Carl Shriner

Overview

Carl Elson Shriner was executed by electrocution in Florida on June 20, 1984. He was under a sentence of death for first degree murder.

Timeline

• October 22, 1976 (6:15 a.m.) — James Grills entered a Majik Market in Gainesville, Florida and discovered the dead body of Judith Carter, the store clerk; Carter had been shot five times and the Majik Market apparently had been robbed.
• October 22, 1976 — Shriner confessed that he killed Judith Carter on October 22, 1976.
• Approximately 1:30 a.m. — Two women entered the Majik Market earlier that day and left; a young male patron remained in the Majik Market after they left.
• Approximately 90 minutes after the women had left the store — A young man with a hand gun robbed a motel in Gainesville.
• October 23, 1976 (4:00 p.m.) — An Alachua County deputy sheriff stopped a car in which the passenger, Shriner, resembled the suspect’s description; Shriner was advised of Miranda rights and questioned; further questioning occurred at the sheriff’s office after another set of Miranda warnings.
• October 23, 1976 (9:00 p.m.) — After Shriner signed a written waiver following further Miranda warnings, questioning began at 9:00 p.m.; Shriner initially confessed to only the motel robbery.
• October 24, 1976 (2:00 a.m.) — Shriner confessed to the murder.
• September 9, 1983 — United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit case event date.
• November 4, 1983 — Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied.
• April 1982 — Shriner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
• June 19, 1984 — United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit discussed the application for emergency stay of execution and acted on it.
• May 18, 1984 — The Governor of Florida signed a death warrant directing execution of Shriner on some date between noon, June 13, and noon, June 20, 1984.
• June 13, 1984 — Shriner filed a motion for post-conviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 in the Circuit Court of Alachua County.
• June 14, 1984 — The Circuit Court denied the motion for post-conviction relief.
• June 15, 1984 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Circuit Court.
• June 18, 1984 — Shriner filed his petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida; on the same day, the district court entered its order denying relief; on June 18 the petitioner filed a notice of appeal and motions, and on June 18 the Eleventh Circuit granted a stay of execution pending further order and set oral argument for the morning of June 19.
• June 19, 1984 — Execution stay was vacated and the petition was affirmed as denied.
• June 20, 1984 — Shriner was executed by electrocution.

The offence

On October 22, 1976, Judith Carter, a convenience store clerk, was found dead in the Majik Market in Gainesville, Florida. Carter had been shot five times. The Majik Market apparently had been robbed.

Investigation

Police summoned to the scene learned from two women who were the last known customers to enter the store that a young male patron remained in the Majik Market after they left at approximately 1:30 a.m. earlier that day.

Ninety minutes after the women had left the store, a young man with a hand gun had robbed a motel in Gainesville. Based on information provided by the motel clerk and the two women, the police prepared two composite sketches and a written description of a single suspect.

Arrest and interrogation

The following afternoon an Alachua County deputy sheriff stopped a car in which the passenger, Shriner, resembled the suspect’s description.

After advising Shriner of his Miranda rights and briefly questioning him, the deputy took Shriner down to the sheriff’s office. Questioning continued with Shriner’s apparent permission following another set of Miranda warnings.

Shriner and the couple in whose home he lived consented to a search of the premises where the police discovered a revolver.

When law enforcement officers matched the gun to projectiles found in the Majik Market, they took Shriner to the Gainesville Police Department.

After Shriner signed a written waiver following further Miranda warnings, questioning began at 9:00 p.m. on October 23. Shriner initially confessed to only the motel robbery and gave inconsistent statements about his involvement in the murder. At 2:00 a.m., he confessed to the murder.

Trial

Evidence and confession

At trial, prosecutors introduced as evidence Shriner’s confession that he killed Judith Carter, the store clerk, on October 22, 1976.

Shriner challenged the admission of his confession on three grounds:

1. The police lacked probable cause to take him into custody, making the confession the fruit of an unlawful detention.
2. The police did not “scrupulously honor” his right to cut off questioning, violating Miranda rights.
3. His statements were coerced and involuntary under the “totality of circumstances,” including the allegedly inordinate length of questioning.

On appeal, the appellate court concluded that the police had probable cause to stop and take Shriner into custody, and that Miranda rights were not violated. It also concluded that the statements were not coerced or involuntary.

Admission of evidence of robbery

During the murder trial, the state called as a witness the motel night clerk who, over Shriner’s objection, identified Shriner as the robber. The witness testified that the gun used by the robber closely resembled the murder weapon, and the state introduced the gun into evidence.

The appellate court recited that under Florida law evidence of other crimes was inadmissible to show bad character but was admissible to show, among other things, identity. The Florida Supreme Court explained admissibility for identity with facts including:

• police found a .38 caliber gun and cartridges in Shriner’s residence,
• a ballistics expert identified the gun found in Shriner’s residence as the murder weapon,
• at 3:00 a.m., only ninety minutes after Judith Carter’s murder, a man robbed the 8 Days Inn.

The Florida Supreme Court concluded that, if believed by the jury, evidence of the 8 Days Inn robbery placed the murder weapon in Shriner’s hands within ninety minutes of Judith Carter’s demise and was probative of identity.

Verdict and sentencing recommendation

An Alachua County jury found Shriner guilty of first degree murder and unanimously recommended the death penalty. The trial judge followed the jury’s recommendation.

Sentencing

Shriner’s sentencing included disputes addressed in subsequent proceedings.

Exclusion of proffered testimony by a clergyman as to electrocutions

Shriner claimed the trial court precluded a Methodist minister from testifying about three electrocutions the minister had witnessed, and that this denied the jury evidence relevant to “evolving standards of decency” under Lockett v. Ohio. The appellate court rejected this claim.

Florida Brown issue: alleged use of nonrecord information

Shriner unsuccessfully attacked the constitutionality of the Florida Supreme Court’s alleged use of nonrecord information in appeals of capital convictions under Brown v. Wainwright. Shriner asked for a remand for discovery. The appellate court held the issue was controlled by Ford v. Strickland and rejected the requested discovery.

Consideration of nonstatutory mitigating factors

Shriner argued that only statutory mitigating factors were considered, violating Eddings v. Oklahoma. The appellate court described procedural default regarding lack of objection and the absence of raised issues at trial and on direct appeal.

The appellate court also described that Shriner asked the jury to show no mercy and to sentence him to death, and that counsel did not argue mitigating circumstances specific to Shriner.

The appellate court further stated that the record indicated the trial judge and Florida Supreme Court considered everything, and that Florida courts found no mitigating circumstances.

Consideration of nonstatutory aggravating circumstances

Shriner argued the trial judge improperly considered a nonstatutory aggravating factor by mentioning Shriner’s poor prison disciplinary record in sentencing remarks and in the written order. The appellate court noted uncertainty about whether the disciplinary record was treated as aggravating or as relevant to finding mitigating factors.

The appellate court stated that any state law error regarding aggravating circumstances did not amount to a constitutional violation warranting federal habeas corpus relief, and it relied on Barclay v. Florida and Zant v. Stephens in reasoning about harmless error analysis and constitutionality.

Appeals

Direct appeal and Supreme Court certiorari

The appellate court stated that the Florida Supreme Court upheld both the conviction and sentence in Shriner v. State, 386 So.2d 525 (Fla. 1980). It also stated that the United States Supreme Court denied Shriner’s petition for certiorari in Shriner v. State, 449 U.S. 1103.

Federal habeas corpus and successive petition

Shriner filed a petition for habeas corpus in federal district court; the district court denied relief in an unpublished opinion; Shriner appealed.

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial in the case cited as 715 F.2d 1452, and it concluded there was no constitutional infirmity in the state proceedings and affirmed denial of the writ of habeas corpus.

A separate later Eleventh Circuit proceeding addressed an application for emergency stay and considered a successive petition. The Eleventh Circuit stated that the petitioner's judgment and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the Florida Supreme Court and that the federal district court had denied a prior habeas petition.

The Eleventh Circuit also stated that in reviewing the successive claims, it concluded that all of Shriner’s alleged grounds for relief either had been previously determined, had no merit, or constituted an abuse of the writ.

Outcome

The appellate court affirmed the district court’s denial of Shriner’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

The appellate court denied the petitioner's motion for a certificate of probable cause.

The appellate court vacated the stay of execution.

Aftermath

A death warrant signed by the Governor of Florida on May 18, 1984 directed execution of Shriner on some date between noon, June 13, and noon, June 20, 1984. Shriner’s execution was scheduled for 7:00 a.m. June 19, 1984. Shriner was executed by electrocution in Florida on June 20, 1984.

Other details

Shriner was described as a Florida prisoner under the sentence of death for first degree murder.

The Eleventh Circuit described Shriner as seeking relief based on claims including alleged ineffective assistance of counsel, alleged intoxication and drug influence affecting competency to waive rights, alleged absence of bench conference records, and alleged improper exclusions of veniremen under Witherspoon v. Illinois.

The later Eleventh Circuit proceeding summarized that:

• The district court held that two claims had been presented and decided in earlier federal habeas proceedings and that the successive petition constituted an abuse of the writ.
• On June 18, 1984, the Eleventh Circuit granted a stay of execution pending further order and granted oral argument set for the morning of June 19, 1984.
• After review, it concluded all grounds either had been previously determined, had no merit, or constituted an abuse of the writ, and it affirmed denial of the writ, denied the certificate of probable cause, and vacated the stay of execution.