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

KNIGHT, Thomas (B/M)

AKA:  Askari Abdullah Muhammad

DC#    017434

DOB:  02/04/51

Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County, Case# 74-5978

Sentencing Judge:  The Honorable Gene Williams

Resentencing Judge:  The Honorable Rodolfo Sorondo

Trial Attorney:  James Mathews – Private

Attorney, Direct Appeal:  William J. Hutchinson –Private

Attorney, Direct Appeal (Resentencing):  Louis Campbell– Assistant Public Defender

Attorney, Collateral Appeals:  D. Todd Doss – Pro-Bono(State filings); D. Todd Doss & Linda McDermott – Federal

Date of Offense:  07/17/74

Date of Sentence:  04/21/75

Date of Resentencing:  03/12/96

Circumstances of the Offense:

On 07/17/74 the victim, Sydney Gans, arrived at his place ofbusiness and parked his automobile.  The defendant Thomas Knight, a formeremployee, who was carrying an automatic rifle, approached him. Knight thenordered Mr. Gans to get back into the vehicle and drive to his residence andpick up his wife, Lillian Gans.  Once Mrs. Gans was in the vehicle Knightordered Mr. Gans to drive to his bank in order to obtain $50,000.  Mr.Gans did as instructed and entered the bank.  While inside the bank Mr.Gans notified the bank president of the abduction, and the police and FBI werealerted. Mr. Gans then returned to his wife and their car with the money. The defendant then ordered Mrs. Gans to drive the car in an evasive routetoward South Dade County.  The FBI and local law enforcement were inpursuit, and had remained undetected, however they briefly lost sight of thevehicle.  The defendant ordered the couple to stop the vehicle in a remotearea and then shot both victims in the back of the head at close range.  Thedefendant fled the scene, but was apprehended shortly thereafter.  Knightattempted to hide from the police by burying himself in the dirt and weeds of aheavily wooded area. Police noticed bloodstains on the defendant’s pants anddiscovered the automatic rifle and $50,000 hidden underneath him.

Additional Information:

On 09/19/74, while awaiting his trial, the defendant alongwith ten inmates escaped from the Dade County Jail.  The defendant wasplaced on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List and an extensive manhunt ensued.

While on escape status the defendant allegedly committed amurder and armed robbery in Cordele, Georgia. (Crisp County)

The following circumstances were received from the CrispCounty Authorities:  Knight and another subject committed an ArmedRobbery, Murder and Aggravated Battery.  On 10/21/74, they both entered aliquor store and asked for a bottle. As the clerk retrieved the bottle, he wastold to hand over the money.  The defendant and codefendant then demandedboth clerks’ wallets and started shooting.   Mr. William Culpepperwas shot three times and was killed; Mr. A.V. Norton was shot twice.  Thedefendant and codefendant fled taking $641.00. FBI agents arrested the subjectin New Smyrna Beach, FL on 12/31/74.  At the time of his arrest thesubject was in possession of a sawed-off shotgun, a .38 caliber revolver and a9mm automatic.  These weapons were reported stolen from Titusville, FL.

Previous reports indicate that Georgia authorities did notprosecute the subject due to his Florida death sentence.  The subject’scodefendant was charged with only the Aggravated Battery charge.

Knight was arrested and stood trial for the fatal stabbingof a prison guard while he was incarcerated on death row (CC# 80-341CF); themurder occurred on 10/12/80.  Knight was convicted and sentenced to deathfor this offense on 01/20/83.

Knight’s new sentencing date in 1996 is the starting pointfor all subsequent appeals, although he was initially sentenced over 25 yearsago.

There have been mental health issues throughout this casemost of which were presented to the trial court.  Numerous mental healthexperts have testified on Knight’s behalf, claiming that he has longstandingmental health problems that may include schizophrenia.  Experts for theState determined that Knight did, in fact, have a personality disorder but wasa “malingerer” and not schizophrenic.  Knight was determined competent tostand trial.  There has not been any executive intervention relating toKnight’s alleged mental illness.

Trial Summary:

08/30/74         Defendant arraigned, entered a plea of not guilty.

09/19/74         Prior to trial, defendant escaped from jail.

12/31/75         Defendant captured and returned to jail.
01/06/75          Public Defenderdismissed due to conflict, Court appointed Special Counsel James Mathews.

04/01/75         Plea of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity entered.

04/19/75         Defendant found guilty by the trial jury of two counts of First-Degree Murder,as charged in the indictment. Upon advisory sentencing the Jury, by a majority,recommended the death penalty.

04/21/75         Defendant was sentenced as followed:

                                   Count I:          First-Degree Murder (Lillian Gans) – Death

                                   Count II:         First-Degree Murder(Sydney Gans) – Death

01/18/96         Order to return defendant for resentencing.

02/01/96         Hearing held regarding defendant’s competency. Court found defendant competentto proceed.

02/08/96         Upon advisory sentencing, the jury recommended death sentence by a vote of 9-3

03/12/96         Resentenced as followed:

                                   Count I:          First-Degree Murder (Lillian Gans) – Death

                                   Count II:         First-Degree Murder(Sydney Gans) – Death

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC# 47,599

338 So. 2d 201 (Fla.1976)

05/20/75         Appeal filed

09/30/76         FSC affirmed convictions and death sentence

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus

FSC# 58,528

01/22/80         Petition filed

02/06/80         FSC transferred petition to the trial court to be treated as a 3.850 Motion forpostconviction relief

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# 74-5978

02/12/80         Motion received per Florida Supreme Court order on 02/06/80

08/15/80         Trial court dismissed motion, and determined it should be treated as a Habeasby the FSC

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus

FSC# 59,741

394 So.2d 997 (Fla. 1981)

10/01/80         Petition filed

02/24/81         Petition denied

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# 74-5978

02/20/81         Motion filed

08/25/81         Motion denied

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

USDC# 81-391

02/24/81         Petition filed

02/26/81         USDC held Petition and granted a Stay of Execution

06/27/86         Petition dismissed

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC# 61,454

426 So. 2d 533 (Fla. 1982)

11/03/81         Appeal filed

12/16/82         FSC affirmed the trial court’s denial of 3.850 Motion

03/02/83         Rehearing denied

04/11/83         Mandate issued

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari

USSC# 82-6865

06/09/83         Petition filed

10/06/83         Petition denied

United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit – HabeasAppeal

USCA# 86-5610

863 F 2d at 708

07/30/86         Appeal filed

09/06/89         Remanded to United States District Court to grant Habeas Petition, unless Stateresentenced defendant in accordance with Lockett

09/06/89         Mandate issued

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (Resentencing)

FSC# 87,783

721 So. 2d 287 (Fla. 1998)

04/22/96         Appeal filed

11/12/98         FSC affirmed conviction and death sentence

03/11/99         Rehearing denied

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari

USSC# 98-9741

528 U.S. 990; 120 S. Ct. 459 (1999)

06/09/99         Petition filed

11/08/99         Petition denied

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# 74-5978

11/07/00         Motion filed

01/15/03         Motion denied

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC# 03-631

923 So.2d 387

04/08/03         Appeal filed

11/03/05         FSC affirmed Circuit Court’s order denying 3.850 Motion

02/24/06         Rehearing denied

03/13/06         Mandate issued

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus

FSC# 04-1366

923 So.2d 387

07/12/04         Petition filed

11/03/05         Petition denied

02/24/06         Rehearing denied

03/13/06         Mandate issued

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

USDC# 06-20570

(Pending)

03/07/06         Petition filed

Death Warrants:

01/29/81         Death Warrant signed by Governor Bob Graham

02/26/81         United States District Court granted a Stay of Execution

Clemency Hearing

12/12/79         Clemency hearing denied

Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:

The delay in this case is a result of the defendant being resentenced21 years after initially being convicted and sentenced.

Case Information:

On 05/20/75, Knight filed a Direct Appeal to the FloridaSupreme Court.  Among several issues raised, Knight claimed the trialcourt erred in the denial of his challenge for cause as tothe impartiality of a juror.  Second, Knight claimed the trial court erredin denying his motion for additional peremptory challenges because of pervasivepre-trial publicity.  Third, Knight alleged the trail court erred inallowing the State to prosecute the charges under a theory of felony murderwhen the indictment charged premeditated murder to be absolutely contrary toestablished precedent.  Fourth, Knight claimed the introduction of thetestimony of Mr. Gill (the bank president), to the effect that Mr. Gans (thevictim) had told him that he had been kidnapped and his wife was being held for$50,000 ransom and describing what had occurred thus far, into evidence waserror as it was not within the res gestae of the crime charged.  Finally,he claimed the trial court erred in denying his motion for change ofvenue.  Having carefully evaluated all other points raised on appeal byappellant, the Court found none of them meritorious as to constitute reversibleerror. Furthermore, the allegations of the indictment were sufficient to chargeKnight with First-Degree murder.  On 09/30/76, the Court affirmed Knight’sconvictions and sentence.

Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to theFlorida Supreme Court on 01/22/80.  On 02/06/80, the Court transferred thepetition to the trial court and ordered that it be treated as a 3.850 Motionfor Post Conviction Relief.  

On 02/12/80, the trial court received and reviewed themotion.  On 08/15/80, the trial court dismissed the motion, determined itwas properly filed originally as a Habeas Petition, and requested that it beproperly filed to the Florida Supreme Court.  

On 10/01/80, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus to the Florida Supreme Court, who acknowledged the trial court wascorrect in determining the appeal should be processed as a Habeas Petition. However, the Court denied the Petition on 02/24/81.

On 02/20/81, Knight filed a 3.850 Motion to the CircuitCourt, which was denied on 08/25/081.  Knight filed a 3.850 Appeal to theFlorida Supreme Court on 11/03/81.  The Court affirmed the trial court’sdenial of the 3.850 Motion on 12/16/82.  The rehearing was denied on03/02/83.  The mandate was issued on 04/11/83.

On 02/24/81, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus to the United States District Court, Southern District.  The Courtheld the Petition and granted a Stay of Execution on 02/26/81.  The Courtretained jurisdiction over the petition and ordered Knight to exhaust hisappeals in State court.  The Petition was dismissed on 06/27/86.

On 06/09/83, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorarito the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 10/06/83.

On 07/30/86, Knight filed a Habeas Appeal to the UnitedStates Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit.  On 09/06/89, the Court remandedthe case to the trial court for resentencing based on a Hitchcock error, whichrequires the courts to consider non-statutory, as well as statutory mitigatingevidence proffered by a capital defendant.  This decision was made priorto the Supreme Court’s decision in Hitchcock, and was originally made inaccordance with Lockett.

Knight filed a Direct Appeal after resentencing to theFlorida Supreme Court on 04/22/96.  On 11/112/98, the Court affirmed theconviction and sentence.  The rehearing was denied on 03/11/99.

On 06/09/99, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorarito the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 11/08/99.

On 11/07/00, Knight filed a 3.850 Motion to the CircuitCourt, which was denied on 01/15/03.

On 04/08/03, Knight filed a 3.850 Appeal to the FloridaSupreme Court.  Upon careful review of Knight’s motion, the Court found noerror in the Circuit Court’s determination that denial was appropriate on eachclaim made by Knight.  On 11/03/05, the Court affirmed the Circuit Court’sdenial of the 3.850 Motion because Knight’s claims are either procedurallybarred, conclusively refuted by the record, facially or legally insufficient asalleged, or without merit as a matter of law.  On 02/24/06, the rehearingwas denied.  The mandate was issued on 03/13/06.

On 07/12/04, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus to the Florida Supreme Court.  The petition was denied on 11/03/05 becauseKnight raised the same issues that were raised in his 3.850 Appeal, whichcannot be relitigated in the Habeas Petition.  On 02/24/06, the rehearingwas denied.  The mandate was issued on 03/13/06.

On 03/06/07, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus in the United States District Court, Southern District.  Thispetition is currently pending.

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

KNIGHT, Thomas (B/M)

AKA:  Askari Abdullah Muhammad

DC# 017434

DOB:  02/04/51

Eighth Judicial Circuit, Bradford County, Case# 80-341CF

Sentencing Judge:  The Honorable Chester B. Chance

Trial Attorney:  Pro se

Attorney, Direct Appeal:  David Davis – AssistantPublic Defender

Attorney, Collateral Appeals:  D. Todd Doss & LindaMcDermott – Registry and Federal

Date of Offense:  10/12/80

Date of Sentence:  01/20/83

Circumstances of the Offense:

On 10/12/80 at 9:45 a.m., a guard at the Florida StatePrison, told the subject, a death row inmate in Dade County Case# F74-5978,that he had a visitor; however, prior to the approval of the visit, he mustshave in compliance with prison regulations. He refused to comply and thereforewas denied the visit.

When the guard was exiting, he and another guard overheardthe subject state, “Well, it looks like I will have to start sticking people.”

Later, Officer Burke, the victim, was escorting the deathrow inmates to the showers. When he unlocked the subject’s cell, the subjectattacked him with a homemade knife (a sharpened spoon).

While this was occurring, another officer overheard thescreams of Officer Burke and called for help.

Within seconds, two other officers were present and observedOfficer Burke lying on his back trying to fend off the subject’s blows. Thesubject complied with an order to back off, and discarded the weapon in a trashcontainer. More than a dozen wounds were inflicted on Officer Burke, with onebeing a fatal stab wound to the heart.

Trial Summary:

12/03/80         Original defense counsel Joseph H. Forbes was relieved of his duties as SpecialAppointed Counsel.

Susan Caryremained as counsel of record.

12/17/80         Steven Bernstein appointed as counsel and Susan Cary remained as co-counseleffective 01/01/81.

01/21/81         Judge R.A. Green Jr. recused himself.

01/22/81         Judge Wayne M. Carlisle appointed.

05/25/82         Trial ended in a mistrial.

05/26/82         Judge Wayne M. Carlisle recused himself.  Court reassigned this case toJudge Chester B. Chance

of the EighthJudicial Circuit.

06/07/82         Court ordered that the defendant was competent to stand trial.

06/15/82         Court granted motion to allow defendant to represent himself. Stephen Bernsteinwas discharged as

 legal counsel butthe Court requested that he be standby counsel.

07/20/80         Court granted motion for Stephen Bernstein to be relieved as standby counsel.

10/26/82         The defendant was found guilty (under the name of Askari Abdullah Muhammad) bythe trial jury

 of First-DegreeMurder as charged in the indictment. Defendant waived consideration by the jury

 of an advisorysentence; therefore, the cause proceeded to the Court without the juryrecommendation.

01/20/83         The defendant was sentenced as followed: 

                                   Count I:          First-Degree Murder – Death       

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC# 63,343

494 So. 2d 969 (Fla. 1986)

10/01/84         Appeal filed

07/17/86         FSC affirmed conviction and death sentence

10/22/86         Motion for rehearing denied

11/25/86         Mandate issued

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari

USSC# 86-6092

497 U.S. 1101 (1987)

01/09/87         Petition filed

02/23/87         Petition denied

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# 80-34CF

02/23/89         Motion filed

08/31/89         Motion denied

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC# 75,055

603 So. 2d 488 (Fla. 1992)

11/27/89         Appeal filed

06/11/92         FSC reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing

09/17/92         Rehearing denied and mandate issued

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion (On Remand fromFSC)

CC# 80-34CF

09/17/92         Appeal filed

06/12/00         Evidentiary hearing held

05/21/01         Trial court granted motion for postconviction relief in part, ordered newsentencing hearing

Florida Supreme Court – Appeal of 3.850 Motion (Filedby State)

FSC# 01-1415

866 So. 2d 1195

06/26/01         Appeal filed

08/21/03         FSC reversed the trial court’s order vacating death sentence

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus

FSC# 02-1106

866 So. 2d 1195

05/13/02         Petition filed

08/21/03         Petition denied

01/20/04         Mandate issued

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari

USSC# 03-9494

124 S. Ct. 2396; 158 L. Ed. 2d 969 (2004)

03/18/04         Petition filed

05/24/04         Petition denied

United States District Court, Middle District –Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

USDC# 05-62

01/18/05         Petition filed

03/26/08         Petition denied; dismissed with prejudice

07/02/08          Certificate of Appealability filed

08/25/08          Certificate denied

United States Court of Appeals, 11^thCircuit – Habeas Appeal

USCA# 08-13495

06/16/08          Appeal filed

01/09/09          Certificate of Appealability denied

United State Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari

USSC# 09-5401

130 S.Ct. 1281

07/13/09         Petitionfiled

01/25/10          Petition denied

Circuit Court – 3.851 Motion

CC# 80-341CF

07/24/08         Motion filed

09/09/08         Motion denied

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC# 09-170

22 So.3d 538

02/02/09         Appealfiled

11/05/09          FSC affirmed the disposition of the lowercourt

Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition of Sentence:

The delay in this case appears to be a result of thedefendant being resentenced in his Dade county case that also had resulted in asentence of death.

There have been issues regarding the defendant’s competencyand mental health status. The defense contended the defendant is mentally ill,while State experts disputed that contention.  In February of 1999,competency hearings for the defendant began.  These reports were presentedto the Court in November of 1999.  In December of 1999, the defendant wasdetermined to be competent.

Case Information:

Knight filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on10/01/84.  Among several issues that were raised, Knight claimed the trialcourt failed to follow the dictates of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure3.210, a rule which requires the court to appoint “no more than three and nofewer than two experts” to examine the defendant.  Second, Knight claimedthat he did not know the purpose of the competency examination, and thatneither his attorney nor competency examiner informed him of the reason for theinterview.  Third, Knight also claimed the competency report failed toinclude matters required by Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.216(e) and3.211(a)(1).  Finally, Knight claimed the trial court improperly appliedtwo aggravating factors when it found that he was under a sentence ofimprisonment and that he had been convicted of a violent or capitalfelony.  On 07/17/86, the Court affirmed Knight’s convictions andsentence.  On 10/22/86, the rehearing was denied.  The mandate wasissued on 11/25/86

On 01/09/87, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorarito the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 02/23/87.

On 02/23/89, Knight filed a 3.850 Motion to the CircuitCourt, which was denied on 08/31/89.

Knight filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on11/27/89.  The Court reversed the trial court’s ruling and remanded thecase back to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing, regarding their rulingon a Brady violation.  

The evidentiary hearing (on remand from the Florida SupremeCourt) was held on 06/12/00.  The delay in proceeding with the evidentiaryhearing was related to the United States Court of Appeals ordering thedefendant to be resentenced in his Dade County case.  Subsequent to theevidentiary hearing, the trial court, on 08/21/03, ordered the defendant to beresentenced.  

The State appealed the trial court’s decision to the FloridaSupreme Court on 06/26/01. On 08/21/03, the Court issued an opinion in whichthey reversed the trial court’s order which vacated Knight’s deathsentence.  The opinion also denied a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus,which Muhammad had filed on 05/13/02.  The mandate for the Habeas wasissued on 01/20/04.

Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the UnitedStates Supreme Court on 03/18/04, which was denied on 05/24/04.

On 01/18/05, Knight filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus to the United States District Court, Middle District, which was deniedon 03/26/08 and dismissed with prejudice. A Certificate of Appealability of wasfiled on 07/02/08 and denied on 08/25/08.

Knight filed a Habeas appeal in the United States Court ofAppeals, 11^th Circuit on 06/16/08. The Certificate of Appealability wasdenied on 01/09/09.

Knight filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the UnitedStates Supreme Court on 07/13/09. The petition was denied on 01/25/10.

On 07/24/08, Knight filed a 3.851 Motion in the CircuitCourt.  This motion was denied on 09/09/08.

On 02/02/09, Knight filed a 3.850 Appeal in the FloridaSupreme Court.  The disposition of the lower court was affirmed on11/05/09.

Institutional Adjustment:  

________________________________________________________________________

Report Date:   01/09/01         RM

Approved:       09/12/01         WHS

Updated:         01/31/11         EMJ