DEAD MAN WRITING
Jeffery Daugherty
Executed in "Old Sparky"
November 7, 1988

A former buddy of mine (we'll probably still speak one day if he's ever free again) used to live at Charlotte for a few years.  From around '97 to 2000.  Now he's a prisoner at Avon Park.

He gets released in 2012 but Utah State Prison has a detainer on him. While serving his time in Florida it was discovered that he had shot his wife dead in Utah some nine years earlier. Florida then sent him back there to face the music for murdering his wife. After being tried, convicted and sentenced to a 5 Years to LIFE term at the Utah State Prison the Utah authorities returned him back to Florida to complete his prison term here. His first parole hearing will take place at the Utah State Prison in April, 2024.

This dude used to work with me at the gas station back in the late 80's.  He was in FSP's 'O' unit in 1992.  I spoke with him briefly in the visiting room when I got up to get some snacks from the vending machines.

The 'O' unit is right next door to the main unit. I went there weekly to visit Dan.  Dan's rap sheet isn't online (I don't even know what his crime was) because they didn't start doing that until Oct of '97.

I don't know if I ever told you but when I was released from the Army back in '79 I used to attend court pretty regularly, just to have something to do.  I didn't have to work at that time because I was drawing un-employment based on my six years with the Army.

Anyway one day I had to tour the Brevard County Jail as part of my criminal justice class I was taking at Brevard Community College. Can you believe it?  I was studying to become a guard, LoL!

Anyway during the tour the dude didn't have any help upstairs at the jail and couldn't escort me around so he sat me down (on the floor) outside the bars of a mass murderer's cell. The killer and I spoke for about two hours.

Turns out the dude was from the same area of Michigan I was although we didn't know each other up that way.  I attended his trial and sentencing.  He was sentenced to death on the 27th of April, 1981.

He and I kept in contact until 1985.  I have over 60 of his letters still.  He told me things about death row that few probably know.  I kept them always thinking that I could make a few bucks off of them if I ever ran into someone wanting to write a book on the subject.  I even had his permission and was suppose to share any profits with him.

He was executed on November the 7th, 1988.  That was the execution that took place right before Ted Bundy's did.  Ted died on January 24th, 1989.

Jeff was convicted of five murders during armed robberies.  He even did another one in Alabama that was never even tried because Florida already had him on death row.

Those were the days when death row was only at Florida State Prison, long before they added the cells for the row at Union Correctional.

I toured UCI with my class one day.  We were there about 3 hours.  They wouldn't let us go into 'The Rock', they said it was too dangerous.

We went everywhere else though.  I seen the old death row that was at that time a punitive lock down, the license plate tag plant, etc.,.  We also toured a juvenile prison down near Lake Okeechobee.  I was in the class for a year.

The old Brevard County Jail in Titusville has since moved to Sharpes, about 15 miles south of Titusville, just before Cocoa.

I myself was a prisoner in that old jail from December 16th to December 18th, 1984.  Then the Navy came and got me and put me in their jail (brig) at Jacksonville Naval Air Station.  I received a 45 day sentence at my special court martial for missing a ship's movement.

That's the extent of my locked down status.  It sure opened my eyes some and that's probably why I've never been back in a confinement status.  *Smile*

P.S. Another brother of mine did time at FSP but not the main unit.  He was in what they call the 'O' Unit.  That's medium custody.  He did six months on a 2 1/2 year bit back in 1992.  Luckily for him that was way before the 85% rule went into effect.

Once sentenced to prison in Florida you get the typical rap sheet posted online, as you already well know.  However, once you're released either for finishing your sentence or for death your info is supposed to remain online FOREVER.  The FL DOC has saw fit to remove Frank Valdes' data altogether.  Interesting, aye?

I'm on your side in this matter more than you know.  I just have a couple of inmates that I wouldn't mind seeing 'messed up' by the guards for I knew one personally and he always was a scumbag even when he was free.  The other I didn't know but attended his first of three trials.  They're both posted near the top of my website.

See I was upfront with Jeff and told him I supported the death penalty wholeheartedly. He was none too pleased with that but wrote me anyway because I sorta 'purchased' his words so to speak.  I sent him a tv guide subscription, calendars, newspapers, stamps, postcards, etc.,.  I spent approx., $87 dollars in total on him.

I wish I had kept copies of my end of the letters to him.  That way it'd really be worth something (book wise).  I even asked him if he still had all my letters.  He replied, "No, if I kept all the letters I receive I'd have no room in the inn, so to speak." I read them, reply to them, and throw them away."

I got down hard on 'ol Jeff for his crimes and used to tell him he needed to fry, etc... You'll see his reply to that later.  That's probably why he cut me off in 1985 and wouldn't respond anymore.

Jeff was convicted of five murders during armed robberies.  He even did another one in Alabama that was never even tried because Florida already had him on death row.

I have an official Report of Interview that you aren't suppose to have.  A friend snuck it to me one day.

Interviewee: Jeffery Daugherty, Flagler County Jail
Date: August 5, 1980
Interviewers: Wayne Porter and Bob Schmader,
Investigators - Office of the State Attorney, Brevard County Courthouse.

Jeffery Daugherty's victims:

Carmen Abrams, age 68 Killed: Feb 23, 1976, Flagler Beach, FL  One round to the head.
Her husband was also shot 4 times but survived.

Lavonne Sailer, age 49 Killed: March 1, 1976, Melbourne, FL  Five rounds to the head.  (This was the one he was fried for 12 years, 8 months, and 6 days later).

Betty Campbell, age 50 Killed: March 1, 1976, Volusia County, FL  Stabbed to death.

Elizabeth Shank, age 28 Killed: March 9, 1976, Altoona, Pennsylvania.  Shot six times.

George Karns, age 18  Killed: March 11, 1976, Altoona, PA.  Shot 5 times.

Plus the one in Alabama that he never was tried for.

Jeffery Daugherty's trials:

1) Tried and convicted in Virginia for armed robbery July 12, 1976.  Sentenced to 19 years in the Virginia State Penitentiary...

2) Tried and convicted in Pennsylvania for murder one Sept 28, 1978.  Sentenced to life in the Pennsylvania State Penitentiary at Huntingdon...

3) Tried and convicted in Pennsylvania for murder one Jan 4, 1980.  Sentenced to life in the PA State Pen at Huntingdon...

4) Plead Guilty in Volusia County, FL for murder one July 14, 1980.  Sentenced to life in Florida State Prison...

5) Plead Guilty in Flagler County, FL for murder one July 31, 1980.  Sentenced to life in FSP...

6) Tried--During the middle of the trial he plead guilty in Brevard County, FL for murder one.

April 27, 1981 Sentenced to death in the electric chair.

Sentence was carried out on: November 7, 1988...

He had been on death row in Pennsylvania but won a re-trial and got life in the second case from there.  Florida made a deal with Pennsylvania promising to execute him down here if they'd extradite him.

Plus there's a story from one of those detective magazines entitled: Body Count From a Southern Slay Spree. And finally, all the news clippings of the execution.  I typed all the letters out years ago.