Stephen Todd Booker

Case record

Stephen Todd Booker was convicted of first-degree murder, sexual battery, and burglary in connection with the killing of 94-year-old Lorine Demoss Harmon.

Harmon was found in her Gainesville apartment with two large knives embedded in her body. Medical examiners reported that the cause of death was loss of blood due to numerous stab wounds in the upper body region. Medical examiners also discovered blood and semen in the victim’s vaginal tract, concluding that sexual intercourse had taken place prior to the murder. Harmon’s apartment appeared to have been thoroughly searched, with dresser drawers pulled out and their contents scattered about. Investigators recovered fingerprints, footprints, and hair at the crime scene that linked Booker to the murder.

After his arrest, Booker began speaking as an alternate personality named “Aniel.” During questioning, Aniel implicated Stephen (Booker) in the crimes. Booker’s sanity was in question from the time he was arrested through the trial proceedings. The court appointed numerous psychiatrists to examine Booker. The psychiatrists found that he was sane at the time he committed the murder and competent to stand trial. Booker was not diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder). Experts believed that the “Aniel” alternate personality Booker displayed after arrest was fabricated and represented self-serving behavior.

Booker was on “Mandatory Conditional Release” at the time of the murder. Booker had prior convictions including robbery in 1974. After the murder conviction, Booker was charged and convicted of aggravated battery for burning a correctional officer at Florida State Prison in 1981. On 06/08/81, he was sentenced to 15 years for that offense.

Timeline

• 11/09/77 — Date of offense: Booker murdered 94-year-old Lorine Demoss Harmon.
• 11/10/77 — Defendant arrested.
• 12/02/77 — Defendant indicted on: Count I: First-Degree Murder; Count II: Sexual Battery; Count III: Burglary.
• 12/13/77 — Defendant entered a plea of “not guilty” on all counts.
• 06/21/78 — Jury found the defendant guilty on all counts.
• 06/22/78 — Advisory sentencing: jury voted for the death penalty by a 9 to 3 majority.
• 10/20/78 — Defendant sentenced: Count I First-Degree Murder — Death; Count II Sexual Battery — 55 years; Count III Burglary — 30 years.
• 11/21/78 — Booker filed his initial direct appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 03/19/81 — Florida Supreme Court affirmed convictions and sentence of death.
• 07/20/81 — Booker filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
• 08/14/81 — Mandate issued.
• 10/19/81 — United States Supreme Court denied the petition.
• 04/13/82 — Booker filed a Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence (3.850) in the Circuit Court.
• 04/14/82 — Motion denied.
• 04/15/82 — Booker filed an appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 04/19/82 — Florida Supreme Court issued its opinion affirming denial of the 3.850.
• 04/13/82 — Booker proceeded to file a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and an application for stay of execution in the United States District Court, Northern District.
• 04/19/82 — District Court denied the stay orally.
• 04/20/82 — District Court denied the petition.
• 04/19/82 — Booker filed an appeal of the denial of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
• 04/25/83 — United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed denial of habeas corpus.
• 08/01/83 — Booker filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
• 10/17/83 — Petition denied.
• 11/08/83 — Booker filed a 3.850 motion and an application for a stay of execution in the State Circuit Court.
• 11/14/83 — Evidentiary hearing held to explore Booker’s claim of ineffective counsel.
• 11/16/83 — Motion denied.
• 11/15/83 — Booker appealed the denial of his 3.850 motion in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 11/17/83 — Florida Supreme Court affirmed denial of 3.850 appeal and the stay of execution; Booker’s concurrent petitions for a writ of habeas corpus and a writ of mandamus were also denied.
• 11/16/83 — Booker filed another Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, Northern District.
• 04/17/84 — District Court denied the petition.
• 05/07/84 — United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed denial of habeas corpus.
• 06/21/85 — United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed denial of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.
• 09/25/85 — Petition for Writ of Certiorari filed and later denied.
• 11/04/85 — Petition for Writ of Certiorari denied.
• 09/26/85 — Booker requested reopening his second 3.850 motion and an application for a stay of execution in State Circuit Court.
• 01/10/86 — Evidentiary hearing held; trial court concluded Booker could not adequately prove fraud upon the court.
• 01/27/86 — Trial court denied all relief.
• 01/29/86 — Booker appealed the decision not to reopen his second 3.850 motion to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 01/05/87 — Florida Supreme Court affirmed denial of relief.
• 02/25/86 — Booker filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, Northern Circuit; he also filed action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b).
• 05/22/86 — Court denied Booker’s petition.
• 06/24/86 — Booker filed an appeal of that decision in the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
• 08/05/87 — United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed denial of relief.
• 07/29/87 — Booker filed his second state Habeas Petition in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 01/14/88 — Florida Supreme Court denied the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.
• 02/22/88 — Booker filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court from the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
• 04/18/88 — Petition denied.
• 03/18/88 — Booker filed another Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court from the Florida Supreme Court.
• 06/13/88 — Petition denied.
• 06/13/88 — Booker filed an additional Petition or Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, Northern District.
• 09/16/88 — District Court found Hitchcock error not to be harmless and granted the Habeas Petition.
• 01/14/91 — United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed the District Court’s granting of the Habeas Petition.
• 03/27/98 — Upon advisory sentencing, a new jury voted for the death penalty by an 8 to 4 majority.
• 04/29/93 — State filed an independent action in the United States District Court, Northern District under Federal Rule of Procedure 60(b) seeking to vacate the judgment and reinstate death sentence.
• 03/21/94 — District Court denied the State’s request.
• 04/22/94 — State appealed this ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
• 07/17/96 — United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed the denial of relief under Federal Rule of Procedure 60(b).
• 05/14/91 — State filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
• 10/07/91 — Petition denied.
• 06/25/98 — Booker resentenced: Count I First-Degree Murder — Death; Count II Sexual Battery — 55 years; Count III Burglary — 30 years.
• 07/13/98 — Booker filed direct appeal in the Florida Supreme Court following resentencing.
• 10/05/00 — Florida Supreme Court affirmed the new death sentence.
• 02/28/01 — Booker filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
• 05/14/01 — Petition denied.
• 09/26/01 — Booker filed a 3.850 Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence in the State Circuit Court.
• 05/18/04 — Motion amended.
• 01/18/05 — Motion amended.
• 09/16/05 — Evidentiary Hearing held.
• 12/01/05 — Motion denied.
• 01/20/06 — Booker filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court (pending).

Trial

On 12/02/77, Booker was indicted on:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder
• Count II: Sexual Battery
• Count III: Burglary

On 12/13/77, Booker entered a plea of “not guilty” on all counts.

On 06/21/78, the jury found Booker guilty on all counts.

On 06/22/78, advisory sentencing took place. The jury voted for the death penalty by a 9 to 3 majority.

On 10/20/78, Booker was sentenced:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death
• Count II: Sexual Battery — 55 years
• Count III: Burglary — 30 years

Resentencing

Following appellate proceedings, Booker was resentenced following a new advisory sentencing.

On 03/27/98, advisory sentencing occurred. A new jury voted for the death penalty by an 8 to 4 majority.

On 06/25/98, Booker was resentenced:

• Count III: Burglary — 30 years

Appeals and collateral proceedings

Booker filed an initial direct appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 11/21/78. In that appeal, Booker argued that the court erred during the penalty phase when it allowed the prosecutor to ask incriminating questions based on privileged information from psychiatric reports, and he contended that the court erred in permitting a prejudicial and graphic photograph of the victim to be introduced as evidence. Booker sought reversal of his conviction of burglary and claimed that the trial court erred in its application of non-statutory aggravating factors.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence of death on 03/19/81, and the mandate was issued on 08/14/81. On 07/20/81, Booker filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court; the petition was denied on 10/19/81.

Booker filed a Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence (3.850) in the Circuit Court on 04/13/82. Booker contended there were revelations based on new conclusions drawn by a psychiatrist that he suffered from a psychiatric disease at the time of the murder. The motion was denied on 04/14/82. Booker then appealed the denial in the Florida Supreme Court on 04/15/82, and on 04/19/82 the Florida Supreme Court issued its opinion affirming the denial of the 3.850.

Booker also proceeded with federal habeas proceedings in the United States District Court, Northern District, on 04/13/82. The District Court denied the stay orally on 04/19/82 and denied the petition on 04/20/82. Booker then appealed the denial to the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on 04/19/82. Booker argued that his right against self-incrimination was not upheld when prosecutors presented privileged information from psychiatric reports during the penalty phase, and he argued that introduction of prior violent behavior allowed the jury to consider non-statutory aggravating factors while the court limited the non-statutory mitigating circumstances that the jury heard. The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed the denial of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on 04/25/83.

Booker filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on 08/01/83, and the petition was denied on 10/17/83. Booker filed a 3.850 Motion and an application for a stay of execution in the State Circuit Court on 11/08/83. An evidentiary hearing was held on 11/14/83 to explore Booker’s claim of ineffective counsel; the motion was denied on 11/16/83. Booker appealed the denial of the 3.850 motion in the Florida Supreme Court on 11/15/83. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of the 3.850 appeal and the stay of execution on 11/17/83. Booker concurrently filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and a Petition for Writ of Mandamus, which were also denied on 11/17/83.

On 11/16/83, Booker filed another Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, Northern District. The petition was denied on 04/17/84, after which Booker appealed in the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on 05/07/84. The court deemed Booker’s claim of ineffective counsel an abuse of writ due to purposeful delay when it could have been introduced in his first petition. The court also found that several other claims were barred by procedural default because they should have been brought up in Booker’s Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed the denial of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on 06/21/85.

A Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed on 09/25/85 and denied on 11/04/85. Booker requested reopening his second 3.850 motion and an application for a stay of execution in State Circuit Court on 09/26/85. The court granted an evidentiary hearing to consider reopening the motion and the stay on 09/26/85. After an evidentiary hearing held on 01/10/86, the trial court concluded that Booker could not adequately prove that fraud was committed upon the court, and it also noted that filing successive motions without introducing new claims constituted abuse of post-conviction relief. The trial court denied all relief on 01/27/86. Booker appealed the decision not to reopen the second 3.850 motion on 01/29/86; the Florida Supreme Court affirmed denial of relief on 01/05/87.

Booker filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, Northern Circuit, on 02/25/86 and also filed action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). Booker asked the court to vacate denials of his first and second federal habeas petitions in lieu of fraudulent testimony given by Stephen Bernstein, his prior attorney. The court denied the petition on 05/22/86. Booker appealed the decision in the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on 06/24/86. The court affirmed denial because Booker could not convincingly prove that Bernstein lied to the court, and it affirmed the denial on 08/05/87.

Booker filed his second state Habeas Petition in the Florida Supreme Court on 07/29/87. He argued that the jury was not instructed to consider non-statutory mitigating factors during advisory sentencing proceedings. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that even though the jury was not given proper instruction regarding consideration of non-statutory mitigating evidence, such an error was harmless in light of numerous statutory aggravating circumstances. The Florida Supreme Court denied the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on 01/14/88. Booker filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court from the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on 02/22/88 and that petition was denied on 04/18/88. Booker filed another Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court from the Florida Supreme Court on 03/18/88 and that petition was denied on 06/13/88. On 06/13/88, Booker filed an additional Petition or Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court, Northern District. He believed he was entitled to relief under Hitchcock v. Dugger, claiming a Hitchcock error occurred during the penalty phase when the prosecutor told the jury that they were only to consider statutory mitigating circumstances. He also claimed his defense counsel would have presented even more mitigating evidence had counsel not believed the law limited them to statutory evidence. The United States District Court, Northern District, found the Hitchcock error not to be harmless because there was no way of predicting what a jury would have recommended if it had heard all mitigating circumstances, and it granted the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on 09/16/88.

On 09/16/88, the State appealed the District Court’s ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which affirmed the granting of the Habeas Petition on 01/14/91. On 05/14/91, the State filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court; the petition was denied on 10/07/91.

On 04/29/93, the State filed an independent action in the United States District Court, Northern District, under Federal Rule of Procedure 60(b), urging the court to vacate its judgment and reinstate Booker’s death sentence. The State argued that due to the change in law under Brecht, the State’s burden of proof had been met. The District Court denied the State’s request on 03/21/94, citing that requirements for granting a motion under Federal Rule of Procedure 60(b) demand “extraordinary circumstances,” and that Booker’s case did not meet such requirements. The State appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on 04/22/94, and the court affirmed denial on 07/17/96.

After resentencing, Booker filed his direct appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 07/13/98. He argued the court erred by failing to instruct the jury on the consecutive sentences he must serve due to prior convictions, and he asserted that the State used a peremptory to discriminatorily remove a potential black woman from the new jury. He also claimed that the death penalty was disproportional and that executing him after more than 20 years on death row would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the new death sentence on 10/05/00. Booker filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on 02/28/01, and it was denied on 05/14/01.

On 09/26/01, Booker filed a 3.850 Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence in the State Circuit Court, and he amended the motion on 05/18/04 and 01/18/05. An Evidentiary Hearing was held on 09/16/05, and the motion was denied on 12/01/05. Booker filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 01/20/06, and it was pending.

Other details

Booker’s case information included:

• Supreme Court of Florida opinion: 68239; opinion 70928; SC93422; opinion SC06-121
• DC#: 044049
• Date of birth: 09/01/53
• Eighth Judicial Circuit, Alachua County, Case #77-2332
• Sentencing judge: The Honorable John J. Crews
• Resentencing judge: The Honorable Robert P. Cates
• Trial attorney: Stephen Bernstein – Assistant Public Defender
• Direct appeal (trial attorney): Stephen Bernstein – Assistant Public Defender
• Resentencing direct appeal: David A. Davis – Assistant Public Defender
• Collateral appeals: Jeffrey Hazen – Registry

Booker’s sentencing dates included:

• Date of sentence: 10/20/78
• Date of resentencing: 06/25/98

In describing the circumstances of the offense, the record stated that Booker was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Lorine Demoss Harmon on 11/09/77. It also described that Harmon's apartment was searched and that investigators recovered fingerprints, footprints, and hair linking Booker to the murder, and that medical examiners found blood and semen in the victim’s vaginal tract indicating sexual intercourse prior to the murder.

The record also described a United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit decision: on 01/14/91, the court affirmed the District Court’s decision to grant Booker’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and remanded for resentencing.