The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly. This information, however, is subject to changeand may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not berelied upon for statistical or legal purposes.
SPENCER, Dusty (W/M)
DOB: 02/13/52
Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County, Case#92-0473
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Belvin Perry
Resentencing Judge: The Honorable Belvin Perry
Attorney, Direct Appeal (1st and 2nd):James R. Wulchak – Assistant Public Defender
Attorneys, Collateral Appeals: Maria Chamberlin –CCRC-M
Date of Offense: 01/18/92
Date of Sentence: 12/21/92
Date of Resentence: 01/18/95
Circumstances of Offense:
Dusty Spencer was convicted and sentenced to death for themurder of his wife, Karen Spencer.
Karen Spencer asked her husband, Dusty Spencer, to move outof their home early in December 1991. On 12/10/91, Dusty Spencerquestioned Karen about money that she had withdrawn from the banking accountfor their painting business. This argument led to a physical altercationin which Dusty choked, hit, and threatened to kill Karen. Karen calledthe police, and the police subsequently arrested Dusty. Dusty latercalled and threatened Karen from jail.
Karen Spencer requested that Dusty Spencer spend theholidays at their home, but asked him to leave after Christmas. On NewYear’s Day, Dusty told friends that he had considered throwing Karen off of hisboat, in order to drown her.
On 01/04/92, Dusty Spencer again went to Karen’s home, andthey fought. During the fight, Timothy Johnson, Karen’s son awoke, andwent into his mother’s bedroom where Dusty and Karen Spencer werefighting. According to Johnson, Dusty was on top of Karen and was hittingher with a clothes iron. When Johnson intervened, Dusty hit him with theclothes iron as Johnson retreated to his bedroom. Karen fled the home tofind help. Johnson tried to call for help, but Dusty Spencer pulled thephone out of the wall. Dusty then fled the house and left town. Karen Spencer and Timothy Johnson were taken to the hospital, and a physicianconfirmed that Karen’s wounds were consistent with being struck by a clothesiron.
On 11/18/92, Timothy Johnson heard fighting in thebackyard. He retrieved a firearm from his mother’s bedroom and wentoutside. Once outside, Johnson saw Dusty Spencer hitting his mother witha brick. He also observed blood on Karen Spencer’s face. Johnsonreported that he tried to shoot Dusty Spencer, but the firearm misfired. Thus, he hit Spencer in the head with the butt of the firearm. Dusty thenpulled up Karen’s nightgown and made lewd comments and slammed Karen’s headagainst a concrete wall. Karen was begging Dusty to stop, and Johnsontried to help his mother get away from Dusty. Dusty threatened Johnson witha knife; therefore, Johnson ran to a neighbor’s home to find help.
The police were called, and upon arrival, they found thedead body of Karen Spencer. The police determined that she had beenstabbed four or five times in the chest. She also had suffered bluntforce trauma to the head and defensive cuts to the hands and arms.
Trial Summary:
02/06/92 Spencerwas indicted on the following counts:
CountI: First-Degree Murder
CountII: Aggravated Assault without a Weapon
CountIII: Attempted First-Degree Murder
CountIV: Aggravated Battery
11/07/92 Spencer was found guilty on CountsI, II, and IV charged the indictment. Spencer was found guilty of thelesser charge of Attempted Second-Degree Murder for Count III.
12/09/92 Upon advisory sentencing, thejury, by a 7 to 5 majority, voted for the death penalty.
12/21/92 Spencerwas sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death
Count II: Aggravated Assault without aWeapon – 5 years, less 338 days fortime served
Count III: Attempted First-Degree Murder– 15 years, less 338 days for time served
Count IV: Aggravated Battery – 15 years, less 338 days for time served
09/22/94 FSC affirmed the convictions butreversed the sentence of death and remanded for reconsideration by the trialjudge.
01/18/95 Spencerwas resentenced as follows:
CountI: First-Degree Murder – Death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC #80,987
645 So. 2d 377
12/12/92 Appealfiled.
09/22/94 FSC affirmed the convictions butreversed the sentence of death and remanded for reconsideration by the trialjudge.
12/06/94 Rehearingdenied.
01/05/95 Mandateissued.
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (Resentencing)
FSC #85,119
691 So. 2d 1062
02/07/95 Appealfiled.
09/12/96 FSCaffirmed the sentence.
04/14/97 Rehearingdenied.
05/14/97 Mandateissued.
U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC #97-5249
522 U.S. 884
07/14/97 Petitionfiled.
10/06/97 USSCdenied the Petition.
Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC #92-473
07/16/98 Motionfiled.
04/24/00 Motiondenied.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC #00-1051
842 So.2d 52
05/15/00 Appealfiled.
04/11/02 FSCaffirmed the 3.850 Denial.
01/09/03 FSC withdrew the 04/11/02 opinionand substituted the opinion with a revised opinion. FSC affirmed the3.850 Denial.
01/09/03 Rehearing denied.
03/25/03 Rehearing denied.
04/24/03 Mandate issued.
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC #00-2588
842 So.2d 52
12/18/00 Petitionfiled.
04/11/02 Petitiondenied.
01/09/03 FSC withdrew the 04/11/02 opinionand substituted the opinion with a revised opinion. FSC denied thepetition.
01/09/03 Rehearing denied.
03/25/03 Rehearing denied.
04/24/03 Mandate issued.
U.S.District Court, Middle District – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
USDC #03-CIV-991
07/17/03 Petition filed.
10/14/03 Amended petition filed.
09/07/06 USDC denied petition.
12/13/06 Motion for Certificate ofAppealability filed.
01/12/07 Certificate of Appealabilitydenied.
09/08/09 Renewed Certificate ofAppealability granted in part and denied in part
U.S. Courtof Appeals, 11th Circuit – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Appeal
USCA #06-16503
609 F.3d 1170
12/13/06 Appeal filed.
06/22/10 USCA affirmed denial of Petition
CircuitCourt – 3.851 Motion
CC #92-473
10/29/07 Motion filed.
02/05/08 Motion denied.
02/20/08 Motion for Rehearing filed.
05/20/08 Motion for Amended Motion filed.
10/03/08 Successive Motion denied.
10/27/08 Motion for Rehearing filed.
11/04/08 Motion for Rehearing dismissed.
Florida Supreme Court – 3.851 Appeal
FSC# 08-2270
23So.3d 712
12/08/08 Appealfiled.
11/18/09 FSCaffirmed denial of 3.851 Motion.
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 10-7637
131S.Ct. 1049
09/18/10 Petition filed.
01/24/11 Petition denied.
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:
The original sentence ofdeath was overturned and the case was remanded to the trial court for reconsiderationby the judge. Spencer was again sentenced to death on 01/18/95.
Case Information:
Spencer filed his DirectAppeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 12/21/92. Addressed issuesincluded that the trial court erred in denying Spencer’s motion for a dismissalbased on insufficient evidence, motion to sever charges and this motion for amistrial because of improper comments made by the prosecutor. Finally,Spencer argued that the trial court mishandled aggravating and mitigatingfactors. The Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warrantedreversing the conviction. The Florida Supreme Court, however, determinedthat the trial court mishandled evaluating aggravating and mitigatingcircumstances and doubted that the trial court could have determined if theaggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors. The FloridaSupreme Court affirmed the convictions, but vacated the death sentence andremanded the case for reconsideration by the trial court judge on09/22/94. Rehearing was denied on 12/06/94. A mandate was issued on01/05/95.
On remand from theFlorida Supreme Court, the judge heard arguments from the defense andprosecution. Spencer was resentenced to death on 01/18/95.
Spencer filed his second DirectAppeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 02/07/95. Addressed issuesincluded that the trial court erred in improperly imposing the sentence ofdeath because of a lack of evidence. Spencer also argued that the trialcourt mishandled mitigating and aggravating factors. The Florida SupremeCourt did not find errors that warranted reversing the conviction or sentenceand affirmed the conviction and sentence on 09/12/96. Rehearing wasdenied on 04/14/97. A Mandate was issued on 05/14/97.
On 07/14/97, Spencerfiled a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States SupremeCourt. The petition was denied on 10/06/97.
Spencer filed a 3.850Motion in the circuit court on 07/16/98. The motion was denied on04/24/00.
On 05/15/00, Spencerfiled a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. Spencer argued thatthere was prosecutorial misconduct, that trial counsel was ineffective and thatthere was a Brady Error[a]. The Florida Supreme Court didnot find errors that warranted reversing the 3.850 Denial and affirmed the3.850 Denial on 04/11/02. On 01/09/03, the Florida Supreme Court withdrewthe 04/11/02 opinion and substituted the opinion with a revised opinion. The Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warranted reversing the3.850 Denial and affirmed the 3.850 Denial. Rehearing denied 01/09/03.Rehearing denied 03/25/03. Mandate issued 04/24/03.
On 12/18/00, Spencerfiled a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court. Spencer argued that the death penalty was unconstitutional and that appellatecounsel was ineffective. The Florida Supreme Court did not find errorsthat warranted granting the petition and denied the petition on 04/11/02. On 01/09/03, the Florida Supreme Court withdrew the 04/11/02 opinion andsubstituted the opinion with a revised opinion. The Florida Supreme Courtdid not find errors that warranted granting the petition and denied thepetition. Rehearing was denied on 01/09/03. Rehearing denied 03/25/03. Mandate issued 04/24/03.
Spencer filed a Petitionfor Writ of Habeas Corpus on 07/17/03 and an amended petition on 10/14/03 inthe United States District Court, Middle District. On 09/07/06, the USDCdenied the petition. On 12/13/06, Spencer filed a Motion for Certificate ofAppealability which was denied on 01/12/07. On 09/08/09, a renewed Certificateof Appealability was granted in part and denied in part.
Spencer filed a Petitionfor Writ of Habeas Corpus Appeal on 12/13/06 in the United States Court of Appeals,11th Circuit. On 06/22/10, the USCA affirmed the denial of theHabeas Petition.
On 10/29/07, Spencerfiled a 3.851 motion in the Circuit Court. This motion was denied on02/05/08. On 02/20/08, Spencer filed a Motion for Rehearing. On05/20/08, Spencer filed a Motion for Leave to Amend. This motion was denied on10/03/08. On 10/27/08, Spencer filed another Motion for Rehearing which wasdenied on 11/04/08.
On 12/08/08, Spencerfiled a 3.851 appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. The Florida Supreme Courtaffirmed the decision of the lower court on 11/18/09.
Spencer filed a Petitionfor Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on 09/18/10. Thispetition was denied on 01/24/11.
Institutional Adjustment:
| DATE | DAYS | VIOLATION | LOCATION |
| 09/16/93 | 0 | POSS OF CONTRABAND | UNION CI |
| 06/04/97 | 0 | FIGHTING | UNION CI |
Report Date: 04/01/02 SQ
Approved: 04/15/02 WS
Updated: 04/12/11 EMJ