Open Letter from Milo Rose

As an innocent man on Florida’s death row – I am in desperate need of your assistance to bring my case to the attention of public opinion.

Please accept this as an open letter to all individuals, groups, organisations, professions and media sources from whom I beg help to overcome 20yrs of injustice.

I need people both inside and outside of the legal system to judge the facts in my case. As you can see by the enclosed June 10th 2003 copy of a letter sent to Florida Governor Jeb Bush, I am in no position to fail presenting my case. Please help me by posting this information on your website and as individuals, post it on as many sources as you yourself can. A June 10th 2003 update of my web page should appear on your website.  
Thank you for your concern.

Public outcry will exonerate me – silence will only help kill me. You judge! Am I worthy of your assistance? 

Respectfully, 

Milo Rose

2003 Update

Now that I have written Florida ’s Governor Jeb Bush a second letter requesting his assistance to expedite the legal process in my case through the signing of my second death warrant, I feel it is time to update my website with more than just a copy of the letter to Governor Bush. 

In 1982, while under my only death warrant, my state mandated attorneys uncovered two pieces of exculpatory evidence. (Evidence that discredits the evidence presented against me but I was unable to use at trial, because the state attorneys did not turn it over to the defence.) Even though this evidence will totally discredit the eyewitnesses, as well as the blood evidence, trial judge Susan Schaeffer, to whom I had to present my Post Conviction Appeal, ruled that even if she threw out the eyewitness’s testimony and blood evidence the testimony given by the couple Mark Poole and Rebecca Borton, to whom I allegedly confessed and asked to provide an alibi, was truthful and enough to achieve a conviction by itself. Judge Schaeffer refused to grant me a hearing on the guilt/innocence issues in my case but did grant me a partial hearing on the sentencing issues, assuring me if I were not re-sentenced that I would be executed. 

Then in 1986, while speaking with another man here on death row (Richard Rhodes), I learned he too was from Clearwater , Florida . While we spoke, he professed his innocence, which I didn’t give much credence to, until I asked him if he knew Poole and Borton. When he told me did, his story became more convincing and I began to believe he too may be innocent. After he told me that Rebecca Borton gave a deposition in his case, I asked if I could read it, and, to my surprise, Borton began to explain how she sought to make a deal with State Attorney Bruce Young in exchange for her testimony against me. Now I had the evidence needed to discredit Poole and Borton, as this information was not turned over to the defence — more prosecutorial misconduct by Bruce Young and Bruce Bartlett, in the withholding of exculpatory evidence. 

Discovering this information left me ecstatic. I now had the evidence to support why Poole and Borton would lie. At trial they both admitted to initially denying knowledge of the crime. They would later go on to say the reason they initially denied knowledge of the crime was because he didn’t want to say anything in front of the victim’s Mother. I have always asserted that Poole , and Borton, had to be the killers, only I was unable to build a case against them, because the police had fabricated a case against me while withholding the truth. As my attorneys investigated Poole and Borton, I learned that Poole had been arrested in September of 1982 and since the victim in my case was killed in October of 1982 I requested Poole’s September 1982 police photo to compare with the initial eyewitnesses description of which they were all highly certain of but would later change to one totally opposite in order to fit me. Poole ’s September 1982 photo fits the initial description of the eyewitnesses perfectly. I now have evidence that clearly shows how the withholding of exculpatory evidence prevented me from receiving a fair trial. All the pieces came together along with some extraordinary coincidences to the Richard Rhodes case — it seems the victim in this case also happened to be Poole and Borton’s roommate. The same as the victim profile as in my case, and once more they were seeking to make deals with State Attorney in exchange for their testimony.   

I discussed all of the issues with my State mandated attorneys as they prepared to go before Judge Schaeffer for a Huff Hearing, which is where the newly discovered facts are presented before the trial judge, who decides whether enough evidence exists to warrant an Evidentiary Hearing. Judge Schaeffer would not allow me to be present at the hearing. She later ruled that Poole and Borton gave truthful testimony throughout, totally ignoring they had initially denied knowledge of the crime only to later change their stories to the one where they claimed I confessed to them and sought an alibi. Judge Schaeffer’s ruling did not overly surprise me; her bias has always been obvious. Plus, I totally expected the Florida Supreme Court to overturn her ruling. 

Here are some examples of why I consider Judge Susan Schaeffer’s rulings against me to be biased, also why her rulings should be seen as supporting a vigilante justice. 

In June of 1983 Judge Schaeffer forced me to stand trial with an inept court appointed attorney, after I refused to be coerced by Schaeffer to change my plea of innocence to one of temporary insanity. This after I agreed to waive my Speedy Trial rights in order to allow this attorney adequate time to prepare my defence.

In 1987, while I was on deathwatch, there was another first-degree murder case from Clearwater , Florida being appealed. In this case they discovered evidence of police coercion by the very same police detective I maintained helped railroad me. I viewed Schaeffer’s ruling not to give me an evidentiary hearing at that time as her way of preventing two separate individual cases of first-degree murder from coming out at the same time. Tom Sawyer received positive media coverage and had private attorneys. I received negative media coverage and had state mandated attorneys. Tom Sawyer was exonerated, while Judge Susan Schaeffer swept my case under the carpet. 

Judge Schaeffer’s bias becomes a lot more evident through the Richard Rhodes case, with one other piece of evidence I found in regards to a jailhouse snitch, Paul Skalnik, a man that testified in over one hundred cases, ten of which are presently on death row. It seems the State Attorney’s office reneged on deals they made with Skalnik for his testimony and he filed a motion against them, naming those he helped send to death row, along with a list of state attorneys that used his services as a jailhouse snitch. Included in that list of state attorneys were Bruce Young and Bruce Bartlett, which helps me support the claims of prosecutorial misconduct in my case to achieve a conviction by any means possible. 

Something even more shocking would transpire after Schaeffer’s erroneous ruling not to grant me an evidentiary hearing. My state mandated attorneys would go before the Florida Supreme Court, to violate my trust and all the ethics of the law, by arguing a diminished capacity defence, by stating my case was not a first-degree murder case but more of a second degree murder case, since I had been drinking. This sudden change in strategy was performed without my consent or knowledge. It even caught the Supreme Court Justices by surprise, as they pointed out I have adamantly maintained my innocence throughout. Needless to say, the Florida Supreme Court would later uphold judge Schaeffer’s ruling, in which she had reasoned Poole and Borton had given truthful information throughout. Even if she threw out their testimony, it leaves the eyewitnesses and blood evidence, which would be enough to achieve a conviction. 

It needs to be noted again that judge Schaeffer’s ruling flip-flops from her 1987 ruling, in which she states even if she were to throw out the eyewitness testimony and blood evidence, there is still the Poole and Borton testimony, which would be enough to achieve a conviction with the help of state mandated attorneys. Judge Schaeffer has so far escaped charges of judicial misconduct, showing that the legal system can be and is abused by those in power and authority. 

Since I was already in the federal district court in Tampa , Florida , before the discovery of the Poole and Borton information, I began writing Pro Se motions to the Honourable Judge Steven Merryday, This was to bring to his attention what had transpired and seeking his assistance to appoint me federal appellate counsel. Since I was at that time bringing charges to the Florida Bar against my state mandated attorneys for violating my trust by arguing a diminished capacity defence before the Florida Supreme Court, instead of presenting evidence to them that by all rights should and will exonerate me. 

It also needs to be noted that Florida has demonstrated a pattern of recklessly convicting the innocent. Since 1973, 25 individuals have been exonerated from death row, which is more than any other state. 

On June 10, 1999 after coming to the conclusion that Florida’s legal system was never going to admit to wrongdoing in my case, I sent a letter to Governor Jeb Bush, seeking his assistance to help expedite the legal process through the signing of my death warrant. Now four years later on June 10, 2003, I have sent Governor Bush another request of his assistance to help expedite the legal issues in my case through his signing of my death warrant. 

I can only hope and pray now that the media will recognize the facts in my case and bring them to the attention of society. I have endured over 20 years on injustice and abuse. Please help me prevail in getting the issues of my case heard. I feel the only way this will happen is through National and worldwide media coverage, similar to what other cases have received to bring attention to the injustices they suffered. 

Your help to ring this about is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and concern.

Respectfully, Milo Rose

For more information visit Milo's website