BENNIE EDDIE DEMPS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE; JACKIE HARDIE, APPELLANT, V. STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. | 1973-01-17
Nos. 41443, 41444, 41450 and 41451
CARLTON, C. J„ and ROBERTS, ERVIN, ADKINS, BOYD, McCAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.
272 So. 2d 803 Florida Supreme Court (1973) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Two appellants convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment following the Supreme Court's Furman v. Georgia decision invalidating then-existing death penalty statutes. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and modified sentences, finding the appellants deserving of severe punishment for brutal murders committed during armed robberies.


Holding

The convictions are affirmed and the death sentences are modified to life imprisonment as the maximum penalty currently available under Florida law following Furman. The trial court properly denied motions for severance and the appellants received adequate psychiatric examinations as ordered by the court.


Headnotes

[1] A court may reduce a death sentence to life imprisonment based on subsequent controlling precedent.

[2] Evidence of robbery, home invasion, and unprovoked murder with premeditation supports the imposition of the most severe lawful punishment.

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“A careful examination of the record shows conclusively that the appellants herein are fully deserving of the most severe punishment permitted by law.”

Establishes the court's assessment of the severity of the crimes and appellants' culpability despite the sentence reduction mandated by Furman.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Appellants Demps and Hardie, at gunpoint, robbed an elderly man of his automobile and later entered a private home to steal a safe, camera, and weapon…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

We are here reviewing the consolidated cases in which each of the two appellants was convicted of two counts of first degree *804murder. Each received two sentences of death by electrocution. Subsequent to their convictions, the Supreme Court of the United States decided the case of Furman v. Georgia,1 and upon authority of the Furman case, this Court, in Case No. 42,-789, reported as Anderson et al. v. State,2 reduced the penalties imposed against these appellants to life imprisonment, this being currently the maximum penalty for these particular criminal acts.

A careful examination of the record shows conclusively that the appellants herein are fully deserving of the most severe punishment permitted by law. The appellants at gunpoint entered and seized an automobile from an elderly man whom they robbed. They entered a private home, removing a safe, camera and weapons. While appellants were opening the safe in an orange grove, two men and a woman appeared who happened to be in the area inspecting real estate. These people were accosted by the appellants at gunpoint. The victims were robbed of several hundred dollars. The woman was shot wholly without reason or provocation and the dying woman, along with the two men, were compelled to climb into the trunk of an automobile. They were shot several times by the appellants with the full intention of killing them and with full premeditation. The victims offered no defense and the record reflects absolutely no justification for these crimes.

One man and the woman died at the scene of the crime. The third victim survived, although he was wounded by the bullets fired into the trunk of the car. For the assault with intent to commit murder the appellants were each sentenced to terms of imprisonment, but this Court has no direct appellate jurisdiction over these sentences.

The appellants left Florida in the stolen automobile, and were apprehended in the State of New Jersey by a highway patrolman for speeding. When the patrolman requested proof of ownership of the car, appellant Demps first pretended to search inside the vehicle and then at the suggestion of the officer, opened the trunk searching for a certificate or other paper showing their right to possession and control of the vehicle. At that time the officer observed an automatic weapon in the trunk of the automobile and simultaneously a third passenger in the car dropped a pistol to the ground. Whereupon the appellants were arrested for possession of the automatic weapon prohibited by New Jersey law. The Court properly found that there was no violation of the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

The appellants complained that the Court improperly denied their motions for severance. A careful examination of the record indicates that the Court did not commit error by denying the motions.

Appellants also complain that they did not receive a proper psychiatric examination. The record is abundantly clear that the parties were afforded psychiatric examinations pursuant to order of the Court. We find said objection without foundation.

Accordingly, the convictions and two sentences imposed upon each appellant, as modified to terms of life imprisonment, are affirmed.

It is so ordered.

CARLTON, C. J„ and ROBERTS, ERVIN, ADKINS, BOYD, McCAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Panzavecchia v. State, 311 So. 2d 782 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)
    …not be disturbed on appeal unless the party challenging it shall sustain his burden to show it represented an abuse of discretion. Bretti v. State, Fla.App. 1966, 192 So. 2d 6; Moore v. State, Fla.App. 1972, 259 So. 2d 179; Demps v. State, Fla.1973, 272 So. 2d 803. In denying the defendant’s motion for severance of the offenses the trial court necessarily concluded that severance was not necessary (or “appropriate”, as stated in the rule) in order for a fair determination of the defendant’s guilt or innocence…
  • Bennie E. Demps v. Louie L. Wainwright, 666 F.2d 224 (5th Cir. 1982)
    …icted of two counts of first degree murder before a Florida state court and were sentenced to death. Their death sentences were reduced to life sentences by the Supreme Court of Florida, but their convictions were otherwise affirmed. Demps v. State, 272 So. 2d 803 (Fla.1973). Although petitioner alleged several grounds for relief in the district court,1 he asserts only two [*225] grounds on appeal: (1) that the prosecution’s use of a deposition at trial violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront the witne…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw