SC07-1964 – Donald Bradley v. State of Florida - Revised Opinion released 4/22/10; and

State: Florida

Docket No: sc07-1964

Case Date: 01/07/2010

Plaintiff: SC08-1813 - Donald Bradley

Defendant: Walter A. McNeil, etc., – Revised Opinion

Preview:Supreme Court of Florida
________________________ Nos. SC07-1964 & SC08-1813 ________________________ DONALD BRADLEY, Appellant, vs. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.

DONALD BRADLEY, Petitioner, vs. WALTER A. MCNEIL, etc., Respondent. [January 7, 2010] REVISED OPINION PER CURIAM. Donald Bradley appeals an order of the circuit court denying his motion to vacate his conviction of first-degree murder and sentence of death filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. He also petitions this Court for a writ

of habeas corpus.1 For the reasons explained below, we affirm the circuit court`s order denying Bradley`s motion for postconviction relief, and we deny Bradley`s petition for writ of habeas corpus. OVERVIEW Bradley was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1995 first-degree murder-for-hire of Jack Jones. He was also convicted of burglary and conspiracy to commit murder. Bradley and two other men beat Mr. Jones to death in a feigned home-invasion scheme he planned with Mr. Jones` wife, who was also convicted of murder. Bradley`s trial took place in 1997, and the jury convicted him on all counts and recommended a sentence of death, which the trial court imposed. We affirmed Bradley`s convictions and sentence on direct appeal. See Bradley v. State, 787 So. 2d 732, 734 (Fla. 2001). Bradley now appeals the denial of the postconviction motion he filed in the trial court, and he has also filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in this Court. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Linda Jones (Mrs. Jones) became extremely upset when she learned that her husband, Jack Jones (Mr. Jones), was having an affair with a teenage girl whom the couple had befriended and taken into their home. Mrs. Jones made numerous

1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V,

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