Commission on Capital Cases updates this informationregularly. This information, however, is subject to change and may notreflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be relied upon forstatistical or legal purposes.
LONG, Robert Jo (W/M)
AKA: Bobby Joe Long
DC# 494041
DOB: 10/14/53
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County, Case#84-13346
Sentencing Judge, Trial: The Honorable John P. Griffin
Sentencing Judge, Resentencing: The Honorable RichardA. Lazzara
Attorney, Trial: Charles O’Connor – Assistant PublicDefender
Attorney, Resentencing: Robert Fraser – AssistantPublic Defender
Attorneys, Direct Appeal: Ellis Rubin & DavidRappaport – Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal (Resentencing): A. Anne Owens– Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Robert A. Norgard –Private
Date of Offense: 05/27/84
Date of Sentence: 07/25/86
Date of Resentence: 07/21/89
Circumstances of the Offense:
On 07/25/86, Robert Long was sentenced to death for themurder of Michelle Simms in Hillsborough County, Florida.
On 11/16/84, Long was arrested and charged for thekidnapping and sexual battery of Lisa McVey. In a confession obtained onthat date, Long gave the following account of the events that preceded MichelleSimms’ death. Long bought some rope the night before the murder and cutit into sections before it was put in his vehicle’s glove box. Long thenwent looking for a prostitute along Kennedy Boulevard in Tampa. Long thenstopped next to the victim and obtained her company for $50. After thevictim entered the car, Long drove approximately one mile before making the victimundress at knife point and reclined the passenger’s seat until it was flatbefore he tied her up. Long stated that he then drove approximately 15-20miles before he raped the victim. Long then talked to the victim and toldher that he was going to drop her off where he picked her up. Instead,Long drove to Plant City where he attempted to strangle the victim. Whenthat failed, he hit her head with a club and pushed her from the vehicle. Long left her on the side of the road after he slit her throat. Longdiscarded the victim’s clothing at the scene of the murder.
The nude body of Michelle Simms was discovered on 05/27/84,in a wooded area near Plant City, Florida. A rope was tied around thevictim’s wrists and around her body to restrict the movement of her hands andher clothing was scattered in the surrounding area. The victim’s throatwas cut, there was blood on her face and head and the victim also suffered fromrope burns on her neck and chin. The medical examiner stated that thecause of death could have been either strangulation, bleeding from two knifeslashes in her neck, or head injuries.
Additional Information:
On 09/23/85, Long entered into a plea agreement in HillsboroughCounty, which included eight counts of first-degree murder, eight counts ofkidnapping, seven counts of sexual battery, and the kidnapping and sexualbattery of Lisa McVey, whose abduction led to Long’s arrest on 11/16/84. Long agreed not to contest the admissibility of his confessions of the physicalevidence, in return for which the State agreed to the imposition of a lifesentence for all crimes charged, except for the murder of Simms.
Long was convicted of another first-degree murder charge inPasco County (CC# 84-2275) and sentenced to death on 05/03/85. During hisfinal Direct Appeal (Retrial II), filed to the Florida Supreme Court, the Courtvacated Long’s death sentence, reversed his conviction, and remanded the caseto the Circuit Court with directions to enter an order of acquittal for themurder of Johnson.
Trial Summary:
11/28/84 Indicted as follows:
Count I: Kidnapping(Lisa McVey)
Count II: Sexual Battery (LisaMcVey)
Count III: First-Degree Murder(Michelle Simms)
09/23/85 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
07/18/86 Jury recommended death by a vote of 11-1
07/25/86 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: Kidnapping(Lisa McVey) – Life
Count II: Sexual Battery (LisaMcVey) – Life
Count III: First-Degree Murder(Michelle Simms) – Death
06/30/88 FSC remanded case back to lower court for resentencing for Count III
06/29/89 Jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0
07/21/89 Sentenced as follows:
Count III: First-Degree Murder(Michelle Simms) – Death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 69,259
529 So. 2d 286
09/02/86 Appeal filed
06/30/88 FSC remanded case to circuit court for resentencing
08/26/88 Rehearing denied
09/29/88 Mandate issued
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (Resentencing)
FSC# 74,512
610 So. 2d 1268
08/03/89 Appeal filed
10/15/92 FSC affirmed the conviction and death sentence
01/26/93 Rehearing denied
02/25/93 Mandate issued
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 92-8669
510 U.S. 832
04/26/93 Petition filed
10/04/93 Petition denied
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 84-13346
12/29/94 Motion filed
08/01/95 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 86,433
672 So. 2d 543
09/11/95 Appeal filed
03/18/96 Appeal dismissed
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 84-13346
(Pending)
10/04/95 Motion filed
03/31/03 Amended motion filed
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:
The 3.850 Motion has been pending in the Circuit Court forover ten years and the remanding of the case resulted in the filing of twoDirect Appeals in the Florida Supreme Court. A status conference is to beheld 10/31/07 to determine competency for an evidentiary hearing.
Case Information:
During the trial, testimony was presented stating that Longhad suffered from a series of the following head injuries: he had been knockedunconscious for several minutes as a result from falling off of a swing; he hadbeen knocked unconscious for approximately 20 minutes as a result of fallingdown a flight of stairs; he had been hospitalized for approximately one week asa result of being hit by a car at age seven; he had been knocked unconscious asa result of falling off of a horse; he had been in a serious motorcycleaccident in which he had suffered serious head injuries at age 20 whileenlisted in the army.
A Direct Appeal was filed to the Florida Supreme Court on09/02/86. Issues that were raised on Direct Appeal included whether thetrial court erred by denying the defendant’s motion to vacate his pleaagreement and whether the use of prior convictions, which were later vacated bythe Court, unfairly prejudiced the sentencing proceedings. The Courtagreed that the use of the prior convictions as aggravating factors was harmfulerror and remanded the case to the Circuit Court for resentencing on06/30/88.
A second Direct Appeal was filed to the Florida SupremeCourt on 08/03/89. Issues that were raised on appeal included whether thetrial court erred in denying Long’s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas andwhether the trial court erred in allowing the hearsay testimony of twodetectives regarding the details of the two other rapes as crimes of violencein aggravation. The Court found all of the issues either harmless orwithout error and affirmed the conviction and the death sentence on10/15/92. A Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed to the UnitedStates Supreme Court on 04/26/93 and denied on 10/04/93.
A 3.850 Motion was filed to the Circuit Court on 12/29/94,which was denied on 08/01/95.
A 3.850 Appeal was filed to the Florida Supreme Court on09/11/95 and was dismissed without prejudice at the request of the defendant on03/18/96 so that an amended 3.850 could be filed; that 3.850 was filed to theCircuit Court on 10/04/95. On 03/31/03, an amended motion was filed tothe Circuit Court, which is currently pending.
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.
LONG, Robert Jo (W/M)
AKA: Bobby Joe Long
DC# 494041
DOB: 10/14/53
Sixth Judicial Circuit, Pasco County, Case# 84-2275CFAES
Sentencing Judge, Trial: The Honorable Ray E. Ulmer,Jr.
Sentencing Judge, Retrial (I): The Honorable Wayne L.Cobb
Sentencing Judge, Retrial (II): The Honorable CharlesW. Cope
Attorneys, Trial: Robert A. Norgard & RandallGrantham – Assistant Public Defender
Attorneys, Retrial (I): William Eble – Chief AssistantPublic Defender
Robert McClure – Assistant Public Defender
Attorneys, Retrial (II): William Eble – Chief AssistantPublic Defender
Laurie R. Chane – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: W.C. McLain – AssistantPublic Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal (Retrial I): Steven L. Bolotin– Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal (Retrial II): A. Anne Owens –Assistant Public Defender
Date of Offense: approximately 10/22/84
Date of Sentence: 05/03/85
Date of Resentence (I): 03/02/89
Date of Resentence (II): 04/12/94
Circumstances of the Offense:
On 05/03/85, Robert Long was sentenced to death for themurder of Virginia Johnson in Pasco County, Florida.
Virginia Johnson was an 18-year-old prostitute of Tampa,Florida. She was an alcoholic and a drug addict of mainly cocaine andheroin. Roughly 1½ years before she was murdered, Johnson lived withseveral different men. On October 1984, Johnson’s friend, SharonMartinez, reported Johnson missing. According to Martinez, her lastencounter with Johnson took place as Johnson was going to a health clinic to betreated for gonorrhea. Bernadine Herman, a nurse at the health clinic,confirmed that Johnson arrived for her appointment for treatment of gonorrheaon 10/15/84, but did not return for a follow-up examination.
On 11/06/84, two female horseback riders found human remainsin a pasture. The two women rode to a nearby mobile park and notified thesheriff’s department. Investigators and crime scene technicians arrivedat the pasture and searched the area thoroughly for evidence. They foundthe human remains in two separate areas; a pair of women’s panties was alsofound nearby. The technicians transported the human remains to themedical examiner’s office. Dr. Joan Wood, the medical examiner, found noinjury to any of the bones other than that caused by animals after death, andremaining skin tissue could not be evaluated due to decomposition. Dr.Wood concluded that a shoelace entwined around the neck was the manner ofdeath; however, she could neither confirm nor exclude manual strangulation asthe cause of death. Dr. Wood estimated the time of death to beapproximately 15 days prior to the discovery of the body. The humanremains were then transferred over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)for further examination.
Curtis Wilken, a forensic anthropologist, examined the humanremains and concluded that a comparison of the teeth with dental recordsultimately identified the remains to be those of Johnson.
Michael Malone, a hair and fiber expert with the FBI, examinedthe hair samples taken from the remains and compared hairs, fibers to hairs,and fibers, which had previously been removed from Robert Long’s car when itwas searched by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for the investigationof the murder of Michelle Simms. The hairs found in Long’s carmicroscopically matched the head hairs taken from Johnson’s remains. Malone believed that Johnson had been in Long’s car.
Before the discovery of Johnson’s remains, Long was arrestedon 11/16/84 in Tampa for an unrelated charge – the sexual battery andkidnapping of Lisa McVey. Long was interrogated by the HillsboroughSheriff’s Office and Long confessed to the murder of Johnson. During theinterrogation, Long indicated Johnson approached him in Pasco County andoffered him “a date” for $30 or $40. Long admitted he had sex with herbefore strangling her with his hands. He then dragged Johnson’s body intoa horse pasture and left her tied with shoestring. Long recalled leavingJohnson’s panties on her body.
Additional Information:
The date Johnson was murdered is unknown. Based on amedical examiner’s estimates, Johnson was murdered on 10/22/84.
On 09/23/85, Long entered into a plea agreement inHillsborough County, which included eight counts of first-degree murder, eightcounts of kidnapping, seven counts of sexual battery, and the kidnapping andsexual battery of Lisa McVey, whose abduction led to Long’s arrest on11/16/84. Long agreed not to contest the admissibility of his confessionsof the physical evidence; in return, the State agreed to the imposition of alife sentence for all crimes charged, except for the murder of Simms.
Long is currently serving a death sentence for the murder ofMichelle Simms, the Hillsborough County case (CC# 84-13346).
Prior Incarceration History in the state of Florida:
Long confessed to eight other murders and was convicted ofsexual battery in numerous other cases where the victim was not murdered.
| 5/29/1984 | Sexual Battery with a Deadly Weapon | 7/12/1985 | PINELLAS | LIFE |
| 5/29/1984 | Kidnapping during a Felony | 7/12/1985 | PINELLAS | LIFE |
| 5/29/1984 | Robbery with a Deadly Weapon | 7/12/1985 | PINELLAS | LIFE |
| 5/29/1984 | Armed Burglary | 7/12/1985 | PINELLAS | LIFE |
Trial Summary:
12/06/84 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Virginia Johnson)
04/27/85 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
04/27/85 Jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0
05/03/85 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Virginia Johnson) – Death
11/07/88 Jury trial
11/07/88 Jury returned guilty verdicts on Count I
11/10/88 Jury recommended death by a vote of 9-3
03/02/89 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Virginia Johnson) – Death
02/10/94 Jury returned guilty verdicts on Count I
02/10/94 Jury recommended death by a vote of 7-5
04/12/94 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Virginia Johnson) – Death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 67,103
517 So.2d 664
06/03/85 Appeal filed
11/12/87 FSC vacated Long’s conviction and sentence and remanded the case back to theCircuit Court for retrial
04/18/88 Mandate issued
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (Retrial I)
FSC# 74,017
610 So.2d 1276
04/17/89 Appeal filed
10/15/92 The FSC reversed the conviction and sentence and remanded the case back to theCircuit Court for retrial
02/26/93 Mandate issued
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal (Retrial II)
FSC# 83,593
689 So.2d 1055
04/26/94 Appeal filed
03/06/97 FSC vacated Long’s death sentence, reversed his conviction, and remanded thecase to the Circuit Court with directions to enter an order of acquittal forthe murder of Johnson
04/07/97 Mandate issued
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:
The Florida Supreme Court took nearly three years to rendera decision for Long’s initial Direct Appeal. Long’s case was remandedback to the lower court for a retrial.
For Long’s Direct Appeal (Retrial I), the Florida SupremeCourt took over three years to render a decision.
For Long’s Direct Appeal (Retrial II), the Florida SupremeCourt took nearly three years to render a decision.
Case Information:
On 06/03/85, Long filed a Direct Appeal to the FloridaSupreme Court. Among ten claims raised by Long during appeal, Long’sconfession issue was dispositive. When held in custody by law enforcementfor an interrogation, Long uttered the sentence, “I think I might need anattorney.” The question in this case is whether Long clearly stated hisright to counsel by the statement. The Court held that the statement wasequivocal to Long having voluntarily waived his Miranda rights and did notintend to terminate the interrogation to consult with counsel. Furthermore, the Court maintained that the investigating officers did notattempt to clarify the equivocal request for counsel, but continued tointerrogate Long to obtain the eventual confession to the murder ofJohnson. The Court concluded that without equivocal request for counsel,the confession was voluntary and admissible. On 11/12/87, the Courtvacated the conviction and sentence and remanded the case back to the CircuitCourt for a new trial. On 04/18/88, the mandate was issued.
On 04/17/89, Long filed a Direct Appeal (Retrial I) to theFlorida Supreme Court. On appeal, Long raised four claims. First,Long claimed the trial court erred in allowing the State to produce for thejury, over the defense counsel’s objection, a videotape interview of Long byCBS News as Williams Rule evidence. Second, Long claimed the trial courterred in allowing the State to present evidence, including hair, fiber, andtire track evidence, regarding four other murders to which Long had pleadedguilty in the Hillsborough County plea agreement. Third, Long claimed thetrial court erred in allowing the State to present the Hillsborough Countymurders as the central feature of the trial. Fourth, Long claimed thetrial court erred in allowing evidence of the Hillsborough County guilty pleasand convictions resulting from Long’s plea agreement may not be admitted asaggravating factors given the terms of the plea agreement. The Courtconcluded the trial court erred only in allowing evidence of the HillsboroughCounty murders to be introduced in aggravation against Long; however, thisruling did not preclude the introduction of relevant evidence regardingoffenses for which Long was convicted before he entered into HillsboroughCounty plea agreement. Accordingly, on 10/15/92, the Court reversedLong’s conviction and sentence of death and remanded the case back to theCircuit Court for a new trial. On 02/26/93, the mandate was issued.
On 04/26/94, Long filed a Direct Appeal (Retrial II) to theFlorida Supreme Court. A number of the problems surrounding this casehave involved the use of facts from the Hillsborough County cases to obtain aconviction in this case. In analyzing the issues of importance, the Courtupheld the Hillsborough plea agreement to sustain the eight murder convictionsobtained against Long through that agreement. Because of the limitedevidence available in this case due to that plea agreement, the Court wascompelled to conclude that there is insufficient evidence available to findLong guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the murder of Johnson. On03/06/97, the Court vacated Long’s death sentence, reversed his conviction, andremanded the case to the Circuit Court with directions to enter an order ofacquittal for Johnson’s murder. On 04/07/97, the mandate was issued.
Institutional Adjustment:
DATE DAYS VIOLATION LOCATION
-------- ---- ------------------ -------------------
01/13/86 45 POSS OFWEAPONS FLORIDA STATE PRISON
02/11/88 30 FIGHTING FLORIDA STATE PRISON
08/10/88 0 DISORDERLYCONDUCT FLORIDA STATE PRISON
12/10/91 30 UNARMEDASSAULT FLORIDA STATE PRISON
01/06/92 0 SPOKENTHREATS FLORIDA STATE PRISON
02/12/93 0 DISORDERLYCONDUCT UNION C. I.
05/23/93 0 DISOBEYINGORDER UNION C. I.
07/08/93 0 FEIGNINGILLNESSOR UNION C. I.
09/27/95 0 FIGHTING UNION C. I.
05/06/96 0 UNARMEDASSAULT UNION C. I.
06/19/00 180 UNARMEDASSAULT UNION C. I.
12/22/00 60 DISORDERLYCONDUCT UNION C. I.
12/05/01 0 MAIL VIOLATIONS UNION C. I.
01/02/03 30 FIGHTING UNION C. I.
______________________________________________________________________
Report Date: 05/13/03 CC
Approved: 07/10/03 WS
Updated: 02/04/10 EMJ