Supreme Court throws out Ft. Pierce death sentence, orders new trial
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 by Dara Kam
The Florida Supreme Court overturned a death sentence for Alwin Tumblin, convicted of murdering a Ft. Pierce auto shop owner in 2004.
The 5-2 ruling also threw out all the convictions associated with the robbery and murder of Jimmy Johns and ordered a new trial for Tumblin.
It is the fifth death sentence the Supreme Court has thrown out in the past four years.
Justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston, both appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist, dissented.
Tumblin’s accomplice Anthony Mayes testified against Tumblin and provided the only eyewitness testimony to the crimes. There was no DNA evidence linking Tumblin, then 25, to the murder.
The high court ruled that Tumblin’s previous trial should have ended in a mistrial because St. Lucie County Deputy Dennis Smith’s testimony that Mayes was telling the truth could have tainted the jury’s decision.
For more on this topic, read the TCoastTalk post, Supreme Court orders new trial for man convicted of Fort Pierce murder
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