Frederick Cumming-El

Case information

Frederick Cumming-El (also known as Frederick Wooden) was born on 01/11/58. He was tried in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County, Case #91-33268. Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Joseph P. Farina. Criminal Trial Attorney: Theodore G. Mastos – Private Attorney. Direct Appeal Attorney: John H. Lipinski – Special Appointed Public Defender. Collateral Appeals Attorney: Pro Se.

Timeline

• 09/16/91 — Date of offense.
• 03/17/92 — Defendant was indicted: Count I: First-Degree Murder; Count II: Armed Robbery.
• 01/29/93 — The jury found the defendant guilty on all counts.
• 02/03/93 — Upon advisory sentencing, the jury voted for the death penalty by an 8 to 4 majority.
• 02/19/93 — The defendant was sentenced: Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death; Count II: Armed Robbery – 22 years.
• 09/13/93 — Cummings-El filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 09/26/96 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence of death.
• 06/16/97 — The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari.
• 06/14/01 — A Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence (3.850) in State Circuit Court was denied.
• 10/09/03 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the decision on the appeal of the 3.850 denial.
• 10/26/01 — The defendant filed a Pro Se Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 12/18/01 — The Florida Supreme Court dismissed the pro se habeas corpus petition without prejudice to be filed in the appropriate manner.
• 08/09/02 — Cummings-El again filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.
• 10/09/03 — The later Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was denied.
• Date not specified — Cummings-El filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, which was currently pending.

Background

Frederick Cummings-El and Kathy Good had dated and lived together for several months before the relationship ended. After the relationship ended, Cummings-El continued to harass Good.

The offence

After an assault at a neighbor’s house, Kathy Good secured a restraining order against Cummings-El. Cummings-El continually made verbal threats towards Good, stating:

• “Kathy, I am going to kill you. Kathy, I am going to kill you”
• “I love her. If I can’t have her, nobody can have her.”

In the early morning of 09/16/91, Cummings-El broke into the Good residence. He entered Good’s room and stabbed her numerous times while she lay sleeping. Good’s eight-year-old son was sleeping next to her; he awoke to the sound of his mother’s screams and saw Cummings-El “punching” her. Good’s twenty-year-old nephew was asleep on the floor of her bedroom and reported seeing Cummings-El leaving the scene.

As Cummings-El was fleeing, Good’s mother confronted him in the corridor, and he pushed her to the ground in his escape. Good, wounded and bleeding, stumbled from her bedroom and fell into her mother’s arms, saying “Fred, Fred.”

Medical examiners concluded that Good died from the numerous stab wounds she endured. Her lungs filled with fluid, and she essentially drowned in her own blood. She remained conscious for several minutes following the attack and reportedly kept asking what was taking the emergency medical personnel so long.

Investigation and arrest

Frederick Cummings-El was apprehended and charged with First-Degree Murder and Armed Robbery.

Trial

On 03/17/92, Cummings-El was indicted on:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder
• Count II: Armed Robbery

On 01/29/93, the jury found the defendant guilty on all counts. On 02/03/93, the jury, by an 8 to 4 majority, voted for the death penalty on advisory sentencing.

On 02/19/93, the defendant was sentenced as followed:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death
• Count II: Armed Robbery — 22 years

Appeals

Cummings-El filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 09/13/93. In that appeal, he argued that the trial court erred in applying the heinous, atrocious and cruel (HAC) aggravating factor and the cold, calculated and premeditated (CCP) aggravating factor. The Florida Supreme Court found no merit to these claims and affirmed the convictions and sentence of death on 09/26/96.

Cummings-El next filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 06/16/97.

Cummings-El filed a Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence (3.850) in the State Circuit Court, which was denied on 06/14/01. He appealed that decision in the Florida Supreme Court, which was affirmed on 10/09/03.

On 10/26/01, Cummings-El filed a Pro Se Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court. The petition was dismissed without prejudice on 12/18/01 to be filed in the appropriate manner.

Cummings-El again filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on 08/09/02, which was denied on 10/09/03.

Cummings-El filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, which was currently pending.

Outcome

The convictions were affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court, and the sentence of death was affirmed.

Other details

Florida Supreme Court opinion 82349 (SC01-1501). DC# 120190.