By: Mr. Terence Valentine

RE: State Of Florida -vs  Valentine, Terence G.
Case No: 88-12996;
Division-C
Hillsborough County Circuit Court, Criminal Division.
 

Dear Sir/Madam:

It  is my hope that you are having a beautiful day and that your work--load is  light enough that you can dedicate a  moment of your valuable tine to review  the following and perhaps assist me  in the pursuit of justice in this matter.  In the event this is beyond or outside the spectrum of your interest I WOULD VERY  MUCH APPRECIATE YOU FORWARDING THIS TO AN INTERESTED PARTY OR REFERRING ME TO THAT INDIVIDUAL.

I have in my possession court documents which are  part of the public record in support of the following which should you decide to investigate this will be at your complete disposal as well as other evidentiary materials that I have collected after the trials, also including the availability of my attorneys to substantiate this.

On July 16, 1994, I FOUND GUILTY FOR THE THIRD TIME FOR  THE SAME OFFENSES.
My  first trial was a mistrial, the second  trial I was found guilty but the Florida Supreme Court vacated the sentence and ordered a new trial.

At the third trial I was again found guilty contrary to the overtwhelming evidence  which was in my favor. This evidence clearly placed me in Central America,  REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA days before and on the day of the alleged offense.  This evidence consisted of reliable  EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY of Costa-Rican citizens,  some of whom are family members, and others who were friends.  This included one that I met on the 9th of September, 1988.  This  is the date of the events  that  I HAD  ND  RECOLLECTION  OF.  ALL WHITE JURY FROM HILLSBOROUOH COUNTY IN TAMPA chose to disregard the eyewitness  testimony of these  credible witnesses and again I was  found guilty contrary to the weight of the evidence.

NONE OF THE PHYSICAL  EVIDENCE produced by the police was sufficient to place me at  the scene of the crime or connect me to the crime itself.  NO FINGERPRINTS MATCHED MINE, even  when there were over twenty-eight ( 28) found that did not belong to the inhabitants of the household nor to me.

The District Attorney for the State's  Miss Karen Cox who was the lead prosecutor at my third trial took every short cut to circumvent  the rules of procedure.  She abused the legal process and  was not challenged by my ill-prepared attorneys nor chastised by the presiding judge. After she left that county and went to work at the Federal level her questionable tactics resulted in  a judge  throwing out  a case,  REPORTING HER TO  THE BAR ASSOCIATION FOR DISCIPLINAR MEASURES.  The Florida Supreme Court then reversed cases that she did prosecute due to dubious actions in court  at the county level  where she worked.  I could not benefit from it because my direct appeal had been ruled on earlier.

The case in chief was  based upon the testimony  of ONE WHITE FEMALE WITNESS,  who was my  wife at the time a victim herself,  with said testimony relying on and playing to the sympathy  of the jury.  The prejudice of the jury was obvious in that I am a black  male. In fact, there was, A COURT RULING TO HAVE ME  DECLARED AS A BLACK MALE.  This deliberate act was necessary but too late after Miss Cox had eliminated  the seven black people from the venire of fifty (50).  The law forbids the systematic exclusion of any  distinct group of people. Her argument  and that ruling was based on the ignorant argument that TO BE OF  THE BLACK RACE (AFRO AMERICAN) IT WAS REQUISITE TO HAVE BEEN BORN IN THE USA.

Reasonable doubt as to my  guilt or innocence was the standard  by which the jury was to apply in their determination.  However, it  is well established that there exists a presumption of  prejudice WHEN AN ALL WHITE JURY DECIDES THE FATE OF A BLACK MAN IN A CRIME WHICH INVOLVES A WHITE FEMALE VICTIM.  This is why the United States and Florida Supreme Courts have  upheld the necessity of having an impartial panel of jurors which includes members of the same race as the person on trial - the defendant.

In my third trial, again,  the black members of the community that we wished to have  on my jury were SYSTEMATICALLY ELIMINATED thereby denying me a fair trial. My question is: Is the  State Of Florida, Hillsborough County and the prosecutors therein so desperate for a conviction and hungry for a body in the electric chair that they are willing to disregard the fundamental fairness concept of  having members  of  the defendants  race on  the  jury?  With  the prosecution strikes or for cause, ALL BLACK WERE ELIMINATED FROM  THE VOIR DIRE.  Is this fair?

The State's star witness claims that MYSELF AND  ANOTHER WAS STANDING SIDE BY SIDE in a dirt path on JOE EBBERT ROAD. The police found evidence of ONE PERSON BEING THERE - NOT TWO  or more persons. The person  who called the police to this scene of the crime Mr. TERRY SPAIN who was riding at  this dirt path told them HE SAW A WHITE MALE and that person may have shot at him. The police failed to secure Mr. Spain's drivers license number, a true address, so he could be located if needed  at a later date. Their witness also alleges to have been shot twice  on the right side of her head with a long barrel gun at point blank range. The bullets did not penetrate the skull but rode around the back of  her head and  exited close to  her nose below  the left eye,  and the other exited under her left  ear. These bullets were allegedly fired  from the outside of a  Chevy Blazer vehicle  TOWARD THE INSIDE  with the back  tailgate open. The  police DID  NOT FIND ANY BULLETS INSIDE  THIS VEHICLE,  NOR BULLET HOLES, DENTS OR POWDER BURNS IN THE VEHICLE.

The other victim (male) also had  two (8) bullet wounds which had exited the  body, but according to their witness I did all the  shooting from THEIR RIGHT SIDE. The coroner stated the bullet tracks were from LEFT TO RIGHT. This is  hard evidence which is all contrary  to what  the female victim/witness testified to under oath at the various trials. She further testified to being divorced from me and married to the male victim.

AT TRIAL WE PRESENTED DOCUMENTS TO REFUTE THIS.  The jury  disregarded this information in their verdict. She  had a baby after I had been  sent to jail. The baby was born in Costa Rica and she named  me as the father of  the baby. But the one she had that was born in Tampa, she did put Mr. Porche as the father, contrary to established law that says: children of a married woman are also of her husband by law. THIS WAS DONE FOR MONETARY GAIN,  WITH THE HELP OF THE POLICE  now she's collecting a pension from  the Social Security figency as a widow, for the sustenance of the child and as a veteran's wife/widow from the armed services.

After these events she sold the car of the deceased by signing his name to the car's title. She  also signed other documents in order to  purchase a house as the  wife of the deceased. She  forged the documents and made a fraudulent mis-representation of their marital status. THE STATE KNOWS OR KNEW THIS AND DID NOT TAKE HER TO TASK.   Yet this is the only person/witness, who alleges amd claims that I did these crimes. She was repeatedly impeached whiIe on the stand with her version of events being totally inconsistent with the physical evidence produced at trial.

In addition, there remain questions concerning her credibility and reliability as a witness pertaining to the other crime scene and bullets which further goes to establish her dishonesty and the falsity of her testimony. The jury verdict was  completely unsupported by the  weight of  the evidence and reliability of the above witness testimony.  Every other witness that the District Attorney  presented at  trial COULD  ONLY  REPEAT WHAT THIS VICTIM / WITNESS HAD TOLD THEM. But it was done by inferences creating the possibility of independent finding of my further guilt. The finding of  guilt was racially motivated and rendered  by an all white jury  which chose to ignore  the legal principle and jury instruction regarding "REASONABLE DOUBT"

There was evidence presented of taped phone calls with these phone tapes having  been edited  and tampered with  by the State Attorney's Office and condensed from five (5)  tapes to only one (1). This is contrary to the rules of discovery.  We only received one tape just hours before the State introduced them  into evidence.  Again,  contrary to the rules of discovery,  THE STATE WITHHELD THIS EVIDENCE FOR OVER A YEAR, failing to produce it upon our motions for discovery.  And the presiding judge joked about it when we finally received them, less  than twelve (12)  hours before they were to  be used against  the defendant, ME.

What  I am seeking here is an unbiased investigation into my allegations which will ultimately result in my freedom and save the taxpayers further expense through the appellate process which as well will inevitably rule in my favor.  However, this is done at substantial expense to the taxpayer while depriving me of my freedom for the simple reason of the  prejudice against my  race and THE VINDICTIVE NATURE OF THE STATE'S ATTORNEY KAREN COX WHICH SEEKS ONLY  CONVICTIONS AND NOT JUSTICE  as it is required  to do within the scope of  their job as set forth in law and the rules of  the Florida Bar which she violated by presenting the only alleged eye-witness OF WHOM SHE DID NOT  EVEN KNOW HER TRUE NAME. THE  INDICTMENT HAVE THE IMPROPER NAME.  This conceded priviledged rights that harmed me grossly. The truth was disregarded at every possible step with inaccuracies, inferences and equivocal statements.

To resolve this  miscarriage of justice  I am willing to  be interviewed and allow  the inspection of all  documents  and materials  in my  possession related to this subject.

The  State  continues to  seek the death  penalty while having already deprived  me of over ten and one half  (10+) years of my  life with that time having  been spent on Death-Row.  Hopefully, should you  decide to INVESTIGATE AND PUBLISH a  story that would expose the magnitude of this miscarriage  of justice,  then sufficient  attention may be  drawn to my case  to shock the conscience of those who believe in "JUSTICE FOR ALL"  REGARDLESS OF THEIR RACE, COLOR OR RELIGION. Thank you.

Sincerely

Mr. Terence G. Valentine #119682
Union Correctional Institution
P.O. BOX 221  A-1  P3121S
Raiford, Florida   32083-0221

                Mr. Terence G. Valentine #119682
                    Union Correctional Institution
                      P.O. BOX 221  A-1  P3121S
                    Raiford, Florida   32083-0221
 
 

The Written Law - by Terence Valentine                                An essay by Terence on "Husband and Wife Privilege"

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