to assimilate into society and hold down a steady job. Finally, after years of abuse, Rolling attempted to kill his father during an argument with the elder Rolling.
He later fled to the state of Florida where he began his burglary and robbery spree, which culminated in the murders of five people in Gainesville. His signature was to arrange the bodies in such a way as to highlight the carnage in the rooms — this even included setting up several mirrors.
Although law enforcement authorities initially had very few leads and the investigation dragged on for years, Rolling was eventually charged with several counts of murder, and Alachua County State Attorney Rod Smith oversaw the prosecution.
Rolling was convicted nearly four years after the murders occurred, and sentenced to the death penalty in each case.
A second man, Edward Humphrey of Indialantic, Florida, was considered an initial suspect in the Gainesville murders; authorities cleared him of all charges after Rolling's arrest.
Rolling aided the writing career of Sondra London, who met him in prison while working with Gerard John Schaefer and other serial killers.
Rolling and the Gainesville murders are the subject of the book Beyond Murder by John Philpin and John Donnelly. The murders have been suggested to have been the inspiration for the original screenplay for Scream, though the similarities may merely be circumstantial.
Rolling was the subject of an episode of "Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman", a Court TV show. During Rolling's trial, Court TV ran an interview with his mother from her home, during which someone shouting and complaining (presumably Rolling's father) off-camera can be heard.
known as the "Gainesville Ripper", is the convicted murderer and mutilator of five students in Gainesville, Florida, in August 1990.
He was also suspected of—but never tried on—a triple homicide on November 24, 1989, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the attempted murder of his father in May 1990.
As a result of his murder convictions, Rolling is scheduled to die by lethal injection on October 25, 2006, at 6 p.m. EST.
Danny Rolling was born to James and Claudia Rolling. His father was abusive to both him and his mother, and later his brother, Kevin. Claudia Rolling made repeated attempts to leave her husband, but always returned. Rolling's father was a police officer.
After several incarcerations as a teen and young adult for a string of robberies in Georgia, Rolling had trouble trying to assimilate into society and hold down a steady job. Finally, after years of abuse, Rolling attempted to kill his father during an argument with the elder Rolling.
He later fled to the state of Florida where he began his burglary and robbery spree, which culminated in the murders of five people in Gainesville. His signature was to arrange the bodies in such a way as to highlight the carnage in the rooms — this even included setting up several mirrors.
Although law enforcement authorities initially had very few leads and the investigation dragged on for years, Rolling was eventually charged with several counts of murder, and Alachua County State Attorney Rod Smith oversaw the prosecution.
Rolling was convicted nearly four years after the murders occurred, and sentenced to the death penalty in each case.
A second man, Edward Humphrey of Indialantic, Florida, was considered an initial suspect in the Gainesville murders; authorities cleared him of all charges after Rolling's arrest.
Rolling aided the writing career of Sondra London, who met him in prison while working with Gerard John Schaefer and other serial killers.
Rolling and the Gainesville murders are the subject of the book Beyond Murder by John Philpin and John Donnelly. The murders have been suggested to have been the inspiration for the original screenplay for Scream, though the similarities may merely be circumstantial.
Rolling was the subject of an episode of "Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman", a Court TV show. During Rolling's trial, Court TV ran an interview with his mother from her home, during which someone shouting and complaining (presumably Rolling's father) off-camera can be heard.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Preparations Under Way For Rolling's Execution
Preparations Under Way For Rolling's Execution
POSTED: 6:40 pm EDT September 26, 2006
UPDATED: 9:39 am EDT September 27, 2006
RAIFORD, Fla. -- The man convicted of the 1990 murders of five college students in Florida is scheduled to be executed in a month.
Danny Rolling is scheduled to be executed Oct. 25 for the murders of five college students in 1990. Officials are already juggling media requests and plans for additional security at Florida State Prison.
In the summer of 1990, carefree college life turned to fear and hysteria in Gainesville. Five students were stabbed, killed and mutilated. Three of them were from South Florida.
The victims attended the University of Florida or nearby Santa Fe Community College. The focus on the execution of the man convicted of their killings is expected to rival that of Ted Bundy, who was put to death in 1989.
Rolling, a drifter, ended up in jail on an unrelated crime and was eventually tied to the murders and convicted.
On Oct. 25, he is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison.
Media and public interest is intense.
The Florida Association of Broadcasters is responsible for picking five TV and radio journalists to witness Rolling's execution. There is no lack of volunteers.
"This one has gotten interest from all over the state as well as networks outside the state because, I think, of how horrendous the crimes were, and it affected the whole state," said Pat Roberts of the Florida Association of Broadcasters.
Five newspaper reporters and two wire service reporters will serve as witnesses.
The prison warden in Starke will pick another 12 witnesses, typically including victims' relatives and lawmen who worked the Rolling case.
George Paules, the father of victim Tracey Paules, told the Associated Press, "We don't much care if they burn him, stick him or hang him, as long as they kill him.
"The friend of another victim called Rolling "an animal."Rolling has so far refused requests to talk about his crimes or his pending execution, which will draw many hundreds to Florida State Prison in a month.
POSTED: 6:40 pm EDT September 26, 2006
UPDATED: 9:39 am EDT September 27, 2006
RAIFORD, Fla. -- The man convicted of the 1990 murders of five college students in Florida is scheduled to be executed in a month.
Danny Rolling is scheduled to be executed Oct. 25 for the murders of five college students in 1990. Officials are already juggling media requests and plans for additional security at Florida State Prison.
In the summer of 1990, carefree college life turned to fear and hysteria in Gainesville. Five students were stabbed, killed and mutilated. Three of them were from South Florida.
The victims attended the University of Florida or nearby Santa Fe Community College. The focus on the execution of the man convicted of their killings is expected to rival that of Ted Bundy, who was put to death in 1989.
Rolling, a drifter, ended up in jail on an unrelated crime and was eventually tied to the murders and convicted.
On Oct. 25, he is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison.
Media and public interest is intense.
The Florida Association of Broadcasters is responsible for picking five TV and radio journalists to witness Rolling's execution. There is no lack of volunteers.
"This one has gotten interest from all over the state as well as networks outside the state because, I think, of how horrendous the crimes were, and it affected the whole state," said Pat Roberts of the Florida Association of Broadcasters.
Five newspaper reporters and two wire service reporters will serve as witnesses.
The prison warden in Starke will pick another 12 witnesses, typically including victims' relatives and lawmen who worked the Rolling case.
George Paules, the father of victim Tracey Paules, told the Associated Press, "We don't much care if they burn him, stick him or hang him, as long as they kill him.
"The friend of another victim called Rolling "an animal."Rolling has so far refused requests to talk about his crimes or his pending execution, which will draw many hundreds to Florida State Prison in a month.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Rolling may figure into election
Rolling may figure into election
Execution set for two weeks before the Nov. 7 balloting
By Mark Hollis Tallahassee Bureau
Posted September 26 2006
TALLAHASSEE · Will the fate of serial killer Danny Harold Rolling, who is set to die shortly before the Nov. 7 election, play a role in Florida's political campaigns?
Gov. Jeb Bush signed on Friday the death warrant for Rolling, who pleaded guilty in 1994 to the 1990 slayings of five college students in Gainesville.
Killed were Sonja Larson, 18, of Deerfield Beach; Christina Powell, 17, of Jacksonville; Christa Hoyt, 18, of Archer; Tracy Inez Paules, 23, of Miami; and Manuel R. Taboada, 23, of Miami.Bush set the execution for Oct. 25.
The execution of one of the most infamous killers on Florida's Death Row likely will draw national attention just as the campaign enters it most intense final stretch.
Some Democratic Party candidates said Monday they are wondering if the Republican governor's timing for the execution is meant to give a public relations boost to Republican candidates statewide, including Attorney General Charlie Crist, who is emphasizing crime and punishment issues in his campaign for governor.
"The timing is really suspect," state Sen. Walter "Skip" Campbell, a Broward County Democrat running for attorney general, said of the Republicans. "It's like they are trying to show everybody that they're tough on crime.
This [warrant] could have been signed a long time ago and the date set for another time when politics wouldn't be a consideration."
Bush said Monday he could have set the execution date for after the election, but insisted statewide elections weren't a consideration.
He said Rolling's case had already gone before the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently finished deliberations on other capital cases.
"I have a duty to sign these warrants when the timing is right," Bush said.
The governor also said it is unlikely Crist or Bill McCollum, the Republican running for attorney general, will make a lot of noise about the Rolling execution, given that their Democratic opponents also support the death penalty.
"I don't anticipate this being political, or one candidate benefiting from it," Bush told reporters. "I could have [signed the death warrant] for a week after the election, it doesn't change anything.
"Questions about the timing of the execution should be expected, said Mark Bubriski, a spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party."When something like this happens that close to an election, I think we're always going to raise the question of how is politics involved," he said.
Crist plays an official role in carrying out the death penalty.As attorney general, his office represents the state in death penalty appeals and he reports to the governor when those cases are ready for death warrants.
Aides to Crist and Democratic candidate Jim Davis aren't yet saying how they will deal with the Rolling execution."I can assure you, I can tell you now, it is not something we're going to play politics with," said Josh Earnest, Davis' campaign spokesman.
"This is one of the most important responsibilities that a governor has. And it's more important than politics.
"But Erin Isaac, a spokesman for Crist, was less definitive.
In a written reply to questions about the matter, she said: "As attorney general, [Crist] plays a role in handing down the punishment and will fulfill his obligation as he always does.
"Bush did not address whether he would have set a different date for the execution had state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua beaten Davis to become the Democratic nominee for governor. Smith was the prosecutor in the Rolling case.
Bubriski, the Democratic Party spokesman, said if Crist or other Republicans attempted to exploit the Rolling case, "Rod Smith would come out swinging. Rod Smith would, no doubt, join Jim Davis' defense if they tried to do that."
Execution set for two weeks before the Nov. 7 balloting
By Mark Hollis Tallahassee Bureau
Posted September 26 2006
TALLAHASSEE · Will the fate of serial killer Danny Harold Rolling, who is set to die shortly before the Nov. 7 election, play a role in Florida's political campaigns?
Gov. Jeb Bush signed on Friday the death warrant for Rolling, who pleaded guilty in 1994 to the 1990 slayings of five college students in Gainesville.
Killed were Sonja Larson, 18, of Deerfield Beach; Christina Powell, 17, of Jacksonville; Christa Hoyt, 18, of Archer; Tracy Inez Paules, 23, of Miami; and Manuel R. Taboada, 23, of Miami.Bush set the execution for Oct. 25.
The execution of one of the most infamous killers on Florida's Death Row likely will draw national attention just as the campaign enters it most intense final stretch.
Some Democratic Party candidates said Monday they are wondering if the Republican governor's timing for the execution is meant to give a public relations boost to Republican candidates statewide, including Attorney General Charlie Crist, who is emphasizing crime and punishment issues in his campaign for governor.
"The timing is really suspect," state Sen. Walter "Skip" Campbell, a Broward County Democrat running for attorney general, said of the Republicans. "It's like they are trying to show everybody that they're tough on crime.
This [warrant] could have been signed a long time ago and the date set for another time when politics wouldn't be a consideration."
Bush said Monday he could have set the execution date for after the election, but insisted statewide elections weren't a consideration.
He said Rolling's case had already gone before the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently finished deliberations on other capital cases.
"I have a duty to sign these warrants when the timing is right," Bush said.
The governor also said it is unlikely Crist or Bill McCollum, the Republican running for attorney general, will make a lot of noise about the Rolling execution, given that their Democratic opponents also support the death penalty.
"I don't anticipate this being political, or one candidate benefiting from it," Bush told reporters. "I could have [signed the death warrant] for a week after the election, it doesn't change anything.
"Questions about the timing of the execution should be expected, said Mark Bubriski, a spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party."When something like this happens that close to an election, I think we're always going to raise the question of how is politics involved," he said.
Crist plays an official role in carrying out the death penalty.As attorney general, his office represents the state in death penalty appeals and he reports to the governor when those cases are ready for death warrants.
Aides to Crist and Democratic candidate Jim Davis aren't yet saying how they will deal with the Rolling execution."I can assure you, I can tell you now, it is not something we're going to play politics with," said Josh Earnest, Davis' campaign spokesman.
"This is one of the most important responsibilities that a governor has. And it's more important than politics.
"But Erin Isaac, a spokesman for Crist, was less definitive.
In a written reply to questions about the matter, she said: "As attorney general, [Crist] plays a role in handing down the punishment and will fulfill his obligation as he always does.
"Bush did not address whether he would have set a different date for the execution had state Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua beaten Davis to become the Democratic nominee for governor. Smith was the prosecutor in the Rolling case.
Bubriski, the Democratic Party spokesman, said if Crist or other Republicans attempted to exploit the Rolling case, "Rod Smith would come out swinging. Rod Smith would, no doubt, join Jim Davis' defense if they tried to do that."
Monday, September 25, 2006
Rolling's Death Warrant Stirs Controversy
Rolling's Death Warrant Stirs Controversy
Monday, September 25, 2006
Danny Rolling's death warrant has been signed. Gainesville's convicted serial killer is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Oct. 25th. This leaves Rollings' defense team with an option that according to University of Florida Law Professor will be a tough case. The defense team will have to prove the method as unconstitutional to win the case and have it banned in a state. Professor Baldwin agrees that lethal injection should not be used to put a person to death. Rollings is currently housed at Union Correctional Institution near Raiford.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Danny Rolling's death warrant has been signed. Gainesville's convicted serial killer is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Oct. 25th. This leaves Rollings' defense team with an option that according to University of Florida Law Professor will be a tough case. The defense team will have to prove the method as unconstitutional to win the case and have it banned in a state. Professor Baldwin agrees that lethal injection should not be used to put a person to death. Rollings is currently housed at Union Correctional Institution near Raiford.
families look forward to closure
Rolling death warrant stirs hope, memoriesFAMILIES LOOK TO EXECUTION FOR CLOSURE, WHILE MANY STUDENTS ARE UNAWARE.By DOMINICK E. TAOAlligator Writer
Danny Rolling, the serial killer who murdered five college students and ignited a frenzy of panic in Gainesville 16 years ago, will be put to death in October, according to a death warrant signed by Gov. Jeb Bush on Friday.
Rolling, 52, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. His last appeal was denied in June, and the governor refused him clemency.
For Ricky Paules, the wait up to Rolling's execution day is just "one of many roads" she has faced since he killed her daughter, Tracy Paules, 23, of Palm Springs.
"This road is next to the last one," Paules said.
The first began at the start of Fall semester, 1990, when Rolling killed five UF and SFCC students in their apartments. He either invaded their residences or hid inside, waiting for them. Four of his victims were dark-haired young women; the other was one of their male roommates.
To kill, Rolling used a knife. Before stabbing three of his victims to death, he raped them. Rolling decapitated one of his victims, posing her head near the apartment's front door for friends or police to discover.
Rollings' other victims were Christa Hoyt, 19, of Archer; Sonja Larson, 18, of Deerfield Beach; Christina Powell, 17, of Jacksonville; and Manuel Taboada, 23, of Miami.
Gainesville Police Sgt. Ray Barber - a 35-year-old patrolman in 1990 - was the officer who discovered Rolling's first victims at the Williamsburg Village Apartments on Aug. 26.
"There were two girls dead in the apartment," he said in an interview Saturday. "It was hard and dirty."
As more bodies were discovered in the next two days, Barber said fear engulfed the city.
"People would open their doors with baseball bats and guns," said Lt. Ed Posey, who was a plainclothes officer at the time of the murders. "Some guys said when they got off duty, they would search their houses. We had very little to go on."
As the panic began to diminish, Rolling was arrested for robbing a Winn-Dixie grocery store in Ocala on Sept. 8. It wasn't until months later that DNA evidence from bodily fluids left behind at the crime scenes identified him as the killer.
In 1994, Rolling pleaded guilty to the murders. He was sentenced to death. In the last 12 years, the name "Danny Rolling" has faded from the memory of many UF students.
"Now, people around here don't even think about him," Barber said. This is the fourth set of students since then."
For those who do remember, the thought of Rolling's execution means different things.
Posey said his closure came when he knew the right guy was behind bars. Paules is still waiting for the end.
At the idea of Rolling's execution is likely to be postponed, Paules only said, "Oh good Lord, don't tell me that."
Danny Rolling, the serial killer who murdered five college students and ignited a frenzy of panic in Gainesville 16 years ago, will be put to death in October, according to a death warrant signed by Gov. Jeb Bush on Friday.
Rolling, 52, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. His last appeal was denied in June, and the governor refused him clemency.
For Ricky Paules, the wait up to Rolling's execution day is just "one of many roads" she has faced since he killed her daughter, Tracy Paules, 23, of Palm Springs.
"This road is next to the last one," Paules said.
The first began at the start of Fall semester, 1990, when Rolling killed five UF and SFCC students in their apartments. He either invaded their residences or hid inside, waiting for them. Four of his victims were dark-haired young women; the other was one of their male roommates.
To kill, Rolling used a knife. Before stabbing three of his victims to death, he raped them. Rolling decapitated one of his victims, posing her head near the apartment's front door for friends or police to discover.
Rollings' other victims were Christa Hoyt, 19, of Archer; Sonja Larson, 18, of Deerfield Beach; Christina Powell, 17, of Jacksonville; and Manuel Taboada, 23, of Miami.
Gainesville Police Sgt. Ray Barber - a 35-year-old patrolman in 1990 - was the officer who discovered Rolling's first victims at the Williamsburg Village Apartments on Aug. 26.
"There were two girls dead in the apartment," he said in an interview Saturday. "It was hard and dirty."
As more bodies were discovered in the next two days, Barber said fear engulfed the city.
"People would open their doors with baseball bats and guns," said Lt. Ed Posey, who was a plainclothes officer at the time of the murders. "Some guys said when they got off duty, they would search their houses. We had very little to go on."
As the panic began to diminish, Rolling was arrested for robbing a Winn-Dixie grocery store in Ocala on Sept. 8. It wasn't until months later that DNA evidence from bodily fluids left behind at the crime scenes identified him as the killer.
In 1994, Rolling pleaded guilty to the murders. He was sentenced to death. In the last 12 years, the name "Danny Rolling" has faded from the memory of many UF students.
"Now, people around here don't even think about him," Barber said. This is the fourth set of students since then."
For those who do remember, the thought of Rolling's execution means different things.
Posey said his closure came when he knew the right guy was behind bars. Paules is still waiting for the end.
At the idea of Rolling's execution is likely to be postponed, Paules only said, "Oh good Lord, don't tell me that."
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Victims' families struggle with reminder of murders
Victims' families struggle with reminder of murders
Alligator File PhotoState Attorney Rod Smith holds up a knife during court deliberation in the trial of Danny Rolling.
By Matthew Boedy Alligator Staff Writer
Eleven years is the average stay for an inmate on Death Row. For Daniel Harold Rolling - inmate No. 521178 at the Florida State Prison in Starke - the years have been a combination of attempts to prolong his life and create what some call a serial killer persona for his legacy.
When he is not in solitary confinement, he eats in his 6-by-9-foot cell at 5 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and has supper at 4 p.m. He showers every other day.
The showers and the hour he spends outside in the prison yard each day may allow him to exhibit humanity. The $55 a day the state spends to keep Rolling alive is considered humane.
But there are some who say that police, when they arrested the Louisiana drifter for the brutal murders of five Gainesville college students, had no idea of the evil they had corralled.
John Philpin, a novelist who co-authored a book about the 1990 murders, said when he talked with Rolling on the phone, Rolling attempted to reveal some compassion.
"He made an effort to be very charming," Philpin said. "I very quickly realized everything with this man was a manipulation."
Philpin said, unlike other serial killers, Rolling has not been able to hold on to the image of the star stalker he would like. Rolling continues to write poetry that appears on his former fianc�e's Web site and even grants an interview every now and then. But his legacy among the most violent killers has been overshadowed by the lives he took.
Philpin said the persona Rolling has created out of his constant insinuation that he has multiple personalities just does not fit with the premeditated crimes he committed.
"There is no history-making going on here," Philpin said. "He works at making his own legend."
Those who knew the victims want to leave Rolling no more chances to speak; no more chances to have his name in the headlines.
And many family members of Rolling's victims say they are angered that Rolling is still alive six years after confessing to the five murders.
"He has had 10 years they didn't have," said Alison Monahan, who was Christina Powell's best friend. "Ten years is more than half of Christi's life."
Monahan, now a second-year law student at UF, said she understands the importance of the appeals process but argues that it could be streamlined to administer justice more quickly to future Death Row inmates.
In the meantime, Monahan said, seeing Rolling on television and in the newspapers is a painful reminder of her friend's murder. She sees Rolling as a methodical manipulator, pointing to his testimony this summer that he is "not a monster."
"That was totally designed for the six o'clock TV spot," she said.
State Attorney Rod Smith, who prosecuted Rolling, said justice sometimes moves slower than some would like.
"It's unconscionable that a murderer that has confessed to such a heinous crime and is sentenced to death still has appeals left," he said.
But his appeal process is not lengthy by Death Row standards, said Carolyn Snurkowski, head of criminal appeals for the Florida Attorney General's Office.
Rolling was sentenced to die in 1994 after confessing to the murders. The Florida Supreme Court upheld his sentence in March of 1997 and denied a second appeal three months later. In November of that year, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal.
In July of this year, Rolling returned to a Gainesville courtroom, testifying that he did not receive a fair sentencing because of his lawyers' incompetence.
Circuit Judge Stan Morris is mulling over Rolling's challenge. If he denies the challenge, Rolling can appeal to the state Supreme Court. If that court refuses to entertain the appeal, he can take his case to federal court, starting a new round of appeals.
"This is a normal process available to all Death Row inmates,
" Snurkowski said.
Alligator staff writer Andrew Marra contributed to this report.
The victims of Danny Rolling
Posted on Fri, Sep. 22, 2006
The victims of Danny Rolling
The victims of Danny Rolling
Associated Press
Five college students were slain in late August 1990 in Gainesville by Danny Harold Rolling. The background of his victims:
Sonja Larson, 18, of Deerfield Beach, was a second semester University of Florida freshman, studying science and pre-engineering. She graduated from Pompano Beach's Ely High School in 1989. She was a member of Students Against Drunk Driving and a manager for the girl's varsity basketball team. Her body was found in her upstairs bedroom at Williamsburg Village Apartments on Aug. 26, 1990.
Christina Powell, 17, of Jacksonville, was a second semester UF freshman after attending summer school. She planned to study architecture. She graduated from Episcopal High School in 1990 and was editor of the high school yearbook and worked on the school's literary magazine. She also participated in a church youth group. Her mutilated body was found downstairs in the apartment she shared with Ms. Larson on Aug. 26, 1990. She had been raped.
Christa Hoyt, 18, of Archer. Hoyt was a chemistry honors student at Santa Fe Community College and planned to attend UF. She worked as a records clerk at the Alachua County Sheriff's Office and was a police explorer. Ms. Hoyt, whose nickname was "Glowworm," graduated from Newberry High School in 1989 and was a member of the band. Her decapitated body was discovered Aug. 27, 1990 in a duplex where she lived alone. She had been raped.
Manuel R. Taboada, 23, of Carol City. Attended Metro-Dade Community College and Santa Fe Community College. He graduated from American High School in 1984 and was president of the Thespians club and played high school football. His body was found in his bed at Gatorwood Apartments. Authorities believe Taboada was attacked as he slept.
Tracy Inez Paules, 23, of Miami, studied pre-law at UF. Paules was a member of the National Honor Society and 1984 homecoming queen at Miami's American High School, where she played soccer and softball. Her body was found in the Gatorwood Apartments unit she shared with Taboada. She had been sexually assaulted.
Gov. Bush signs Rolling death warrant
http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060923/LOCAL/209230317/1078/news
Gov. Bush signs Rolling death warrant
By LISE FISHER, DEBORAH BALL
AND NATHAN CRABB
Sun staff writers
September 23. 2006 6:01AM
Gov. Jeb Bush signed a death warrant Friday for convicted slayer Danny Rolling, whose 1990 killing spree of five college students terrorized the Gainesville area.
The 52-year-old Rolling pleaded guilty in 1994 to fatally stabbing the students in their homes at the start of the 1990 fall semester. The deaths sent the area into a panic with many students rushing home from the college town. Those who stayed traveled together on city streets while others fortified their homes with extra locks and alarms as officers and news media descended on the area to find the killer.
Rumblings that Bush intended to sign Rolling's death warrant had been circulating through Tallahassee on Friday.
State Attorney Bill Cervone confirmed Friday afternoon that the Attorney General's Office had contacted him to report that the warrant was official.
Rolling's execution is scheduled for Oct. 25.
Cervone said that after years of appeals repeatedly turned down by state and federal courts, Rolling's case needed to move forward.
"For somebody who did these horrible things and admitted it so many years ago, it's time," Cervone said.
Rolling was convicted of five murders, three counts of sexual battery and three counts of armed burglary of a dwelling with battery. He broke into the students' homes, surprising them as they either slept or arrived home. The five were stabbed to death, and some of the bodies were mutilated or posed.
Rolling's victims were Christa Hoyt, 19, of Archer; Sonja Larson, 18, of Deerfield Beach; Tracy Paules, 23, of Miami; Christina Powell, 17, of Jacksonville; and Manuel Taboada, 23, of Miami.
Ricky Paules, Tracy Paules' mother, said she was "thrilled" by the signing of the warrant.
"I knew justice would be done," said Paules of St. Augustine. "I've been waiting to do this for 16 years. I hate to sound coarse about it, but that's the way I feel.
"When Rolling entered his guilty plea instead of going to trial, some had speculated his execution date wouldn't be postponed by lengthy appeals. But it has been 12 years since Circuit Judge Stan Morris imposed five death sentences on Rolling.
State Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua, a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate, was the prosecutor on the Rolling case. He said he never thought the appeals process in the Rolling case would last this long. After all, he said, Rolling confessed to the murder, there was DNA evidence and he tortured his victims.
"You understand why victims feel so frustrated by the justice system," Smith said.
Some of the victims' parents have died before being able to see Rolling's execution date named, Ricky Paules said. "I'm sorry some of the parents aren't around to be here at this moment.
"Both Ricky Paules and Dianna Hoyt, the stepmother of victim Christa Hoyt, said they would attend Rolling's execution.
"I don't think there's any closure for something like this," said Hoyt of Alachua County. "But there is gratification to know that he can no longer think about the killings and get pleasure out of thinking about what he did. I really do believe that he deserves to be put to death; I want it to be over.
"Christa's father, Gary Hoyt, who was 63 when he died in 2000 from heart trouble and stress, was hurt that he couldn't live to see his daughter's killer be brought to justice, Dianna Hoyt said.
"It's been such a long time and things like this shouldn't have to take so long," Dianna Hoyt said. "There isn't a day that goes by that you don't think about it.
"Whether Rolling or his attorneys will succeed with an appeal remains to be seen.
"To me, there are no substantive issues," Cervone said.
However, he added, "There will, I am sure, be a flurry of attempts to get judicial relief."
Carolyn Snurkowski, assistant attorney general for the state of Florida, said Rolling has exhausted his state and federal appeals. But, she added, the possibility exists he could challenge the lethal injection method of execution or find a new course of appeal.
"We just have to wait to see what's going to happen next," Snurkowski said.
Smith agreed there is a real chance Rolling could delay the execution by challenging lethal injection.
The case of Clarence Hill, the condemned cop killer who was executed in Florida this week, opened the door to claims the method constitutes cruel punishment. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled such challenges can be made under federal civil rights laws, though the court allowed Hill's execution to go forward before his case could proceed.
Monticello attorney Baya Harrison, who represented Rolling on his appeals, said the courts will again be petitioned to stop the execution. But he wasn't sure how effective they will be."We're going to leave no stone unturned," he said. However, he added that none of the appellate issues have been met with success.
Rolling has argued over the effectiveness of his legal representation leading up to his plea and said the case should have been tried outside of Alachua County, where residents had been traumatized by the slayings.
"With the way the legal system is today and the fact that we have been through so many courts, frankly we're very concerned. Our options are just fewer and fewer," Harrison said.
Rolling's defense attorneys plan to contact attorneys in Gainesville who previously represented Rolling and Hill's Lake City attorney Todd Doss for advice on how to proceed on the case.
Considering an argument challenging the lethal injection issue, Harrison said, "It doesn't seem terribly hopeful in that Mr. Doss, who represented Mr. Hill, he put up a tremendous effort to obtain hearings for Mr. Hill. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court said that he had a right to raise the issue, they never granted him a hearing.
"Rolling is housed at Union Correctional Institution near Raiford. He had previously been imprisoned for robbery in other states, including Alabama and Mississippi. He had said he killed a person for every year he spent in prison. Although never convicted, he also was accused of three murders in Louisiana.
In a 17-page letter sent to The Associated Press in 2000, Rolling attributed the student murders to abuse he as a child and his treatment in prison.
"A mangy dog gets more consideration than what I received in Parchman (a Mississippi prison). Imagine ... being forced to dwell in a prison cell that floods out two to three times a week with putrefied raw sewage, and having to exist in such filth for over eight months till it drives you crazy as a loon.
"He ended the letter by saying, "Any complaint I may have pales in comparison to the terrible wrong I inflicted upon good people. I stand in the shadow of their suffering. If it is to be mercy, then I shall be eternally grateful. If it to be the wrath of vengeance, then God grant me the strength to face what I must. For I owe a debt I cannot repay ... not even with my own life."
Rutherford executionOn Friday, Bush also set a new execution date for Arthur Rutherford, 56, who was convicted of drowning a Milton woman in her bathtub in 1985. Rutherford had previously been scheduled to be executed in January, but the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay. His execution is set for Oct. 18.
Lise Fisher can be reached at 374-5092 or fisherl@gvillesun.com
Gov. Bush signs Rolling death warrant
By LISE FISHER, DEBORAH BALL
AND NATHAN CRABB
Sun staff writers
September 23. 2006 6:01AM
Gov. Jeb Bush signed a death warrant Friday for convicted slayer Danny Rolling, whose 1990 killing spree of five college students terrorized the Gainesville area.
The 52-year-old Rolling pleaded guilty in 1994 to fatally stabbing the students in their homes at the start of the 1990 fall semester. The deaths sent the area into a panic with many students rushing home from the college town. Those who stayed traveled together on city streets while others fortified their homes with extra locks and alarms as officers and news media descended on the area to find the killer.
Rumblings that Bush intended to sign Rolling's death warrant had been circulating through Tallahassee on Friday.
State Attorney Bill Cervone confirmed Friday afternoon that the Attorney General's Office had contacted him to report that the warrant was official.
Rolling's execution is scheduled for Oct. 25.
Cervone said that after years of appeals repeatedly turned down by state and federal courts, Rolling's case needed to move forward.
"For somebody who did these horrible things and admitted it so many years ago, it's time," Cervone said.
Rolling was convicted of five murders, three counts of sexual battery and three counts of armed burglary of a dwelling with battery. He broke into the students' homes, surprising them as they either slept or arrived home. The five were stabbed to death, and some of the bodies were mutilated or posed.
Rolling's victims were Christa Hoyt, 19, of Archer; Sonja Larson, 18, of Deerfield Beach; Tracy Paules, 23, of Miami; Christina Powell, 17, of Jacksonville; and Manuel Taboada, 23, of Miami.
Ricky Paules, Tracy Paules' mother, said she was "thrilled" by the signing of the warrant.
"I knew justice would be done," said Paules of St. Augustine. "I've been waiting to do this for 16 years. I hate to sound coarse about it, but that's the way I feel.
"When Rolling entered his guilty plea instead of going to trial, some had speculated his execution date wouldn't be postponed by lengthy appeals. But it has been 12 years since Circuit Judge Stan Morris imposed five death sentences on Rolling.
State Sen. Rod Smith of Alachua, a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate, was the prosecutor on the Rolling case. He said he never thought the appeals process in the Rolling case would last this long. After all, he said, Rolling confessed to the murder, there was DNA evidence and he tortured his victims.
"You understand why victims feel so frustrated by the justice system," Smith said.
Some of the victims' parents have died before being able to see Rolling's execution date named, Ricky Paules said. "I'm sorry some of the parents aren't around to be here at this moment.
"Both Ricky Paules and Dianna Hoyt, the stepmother of victim Christa Hoyt, said they would attend Rolling's execution.
"I don't think there's any closure for something like this," said Hoyt of Alachua County. "But there is gratification to know that he can no longer think about the killings and get pleasure out of thinking about what he did. I really do believe that he deserves to be put to death; I want it to be over.
"Christa's father, Gary Hoyt, who was 63 when he died in 2000 from heart trouble and stress, was hurt that he couldn't live to see his daughter's killer be brought to justice, Dianna Hoyt said.
"It's been such a long time and things like this shouldn't have to take so long," Dianna Hoyt said. "There isn't a day that goes by that you don't think about it.
"Whether Rolling or his attorneys will succeed with an appeal remains to be seen.
"To me, there are no substantive issues," Cervone said.
However, he added, "There will, I am sure, be a flurry of attempts to get judicial relief."
Carolyn Snurkowski, assistant attorney general for the state of Florida, said Rolling has exhausted his state and federal appeals. But, she added, the possibility exists he could challenge the lethal injection method of execution or find a new course of appeal.
"We just have to wait to see what's going to happen next," Snurkowski said.
Smith agreed there is a real chance Rolling could delay the execution by challenging lethal injection.
The case of Clarence Hill, the condemned cop killer who was executed in Florida this week, opened the door to claims the method constitutes cruel punishment. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled such challenges can be made under federal civil rights laws, though the court allowed Hill's execution to go forward before his case could proceed.
Monticello attorney Baya Harrison, who represented Rolling on his appeals, said the courts will again be petitioned to stop the execution. But he wasn't sure how effective they will be."We're going to leave no stone unturned," he said. However, he added that none of the appellate issues have been met with success.
Rolling has argued over the effectiveness of his legal representation leading up to his plea and said the case should have been tried outside of Alachua County, where residents had been traumatized by the slayings.
"With the way the legal system is today and the fact that we have been through so many courts, frankly we're very concerned. Our options are just fewer and fewer," Harrison said.
Rolling's defense attorneys plan to contact attorneys in Gainesville who previously represented Rolling and Hill's Lake City attorney Todd Doss for advice on how to proceed on the case.
Considering an argument challenging the lethal injection issue, Harrison said, "It doesn't seem terribly hopeful in that Mr. Doss, who represented Mr. Hill, he put up a tremendous effort to obtain hearings for Mr. Hill. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court said that he had a right to raise the issue, they never granted him a hearing.
"Rolling is housed at Union Correctional Institution near Raiford. He had previously been imprisoned for robbery in other states, including Alabama and Mississippi. He had said he killed a person for every year he spent in prison. Although never convicted, he also was accused of three murders in Louisiana.
In a 17-page letter sent to The Associated Press in 2000, Rolling attributed the student murders to abuse he as a child and his treatment in prison.
"A mangy dog gets more consideration than what I received in Parchman (a Mississippi prison). Imagine ... being forced to dwell in a prison cell that floods out two to three times a week with putrefied raw sewage, and having to exist in such filth for over eight months till it drives you crazy as a loon.
"He ended the letter by saying, "Any complaint I may have pales in comparison to the terrible wrong I inflicted upon good people. I stand in the shadow of their suffering. If it is to be mercy, then I shall be eternally grateful. If it to be the wrath of vengeance, then God grant me the strength to face what I must. For I owe a debt I cannot repay ... not even with my own life."
Rutherford executionOn Friday, Bush also set a new execution date for Arthur Rutherford, 56, who was convicted of drowning a Milton woman in her bathtub in 1985. Rutherford had previously been scheduled to be executed in January, but the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay. His execution is set for Oct. 18.
Lise Fisher can be reached at 374-5092 or fisherl@gvillesun.com
Rolling, suspect in '89 triple slaying here, to die in Florida
Rolling, suspect in '89 triple slaying here, to die in Florida
Former Shreveport drifter Danny Rolling, convicted of the 1990 slayings of five college students in Gainesville, Fla., and the chief suspect in a gruesome 1989 triple slaying here, will die by lethal injection Oct. 25.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed Rolling's death warrant Friday for Rolling, who pleaded guilty to the college-city slayings of Sonja Larson, 18, of Deerfield Beach; Christina Powell, 17, of Jacksonville; Christa Hoyt, 19, of Archer; and Tracy Paules, 23, and Manuel Taboada, 23, both of Miami.Three of the five victims were mutilated. One woman was decapitated, her head placed on a bookshelf, her torso slit from neck to waist.
Three of the four women were raped. Several of the bodies were posed for shock value. A knife was used in all of the killings.
Discovery of the students’ bodies shocked Florida and the nation. But the crimes also resonated in Shreveport, where similarities were seen between the slayings of the college students and the torture deaths of a local family.
Rolling, the son of a former Shreveport police lieutenant, was and remains the chief suspect in the 1989 slayings of 24-year-old college student Julie Grissom, her father, Tom, 55, and her 8-year-old nephew, Sean, in the elder Grissom’s Southern Hills Beth Lane home.
Rolling was never tried for the slayings, but an arrest warrant from the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s office has remained prepared since the early 1990s, requiring only a judge’s signature.
“Nothing has changed," Shreveport police Lt. Danny Fogger told The Times in 2000. "We’ve long had enough evidence to arrest him.”
But the state of Florida made it clear Rolling would never be extradited to a state where he might be convicted and sentenced to a jail term. That could set up a separate legal battle over whether he could be forcibly returned to a state where he faced death.
In an interview with Florida’s WFLA-TV in the mid-1990s, Rolling admitted responsibility for the Grissom murders, but stopped just shy of confessing. He also said he killed a person for each year he served in prison; the total of the Shreveport and Gainesville murders is eight.
Rolling's connection with the Florida slayings was revealed through the work of Shreveport police detectives, who notified Florida investigators that Rolling, arrested in Florida for an unrelated armed robbery, was the suspect in the Grissom slayings. That prompted a check of his DNA against that found at the college slayings. There was a match.
Rolling, who also was the suspect in the shooting of his father here before moving to Florida, blamed his actions on childhood abuse and the way he was treated in prison.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
In 2000 letter, Rolling blamed prison, abuse for killings
Posted on Fri, Sep. 22, 2006
In 2000 letter, Rolling blamed prison, abuse for killings
Associated Press
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - In a 17-page letter sent to The Associated Press in 2000, serial killer Danny Rolling attributed his murder of five Gainesville college students to the abuse he suffered as a child and his treatment in prison.
Rolling, who was scheduled Friday to die Oct. 25, said he killed one person for every year he spent in prison. He served a total of eight years in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. He was accused of three murders in Louisiana but never prosecuted.
"A mangy dog gets more consideration than what I received in Parchman (a Mississippi prison). Imagine ... being forced to dwell in a prison cell that floods out two to three times a week with putrefied raw sewage, and having to exist in such filth for over eight months till it drives you crazy as a loon."
The letter ended with an apology of sorts.
"Any complaint I may have pales in comparison to the terrible wrong I inflicted upon good people. I stand in the shadow of their suffering. If it is to be mercy, then I shall be eternally grateful. If it to be the wrath of vengeance, then God grant me the strength to face what I must. For I owe a debt I cannot repay ... not even with my own life."
The Death Warrant - Danny Rolling
http://www.wcjb.com/news.asp?id=14201
Danny Harold Rolling Death Warrant 9/23/2006
DEATH WARRANT
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 24th day of August, 1990, murder Sonya Larson; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 24th day of August, 1990, murder Christina Powell; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 25th day of August, 1990, murder Christa Hoyt; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 27th day of August, 1990, murder Manny Taboada; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 27th day of August, 1990, murder Tracy Paules; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 15th day of February, 1994, enter a plea of guilty to five counts of First Degree Murder; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, on the 20th day of April, 1994, was sentenced to death for the murder of victim Sonya Larson; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, on the 20th day of April, 1994, was sentenced to death for the murder of victim Christina Powell; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, on the 20th day of April, 1994, was sentenced to death for the murder of victim Christa Hoyt; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, on the 20th day of April, 1994, was sentenced to death for the murder of victim Manny Taboada; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, on the 20th day of April, 1994, was sentenced to death for the murder of victim Tracy Paules; and
WHEREAS, on the 20th day of March, 1997, the Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the death sentences received by DANNY HAROLD ROLLING; and
WHEREAS, on the 17th day of November, 1997, the United States Supreme Court denied the Petition for Writ of Certiorari; and
WHEREAS, on June 27, 2002, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the Motion for Post-Conviction Relief; and
WHEREAS, on July 1, 2005, the United States District Court, Northern District, denied a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus; and
WHEREAS, on February 9, 2006, the United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s denial of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus; and
WHEREAS, on June 26, 2006, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the 11th Circuit Court Appeals denial of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus; and
WHEREAS, no appeals are pending; and
WHEREAS, it has been determined that Executive Clemency, as authorized by Article IV, Section 8(a), Florida Constitution, is not appropriate; and
WHEREAS, attached hereto is a certified copy of the record pursuant to Section 922.052, Florida Statutes;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JEB BUSH, as Governor of the State of Florida and pursuant to the authority and responsibility vested in me by the Constitution and Laws of Florida, do hereby issue this warrant directing the Warden of the Florida State Prison to cause the sentence of death to be executed upon DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of Florida.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have
hereunto set my hand and
caused the Great Seal of the
State of Florida to be affixed
at Tallahassee, the Capitol,
this 22nd day of September, 2006.
Danny Harold Rolling Death Warrant 9/23/2006
DEATH WARRANT
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 24th day of August, 1990, murder Sonya Larson; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 24th day of August, 1990, murder Christina Powell; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 25th day of August, 1990, murder Christa Hoyt; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 27th day of August, 1990, murder Manny Taboada; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 27th day of August, 1990, murder Tracy Paules; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, did on the 15th day of February, 1994, enter a plea of guilty to five counts of First Degree Murder; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, on the 20th day of April, 1994, was sentenced to death for the murder of victim Sonya Larson; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, on the 20th day of April, 1994, was sentenced to death for the murder of victim Christina Powell; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, on the 20th day of April, 1994, was sentenced to death for the murder of victim Christa Hoyt; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, on the 20th day of April, 1994, was sentenced to death for the murder of victim Manny Taboada; and
WHEREAS, DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, on the 20th day of April, 1994, was sentenced to death for the murder of victim Tracy Paules; and
WHEREAS, on the 20th day of March, 1997, the Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the death sentences received by DANNY HAROLD ROLLING; and
WHEREAS, on the 17th day of November, 1997, the United States Supreme Court denied the Petition for Writ of Certiorari; and
WHEREAS, on June 27, 2002, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the Motion for Post-Conviction Relief; and
WHEREAS, on July 1, 2005, the United States District Court, Northern District, denied a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus; and
WHEREAS, on February 9, 2006, the United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s denial of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus; and
WHEREAS, on June 26, 2006, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the 11th Circuit Court Appeals denial of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus; and
WHEREAS, no appeals are pending; and
WHEREAS, it has been determined that Executive Clemency, as authorized by Article IV, Section 8(a), Florida Constitution, is not appropriate; and
WHEREAS, attached hereto is a certified copy of the record pursuant to Section 922.052, Florida Statutes;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JEB BUSH, as Governor of the State of Florida and pursuant to the authority and responsibility vested in me by the Constitution and Laws of Florida, do hereby issue this warrant directing the Warden of the Florida State Prison to cause the sentence of death to be executed upon DANNY HAROLD ROLLING, in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of Florida.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have
hereunto set my hand and
caused the Great Seal of the
State of Florida to be affixed
at Tallahassee, the Capitol,
this 22nd day of September, 2006.
Danny Rolling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Rolling
Danny Rolling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.
Daniel Harold Rolling (born 26 May 1954), known as the "Gainesville Ripper", is the convicted murderer and mutilator of five students in Gainesville, Florida, in August 1990.
He was also suspected of—but never tried on—a triple homicide on November 24, 1989, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the attempted murder of his father in May 1990.
As a result of his murder convictions, Rolling is scheduled to die by lethal injection on October 25, 2006, at 6 p.m. EST. [1]
Danny Rolling was born to James and Claudia Rolling. His father was abusive to both him and his mother, and later his brother, Kevin. Claudia Rolling made repeated attempts to leave her husband, but always returned. Rolling's father was a police officer.
After several incarcerations as a teen and young adult for a string of robberies in Georgia, Rolling had trouble trying to assimilate into society and hold down a steady job.
Finally, after years of abuse, Rolling attempted to kill his father during an argument with the elder Rolling. He later fled to the state of Florida where he began his burglary and robbery spree, which culminated in the murders of five people in Gainesville. His signature was to arrange the bodies in such a way as to highlight the carnage in the rooms — this even included setting up several mirrors.
Although law enforcement authorities initially had very few leads and the investigation dragged on for years, Rolling was eventually charged with several counts of murder, and Alachua County State Attorney Rod Smith oversaw the prosecution. Rolling was convicted nearly four years after the murders occurred, and sentenced to the death penalty in each case.
A second man, Edward Humphrey of Indialantic, Florida, was considered an initial suspect in the Gainesville murders; authorities cleared him of all charges after Rolling's arrest.
Rolling aided the writing career of Sondra London, who met him in prison while working with Gerard John Schaefer and other serial killers.
Rolling and the Gainesville murders are the subject of the book Beyond Murder by John Philpin and John Donnelly. The murders have been suggested to have been the inspiration for the original screenplay for Scream, though the similarities may merely be circumstantial.
Rolling was the subject of an episode of "Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman", a Court TV show. During Rolling's trial, Court TV ran an interview with his mother from her home, during which someone shouting and complaining (presumably Rolling's father) off-camera can be heard.
[edit]
References
^ "Rolling Execution Date Set" WCJB News
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Rolling"
Danny Rolling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.
Daniel Harold Rolling (born 26 May 1954), known as the "Gainesville Ripper", is the convicted murderer and mutilator of five students in Gainesville, Florida, in August 1990.
He was also suspected of—but never tried on—a triple homicide on November 24, 1989, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the attempted murder of his father in May 1990.
As a result of his murder convictions, Rolling is scheduled to die by lethal injection on October 25, 2006, at 6 p.m. EST. [1]
Danny Rolling was born to James and Claudia Rolling. His father was abusive to both him and his mother, and later his brother, Kevin. Claudia Rolling made repeated attempts to leave her husband, but always returned. Rolling's father was a police officer.
After several incarcerations as a teen and young adult for a string of robberies in Georgia, Rolling had trouble trying to assimilate into society and hold down a steady job.
Finally, after years of abuse, Rolling attempted to kill his father during an argument with the elder Rolling. He later fled to the state of Florida where he began his burglary and robbery spree, which culminated in the murders of five people in Gainesville. His signature was to arrange the bodies in such a way as to highlight the carnage in the rooms — this even included setting up several mirrors.
Although law enforcement authorities initially had very few leads and the investigation dragged on for years, Rolling was eventually charged with several counts of murder, and Alachua County State Attorney Rod Smith oversaw the prosecution. Rolling was convicted nearly four years after the murders occurred, and sentenced to the death penalty in each case.
A second man, Edward Humphrey of Indialantic, Florida, was considered an initial suspect in the Gainesville murders; authorities cleared him of all charges after Rolling's arrest.
Rolling aided the writing career of Sondra London, who met him in prison while working with Gerard John Schaefer and other serial killers.
Rolling and the Gainesville murders are the subject of the book Beyond Murder by John Philpin and John Donnelly. The murders have been suggested to have been the inspiration for the original screenplay for Scream, though the similarities may merely be circumstantial.
Rolling was the subject of an episode of "Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman", a Court TV show. During Rolling's trial, Court TV ran an interview with his mother from her home, during which someone shouting and complaining (presumably Rolling's father) off-camera can be heard.
[edit]
References
^ "Rolling Execution Date Set" WCJB News
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Rolling"
Danny Rolling
Danny Rolling
Name: Daniel (Danny) Harold Rolling
AKA: The Gainesville Ripper
Birthdate: May 26th, 1954
Birthplace: Shreveport, Georgia
Victims:
Names Dates Ages
Tom Grissom November 4, 1989
Julie Grissom November 4, 1989 24
Sean Grissom November 4, 1989 8
Sonja Larson August 8, 1990 (discovered) 17
Christina Powell August 8, 1990 (discovered) 17
Christa Hoyt August 25, 1990 18
Tracey Paules August 27, 1990 23
Manuel Taboada August 27, 1990 23
Name: Daniel (Danny) Harold Rolling
AKA: The Gainesville Ripper
Birthdate: May 26th, 1954
Birthplace: Shreveport, Georgia
Victims:
Names Dates Ages
Tom Grissom November 4, 1989
Julie Grissom November 4, 1989 24
Sean Grissom November 4, 1989 8
Sonja Larson August 8, 1990 (discovered) 17
Christina Powell August 8, 1990 (discovered) 17
Christa Hoyt August 25, 1990 18
Tracey Paules August 27, 1990 23
Manuel Taboada August 27, 1990 23
Rolling, seeking life term,
www.sptimes.com/News/071200/photos/st-rolling.jpg
Rolling, seeking life term,says, 'I am not a monster'
Ten years ago, Danny Rolling killed five college students. Now he's saying his lawyers were incompetent and he shouldn't be executed.
[AP photo]Rolling ponders his future in court Tuesday.
By BARRY KLEIN
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 12, 2000
Hoyt
Larson
Paules
Powell
Taboada
GAINESVILLE -- Ann Garren greatly resents that Danny Rolling already has lived a decade longer than her daughter, one of five students he murdered and mutilated in a killing rampage that terrorized this college town in 1990.
That's why she was back here Tuesday, forcing herself to listen as the confessed killer swore in court that he is "not a monster."
"He is a monster," said an angry Garren, who thinks Rolling should die -- and soon -- despite his latest appeal, in which he claims he was sentenced to death because of incompetent counsel.
As evidence, Rolling is citing his attorneys' unwillingness to move the case from Gainesville. He hopes to gain a new sentencing hearing and a shot at a life sentence.
The dozen relatives of his victims who sat through Tuesday's session are confident that won't happen. But they are worried about the growing national debate over the fairness of capital punishment, which they fear could allow Rolling to cheat the executioner.
"That would be just horrendous," said Ada Larson, the mother of Sonja Larson, one of Rolling's first victims.
Next month will mark 10 years since Rolling, 46, used a Marine Corps K-Bar knife to mark his spot among America's most notorious killers.
His murderous frenzy lasted for four nights.
He tied up his female victims with duct tape before stabbing them to death. He raped three of them and decapitated one. The others he posed in lewd positions.
Rolling has never explained why.
The crimes terrified Gainesville. Some students withdrew from school. Some of those who returned came back armed.
Hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement officers invaded the town, as did almost as many reporters and television cameras.
Rolling eventually confessed and pleaded guilty on the day his trial was to start in 1994. A jury was seated for the sentencing phase and unanimously recommended death.
Now Rolling is in court arguing that the notoriety he created with his crimes entitles him to a new sentencing.
Rolling claims that his attorneys at the time, the Alachua County public defender and his chief assistant, should never have talked him into keeping the trial in Gainesville.
There was too much pretrial publicity, all of it highly unfavorable to Rolling, argues Baya Harrison, the Monticello lawyer specially appointed by the state to represent Rolling.
He said that decision alone constitutes proof of inadequate representation.
"Of all the places on the planet, Gainesville was not the proper venue for a thousand reasons," Harrison said.
Rolling testified Tuesday that his attorneys told him Gainesville was a good place for the trial since it was a liberal college town. He said they told him it was his best chance for an unbiased jury.
"I didn't feel comfortable about having the trial here," said Rolling, who admitted having a hazy memory of the two-hour conversation with his attorneys.
"The people of Gainesville had been badly wronged," he said. "They looked at me from the viewpoint that I was a monster. I am not a monster."
Rod Smith strongly disagrees. He was Gainesville's new state attorney when the murders happened. He said the evidence alone was enough to put him in a prolonged depression.
He is still the state attorney but now he is in the position of having to defend the work of the lawyers he beat six years ago.
He said it isn't a problem.
Before being sentenced to death, Rolling pleaded guilty to five murders, three sexual batteries and three armed robberies, Smith said.
"They are saying if their strategy had been different, the outcome would have been different," he said. "Where? On the moon?"
Garren, the mother of Christa Hoyt, one of Rolling's victims, said the relatives never cared where the trial was held. "We just wanted the death penalty."
The hearing is expected to continue until at least Saturday. Circuit Judge Stan Morris, who presided over the sentencing six years ago, has not said when he will rule.
His decision will be critical for Rolling, who already has had two pleas for a new trial turned down by the Florida Supreme Court.
He is beginning to run out of time.
Prisoners sentenced to death in Florida spend an average of 11.3 years on death row. Rolling has been there six years.
Officials have said his first death warrant could be signed as early as next year.
While several of the victims' relatives said Tuesday that a day rarely passes when they don't think about what Rolling did, his legacy in Gainesville began fading long ago.
There hasn't been a memorial ceremony for the victims for five years. The only visual reminders are five trees planted near the University of Florida library, a plaque in a local park and a single panel on a stretch of wall along SW 34th Street, a shrine of sorts that was dedicated to the victims' memories days after the murders.
It says simply, "We remember," along with their names: "Sonja Larson, Christina Powell, Christa Leigh Hoyt, Tracy Paules, Manuel Taboada."
College towns are transitory places, one of the features that attracted Rolling here in the first place. Most of today's students were young children when the murders happened.
To them, Rolling is just a name.
"The only thing I remember is that my parents wouldn't let me stay home alone," said Maggie Little, a 19-year-old psychology major who grew up in Gainesville.
Scott Paules knows just how big a deal it was. He is the brother of Tracy Paules, one of Rolling's final victims.
Scott said Tuesday was the first time he saw Rolling in person. He said he felt little emotion.
"I don't spend time thinking of what I want to do to him," he said. "I spend time thinking about my family -- my mom, my dad, and especially my sister."
- Times correspondent Beth Kassab contributed to this report.
Rolling, seeking life term,says, 'I am not a monster'
Ten years ago, Danny Rolling killed five college students. Now he's saying his lawyers were incompetent and he shouldn't be executed.
[AP photo]Rolling ponders his future in court Tuesday.
By BARRY KLEIN
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 12, 2000
Hoyt
Larson
Paules
Powell
Taboada
GAINESVILLE -- Ann Garren greatly resents that Danny Rolling already has lived a decade longer than her daughter, one of five students he murdered and mutilated in a killing rampage that terrorized this college town in 1990.
That's why she was back here Tuesday, forcing herself to listen as the confessed killer swore in court that he is "not a monster."
"He is a monster," said an angry Garren, who thinks Rolling should die -- and soon -- despite his latest appeal, in which he claims he was sentenced to death because of incompetent counsel.
As evidence, Rolling is citing his attorneys' unwillingness to move the case from Gainesville. He hopes to gain a new sentencing hearing and a shot at a life sentence.
The dozen relatives of his victims who sat through Tuesday's session are confident that won't happen. But they are worried about the growing national debate over the fairness of capital punishment, which they fear could allow Rolling to cheat the executioner.
"That would be just horrendous," said Ada Larson, the mother of Sonja Larson, one of Rolling's first victims.
Next month will mark 10 years since Rolling, 46, used a Marine Corps K-Bar knife to mark his spot among America's most notorious killers.
His murderous frenzy lasted for four nights.
He tied up his female victims with duct tape before stabbing them to death. He raped three of them and decapitated one. The others he posed in lewd positions.
Rolling has never explained why.
The crimes terrified Gainesville. Some students withdrew from school. Some of those who returned came back armed.
Hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement officers invaded the town, as did almost as many reporters and television cameras.
Rolling eventually confessed and pleaded guilty on the day his trial was to start in 1994. A jury was seated for the sentencing phase and unanimously recommended death.
Now Rolling is in court arguing that the notoriety he created with his crimes entitles him to a new sentencing.
Rolling claims that his attorneys at the time, the Alachua County public defender and his chief assistant, should never have talked him into keeping the trial in Gainesville.
There was too much pretrial publicity, all of it highly unfavorable to Rolling, argues Baya Harrison, the Monticello lawyer specially appointed by the state to represent Rolling.
He said that decision alone constitutes proof of inadequate representation.
"Of all the places on the planet, Gainesville was not the proper venue for a thousand reasons," Harrison said.
Rolling testified Tuesday that his attorneys told him Gainesville was a good place for the trial since it was a liberal college town. He said they told him it was his best chance for an unbiased jury.
"I didn't feel comfortable about having the trial here," said Rolling, who admitted having a hazy memory of the two-hour conversation with his attorneys.
"The people of Gainesville had been badly wronged," he said. "They looked at me from the viewpoint that I was a monster. I am not a monster."
Rod Smith strongly disagrees. He was Gainesville's new state attorney when the murders happened. He said the evidence alone was enough to put him in a prolonged depression.
He is still the state attorney but now he is in the position of having to defend the work of the lawyers he beat six years ago.
He said it isn't a problem.
Before being sentenced to death, Rolling pleaded guilty to five murders, three sexual batteries and three armed robberies, Smith said.
"They are saying if their strategy had been different, the outcome would have been different," he said. "Where? On the moon?"
Garren, the mother of Christa Hoyt, one of Rolling's victims, said the relatives never cared where the trial was held. "We just wanted the death penalty."
The hearing is expected to continue until at least Saturday. Circuit Judge Stan Morris, who presided over the sentencing six years ago, has not said when he will rule.
His decision will be critical for Rolling, who already has had two pleas for a new trial turned down by the Florida Supreme Court.
He is beginning to run out of time.
Prisoners sentenced to death in Florida spend an average of 11.3 years on death row. Rolling has been there six years.
Officials have said his first death warrant could be signed as early as next year.
While several of the victims' relatives said Tuesday that a day rarely passes when they don't think about what Rolling did, his legacy in Gainesville began fading long ago.
There hasn't been a memorial ceremony for the victims for five years. The only visual reminders are five trees planted near the University of Florida library, a plaque in a local park and a single panel on a stretch of wall along SW 34th Street, a shrine of sorts that was dedicated to the victims' memories days after the murders.
It says simply, "We remember," along with their names: "Sonja Larson, Christina Powell, Christa Leigh Hoyt, Tracy Paules, Manuel Taboada."
College towns are transitory places, one of the features that attracted Rolling here in the first place. Most of today's students were young children when the murders happened.
To them, Rolling is just a name.
"The only thing I remember is that my parents wouldn't let me stay home alone," said Maggie Little, a 19-year-old psychology major who grew up in Gainesville.
Scott Paules knows just how big a deal it was. He is the brother of Tracy Paules, one of Rolling's final victims.
Scott said Tuesday was the first time he saw Rolling in person. He said he felt little emotion.
"I don't spend time thinking of what I want to do to him," he said. "I spend time thinking about my family -- my mom, my dad, and especially my sister."
- Times correspondent Beth Kassab contributed to this report.
College students' killer to be executed
September 23, 2006
Florida
College students' killer to be executed
Gov. Jeb Bush signed the death warrant to execute Danny Rolling, the man who
murdered five students in Gainesville.
BY GARY FINEOUT AND STEPHANIE GARRY, Miami Herald
TALLAHASSEE - Danny Rolling, the notorious serial killer who murdered five
college students and plunged the town of Gainesville into a frenzy of fear
16 years ago, will be executed next month, Gov. Jeb Bush said Friday.
The governor signed a death warrant to execute Rolling, who joined Ted Bundy
and Aileen Wuornos in the history books as Florida's most horrific killers.
Rolling, 52, exhausted all of his appeals in June and is scheduled to be
strapped to a gurney and given an injection of deadly chemicals at 6 p.m.
Oct. 25.
In quick succession in August 1990, Rolling killed five students, four of
them young dark-haired women, the other the male roommate of one of the
victims. He raped three of the women, then stabbed and mutilated them. He
decapitated one of the victims and left the head on a shelf facing the front
door, posed for police to see.
The five bodies were found on successive days as the fall semester began at
the University of Florida. All five victims were students at UF or nearby
Santa Fe Community College.
GROWING HYSTERIA
With each discovery, fear turned into terror, which rose to hysteria.
Students bought baseball bats, Mace and guns. Parents jammed telephone
lines, urging their children to come home. Several hundred students left
that semester and never returned.
Rolling's victims: Christi Powell, 17, of Jacksonville; Sonja Larson, 18, of
Deerfield Beach; Christa Hoyt, 18, of Gainesville; Tracy Paules, 23, of Palm
Springs North, and Manny Taboada, 23, of Carol City.
''We don't much care if they burn him, stick him or hang him, as long as
they kill him,'' George Paules, father of Tracy Paules, told The Associated
Press.
Tommy Carroll, a childhood friend of Paules and Taboada who was the first to
find their bodies, told The Miami Herald Friday evening that Rollings was
``an animal.''
''We've been looking forward to this day for so long,'' he said. He said of
Rolling's execution: ``We will be there. I want to be inside and watch it.''
''It's far past time for Danny Rolling to face justice,'' said Rod Smith,
now a state senator from Alachua, who as state attorney prosecuted Rolling.
``The victims have waited for far too long.''
Art Sandeen, UF's vice president for student affairs at the time of the
murders and now a professor at the university, said he doesn't believe in
the death penalty. But for those who do, he said, he hopes the governor's
decision will bring some closure.
''It'll always be a part of everybody's life who was here,'' he said Friday.
``It was the worst of times. Those feelings for those five people will never
go away.''
Sandeen pointed out that most current UF students were 3 or 4 years old at
the time of the murders.
''Frankly, I'd be happy that this generation of students for the most part
is probably fairly unaware that this took place,'' he said. ``It's part of
the institutional memory, that's for sure.''
Rolling, a drifter from Shreveport, La., camped in a wooded area near the
apartments where the students lived off campus. Shortly after the killings,
he fled town and went to Tampa and then Ocala.
MASSIVE INVESTIGATION
With police engaged in a massive investigation in Gainesville, no one
noticed when Rolling was arrested on charges he robbed an Ocala Winn-Dixie
in September 1990. He pleaded guilty to the crime. It wasn't until months
later that blood tests linked Rolling to the Gainesville murders. He is also
suspected of three killings in Shreveport, but was never prosecuted.
Rolling pleaded guilty to the Gainesville murders in 1994, and his case
wound its way through the legal system until his appeals ran out in June.
State officials said the delay was partly due to the legal battle over
lethal injection. The U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution of cop-killer
Clarence Hill in January after his attorneys raised questions as to whether
the deadly combination of chemicals used in lethal injection caused pain.
Hill was executed Wednesday after courts rejected his arguments over lethal
injection.
Today, the biggest reminder of the Gainesville murders is not the apartment
complexes where the killings happened, but the black-and-white memorial on a
graffitied wall on 34th Street, a main thoroughfare that runs along the west
side of the UF campus.
Few messages escape the constant painting of the wall, but the about
10-foot-long black section bears the words ''We remember,'' and in white,
the names of the five victims.
Gatorwood Apartments, where Rolling killed his last two victims, has been
closed. In the past month, it has been set on fire twice for local
firefighters to practice on.
---
Source : Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/15590187.htm
Two prisoners set to die in October
September 23, 2006 Florida
Two prisoners set to die in October
By Paul Flemming, Tallehassee Democrat
Gov. Jeb Bush on Friday evening set execution dates for two prisoners -Danny Rolling, the notorious Gainesville killer who pleaded guilty to the1990 murders of five University of Florida students in the college town; andA.D. Rutherford, a Milton man who was set to die in January but got alast-minute stay
Rolling murdered and mutilated Sonya Larson, Christina Powell, Christa Hoyt,Manny Taboada and Tracy Paules over three days in August 1990. His executionis set for Oct. 25.
Rutherford, a Milton native, was sentenced to death for the beating anddrowning death of Stella Salamon on Aug. 22, 1985. He is now scheduled todie Oct. 18 at 6 p.m.
Bush on Friday evening set the new execution date for Rutherford, extendingan existing death warrant. He was set to die in January when the U.S.Supreme Court granted him a last-minute stay.
The execution dates for Rolling and Rutherford come two days after the stateexecuted another prisoner. Clarence Hill's lawyers failed to get a hearingthat Florida's three-drug cocktail might cause excruciating pain. Hisappeals claiming the state's lethal-injection methods were unconstitutionalwas rejected by federal courts, but on the basis that his claims were filedtoo late.
Rutherford's January stay from the highest court came a week after Hill's.Bush said in a letter to Florida State Prison Warden Randall Bryant that theSupreme Court's stay was lifted July 21.Calls to Rutherford's attorneys were not immediately returned.
Rutherford and Rolling would be the 62nd and 63rd prisoners executed inFlorida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. There are 376inmates on the state's Death Row. ---Source : Tallehassee Democrat
Tallahassee Democrat
Two prisoners set to die in October
By Paul Flemming, Tallehassee Democrat
Gov. Jeb Bush on Friday evening set execution dates for two prisoners -Danny Rolling, the notorious Gainesville killer who pleaded guilty to the1990 murders of five University of Florida students in the college town; andA.D. Rutherford, a Milton man who was set to die in January but got alast-minute stay
Rolling murdered and mutilated Sonya Larson, Christina Powell, Christa Hoyt,Manny Taboada and Tracy Paules over three days in August 1990. His executionis set for Oct. 25.
Rutherford, a Milton native, was sentenced to death for the beating anddrowning death of Stella Salamon on Aug. 22, 1985. He is now scheduled todie Oct. 18 at 6 p.m.
Bush on Friday evening set the new execution date for Rutherford, extendingan existing death warrant. He was set to die in January when the U.S.Supreme Court granted him a last-minute stay.
The execution dates for Rolling and Rutherford come two days after the stateexecuted another prisoner. Clarence Hill's lawyers failed to get a hearingthat Florida's three-drug cocktail might cause excruciating pain. Hisappeals claiming the state's lethal-injection methods were unconstitutionalwas rejected by federal courts, but on the basis that his claims were filedtoo late.
Rutherford's January stay from the highest court came a week after Hill's.Bush said in a letter to Florida State Prison Warden Randall Bryant that theSupreme Court's stay was lifted July 21.Calls to Rutherford's attorneys were not immediately returned.
Rutherford and Rolling would be the 62nd and 63rd prisoners executed inFlorida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. There are 376inmates on the state's Death Row. ---Source : Tallehassee Democrat
Tallahassee Democrat
Danny Rolling's Execution Date Set
TALLAHASSEE, FL (AP) --
Governor Bush has signed a death warrant for a man who pleaded guilty to the grisly 1990 killing of five Gainesville college students.He'll be executed October 25th.
Rolling entered his guilty plea in 1994 and a jury unanimously recommended five death sentences. A Circuit Court judge sentenced him to death for the killings and life in prison for three sexual batteries and armed burglaries.
Rolling was a drifter from Louisiana who killed four women and one man in their off-campus apartments.He lost an appeal earlier this year before the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.17-year-old Christina Powell of Jacksonville was among the five students killed by Rolling in the fall of 1990.
Governor Bush has signed a death warrant for a man who pleaded guilty to the grisly 1990 killing of five Gainesville college students.He'll be executed October 25th.
Rolling entered his guilty plea in 1994 and a jury unanimously recommended five death sentences. A Circuit Court judge sentenced him to death for the killings and life in prison for three sexual batteries and armed burglaries.
Rolling was a drifter from Louisiana who killed four women and one man in their off-campus apartments.He lost an appeal earlier this year before the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.17-year-old Christina Powell of Jacksonville was among the five students killed by Rolling in the fall of 1990.
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