The Commission on Capital Cases updates this information regularly. This information, however, is subject to change and may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be relied on for statistical or legal purposes.

CAVE, Alphonso (B/M)

DC #   087429

DOB: 11/12/58

Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Martin County, Case #82-9546-CF

(Trial venue changed to Sixth Judicial Circuit)

Sentencing Judge: The Honorable L.B. Vocelle

Judge, Resentencing I: The Honorable Thomas J. Walsh Jr.

Judge, Resentencing II: The Honorable C. Pfeiffer Trowbridge

Trial Attorney: Karen Steger – Private

Attorney, Direct Appeal: Wayne R. McDonough – Private

Attorney, Resentencing I: Jeffrey H. Garland – Private

Attorney, Direct Appeal II: Jeffrey H. Garland – Private

Attorney, Resentencing II: Jeffrey H. Garland – Private

Attorney, Direct Appeal III: Jeffrey H. Garland – Private

Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Mary Bonner – Registry

Date of Offense: 04/27/82

Date of Sentence: 12/10/82

Date of Resentence I: 06/25/93

Date of Resentence II: 02/21/97

Circumstance of Offense:

During an armed robbery, the defendant, Alphonso Cave, and three accomplices kidnapped the victim, 18-year-old Frances Julia Slater.  One of the men later stabbed her, another fired a fatal shot into her head.

On the evening of April 26, 1982, Cave, along with John Bush, J.B. Parker and Terry Wayne Johnson, left Fort Pierce, Florida, and drove to Stuart, Florida.  They arrived in Stuart at approximately 11 p.m. that evening.  Around 3 a.m. on April 27, the four pulled up to a convenience store in Stuart.  Cave and two of the men entered the store where Cave held a gun on Slater and demanded the store’s cash.  After taking the cash, the men abducted Slater, placing her in the back seat of the car.  They drove to a rural area where she was removed from the car by the four men.  One of the men then stabbed her and, when she fell, another fired a single lethal shot into the back of her head.  The men then departed the scene for Fort Pierce but were stopped by police approximately one hour later because of a broken taillight.  They were released at that time but later apprehended when the car and its occupants were linked to the convenience store crime.

Codefendant Information:

John Bush was convicted of First-Degree Murder, Robbery with a Firearm and Kidnapping, and in 1982 was sentenced to death for the murder conviction.  He was executed in 1996.

J.B. Parker was convicted of First-Degree Murder, Robbery with a Firearm and Kidnapping, and in 1982 was sentenced to death for the murder conviction.  After 11 appeals, he was resentenced to death in 2000.

Terry Wayne Johnson was convicted in 1993 of First-Degree Murder and Kidnapping.  He is serving life sentences for each of the convictions.

Trial Summary:

12/08/82          As charged in the indictment, the defendant was adjudicated as followed:

Count I:            First-Degree Murder

Count II:           Robbery with a Firearm

Count III:         Kidnapping

12/09/82          Upon advisory sentencing, the trial jury recommended the death penalty for the murder conviction by a 7 to 5 vote.

12/10/82          The defendant was sentenced as followed: 

Count I:            First-Degree Murder – Death

Count II:           Robbery with a Firearm – Life Imprisonment

Count III:         Kidnapping – Life Imprisonment

Resentencing I Summary:

05/07/93          The jury recommended the death penalty by a 10 to 2 vote.

06/25/93          Defendant was resentenced to death.

 Resentencing II Summary:

11/22/96          The jury recommended the death penalty by an 11 to 1 vote.

02/21/97          Defendant was resentenced to death.

Appeals Summary:

Florida Supreme Court - Direct Appeal (I)

FSC #63,172

476 So. 2d 180

01/07/83          Appeal filed.

08/30/85          FSC affirmed the conviction and sentence.

10/21/85          FSC denied motion for rehearing.

United State Supreme Court - Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC #85-6390

476 U.S. 1178

12/19/85          Petition filed.

06/09/86          USSC denied petition for writ of certiorari.

State Circuit Court - 3.850 Motion (I)

CC #82-9546-CF

05/27/88          Motion filed.

06/21/88          Trial court denied 3.850 Motion.

United States District Court - Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

USDC #88-977-CIV-T-15B

07/05/88          Petition filed.

08/03/90          USDC vacated and remanded sentence.

09/25/90          Motion for rehearing denied.

Florida Supreme Court - 3.850 Appeal

FSC #72,637

529 So. 2d 293

06/21/88          Appeal filed.

07/01/88          FSC affirmed trial court’s denial of 3.850 Motion.

United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit - Appeal of Habeas Ruling

USCA #90-3959

971 F.2d 1513

09/25/90          State filed appeal (defendant filed cross-appeal).

08/26/92          USCA affirmed District Court’s order to vacate and remand sentence.

09/17/92          Mandate issued.

Florida Supreme Court - Direct Appeal (II)

FSC #82,333

660 So. 2d 705

09/10/93          Appeal filed.

09/21/95          FSC vacated the sentence and remanded.

Florida Supreme Court - Direct Appeal (III)

FSC #90,165

727 So. 2d 227

03/24/97          Appeal filed.

12/24/98          FSC affirmed the resentence.

03/02/99          Motion for rehearing denied.

04/01/99          Mandate issued.

United States Supreme Court - Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC #98-9592

528 U.S. 841

06/01/99          Petition filed.

10/04/99          USSC denied petition for writ of certiorari.

State Circuit Court -  3.851 Motion (II)

CC #82-9546-CF

09/27/00          Motion filed.

03/15/01          Amended motion filed.

11/18/02          Motion denied.

12/19/02          Rehearing denied.

Florida Supreme Court - 3.850 Appeal

FSC #SC03-95

899 So.2d 1042

01/21/03          Appeal filed.

01/27/05          Denial affirmed.

04/07/05          Rehearing denied.

04/25/05          Mandate issued.

United States District Court, Southern District - Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

USDC# 05-14137

04/29/05          Petition filed.

09/28/09          Petition denied.

10/27/09 Motion for COA filed.

11/02/09 COA granted in part and denied in part.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit – Habeas Appeal 

USCA# 09-15602

(Pending)

11/12/09          Appeal filed.

Warrant:

04/27/88          Death warrant signed by Governor Martinez.

07/07/88          Scheduled execution date.

07/05/88          United States District Court, Middle District, granted stay of execution.

Clemency:

12/07/87          Hearing held (denied).

Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition of the Sentence:

Cave being resentenced to death twice is the chief cause of delay in this case.  The resentencing essentially started the appeals process over each time.  More than eight years passed from the time the U.S. District Court vacated the first death sentence in 1990 to the Florida Supreme Court’s affirmation of the trial court’s third sentence in 1998.  Also noteworthy are two years of inactivity between the denial of the defendant’s first petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari in 1996 and the filing of his 3.850 Motion in 1988. 

Case information:

Cave filed a direct appeal with the Florida Supreme Court in 1983.  The court affirmed the trial court’s conviction and sentence in 1985.  The defendant then petitioned the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari the same year.  The court denied the petition in 1986.

Governor Martinez signed a death warrant on Cave in April 1988 that quickly prompted two appeals.  The defendant in May 1988 filed a 3.850 motion with the trial court that the court quickly denied a few weeks later.  The Florida Supreme affirmed the trial court’s decision in July.  Cave then petitioned the U.S. District Court, Middle District, for a writ of habeas corpus.  The court held that Cave received ineffective assistance of counsel at the guilt and penalty phases of his trial, but prejudice occurred only during the sentencing phase.  Specifically, Cave contended that his counsel did not understand that emphasizing Cave's admission of guilt in the robbery, which resulted in the victim's death, would lead to a conviction for first degree murder under Florida's felony murder statute, regardless of the fact that Cave did not shoot Slater. Further, Cave contended that his attorney was so convinced that she would win an acquittal for her client that she failed to prepare for the sentencing hearing.  The district court agreed.  Accordingly, two days before his scheduled execution date in July, the court granted a stay of execution, vacated the sentence and remanded.

The state in 1990 appealed the federal court’s order to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.  The appeals court affirmed the order in 1992.

The trial court resentenced Cave to death in 1993 and the defendant again appealed the decision to the Florida Supreme Court.  The court found that a procedural error occurred in the circuit court’s disposition of Cave’s motion for disqualification of the resentencing judge.  Specifically, the court held that the judge, by passing on the truth of the facts alleged and adjudicating the question of his disqualification, failed to follow the procedural process outlined in rule 2.160 of the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration.

The Florida Supreme Court in 1995 vacated the sentence remanded the case back to the trial court for resentencing.

The defendant again petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari in 1996, which the court denied the following year.

The trial court sentenced Cave to death a third time in 1997.  The defendant filed his third direct appeal with the Florida Supreme Court, which affirmed the decision in 1998.

In 1999, Cave petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.  The court denied the petition the same year.

Cave in 2000 filed a 3.851 Motion with the trial court, which was denied on 11/18/02.  On 01/21/03, Cave filed an appeal of that decision in the Florida Supreme Court, which was affirmed on 01/27/05.

Cave filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the U.S. District Court, Southern District, on 04/29/05 that was denied on 09/28/09. On 10/27/09, Cave filed a Motion for Certificate of Appealability. The Certificate of Appealability was granted in part and denied in part on 11/02/09.

On 11/12/09, Cave filed a Habeas Appeal with the United States Court of Appeals, which is pending.

Institutional Adjustment: 

 DATE          DAYS          VIOLATION                             LOCATION       

 --------           ----        ----------------------------                 -------------------

01/29/84        15           POSS OF UNAUTH BEV.              NEW RIVER
03/03/84         60          DISORDERLY CONDUCT            NEW RIVER

04/04/84         60          DISRESP.TO OFFICIALS              NEW RIVER

12/12/84          0           FIGHTING                                            FSP

06/29/85          0           POSS OF NEGOTIABLES                   FSP

08/30/85          0           DISOBEYING ORDER                        FSP

08/17/92          0           DISRESP.TO OFFICIALS                    FSP

08/17/92          0           DISORDERLY CONDUCT                  FSP

07/28/94          0           FIGHTING                                        UNION C. I.

03/01/01          0           DISRESP.TO OFFICIALS                UNION C. I.

________________________________________________________________

04/11/01 – tb

04/11/01 – approved – whs

11/08/10 – updated – jjk