Affidavit of Juliann Stoddard - member of the jury


State of Florida ) ss.

County of Palm Beach )


I, Juliann Stoddard, having been duly sworn,hereby say:

1. My name is Juliann Stoddard. I presently live in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. I was a member of the jury that heard the case of State of Florida v. Paul William Scott.

2. I have reviewed the affidavit of Charles Vincent Soutollo. His testimony at trial convinced me that Paul Scott planned James Alessi's murder and that he urged Mr. Soutullo to help kill the victim. It is very disturbing to learn now that Mr. Soutollo was lying because the jury desperately needed to know the truth. The false information that Mr. Soutullo gave, which established that Paul Scott intended to kill the victim and was asking for help to do so, is one of the key reasons I chose to convict him.

3. During Paul Scott's sentencing, the jury learned of his prior conviction. Of course, this was damaging to the jury's opinion of the defendant. But the jury did not hear nay statement from Melvin Touchstone. Paul Scott's co-defendant from the prior conviction, like the one I have now reviewed. It is important to know that Paul Scott was pushed into participating in that crime and that Mr. Touchstone knew that he could dominate Paul Scott. I wish the jury had been provided that information about the prior crime before we deliberated about Paul Scott's sentence.

4. Since the jury never heard Paul Scott testify, there was a lot about him that we could not know. I am very surprised that no one thought to let the jury know that Mr. Scott is brain damaged and retarded. This is something that I, as a juror, needed to know at the time of trial. It means that he could be easily influenced by Melvin Touchstone, just as Mr. Touchstone said in his affidavit. i could then imagine how Mr. Scott could also be led around by Rick Kondian.

5. I think it is extremely unfair that Rick Kondian and Paul Scott received such different sentences for their involvements in this crime. In light of the information I have now reviewed, it is clear that Rick Kondian was responsible and that Paul Scott went there to use drugs. It is outrageous that Paul Scott sits waiting to die while Rick Kondian is a free man. I am seriously disappointed to see first hand this kind of thing happens in our judicial system.

6. The fact that Paul Scott is left handed was a key point in establishing that he killed Mr. Alessi. Now I have seen the report from Dr. Crown that defines Mr. Scott as right handed. I have also read Jeff Walsh's affidavit that he saw the scar on Mr. Kondian's left hand and that Mr. Kondian explained that he injured it in his struggle with Mr. Alessi. These statements are very disturbing because they conflict with what the jury relied on as the truth when we convicted Paul Scott. Not knowing the whole truth made us unable to carry out justice in this case.

7. The jury never heard the very important information that is in Bernadine Beth Bernard's statement. Reviewing this statement provided me with critical information: that Rick Kondian was angry because Paul Scott refused to become involved in killing the victim and that Mr. Kondian was covered in blood after returning from Mr. Alessi's house. And, once again, I heard of his cut finger - and obviously important fact that the jury never heard at trial. I cannot understand why we were not told about what Bernadine Beth Bernard knew when the trial took place. It would have made a big difference in my belief about the degree of involvement Paul Scott had in this crime.

8. The affidavit of Rick Kondian contains information that I certainly needed to have at trial. It was especially important that Rick Kondian claims that Paul Scott had no idea of any plans to rob or murder Mr. Alessi. His statement that Mr. Scott never killed anybody really says it all. Unfortunately, I never heard this until now. I needed very much to know this at the time of trial in order to make an informed judgment. Instead, the other jurors and I made a very uninformed judgment of "guilty" in this case.

9. I wish that the relationship between the victim and Rick Kondian had been established at trial. After reviewing the police statements of Richard Allorth, Katherine Bauer, and John Simone, I know know that Mr. Alessi was taking Rick Kondian around to friends and speaking of him as his lover. I had not understood that Mr. Kondian was significantly closer to the victim than Mr. Scott. This is very important information that the jury needed to know to determine the level of Paul Scott's involvement in this crime.

10. After having reviewed all of these statements, I am really troubled that I did not have this information at the time of trial. had I known all of this when I served on the jury, there is no way I would have voted to convict Paul Scott. Since this information was missing from the trial, the jury was unable to reach a fair verdict. We should not have found Paul Scott guilty of murder.


Further affiant sayeth naught.

JULIANN STODDARD


Sworn to an subscribed to before me this 5th day of August, 1994.
Provided proper identification.


Notary Public, State of Florida.