William Melvin White

Case overview

William Melvin White was convicted of murdering Gracie Mae Crawford.

White was a member of a motorcycle gang in Kentucky called the Outlaws and was visiting the Orlando chapter of the Outlaws the night of the murder.

The offence

On the night of 06/06/78, the motorcycle gang went out to a nightclub in Orlando to have a few drinks. While at the nightclub, the group met the victim, Gracie Mae Crawford. After spending a few hours drinking at the nightclub, the Outlaws and Crawford went back to their clubhouse.

Shortly after returning to the clubhouse, White and his girlfriend went to the bedroom they were staying in while Crawford remained with the gang and continued to drink. White and his girlfriend remained in the bedroom until another gang member, Richard DiMarino, knocked on the door and told White that Crawford liked African Americans and they needed to “teach her a lesson.”

White left the bedroom and went into the kitchen where he, DiMarino, and a third gang member, Guy Ennis Smith, proceeded to beat Crawford. After the three men had finished beating her, White and DiMarino took her from the kitchen and put her in the front seat of White’s girlfriend’s car. They drove the car to a secluded area at the end of a deserted road where they pulled Crawford from the car, passed her over a barbed wire fence, and laid her on the ground.

White then sat on top of Crawford and fatally stabbed her in the chest 14 times and then cut her throat. White then gave the knife to DiMarino who cut her throat again.

DiMarino and White left the crime scene and attempted to return home, but the two men ran out of gas and pulled into the Seaworld parking lot. Two security guards on duty, who later identified the two men to authorities, gave the men some gas for their car.

White and DiMarino then returned to the crime scene and picked up Crawford’s body and disposed of it in a different location.

Trial

White was indicted on the following charges:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder

On 11/30/78, the jury returned a guilty verdict. On 11/30/78, the jury recommended the Death Penalty by a 12-0 majority.

On 12/20/78, the defendant was sentenced as followed:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death

Sentencing and resentencing

On 03/11/99, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion but remanded the case for a new penalty phase hearing.

Resentencing occurred after a penalty phase jury recommendation:

• 11/23/99: Jury recommended the Death Penalty by a 10-2 majority.
• 04/20/00: The defendant was resentenced to death.

Sentencing judges and attorneys included:

• Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Alice Blackwell White
• Resentencing Judge: The Honorable Margaret T. Waller
• Attorneys, Trial: Steven H. Malone — Assistant Public Defender
• Resentencing: Chandler R. Muller — Private Attorneys
• Direct Appeal: Craig S. Barnard & Richard B. Greene — Assistant Public Defenders Attorneys
• Direct Appeal (Resentencing): Chandler R. Muller — Private Attorney
• Collateral Appeals: Chandler R. Muller — Private Attorney
• Collateral Appeals (Resentencing): Peter Cannon & Daphney Gaylord — CCRC-M

Investigation and identifications

Two security guards on duty later identified the two men to authorities after White and DiMarino pulled into the Seaworld parking lot and were given some gas for their car.

Codefendant

Richard DiMarino was the codefendant. He received a lesser charge and sentence in return for his testimony against White.

DiMarino was found guilty of third-degree murder and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

Appeals and collateral proceedings

• 01/08/79: William White filed his Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. He claimed there was prosecutorial misconduct with regard to comments made by the prosecutor and that the trial court erred in the jury selection process. The Florida Supreme Court found no merit in any of the claims and affirmed White’s conviction and sentence on 04/01/82.
• 10/04/83: White filed a 3.850 Motion in the Circuit Court. This Motion was denied on 04/18/96.
• 09/24/87: White filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court. The Petition was denied on 01/28/88.
• Following the denial of his Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on 06/13/88, White filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 10/03/88.
• 08/08/96: White filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. He contended that he received ineffective counsel and that details about a deal made with DiMarino were not disclosed by the State. The Court found no merit to these two claims.
• In his final claim in that proceeding, White contended that there was a violation of Hitchcock. The Court found that the trial court improperly barred mitigating circumstances that should have been considered.
• 03/11/99: The Florida Supreme Court remanded the case to the trial court with instructions to conduct another sentencing proceeding.
• White resentenced on 04/20/00 and filed his Direct Appeal on 05/26/00. On that appeal, White claimed the trial court erred in not allowing facts of a previous crime he had committed but allowed the criminal history of DiMarino. The Court found no abuse of the trial court’s discretion.
• White also contended that the trial court erred in finding the hindering the enforcement of laws aggravator. The Court found substantial evidence in support of the aggravating circumstance.
• White argued that the trial court erred by not finding that he acted under extreme duress during the murder as an aggravating circumstance. The Court found substantial evidence in support of the trial court’s ruling.
• In his final claim, White argued that his death sentence was not proportionate in regard to DiMarino’s sentence. The Court found that White was the more culpable defendant and found that his sentence was proportionate. The Court affirmed White’s conviction and sentence on 04/04/02.
• His Rehearing was denied on 05/16/03.
• White filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on 10/11/02; the petition was subsequently denied on 12/16/02.
• 12/16/03: White filed a 3.850 Motion in the State Circuit Court, which was denied on 08/05/05.
• 09/06/05: White filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court; the appeal is currently pending.

Outcome

White remained under a death sentence after resentencing on 04/20/00, following earlier sentencing on 12/20/78.

Other details

• Florida Supreme Court opinion number: 88686
• Opinion SC00-1148
• DC #067048
• Date of birth: 05/23/45
• Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County
• Case #CR78-1840
• Date of offence: 06/06/78
• Date of sentence: 12/20/78
• Date of resentencing: 04/20/00
• Circumstances of offence: White was convicted of murdering Gracie Mae Crawford on 06/06/78.