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Death Penalty Inmate Seeks Life In Prison For Nine Mile Popeye’s Murder
February 23, 2016
A death row inmate from Escambia County whose case led to the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system is arguing that he should be sentenced to life in prison.
An attorney for Timothy Lee Hurst filed a motion in the Florida Supreme Court asking that it send the case to a lower court for imposition of a life sentence. A challenge by Hurst led the U.S. Supreme Court last month to issue an 8-1 ruling that found Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system unconstitutional. The ruling said juries — not judges— should be responsible for imposing the death penalty and that Florida’s system of giving power to judges violated Hurst’s Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury.
State lawmakers are rushing to approve changes in the death-penalty system to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision, which also has spurred a debate about how the ruling should apply to inmates who were sentenced under the law that was struck down.
Hurst was sentenced to death for the 1998 killing of fast-food worker Cynthia Harrison in Pensacola. Harrison, an assistant manager at a Nine Mile Road Popeye’s Fried Chicken restaurant where Hurst worked, was bound, gagged and stabbed more than 60 times. Her body was found in a freezer.
The motion filed Friday does not take issue with Hurst’s guilt but says he should be sentenced to life in prison because he has “fundamentally been denied his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial” in sentencing.
by The News Service of Florida
Comments
31 Responses to “Death Penalty Inmate Seeks Life In Prison For Nine Mile Popeye’s Murder”
I stand corrected David
REGARDING:
“Remember how he used a whip to drive the money lenders from the Temple?”
Money changers.
They changed coins with images, unacceptable for sacrifice into ones which were acceptable.
They may or may not have overcharged, but by making a place of prayer into a place of commerce or emporium, they stole the use by the gentiles of the only part of the temple they could enter.
Churches do it again today when they conduct businesses involving buying a d selling.
God gets shoved aside.
David for a time and a place
Some lives may matter more than others, but soon we will have a new Attorney General and a new President.
I have a feeling that in a little less than a year from now, that the lives of people such as Ms Harrison will matter, more than they do at present.
Popeye’s should never have hired that demon spawn in the first place. Even in the face of federal employment laws, they could have passed on hiring such as Hurst.
And yeah, he was scared, because he was facing the death penalty, & he was & is GUILTY AS HELL! Wow, he’s smart enough to understand that, isn’t he? Don’t give me that low IQ nonsense, he knew exactly what he was doing. I hope everyone takes comfort in knowing that his day of judgement is coming.
Oh, okay anne, I see your point. He was angry at the manager, so he should get life instead of death. We all need to remember that when we get mad at anybody, we can kill, we’ll just get life in prison, not the death penalty. It will help our cases if we can test out as stupid, that will make people sorry for us. (Cue eye roll).
I feel that he should die the same away his victims died!
I whole heartedly agree with C.W. ” Give him the same treatment he gave the poor girl and do it now” but with one slight modification, I would suggest using an dull, rusty butter knife. on the freezer floor or let him have some fun with a dozen playful “Harmless” Pit Bulls. Cynthia Harrison stood all of 4 foot 7 and was a soft spoken angel, she had vision impairment (legally blind) and she could not hear well and could not drive, she was striving for independence and so badly wanted to succeed at whatever job she was given to do. She left behind a husband and parents who loved her so Her earthly remains are burried here in Baldwin County, AL.
My brother was murdered in 1993 by a gunshot to the head while asleep. The murderer got the death sentence but not by a jury, you see the judge gave him 18 years, he got out in 12 years (B.S.) His final sentence was delivered 3 years after he got out of jail (What a joke) Seems the gentlemen had some back pain problems and overdosed on pain meds. Died in his own filth and vomit. Case closed.
This blows my mind. I will never understand. So he was made at the manager, I’ve been mad plenty of times in my life, but I never took that anger and harmed anyone. Stabbed 60 times put in the freezer. Why do we keep footing the bill for years for people like this. We give them all the comforts of home, pay their medical and dental bills, keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer, televisions to watch. But we have a person who is dead, because he got mad. I live in Michigan, grew up in Molino. Michigan doesn’t have the death penalty so if you kill in Michigan you know if found guilty it’s life. Life where my tax dollars keep scum like this one alive and take care of him for life then we put him in the ground, all on my tax dollars. I truly believe if we had the death penalty and there was not a shadow of doubt about the guilt, they should get death and in a short timely manner.
Cynthia’s death was horrific. Hurst being mad caused him to stab her 60 times. What a joke! Us taxpayers have kept him clothed, housed, feed and alive all this time.. 18 yrs later he’s alive and Cynthia’s poor family is still dealing with incomplete closure. Cynthia was such a sweet lady! I worked with her and you honestly could not get a more gentle, kind hearted person!!! Our society allows this to happen. We as a society need to be more harsh on acts of violence, murders ect. It was spoken earlier if it was a politician, celebrity ect they would fight for the correct “JUSTICE” but for a normal human being – they find it unconstitutional or unjust… It’s a load of PURE CRAP!!!! I’m good with an eye for an eye! We all know right from wrong. RIP Cynthia!!!
@Anne. If you will study that passage in a copy of the ancient Greek copies of the original manuscripts you will find that it says “You must not murder”. He did, and it’s past time for him to pay the ultimate price. @Kate, Jesus was a loving, forgiving person but could be violent. Remember how he used a whip to drive the money lenders from the Temple? Hurst committed evil. It’s way past time for him to be ‘driven from the Temple’……in other words, be removed from the face of the earth!
REGARDING:
“the death penalty solves no problem. Life in prison is the real punishment.”
The statement is made but proof is not supplied.
A dead killer kills no more.
A potential killer faces the fear he may be killed if he kills. We know the ones who kill anyway but not the ones who didn’t.
We may be wrong, but it is reasonable to speculate that it is more than one person.
It is reasonable to speculate that more than one might be killed if the possibility of being killed for killing did not exist.
The expressed desire to torture killers with life in prison leaves them capable of killing again. Gambling with the lives of future victims. Not good.
More important than all this is certainty that killers ~ and ONLY killers ~ be caught, charged, convicted, punished. They’re gambling that the investigators, prosecutors, judges, juries will drop the ball and let them get away with murder. Too often they win and society loses.
David for justice
REGARDING:
” My bible says, Thou shalt not kill. It does not have an “except under these circumstances” paragraph. And let’s re-read the “eye for an eye” part too. We have no part in his judgement”
It also calls for killing killers.
If we are instructed TO kill and NOT TO kill, we’re missing something or God is crazy.
This seems unlikely.
.
I haven’t actually verified, but have read the words for “murder” and “kill” are both translated “kill” with the translators foolishly assuming people could under the distinction from context..
After all, you make the distinction
when you wash your hands with soap and water, knowing you are KILLING millions of bacteria,
when you cut down a tree, knowing you are KILLING that tree,
when you swat a mosquito, knowing you are KILLING her,
when you use insecticide to keep bugs from eating the food you intend to feed your children,
whenever you pay someone to kill a chicken or cow to make food for your children.
You accept that it was okay to kill the fish Jesus had them cut open to get the gold coin to pay taxes or which he cooked and fed the disciples or multitude.
You accept that killing bacteria, bugs, meat sources is not forbidden.
You probably accept David was within the will of God when he killed Goliath, but NOT when he killed Uriah.
We are called to judge rightly and kill in some circumstances, not in others.
To have and use our brains.
David for justice
He wants life in prison instead of death? I wonder if Cynthia Harrison’s family want her life back as well? This man is ridiculous, you lost your rights, when you impeded the rights of another.
Ted Bundy was very smart and 50000 volts cured him so i say inject this guy with that good tri shot of death pentaly medicine promise You that one will not do this again a eye for a eye funny he may be dumb but smart and strong enough to stab a helpless lady 60 times he should have been out to death a long time ago
Why does a murderer have any rights? They can’t buy a gun, they can’t vote, so why should someone like this be able to live? Simple solution: have a jury impose the death sentence. Solved.
The death penalty may or may not be a deterrent, but it sure keeps someone from killing again. I believe that the execution should be carried out within two years. They make the choice when they murder someone.
Well, as far as the death penalty goes, I’m all for it even though it does not deter crime.
When the evidence is overwhelming (such as in State v Hurst ), punishment should be deliberate and swift = within 3 days of conviction. Theres your deterrent. I care not about his IQ. What if it was 140 ? Would this mean we shouldn’t execute because he’s too smart and can’t relate to normal folks ? Heck no. There should be no shades of grey, no mitigating circumstances. When criminal defense attorneys would file 3.850 Motion to modify/reduce sentance due to mitigating circumstances, Judge Joseph Q Tarbuck would call them crybaby hearings. Indeed.
It should matter not the circumstances regarding upbringing, drugs, intellect, etc. Only the facts of the crime. If that were accomplished, we wouldn’t be here with Hurst this day.
To Kate, next execution, drive on down to the East Unit in Starke and light a candle so you can pat yourself on the back for all the good you’ve accomplished. Go Billary.
The victim was a common citizen, that is why he’s still alive. If the victim had been a relative of any sort of politician, celebrity, etc., he’d have been rotten in the ground years ago. That is the way it works in this country, if you think otherwise you are fooling yourself.
It never ceases to amaze me that people will defend scum like this -
Look at what he did and how he did it -
If given the chance to decide his fate they would say -
Oh it’s not that bad – He didn’t really mean it -
let’s give him another chance !!!
If their loved one were murdered like this, would they care ???
I wonder……
He lost his right to live on this planet when he took an innocent life.
End of story.
Im just not sure how I feel about the death penalty. What I don’t understand is, why the long wait to execute someone? I understand, somewhat, about the appeals, as I feel not everyone who is convicted is actually guilty. But…this murder took place 18 years ago-and he is still alive. That’s the part I don’t understand. The agony on the part of the family who lost their loved one. It is sheer torture for them. Either way you look at it, death penalty or spending the rest of your life in prison is hell. Im just concerned about the amount of time we keep someone on death row before execution. I just don’t get it.
He knew what he was doing, so what if he was ‘angry’ at the manager. What he did was heinous and now asks for ‘mercy’ ? Ridiculous!
This abhorrent excuse for a human being stabbed his victim more than 60 times, surely sometime between the painful first few stabs she was probably begging for her life. If anything his penalty of death should be expedited.
Hurst has a low IQ and was very angry at the manager days before the murder. My bible says, Thou shalt not kill. It does not have an “except under these circumstances” paragraph. And let’s re-read the “eye for an eye” part too. We have no part in his judgement
I was there for the jury selection process for his first trial. His court appointed attorney and the prosecuting attorney looked like brothers, it was confusing for everyone. Hurst was not cocky, he was scared to death. It was fairly obvious they wanted the death penalty.
2 of us were excused that day. Oddly enough, the other person was seated right next to me. Maybe we had a different view of what was happening in the court room.
What happened to the manager was horrific, but the death penalty solves no problem. Life in prison is the real punishment..
Why is he still alive in 2016 this happen in 1998 DO THE MATH
Hurst is the epitome of who the death penalty should be used for. If he doesn’t get the death penalty, who should ?
Being an American offers us rights not found in many other areas but it is a tragedy of justice to fight for the rights of someone convicted of murder. If you value your life it is important not to perform acts of ignorance that may end your time. This case is making the tragic loss of a loved one more difficult for those survived by her because an ignorant one chose to murder her. Getting tough on crime doesn’t work but getting tough on criminals will.
We should not be a an eye for eye society. Jesus came and brought about forgiveness. He can spend the rest of his life in prison and having no freedom, no walk in the woods, no breath of fresh air should be punishment enough.
I agree with c.w. He stabbed the lady more than 60 times and put her body in a freezer! !! And everybody’s greatest concern is that this “choir boy” was denied his Sixth Amendment right? Insanity. Why is this animal still alive after 18 years?
What needs to be fixed is how swiftly our justice system carries out the death penalty. It’s ridiculous he is still alive. No question he murdered that innocent lady. She didn’t stand a chance against him. Murderer!
Hurst is a cold blooded murderer that needs to pay for his deeds. Give him the same treatment he gave the poor girl and do it now.