Anthony Mungin

Anthony has made mistakes.  He committed two robberies for which he accepts responsibility and punishment.  However, his criminal record and his race have been used as a justification for railroading him.  In their search for a culprit the police did not shy away from coercing a false testimony and suppressing a witness in order to make their charges stick to Anthony.  In an interrogation they broke Anthony's finger-still he would not confess to a crime he had had no part in.

Right now Anthony is fighting an uphill battle.  His public defender does not answer his letters or calls, and with the recent changes in Florida's legislation that accelerate the appeals process he has no time to lose.  He needs to file his second appeal, but has no one to turn to with the information that proves his innocence.

Anthony needs your help.
He needs a lawyer willing to work for him.
He needs the money to pay for such a lawyer.
If you can help-legally, financially, personally-please come to his aid.
You will prevent a terrible injustice from being committed at the hands of the state. 

In 1990, at the age of 24, Anthony made a living as a small-time drug dealer in his hometown of Kingsland, Georgia.  In nearby Jacksonville where he went to buy drugs he mostly dealt with a man known to him only as "Ice."  At a moment when Anthony was desperate for money this man introduced him to another trade of hustling-armed robbery.  On Friday September 14 ,1990 Ice lent Anthony his gun and against his own misgivings and better judgment Anthony used it.  That day he robbed a gas station and a jewelry store near Tallahassee, Florida, injuring two people with Ice's gun.  Both of his victims survived.  Later, when he was tried for these robberies, it was proven that Anthony did not shoot to kill.  In fact, he put the phone down beside the wounded gas station clerk so he could call for help.

Before returning to Georgia that day Anthony gave Ice back his gun.  And, shaken by what he'd done, he promised himself that whether he was caught or not he would never rob or shoot anyone again-a promise he kept!

On Sunday September 16th Anthony returned to Jacksonville.  He wanted to visit his girlfriend in Pensacola and so caught a ride to Jacksonville where he met Ice in the early afternoon shortly after 2 p.m.  Driving off, Ice told Anthony that the gun was in the car he was lending him.  Anthony didn't want the gun but was stuck with it for the next two days during which he did not touch it.

When Anthony left Pensacola again on Tuesday the 18th he intended to take the car back to Jacksonville, but arrived there too late.  He ended up driving it home, parked it several blocks from his house and brought the gun inside to bury it in the woods later.  That night a friend of Anthony's who had turned informer came to buy drugs from him and within minutes the house was surrounded by police.  Anthony gave himself up and they found the gun.  He was arrested and taken to jail.  The Sheriff of Camden County questioned him and Anthony, who was relieved to have been caught because what he'd done was weighing on his conscience, told him the truth.  At the time he didn't know whether his two victims had lived or died.  Yet he told the truth.  He knew he was guilty of two robberies, but when the Sheriff questioned him about a third robbery he had no idea what he was talking about-and told him so.

Weeks later Anthony was extradited to Monticello, Florida.  He received 20 years for armed robbery and attempted murder.  After that he was transported to Leon County in Tallahassee where he received two life sentences running concurrent for armed robbery and attempted murder.  He was called an habitual offender.  While he was in Tallahassee detectives from Jacksonville came to question him about another robbery and murder:  Betty Jean Woods, a convenience store clerk, had been shot on Sunday September 16th between 1:45 and 2 p.m. in the robbery of her store on Phillips Highway in Jacksonville.  She died of her injuries four days later.  Anthony told the detectives that he knew nothing about this.  They tried to make him confess to the crime by any means, going so far as to break Anthony's little finger, but he would not confess to something he had not done.

Not long after this incident Anthony was sent to prison for the two robberies he had committed.  Four months into his concurrent life sentences, the Jacksonville authorities charged him with the robbery and first degree murder of Betty Woods.  Anthony went before Judge Tiger who dismissed the case because of lack of evidence against him.  Anthony went back to prison.  Three months later Jacksonville returned for him.  This time Anthony went before Judge Southwood and the case went to trial.

It was during his trial in 1992 that it dawned on Anthony what had happened.  When first presented with the fact that Betty Woods was shot with the same gun he used in his two robberies on September 14th Anthony insisted that this couldn't be, that it was a lie.  Then, however, he learned that there had been a witness at the store when Betty Woods was shot.  In his deposition taken the day of the incident, this witness had told a detective that he could not swear in court the man he'd seen was Anthony.  Furthermore, the description he gave did not match Anthony's appearance at all:  The man who shot Betty Woods was a dark-skinned black male, 35 years old, with a full beard and a long jerry curl. Anthony recognized Ice at once.  When he heard this description he realized that he had been set up.

Anthony, who was 24 at the time but looked far younger, was clean-shaven (in fact, he couldn't have grown a full beard if he'd tried), had a short military haircut and was described by witnesses who saw him at the Tallahassee jewelry store robbery as between 18 and 19 years old.  There was a vast discrepancy between these different witnesses' descriptions, and Anthony still has all this information on depositions, transcripts and police reports.  There had also been another witness at the scene of the crime, but for some reason the police didn't want his description on record.  So this man never gave a deposition.

Anthony told his public defender what he'd realized, but the man who had been hired to help him never even investigated.  The detectives were so convinced they had the right man, they didn't even listen to what Anthony had to say.  Unfortunately, he didn't know Ice's real name or where he lived, but only where he sold drugs.  Anthony desperately tried to explain, but people only thought he was making up a story in the middle of my trial.  And then the same witness who had said he could not identify Anthony under oath changed his story during the trial, two years after the fact.  He told the jury he didn't remember saying the things written in his deposition and that Anthony was, in fact, the man he had seen that day.  And Anthony's lawyer raised no objections!  At the time Anthony didn't know much about the law, but there was no doubt in his mind that he was being railroaded.  The prosecutor told the jury they found 24 sets of fingerprints, then he went on to another subject.  He mislead the jury to believe Anthony's fingers were among those 24 when none of his fingerprints had been found anywhere.  The other two places Anthony had robbed had his fingerprints everywhere.  Anthony was found guilty and, by a vote of 7 to 5, he was sentenced to death on February 23, 1993 for a crime he did not commit.  He can prove it.  He just needs a lawyer.

When Anthony arrived on death row he was appointed a lawyer named Steve Been who had never done a death row case or death appeal.  Been did the best he could, but was not able to raise many issues since Anthony's public defender had not objected to anything during the trial.  Anthony's first appeal was denied by the Florida Supreme Court, yet one of the judges gave a long dissension and wanted to grant Anthony a new trial.  This judge stated that he was not convinced Anthony was guilty.

After the first appeal, the Direct Appeal, the prisoner has a second one, the 3.850 Motion Appeal.  This is the most important appeal because all the evidence can be brought up.  Florida has a shortage of attorneys to represent death row prisoners, so the state has started hiring private attorneys to take on death row cases.  However, before these private attorneys can take a case they have to sign a contract if they want to get paid the $60,000 per case.  On September 23, 1998 Judge Moran out of Duval county appointed Mark Olive to Anthony's case, an excellent lawyer with a lot of experience in death penalty litigation.  Mark Olive was willing to represent Anthony, but found that the contract severely limited what he could do for his client.  If Mark Olive had signed the contract he would have been violating Florida Bar Law Association Codes.  So Mark got in contact with Stephen Hanlon of the firm Holland and Knight LLP, one of the biggest and most respected law firms in the state and country, and on February 26, 1999 Hanlon filed a law suit on behalf of Mark and Anthony:  "Complaint for Declaratory Judgment" Case No: 99-1027.  Once Judge Moran found out about this law suit he took Mark Olive off Anthony's case and appointed Mr. Wayne Henderson as Anthony's new lawyer on March 11, 1999.

Anthony, though still upset that he had been deprived of a good lawyer, wrote Henderson on March 16.  Henderson came to see him on April 29 to introduce himself.  And on May 6 Jeffrey Walsh, the investigator hired to work on Anthony's case with Henderson, came to see him as well.  But ever since May 1999 Anthony has not been able to speak to or consult with either one of them.  He has written letters, had letters notarized, but no one bothered to write back, come see him or call him.  Anthony only has one year to file his 3.850 motion.  Time is of the essence.  And his lawyer of all people should be aware of that.

Through other sources Anthony has found out that Jeffrey Walsh quit working for Henderson because, according to Walsh, Henderson is neither competent nor motivated to help Anthony.  Without even consulting Anthony, Henderson held a status conference with Judge Southwood about his case.  Anthony managed to get a copy of the transcript and learned in this way that Henderson was asking Judge Southwood for leave of his case.  Southwood was willing to give Henderson an extra three months to get his affairs taken care of.

And Anthony, his client, whose life is at stake?  Anthony is bogged down in the process of filing a "motion to dismiss counselor" when he should be working on his second appeal with a qualified lawyer.  He no longer has an investigator whose work would be crucial to proving his innocence.  And the clock keeps ticking.

Anthony is being dogged out legally by attorneys and judges,
and not even guilty of the crime for which the state wants to
put him to death.      He needs legal help !

            Anthony's Hopes for the Future

If I got out I wouldn't try to escape my reputation.  Rather I would use my experiences to help younger people, especially those who have gotten off on the wrong track.  Before I left the streets (and the free world) I had a lot of influence and charisma.  For some reason people, both younger and older, would listen to me.  Even here on the row I'm known for my common sense.  Whenever there's a debate or serious discussion I'm asked for my input and guys and officers actually LISTEN!  It's hard to explain, but so many different people I've met over the years have said the same thing about me:  that I could be a positive influence on a lot of people.  Hardly ever do you hear guards making those kinds of comments about a guy on death row.  Plus, I dream about doing that kind of work and at the same time get paid for it.
I definitely wouldn't go back to my old self.  I hate drugs and that lifestyle now.  I think it's stupid, but I understand how the quick cash and popularity and material things can blind you as to the reality of the consequences.  I can relate to those kids who've gotten caught up in this, and I have the gift of speech to show them the trap of greed and unlawfulness.  I have matured and grown so much.  I have educated myself in prison.  My fall has compelled me to grab wisdom and use my head for more than a hat rack (That's something my grandmother used to say all the time).  I've been through a lot, made a lot of mistakes, and I've thought about my mistakes over and over again for years.  I've learnt from them.  What some people fail to realize or what they don't know about me is that I have a lot of love in my heart for young people and I know I could do my part in helping them.  That's what I want to do.
Anthony Mungin
December 1999 

Anthony filed a "3.800 Motion to Correct an Illegal Sentence" on the two life sentences he received in Tallahassee, Florida.  He did this on his own, and it was granted in part because he was never supposed to have received a life sentence after he had been habitualized.  He found this out by reading in the law library.
Anthony has now filed a "Motion to Remove Conflict Counsel" in order to have his incompetent public defender, who is doing him more harm than good, removed from his case.
However, regarding the appeals of his wrongful death sentence, Anthony must not be left alone.  He needs legal representation to fight this formidable battle.

              Anthony's Message to You

I realize many people question your judgement about helping me.  This does not surprise me because media sources have influenced the public concerning death row prisoners.  They make generalizations about us instead of individualizing us.
To the majority of citizens we are the scum of the earth, beasts without a soul, heart, beliefs or morals.  They've been convinced we aren't worthy of life, friendship, nor of being a part of the brotherhood of humanity.  Politicians, those masters of playing on people's emotions, use their power to influence the weak and uneducated.  Religions have twisted documents and misinterpreted scriptures to rationalize their support of capital punishment.  On the other hand, you have men, women and children who commit horrible murders-some even becoming serial killers.  And these few sensationalized cases feed the general "kill them all" mentality when it comes to death row prisoners.
I have been here many years now and it is my opinion, due to first hand observation of those I live among, that the majority of these men made mistakes, had mental breakdowns, had childhood drama, were too prompt to react with violence or under the influence of some drug.  I am not trying to excuse their actions.  My point is that since I've been here very rarely have I run across "a cold-blooded killer" who feels no remorse.
Most of these guys are sincerely sorry from the bottom of their hearts about what they have done, and if they could turn back the hands of time I believe they would have walked away before taking a life.  I am here every day.  I have heard the stories, the sincerity in these guys' hearts, their prayers, uncertainties, fears and witnessed their tears.  We are not beasts.  We are human beings capable of making mistakes just like human beings in society.  If there is anyone in the world you live in who has never made a mistake or broken any law, then let him or her be our executor.

Anthony's Address:

I really believe if all members of society would educate themselves about capital punishment they would be more reluctant to support it.  The majority of American citizens who support the death penalty are uneducated about it and the little knowledge they do have comes from media sources, most of which get their information from state attorneys, law enforcement officers and politicians who support the death penalty.  But we, the men and women on death row, are the true experts on capital punishment.  We who live under the sentence of death.  Ask us.  Listen to us.

Much Respect and Much Love!
Anthony

...many innocent people have already been killed because of the death penalty.  Don't let Anthony join their ranks.

...Florida leads the nation in capital cases that have been overturned because of wrongful convictions and prosecutor misconduct or errors.  Anthony's case must become one of these.

...many cases similar to Anthony's were never even considered for the death penalty.  In fact, in the trial being held in the courtroom next door to his a white man was accused of abducting a store clerk and then shooting him point blank on a deserted railroad track.  This man received 20 years.

...Anthony is not perfect, but neither is he evil and he is reaching out to anyone who respects human life to help him save his.

...you can't save the world, but now you have the opportunity to help save a life!

                           ANTHONY'S PENPAL REQUEST :

Greetings to all who have taken an interest to read my words.  My name is
Anthony Mungin, Black- American, 32 years old, 5'9", 175 lbs.  I'm interested in corresponding with anyone understanding, honest, and willing to build a meaningful friendship.  I consider myself intelligent, however, I'm not a rocket scientist.  I'm very reasonable and understanding with a good heart.  I'm not perfect and seriously doubt I ever will be.  I just do my best to exemplify the goodness that's in my heart.  I've wished millions of times that I would've taken precautions to avoid incarceration, but I can't go back in time and change anything.  However, I can change and correct my errors with hopes for a brighter future.  I love music, writing poems, learning new things and reading.  I study the law and work hard on preparing my appeal.  I have so much more to learn and could really use some legal help and support.  I'm sincere from the heart and I treat people as I want to be treated.  I can be a much better person with you than without you...so please write me.
                                        
                   Anthony Mungin 288322
           Union Correctional Institution A-1
                                P3113S
                            P.O. Box 221
                         Raiford, Florida
                            32083   USA
          
                 The CCADP offers free webpages to over 500 Death Row Prisoners
                                               Contact us for more information.
                                                   info@ccadp.org
            
                                                       "The Eyes Of The World Are Watching Now"