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11th
Judicial Circuit, Dade County, Case #91-22048
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable
Thomas Carney
Attorneys, Trial: Clinton Pitts
and Author Carter – Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal:
Christina A. Spaulding – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals:
Benjamin S. Waxman – Private
Date of Offense: 06/11/91
Date of Sentence: 03/18/94
Circumstances of Offense:
Merrit Alonso Sims was convicted
and sentenced to death for the murder of law enforcement officer Charles
Stafford.
On 06/11/91, Miami Springs
Police Officer Charles Stafford pulled over Merrit A. Sims because
Stafford believed that Sims was driving a stolen car.
While Stafford
was in the process of handcuffing Sims, Sims hit the officer in the head
with his police radio and took Stafford’s firearm away from him. Sims
shot Stafford with the firearm twice.
He then drove to a park and threw
the firearm into a river. The next day Sims found a friend to cut off
the handcuffs.
Sims traveled to California by bus to find his
ex-girlfriend and two children, and Sims subsequently was arrested. He
confessed to killing Officer Stafford; however, he said that the act was
in self-defense. Sims waived extradition and was returned to Florida to
stand trial.
Additional Information:
Prior Incarceration History
in the State of Florida:
On 11/14/90, Merrit Sims was
convicted of Robbery with a Firearm and Grand Theft with a Firearm and
sentenced to two years and six months. Sims was released on 04/16/91.
Trial Summary:
07/17/91 Sims was indicted on the following counts:
Count I: First-Degree
Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer
Count II: Armed Robbery
Count III: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon
07/18/91 Sims entered a not guilty plea.
01/12/94
The jury returned guilty verdicts for Counts I, II,
and III.
02/04/94 Upon
advisory sentencing, the jury, by an 8 to 4 majority, voted for the
death penalty.
03/18/94 Sims was sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer – Death
Count II: Armed
Robbery – 75 years, less 981 days for time served Count III: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon – Nolle Prossed
Case Information:
Merrit Alonso Sims filed his Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court
on 04/27/94. Sims raised several issues on appeal. One issue was that
the defense was not allowed to rebut the testimony of a prosecution
witness. Another issue was that the trial court allowed the prosecution
to act improperly. Sims also argued that the mitigating and aggravating
factors were not sufficiently reviewed.
The Florida Supreme Court did
not find a basis for reversal of the conviction or sentence. The
Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence on 07/18/96.
Rehearing was denied on 10/24/96. A Mandate was issued 11/25/96.
On
01/28/97, Sims filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United
States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court denied the
petition on 04/28/97.
Sims filed a 3.850 Motion in the Circuit Court on 04/07/98 and an
amended motion on 06/28/99. The motion was denied on 07/30/04.
Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us
New Trial for
Convicted Miami Springs Cop Killer
By
Theo Karantsalis - AssociatedContent.com
June 09, 2009
In
1994, Merrit Alonso Sims was convicted of murdering Miami Springs Police
Officer Charles Stafford.
Sims, 43, of Liberty City, was sentenced by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge
Thomas Carney to the electric chair and sat on death row for the next 13
years.
On
July 12, 2007, the Florida Supreme Court vacated Sims' convictions and
sentence and remanded the case to be re-tried in Miami-Dade County court.
In
a unanimous decision, the court ruled that "there is a reasonable
probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of
the proceeding would have been different."
According to the decision, as Stafford was handcuffing him, Sims struck
the officer in the head with his police radio, robbed him of his police
pistol, and shot him twice. Sims admitted shooting Stafford, but
asserted from the outset that he had done so in self-defense after
Officer Stafford had choked him, used racial epithets and repeatedly
threatened to kill him.
The new trial is scheduled to start in July and will be heard by Judge
John W. Thornton.
