Martin Grossman
Encyclopedia
Martin Edward Grossman was convicted of first degree murder for his part in the December 13, 1984, Florida
killing
of wildlife officer Peggy Park. He was executed by lethal injection
. In the days before his execution, there were a large number of appeals for clemency, ranging from petition
s to pleas, as well as a request to halt the execution from Pope Benedict XVI
. Grossman, a Jewish American, received strong support from national and international Jewish organizations for his death sentence to be commuted.
and physically ill father and uncle, a full time responsibility which led to his dropping out of the ninth grade. His father died when he was 15 years old, followed shortly by his uncle, grandfather and other relatives. Grossman experienced severe depression and used alcohol and a variety of narcotics such as marijuana and PCP
. He also took prescription drugs, including Valium and barbiturates, readily available in his mother's medicine cabinet.
. Grossman, who was on probation for grand theft
and other charges after burglarizing
a former girlfriend's house, asked her not to turn him in for possessing a weapon and being outside Pasco County. Both were violations of his probation.
As Park picked up her radio to call the sheriff's office, Grossman beat her on the head and shoulders with her flashlight. She was also beaten by Taylor. Park then managed to draw her gun and fire a warning shot
. Grossman, a foot taller and 100 pounds heavier than Park, wrestled the gun away from her and shot her once in the back of the head.
Grossman was convicted
of first-degree murder, the jury unanimously recommending the death penalty. Taylor was convicted of third degree murder. He was released in community supervision after serving two years and 10 months of a seven-year prison term.
, such as the influence of narcotics and incompetence on the part of the legal teams. However, all appeals were denied, with the United States Supreme Court allowing the execution and upholding the opinion of the Florida Supreme Court
that the trial was handled properly and that all evidence was allowed to be presented.
According to psychological examinations, the drugs and alcohol Grossman took exacerbated existing psychological and neurological deficits. In his 1990 psychological evaluation
and case assessment of Grossman, noted psychiatrist, Dr. Brad Fisher concluded:
Furthermore, a childhood evaluation of Grossman revealed that he scored a 77 on an IQ test: a score which borders on mental retardation
. Grossman's lawyers also believed that the case was not properly demonstrated and that there was a lack of sufficient evidence. Also argued was that Grossman was convicted of premeditated murder, despite Grossman maintaining he had no intention of killing Park. On the day of the execution, a final appeal was made to the United States Supreme Court for a hearing; it was ruled that the execution may proceed.
(the Holocaust survivor and activist), Pope Benedict XVI
, Chief Rabbi
s of Israel and over 200 prominent organizations sent letters to the Governor to plead against Grossman's death. The Governor declined to overturn the decision to execute Grossman.
by lethal injection
at 6:00 pm EST on February 16, 2010. After being visited in the morning by an aunt and two female friends, he spent his final afternoon praying with his spiritual advisor, Rabbi Menachem Katz.
In a final statement, Grossman expressed deep remorse for his actions and accepted responsibility.He then recited the Jewish Shema
prayer.He was pronounced dead at 6:19 pm. Park's mother, sister, and brother traveled from out of state to witness the execution. Grossman was the 69th inmate executed in Florida since the United States Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1975.
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
killing
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of wildlife officer Peggy Park. He was executed by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
. In the days before his execution, there were a large number of appeals for clemency, ranging from petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
s to pleas, as well as a request to halt the execution from Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
. Grossman, a Jewish American, received strong support from national and international Jewish organizations for his death sentence to be commuted.
Early life
Grossman, an only child, grew up having to care for his mentallyMental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
and physically ill father and uncle, a full time responsibility which led to his dropping out of the ninth grade. His father died when he was 15 years old, followed shortly by his uncle, grandfather and other relatives. Grossman experienced severe depression and used alcohol and a variety of narcotics such as marijuana and PCP
Phencyclidine
Phencyclidine , commonly initialized as PCP and known colloquially as angel dust, is a recreational dissociative drug...
. He also took prescription drugs, including Valium and barbiturates, readily available in his mother's medicine cabinet.
Murder
On December 13, 1984, Margaret "Peggy" Park, a 26-year-old wildlife officer, came across Grossman (then aged 19) and Thayne Taylor (aged 17) shooting a stolen handgun in a wooded area of Pinellas County, FloridaPinellas County, Florida
Pinellas County is a county located in the state of Florida. Its county seat is Clearwater, Florida, and its largest city is St. Petersburg. This county is contained entirely within the telephone area code 727, except for some sections of Oldsmar, which have the area code 813...
. Grossman, who was on probation for grand theft
Grand theft
Grand theft or grand larceny is a category used to rank the severity of crime associated with theft.Generally, in the United States it is defined as intentional taking property of others in an amount exceeding the state statutory amount....
and other charges after burglarizing
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
a former girlfriend's house, asked her not to turn him in for possessing a weapon and being outside Pasco County. Both were violations of his probation.
As Park picked up her radio to call the sheriff's office, Grossman beat her on the head and shoulders with her flashlight. She was also beaten by Taylor. Park then managed to draw her gun and fire a warning shot
Warning shot
A warning shot is a military term describing harmless artillery shot or gunshot intended to call attention and demand some action of compliance...
. Grossman, a foot taller and 100 pounds heavier than Park, wrestled the gun away from her and shot her once in the back of the head.
Grossman was convicted
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
of first-degree murder, the jury unanimously recommending the death penalty. Taylor was convicted of third degree murder. He was released in community supervision after serving two years and 10 months of a seven-year prison term.
Arguments for clemency
Supporters of Grossman alleged that his trial was improperly handled and that there was mitigating evidence to justify being granted clemency by Governor Charlie CristCharlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
, such as the influence of narcotics and incompetence on the part of the legal teams. However, all appeals were denied, with the United States Supreme Court allowing the execution and upholding the opinion of the Florida Supreme Court
Florida Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. The Supreme Court consists of seven judges: the Chief Justice and six Justices who are appointed by the Governor to 6-year terms and remain in office if retained in a general election near the end of each...
that the trial was handled properly and that all evidence was allowed to be presented.
According to psychological examinations, the drugs and alcohol Grossman took exacerbated existing psychological and neurological deficits. In his 1990 psychological evaluation
Psychological evaluation
A psychological evaluation or mental examination is an examination into a person's mental health by a mental health professional such as a psychologist. A psychological evaluation may result in a diagnosis of a mental illness...
and case assessment of Grossman, noted psychiatrist, Dr. Brad Fisher concluded:
"[I]t would be inconsistent and highly illogical to characterize Martin's actions during the murder as rationally directedMens reaMens rea is Latin for "guilty mind". In criminal law, it is viewed as one of the necessary elements of a crime. The standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase, actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, which means "the act does not make a person guilty...
toward the goals of avoiding arrest or hindering law enforcement. No such goal-oriented behavior or cognition was possible given the severely altered mental state in which Martin was functioning."
Furthermore, a childhood evaluation of Grossman revealed that he scored a 77 on an IQ test: a score which borders on mental retardation
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
. Grossman's lawyers also believed that the case was not properly demonstrated and that there was a lack of sufficient evidence. Also argued was that Grossman was convicted of premeditated murder, despite Grossman maintaining he had no intention of killing Park. On the day of the execution, a final appeal was made to the United States Supreme Court for a hearing; it was ruled that the execution may proceed.
Third-party appeals
Emails, faxes and letters were sent to the Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist and to other prominent officials involved in the case. On the day of the execution nearly 50,000 calls, emails and letters were received by the office of the Governor urging him to grant clemency to Grossman. Additionally, over 35,000 signatures were gathered on a petition filed under the site Care2 as a means to grant clemency to Grossman. Elie WieselElie Wiesel
Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
(the Holocaust survivor and activist), Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
s of Israel and over 200 prominent organizations sent letters to the Governor to plead against Grossman's death. The Governor declined to overturn the decision to execute Grossman.
Execution
Grossman was executedCapital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
at 6:00 pm EST on February 16, 2010. After being visited in the morning by an aunt and two female friends, he spent his final afternoon praying with his spiritual advisor, Rabbi Menachem Katz.
In a final statement, Grossman expressed deep remorse for his actions and accepted responsibility.He then recited the Jewish Shema
Shema Yisrael
Shema Yisrael are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services...
prayer.He was pronounced dead at 6:19 pm. Park's mother, sister, and brother traveled from out of state to witness the execution. Grossman was the 69th inmate executed in Florida since the United States Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1975.
See also
- Capital punishment in FloridaCapital punishment in FloridaCapital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Florida. Florida was the first state to reintroduce the death penalty after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down all statutes in the country in the 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision, and the first to perform a post-Furman involuntary...
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
- Diminished responsibilityDiminished responsibilityIn criminal law, diminished responsibility is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental functions were "diminished" or impaired. The defense's acceptance in American...
External links
- http://www.chabadbeaches.com/templates/page_cdo/aid/1121626
- http://www.chabadbeaches.com/templates/page_cdo/aid/1125195
- http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?s=grossman
- http://www.chabadbeaches.com/templates/page_cdo/aid/1125119