Norman Parker

Case identifiers

• Name: Norman Parker
• Also known as: Nathen Parker; Shawn Vincent
• Date of birth: 09/29/44
• Sex: M
• Race: B
• Case number (Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami-Dade County): 78-11151-A
• DC number: 019355

Timeline

• 07/18/78 — Parker and codefendant Robbie Lee Manson were admitted into a Miami home to complete an illegal drug deal with two male occupants.
• 01/15/80 — Parker was indicted on eight counts: First-Degree Murder (Count I); Robbery (Counts II-V); Sexual Battery (Count VI); Unlawful Possession of a Firearm while engaging in criminal offense (Count VII); Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a convicted felon (Count VIII).
• 09/18/81 — A jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.
• 11/18/81 — The jury recommended death by a vote of 10-2; Parker was sentenced.
• 12/21/81 — Parker filed a direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 09/06/84 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Parker’s convictions and death sentence.
• 10/15/84 — The mandate was issued.
• 01/02/87 — Parker filed a 3.850 Motion (DNA testing) to the Circuit Court.
• 04/21/88 — Governor Martinez signed a death warrant for Parker.
• 05/23/88 — Parker petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for a Writ of Habeas Corpus.
• 06/01/88 — The trial court granted a stay of execution.
• 12/01/88 — The habeas petition was denied.
• 02/07/89 — The 3.850 Motion was denied.
• 03/30/89 — Parker filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 10/15/92 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion.
• 11/30/92 — Parker filed a motion for rehearing.
• 02/05/93 — The motion for rehearing was denied, and the mandate was issued.
• 06/11/93 — Parker filed a second 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court.
• 11/18/93 — The second 3.850 Motion was denied.
• 02/21/97 — Parker filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 05/28/98 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of the 3.850 Motion.
• 06/29/98 — Parker filed a motion for rehearing.
• 09/23/98 — The rehearing was denied.
• 10/23/98 — The mandate was issued.
• 04/23/97 — Parker filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the United States District Court, Southern District.
• 05/14/02 — The consolidated case was denied.
• 01/25/02 — Another related habeas petition was denied.
• 02/26/99 — Parker filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.
• 05/03/99 — The petition was denied.
• 09/04/02 — Parker filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court.
• 11/25/03 — The 3.850 Motion was denied.
• 01/12/04 — Parker filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
• 07/27/05 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of Parker’s 3.850 Motion.
• 11/03/05 — The rehearing was denied.
• 09/27/05 — Parker filed a 3.853 Motion (DNA testing) to the Circuit Court.
• 06/06/06 — The 3.853 Motion was denied.
• 07/1/06 — Parker filed a 3.853 Motion to the Florida Supreme Court, which was pending.

Background

Parker was previously sentenced to life in prison in 1967 for a first-degree murder also committed in Miami-Dade County. He escaped a few months prior to the July 1978 murder. Parker was also convicted of a second-degree murder he committed in Washington D.C. in August 1978.

A Department of Corrections post-sentence investigation found that codefendant Robbie Lee Manson was at large in 1981, and no additional information was available.

Parker filed a 3.853 Motion to the Circuit Court on 09/27/05 for DNA testing. Parker requested that the semen found on his clothing at the time of the murder be tested, despite the original police report stating that no semen was on the clothing.

The offence

On 07/18/78, Parker and codefendant Robbie Lee Manson were admitted into a Miami home to complete an illegal drug deal with two male occupants. Soon thereafter, the defendants produced firearms and demanded cocaine and money from the two men.

The two men were forced to surrender jewelry, strip naked, and lie on a bed. Two other occupants—a female and her boyfriend—were discovered in another room and were also forced to strip naked and surrender jewelry.

All four victims were confined to the same room, on the same bed. Parker searched the home for additional valuables while Manson stood guard over the four occupants.

Parker then aimed a revolver at Julio Chavez’s back. Manson handed Parker a pillow. Parker shot Chavez through the pillow. The other three victims heard the muffled shot and nothing further from Chavez.

Parker then committed a sexual battery on the female. Parker and Manson then fled. Surviving victims identified Parker and Manson from a photographic lineup.

Investigation

Parker and codefendant Manson were later identified by surviving victims from a photographic lineup.

A break in the chain of custody of the bullet taken from Chavez’s body was raised as an issue on direct appeal and in subsequent proceedings.

Arrest

No arrest date or arrest details were provided in the case record.

Trial

Indictment counts (01/15/80)

• Count I: First-Degree Murder
• Count II: Robbery
• Count III: Robbery
• Count IV: Robbery
• Count V: Robbery
• Count VI: Sexual Battery
• Count VII: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm while engaging in criminal offense
• Count VIII: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a convicted felon

Verdicts (09/18/81)

A jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.

Jury recommendation (11/18/81)

The jury recommended death by a vote of 10-2.

Sentencing (11/18/81)

The Honorable Fredricka G. Smith sentenced Parker as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death
• Count II: Robbery — Life
• Count III: Robbery — Life
• Count IV: Robbery — Life
• Count V: Robbery — Life
• Count VI: Sexual Battery — (sentence not stated in the record beyond inclusion among the sentencing counts)
• Count VII: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm while engaging in criminal offense — Suspended
• Count VIII: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a convicted felon — Life

Appeals

Direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court

Parker filed a direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 12/21/81. Numerous issues were raised, and the Court found all these claims meritless.

The issues Parker raised were:

1. He claimed the statements he gave to police should have been suppressed.
2. He claimed he was denied his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to a fair trial.
3. He claimed the trial court abused its discretion by refusing his request for additional peremptory challenges.
4. He claimed the trial court abused its discretion in denying his challenges for cause on two members of the jury venire.
5. He claimed the prosecution should not have been permitted to introduce Parker’s admission that he shot a man in Washington, D.C.
6. He claimed the circumstantial evidence was insufficient to support his conviction is meritless.
7. He claimed he was denied a fair trial by the introduction of evidence that he used aliases in D.C., suggesting that he was a criminal.
8. He claimed there was a break in the chain of custody of the bullet taken from Chavez’s body and that this evidence should not have been admitted.

On 09/06/84, the Court affirmed Parker’s convictions and death sentence. The mandate was issued on 10/15/84.

3.850 motions and appeals

• Parker filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court on 01/02/87, while the case was pending.
• Governor Martinez signed a death warrant for Parker on 04/21/88.
• While his 3.850 Motion was pending, the trial court granted a stay of execution on 06/01/88.
• The habeas petition was denied on 12/01/88, and the 3.850 Motion was denied on 02/07/89.
• Parker filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 03/30/89; the Court affirmed the denial on 10/15/92.
• Parker filed a motion for rehearing on 11/30/92; it was denied on 02/05/93, and the mandate was issued on 02/05/93.
• Parker filed a second 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court on 06/11/93, which was denied 11/18/93.
• Parker filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 02/21/97; it was affirmed on 05/28/98.
• Parker filed a motion for rehearing on 06/29/98, which was denied on 09/23/98; the mandate was issued on 10/23/98.
• Parker filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court on 09/04/02; it was denied on 11/25/03.
• Parker filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on 01/12/04; the Court affirmed the denial of the 3.850 Motion with rehearing denied on 11/03/05.
• The Court’s reasoning included:
  • Because Parker’s conviction was already final when Ring v. Arizona was rendered, Ring did not apply retroactively to him.
  • One aggravating circumstance found by the trial court was prior conviction of a violent felony; the Court stated that, under Apprendi v. New Jersey and Ring, it did not need to be found by the jury.

United States habeas corpus and certiorari

• Parker filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to the United States District Court, Southern District, on 04/23/97.
• The consolidated case was denied on 05/14/02.
• At the same time he filed the habeas petition on 04/23/97, Parker also filed another with the consolidated case, which was denied on 01/25/02.
• Parker filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court on 02/26/99; the petition was denied on 05/03/99.

Outcome

Parker was sentenced to death in Florida on November 18, 1981, after the jury found him guilty on all counts and recommended death by a vote of 10-2. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and death sentence on 09/06/84, and the mandate was issued on 10/15/84.

A death warrant was signed by Governor Martinez on 04/21/88. A stay of execution was granted on 06/01/88. The habeas petition was denied on 12/01/88, and subsequent post-conviction motions were denied through 07/27/05 with rehearing denied on 11/03/05.

Parker’s 3.853 DNA testing motion to the Florida Supreme Court was pending as of 07/1/06.

Other details

Participants and legal representation

• Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Fredricka G. Smith
• Attorney, Trial & Direct Appeal: Benedict P. Kuehne – Private Attorney
• Collateral Appeals: Rachel L. Day, Billy H. Nolas (Private) & Julie D. Naylor – CCRC-S

Victim and counts referenced

• The murdered victim was Julio Chavez.
• The events involved four victims in the home (two male occupants, and a female and her boyfriend in another room).

Weapon and acts described

• The defendants demanded cocaine and money.
• Parker aimed a revolver at Chavez’s back, received a pillow from Manson, and shot Chavez through the pillow.

Additional case information included in the record

• The record included the statement: “Parker filed a 3.853 Motion (DNA testing) to the Circuit Court on 09/27/05; it is indigenous.”
• The record also included an entry with motive language: “MOTIVE: PC/CE MO: Stabbed teenage boy; shot one man in drug rip-off and another b a rroom argument.”
• An additional line in the record stated: “DISPOSITION: Life term in Fla., 1966 (escaped 1978 life on second count in D.C., 1979; condemned on third count in Fla. + multiple life terms for robbery and rape, 1981.”