John Gary Hardwick

Case details

Name: John Gary Hardwick Date of birth: 05/29/59 Court (trial): Fourth Judicial Circuit, Duval County Case number: 85-3779 Sentencing judge: The Honorable L. Page Haddock Trial attorney: Frank J. Tassone, Jr. – Private Attorney Direct appeal attorney: Clyde M. Collins, Jr. – Private Attorney Collateral appeals: Richard Kuritz – Registry (State); Terri Backhus – Private (Federal)

Timeline

• 12/24/84 — Keith Pullam was found floating in the St. Johns River; Hardwick had admitted that he killed the victim.
• 04/04/85 — Hardwick was indicted for First-Degree Murder.
• 06/27/85 — Hardwick was sentenced to two seventeen year terms for crimes in a separate case (Case# 8500493).
• 02/16/86 — Hardwick filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 05/14/86.
• 03/13/86 — Jury returned guilty verdict.
• 03/27/86 — The jury recommended the death sentence by a vote of 7-5.
• 04/24/86 — Sentenced to death.
• 05/14/86 — Hardwick filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court.
• 02/04/88 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence.
• 06/03/88 — Hardwick filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court.
• 10/03/88 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied the Petition for Writ of Certiorari.
• 02/16/90 — Hardwick filed a 3.850 Motion with the Circuit Court.
• 03/06/90 — The Circuit Court denied the Motion, but the Florida Supreme Court ordered the Circuit Court to conduct an evidentiary hearing.
• 03/15/90 — The Florida Supreme Court granted a stay of execution, pending a 3.850 Motion evidentiary hearing in the trial court.
• 03/21/91 — After the evidentiary hearing, the Circuit Court again denied the motion.
• 03/30/90 — Hardwick filed a Petition for Extraordinary Relief and Writ of Mandamus with the Florida Supreme Court.
• 04/09/90 — The Petition was withdrawn.
• 01/10/90 — The Governor signed a death warrant for Hardwick.
• 02/16/90 — Hardwick filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court.
• 06/05/91 — Hardwick filed a 3.850 Motion appeal.
• 03/20/95 — Hardwick filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the U.S. District Court.
• 02/24/97 — The U.S. District Court denied the Petition.
• 07/02/97 — Hardwick filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals.
• 09/04/97 — The U.S. Court of Appeals vacated the U.S. District Court judgment and remanded for reconsideration.
• 09/17/97 — The U.S. District Court granted Hardwick’s Petition for Certificate of Appealability.
• 10/27/97 — The case was sent back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for appeal.
• 01/31/03 — The U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed denial of the habeas petition as to Hardwick’s conviction, but vacated denial as to Hardwick’s death sentence.
• 03/02/03 — The U.S. District Court stayed proceedings pending resolution of a rehearing motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals.
• 06/16/03 — The case was reopened and an evidentiary hearing is to be set.
• 06/20/03 — Hardwick filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court.
• 11/21/03 — The Florida Supreme Court denied the Petition.

Background

Hardwick and Keith Pullam were connected through a mutual friend, Michael Hyzer, who testified that Hardwick admitted killing the victim.

The offence

On 12/24/84, a fisherman found the body of Keith Pullam floating in the St. Johns River. The victim had been beaten around the head and died as the result of gunshot and stab wounds. Medical evidence indicated that the victim was stabbed three times in the chest and back, shot once in the back, and then struck about the head postmortem.

Michael Hyzer, a mutual friend of Hardwick and the victim, testified that Hardwick admitted that he had killed the victim for stealing drugs from him and dumped the body in the river.

Investigation

No separate investigation narrative was provided beyond the medical evidence and testimony describing Hardwick’s admission.

Arrest

No arrest details were provided.

Trial

Indictment and verdict

• Hardwick was indicted for First-Degree Murder on 04/04/85.
• The jury returned a guilty verdict on 03/13/86.

Recommended sentence

On 03/27/86, the jury recommended the death sentence by a vote of 7-5.

Sentencing

On 04/24/86, Hardwick was sentenced to death. The sentencing occurred before the direct appeal affirmed the sentence.

Direct appeal

Hardwick filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 05/14/86, citing the following eight errors:

1. improper exclusion of testimony
2. improper refusal to allow pro se representation
3. improper restriction of cross-examination
4. violations of witness sequestration rule
5. defense had a right to a jury instruction on intoxication
6. failure of the state to eliminate other reasonable hypotheses of innocence
7. improper conclusions on aggravating and mitigating circumstances
8. error in finding two aggravating circumstances (heinous, atrocious, and cruel and cold, calculated, and premeditated) based on the same facts

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence on 02/04/88.

Hardwick filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on 06/03/88, which was denied on 10/03/88.

Collateral proceedings (state)

Hardwick filed a 3.850 Motion with the Circuit Court on 02/16/90. On 03/06/90, the Circuit Court denied the Motion, but on appeal, the Florida Supreme Court ordered the Circuit Court to conduct an evidentiary hearing. After conducting the evidentiary hearing, the Circuit Court again denied the motion on 03/21/91.

Hardwick filed a Petition for Extraordinary Relief and Writ of Mandamus with the Florida Supreme Court on 03/30/90 that was withdrawn on 04/09/90.

Hardwick filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court on 02/16/90 and a 3.850 Motion appeal on 06/05/91.

On 03/15/90, the Florida Supreme Court granted a stay of execution, pending a 3.850 Motion evidentiary hearing in the trial court.

Following the Circuit Court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion, the Florida Supreme Court denied the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and affirmed the Circuit Court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion.

Collateral proceedings (federal)

Hardwick filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the U.S. District Court on 03/20/95, citing twenty issues. The U.S. District Court denied the Petition on 02/24/97.

Hardwick filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals on 07/02/97. On 09/04/97, the U.S. District Court judgment and remanded the case for re-consideration, ordering the U.S. District Court to review Hardwick’s Petition for Certificate of Appealability that the U.S. District Court had granted in part and denied in part in its opinion on 02/24/97.

The U.S. Court of Appeals noted that the U.S. District Court had erroneously applied the Certificate of Appealability provisions of the AEDPA to Hardwick’s case, which was pending at the time of the signing of the AEDPA.

On 09/17/97, the U.S. District Court granted Hardwick’s Petition for Certificate of Appealability, and on 10/27/97, the case was sent back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for appeal.

On 01/31/03, the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the U.S. District Court’s denial of the Habeas Petition as to Hardwick’s conviction, but vacated the U.S. District Court’s denial of the Habeas Petition as to Hardwick’s death sentence. The U.S. Court of Appeals ordered an evidentiary hearing to be held on claims that counsel was ineffective at the penalty phase of trial for failing to argue mitigating evidence.

On 03/02/03, the U.S. District Court stayed proceedings in the case pending a resolution of a rehearing motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals.

On 06/16/03, the case was reopened and an evidentiary hearing is to be set.

Other cases

In a separate case (Case# 8500493), Hardwick was charged with one count each of:

• Robbery with a Deadly Weapon
• Kidnapping

These charges were related to the First-Degree Murder charge in the above case.

On 06/27/85, Hardwick was sentenced to two seventeen year terms for the crimes in the separate case.

Appeals / outcome

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence on 02/04/88, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari on 10/03/88.

The U.S. Court of Appeals on 01/31/03 affirmed denial of the habeas petition as to conviction and vacated denial as to the death sentence, ordering an evidentiary hearing on claims of ineffective counsel at the penalty phase for failing to argue mitigating evidence.

The Florida Supreme Court denied Hardwick’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on 11/21/03.

Other details

Hardwick filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court on 02/16/90 and later had an additional 3.850 Motion appeal dated 06/05/91.

The Governor signed a death warrant for Hardwick on 01/10/90.

• Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) was signed into law on 04/24/96. The AEDPA governed the appeal process of federal Petitions for Writ of Habeas Corpus that are denied at the U.S. District Court level. The U.S. District Court had to issue a Certificate of Appealability in order for the Habeas Petition to be appealed to a higher federal court. The U.S. Court of Appeals noted that the AEDPA Certificate of Appealability provisions were applied erroneously to Hardwick’s case, which was pending at the time of the signing of