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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA

CASE NO. 96,678

ANTHONY BRADEN BRYAN,

Petitioner, Emergency Pleading Death Warrant Signed v. Execution Set for October 27, 1999 MICHAEL W. MOORE, at 7:00 a.m. Secretary, State of Florida, Department of Corrections, JAMES CROSBY, Superintendent, Florida State Prison,

Respondents. _________________________________/

RESPONSE TO PETITION SEEKING ALL-WRITS JURISDICTION AND FOR EXTRAORDINARY RELIEF

COME NOW Respondents, Michael Moore and James Crosby, by and

through the undersigned counsel, in response to Bryan’s Petition

Seeking All-Writs Jurisdiction etc., filed on or about October 5,

1999, and move this Honorable Court to deny all relief requested

therein for the reasons set forth below:

1. While styled as an "All-Writs" petition, the pleading

before this Court is, in reality, nothing more than an unauthorized

motion for rehearing of this Court's September 24, 1999, decision

in Provenzano v. Moore, 24 Fla. L. Weekly S443 (Fla., Sept. 24,

1999). Petitioner, not being a party to the Provenzano action,

lacks standing to present such a motion; this Court, of course,

denied leave for Death Row inmates other than Provenzano (such as

other death row inmates Swafford, Byrd, Lopez, Breedlove,

 

2 Haliburton, Kokal and Groover) to intervene in the Provenzano

litigation. While Anthony Bryan faces scheduled execution, he

presents no cause why the Provenzano holding should not apply to

this action. This Court's Provenzano decision decides the issues

contained in the "All-Writs" petition, and is the law in this

State. This Court therein affirmed the Circuit Court's order

finding that the electric chair is not unconstitutional, and the

instant petition does not allege why this Court should revisit

Provenzano a week after it was decided. The constitutionality of

the Florida electric chair has been decided adversely to the

petitioner, and the "All-Writs" and "Extraordinary Relief" petition

should be denied.

2. To the extent that the petitioner alleges in the petition

that "[t]his Court has also created conditions ... [causing

petitioner] to suffer severe psychological torment prior to his

execution", by virtue of some of the language employed in recent

individual opinions in Provenzano and Jones v. State, 701 So.2d 76

(Fla. 1997) (All-Writs Petition at 9-10 ),such claim has no legal

or rational basis; ironically, petitioner’s counsel rely upon these

very concurring or dissenting opinions as the basis for any legal

argument presented in the instant petition (All-Writs Petition at

3-8). Other than noting that "[i]t is accepted that the thought of

execution may exact considerable toll", Giarratano v. Murray, 836

F.2d 1421, 1426 (4th Cir. 1988), en banc, 847 F.2d 1118 (1988),

 

3 rev'd, 109 S.Ct. 2765 (1989), this claim deserves no further

comment.

WHEREFORE, for the aforementioned reasons, Respondents move

this Honorable Court to deny all requested relief for the reasons

set forth above.

Respectfully submitted,

ROBERT A. BUTTERWORTH ATTORNEY GENERAL

___________________________ RICHARD B. MARTELL CHIEF, CAPITAL APPEAL FLORIDA BAR NO. 300170

___________________________ BARBARA J. YATES ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FLORIDA BAR NO. 293237

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL THE CAPITOL TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 32399-1050 (850) 414-3300 Ext. 4579

COUNSEL FOR RESPONDENTS

 

4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing

Response to Petition Seeking to Invoke this Court’s All-Writs

Jurisdiction and Petition for Extraordinary Relief has been

furnished by U.S. Mail to Andrew Thomas, Chief Assistant CCRC,

Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, Northern Region, P.O. Drawer

5498, Tallahassee, Florida 32314-5498, this _____ day of October,

1999.

____________________________ Richard B. Martell Chief, Capital Appeals