Meryl Stanley McDonald

Case record: Meryl Stanley McDonald

Background

Meryl Stanley McDonald was convicted in a Florida case involving a murder-for-hire scheme.

Denise Davidson and her fiancé, Leonardo Cisnero, hired Robert Gordon and McDonald to kill Denise Davidson’s estranged husband, Dr. Louis Davidson.

The offence

Early on the morning of 01/25/94, McDonald and Gordon waited in the parking lot of the apartment complex where Dr. Davidson lived. The two were driven by Susan Shore.

Gordon met with Dr. Davidson and the two walked to Davidson’s apartment. Dr. Davidson’s body was discovered later that day by his fiancée.

Dr. Davidson’s body was blindfolded, bound, gagged, and hog-tied, lying face down in a bathtub full of bloody water. The apartment had been ransacked, and Davidson’s watch, camera, and money clip were missing, although $19,300 in cash and some credit cards remained.

The medical examiner testified that Davidson had bruises on his face and shoulders, three broken ribs, and multiple lacerations on the back of his scalp, caused by a blunt object. The cause of Davidson’s death was drowning.

Money transfers from Denise Davidson to McDonald, as well as phone records and physical evidence recovered from the hotel where Gordon and McDonald were staying during the time of the murder, implicated McDonald in the murder scheme.

Investigation

Money transfers from Denise Davidson to McDonald were part of the evidence implicating McDonald in the murder scheme.

Phone records and physical evidence recovered from the hotel where Gordon and McDonald were staying during the time of the murder also implicated McDonald in the murder scheme.

Trial

McDonald was indicted as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder

On 04/27/94, the indictment occurred.

On 11/22/94, the indictment details were listed.

On 11/22/94, the indictment was followed by the trial proceedings as set out later.

On 11/22/94, “Defendant pled not guilty” was recorded.

On 06/15/95, McDonald pled not guilty.

On 06/16/95, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.

On 06/16/95, the jury recommended death by a vote of 9-3.

On 11/16/95, the court sentenced McDonald as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death

People involved

Victim

Dr. Louis Davidson was killed on 01/25/94.

His body was discovered later that day by his fiancée. The medical examiner testified to bruises on his face and shoulders, three broken ribs, and multiple lacerations on the back of his scalp caused by a blunt object. The cause of death was drowning.

Davidson’s watch, camera, and money clip were missing from the ransacked apartment, while $19,300 in cash and some credit cards remained.

Codefendants

Robert Roy Gordon (DC# 123911) was tried with McDonald and was found guilty of first-degree murder. Gordon was also sentenced to death (CC# 94-2958).

Denise Ann Davidson (DC# 153691) was found guilty of first-degree murder in a separate trial and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years (CC# 94-2958).

Susan Shore agreed to testify for the State, and as a result, her charges were reduced to Accessory After the Fact. She was sentenced to probation.

Leonardo Cisneros remained a fugitive.

Sentencing

On 11/16/95, McDonald was sentenced:

The jury recommended death by a vote of 9-3 on 06/16/95.

The sentencing judge was The Honorable Susan F. Schaeffer.

Appeals

Direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court

McDonald filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 12/22/95.

On 04/14/97, the Florida Supreme Court granted a pro se motion to dismiss Richard Sanders as McDonald’s attorney.

On 05/27/97, the initial appellant’s brief was struck and on 06/18/97 Richard N. Watts became McDonald’s attorney.

McDonald raised eight issues on appeal. Many of these issues were parallel to the issues raised by Gordon on his appeal, including:

• Denying Gordon’s motion to strike the venire
• Denying motion for judgment of acquittal at the close of evidence
• Denying request for a separate penalty phase from that of his co-defendant and a new penalty phase jury
• Disproportional sentencing
• Improper finding of the cold, calculated, and premeditated and heinous, atrocious, or cruel aggravating factors

The Florida Supreme Court rejected the issues on the same basis due to the evidence against McDonald being synonymous to the evidence against Gordon.

The Florida Supreme Court found two of the issues not cognizant on appeal and no error on the remaining issues; therefore, the Court affirmed McDonald’s conviction and sentence on 07/01/99.

The rehearing was denied on 09/17/99 and the mandate was issued on 10/18/99.

Post-conviction proceedings under 3.850

McDonald filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court on 12/15/00. The motion was denied on 02/10/04.

McDonald then filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 03/31/03.

McDonald’s CCRC counsel raised several claims on appeal, which were not adequately presented because McDonald failed to raise them when he was allowed to represent himself during the post-conviction proceedings.

The claims were:

1. the Faretta inquiry
2. Brady and Giglio claims
3. ineffective assistance of counsel

The Court denied all claims and concluded that, since the lower court properly allowed McDonald to represent himself, these claims may not be raised for the first time on appeal.

On 11/02/06, the Court affirmed the lower court’s denial of McDonald’s 3.850 Motion.

The Motion for Rehearing was denied on 03/12/07 and the mandate was issued on 03/28/07.

Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

McDonald filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court on 04/30/04.

McDonald claimed that he was entitled to relief because:

1. the United States Supreme Court decided Ring
2. the trial court conducted an inadequate inquiry under Faretta

The Court decided that, since Ring was decided after McDonald’s convictions became final, the Ring claim was inapplicable to this case. The claim raised no new issues and was therefore without merit.

For the Faretta inquiry, the Court stated that habeas petitions cannot be used as a means to seek a second appeal or to litigate issues that could have been or were raised in a post-conviction appeal. Thus, the Faretta claim was procedurally barred.

On 11/02/06, the Court denied McDonald’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.

Timeline

• 01/25/94 — McDonald and Gordon waited in the parking lot of the apartment complex; the two were driven by Susan Shore; Gordon met Dr. Louis Davidson and they walked to Davidson’s apartment; Dr. Davidson’s body was discovered later that day.
• 04/27/94 — McDonald was indicted as follows: Count I: First-Degree Murder.
• 11/16/95 — McDonald was sentenced to death (Count I: First-Degree Murder).
• 12/22/95 — McDonald filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 04/14/97 — Florida Supreme Court granted a pro se motion to dismiss Richard Sanders as McDonald’s attorney.
• 05/27/97 — Initial appellant’s brief was struck.
• 06/18/97 — Richard N.
• 07/01/99 — Florida Supreme Court affirmed McDonald’s conviction and sentence.
• 09/17/99 — Rehearing was denied.
• 10/18/99 — Mandate was issued.
• 12/15/00 — McDonald filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court.
• 02/10/04 — The 3.850 Motion was denied.
• 03/31/03 — McDonald filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 11/02/06 — Florida Supreme Court affirmed denial of the 3.850 Motion.
• 03/12/07 — Motion for Rehearing was denied.
• 03/28/07 — Mandate was issued.
• 04/30/04 — McDonald filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 11/02/06 — Florida Supreme Court denied McDonald’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.
• 03/28/07 — Mandate was issued after denial of the habeas petition.

Other details

Case information included:

• Florida Supreme Court opinion: 87059
• SC 03-648
• DC# 180399
• DOB: 08/15/46
• Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pinellas County
• Case# 94-02958
• Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Susan F. Schaeffer

Attorneys listed included:

• Trial: Michael Schwartzberg & Richard N. Watts – Private Attorney
• Direct Appeal: Richard N. Watts – Private Attorneys
• Collateral Appeals: Peter J. Cannon & Daphney E. Gaylord – CCRC-M

The sentencing and conviction references included:

A fugitive co-defendant: