Title: Taylor v. State

State: florida

Issuer: Florida Supreme Court

Document:

Supreme Court of Florida 
 
 
____________ 
 
No. SC18-520 
____________ 
 
STEVEN RICHARD TAYLOR, 
Appellant, 
 
vs. 
 
STATE OF FLORIDA, 
Appellee. 
 
December 20, 2018 
 
PER CURIAM. 
 
This case is before the Court on appeal from an order denying a second 
successive motion to vacate a judgment of conviction of first-degree murder and a 
sentence of death under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851.  Because the 
order concerns postconviction relief from a capital conviction for which a sentence 
of death was imposed, this Court has jurisdiction under article V, section 3(b)(1) of 
the Florida Constitution. 
FACTS AND BACKGROUND  
 
Steven Richard Taylor was convicted of first-degree murder, burglary of a 
dwelling, and sexual battery and was sentenced, among other sentences, to death.  
 
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Taylor v. State (Taylor I), 630 So. 2d 1038, 1039 (Fla. 1993).  In affirming his 
convictions and sentences on direct appeal, we set forth the pertinent facts 
pertaining to Taylor’s case: 
The record reflects that on September 15, 1990, at about 11:30 
p.m., the victim, fifty-nine-year-old Alice Vest, returned to her mobile 
home in Jacksonville after spending the evening with a friend.  Earlier 
that evening, the appellant, Steven Richard Taylor, and two friends 
were out driving and listening to the radio.  Around midnight, the 
driver of the car dropped off Taylor and his friend, who was later to 
become his accomplice, near the victim’s neighborhood. 
Sometime in the early morning hours of September 16, a Ford 
Ranchero was stolen from a residence near the place where Taylor 
had been dropped off.  At about 4:30 a.m., after the vehicle had been 
stolen, a passing motorist noticed the Ford Ranchero parked in a 
driveway next door to the mobile home where the victim lived.  Later 
that morning, the Ford Ranchero was found abandoned behind a used 
car dealership only a few blocks from where Taylor lived at the time. 
On the same morning, neighbors discovered the victim’s 
battered body in the bedroom of her mobile home.  The medical 
examiner testified that the victim had been stabbed approximately 
twenty times, strangled, and sexually assaulted.  The medical 
examiner further testified that most of the stab wounds were made 
with a knife found at the scene of the crime, while the remaining stab 
wounds were made with a pair of scissors that were also found at the 
scene.  The medical examiner stated that the victim was alive while 
she was being stabbed, that she was strangled with an electrical cord, 
and that the strangulation had occurred after the victim was stabbed. 
The medical examiner also testified that the victim’s lower jaw 
had multiple fractures and that she had received several blows to her 
head.  The examiner testified that the fractures of the victim’s jaw 
could have resulted from being struck with a broken bottle found on 
the bed next to the victim, and that contusions to the victim’s head 
were consistent with being struck by a metal bar and candlestick also 
found at the scene.  Finally, the medical examiner testified that the 
victim’s breasts were bruised, and that the bruises resulted from 
“impacting, sucking, or squeezing” while she was alive.  In the 
medical examiner’s opinion, the victim was alive at most ten minutes 
 
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from the first stabbing to the strangulation.  On cross-examination, the 
examiner stated that he did not know whether the victim was 
conscious during all or any part of the attack. 
The testimony at trial also revealed that the phone line to the 
mobile home had been cut, that the home had been burglarized, and 
that various pieces of jewelry were missing. 
In December of 1990, Taylor moved out of the duplex he had 
been sharing with a friend.  In January, 1991, while Taylor’s former 
roommate was removing a fence behind the duplex, he discovered a 
small plastic bag buried in the ground near the fence.  The bag 
contained the pieces of jewelry taken from the victim’s home during 
the attack and burglary.  The roommate turned the jewelry over to the 
police and gave a statement.  Later that month, Taylor visited the 
duplex with some friends.  The former roommate testified that, at 
some point during the visit, Taylor went into the backyard and stared 
at the place where the fence had stood.  During the following month, 
Taylor again returned to the duplex with friends.  One of the 
accompanying friends testified that Taylor went into the backyard and 
returned a few minutes later with dirty hands.  In response to the 
friend’s inquiry as to what he was doing, Taylor allegedly responded 
that he had left some things there and that they were gone. 
On February 14, 1991, the Duval County sheriff’s office 
executed a search warrant on Taylor which authorized the officers to 
take blood, saliva, and hair samples from Taylor.  Taylor was taken to 
the nurses’ station at the county jail so that the samples could be 
taken, but not before Taylor invoked his right to counsel.  Later that 
day, after the samples were taken, Taylor asked the investigating 
officer how long it would take to get the results back.  Instead of 
directly responding to the question, the investigating officer asked 
Taylor why he wanted to know.  Taylor responded that he was just 
wondering when they would be back out to pick him up.  Taylor did 
not have long to wait.  Two days later, on February 16, Taylor was 
arrested, and, on March 3, a grand jury returned a two-count 
indictment against Taylor for first-degree murder and burglary.  The 
indictment was amended on September 12, 1991, to add a third count 
for sexual battery. 
At trial, the State presented the testimony of Timothy Cowart, 
who had shared a cell with Taylor in the Duval County jail.  Cowart 
testified that, in a jailhouse conversation with Taylor in early April, 
Taylor stated that he had been involved in a burglary and that it was a 
 
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messy job; that the lady surprised him inside the trailer; and that he 
stabbed her and choked her and then strangled her with a cord to make 
sure she was dead.  Cowart also testified that Taylor said the State 
could place him, but not his accomplice, at the scene of the crime, and 
that the State could convict him with the evidence it had.  Taylor 
allegedly asked Cowart to hide a gun and handcuff key in the 
bathroom at the hospital; Taylor would then feign an illness, get taken 
to the hospital, and have a chance to escape. 
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab analyst, who 
was an expert in serology, testified that semen found on a bed 
covering and on a vaginal swab taken from the victim could not be 
tested.  However, the analyst testified that semen found in the victim’s 
blouse matched Taylor’s DNA profile. 
In the guilt phase, Taylor presented only one witness, an agent 
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The agent testified that certain 
hairs found on the victim’s body and clothing matched the pubic hairs 
of Taylor’s accomplice.  On cross-examination, the agent conceded 
that it is possible to commit a sexual battery and not leave any fibers 
or hair.  Taylor then rested his case and the jury found him guilty as 
charged. 
At the penalty phase proceeding, the State rested without 
presenting any additional evidence.  Taylor presented the testimony of 
five witnesses.  First, Taylor called Charles Miles, who lived next 
door to Taylor during Taylor’s adolescence.  Miles stated that Taylor 
frequently played with Miles’ son and that Taylor was always very 
polite and respectful.  Miles testified that on one occasion he and 
Taylor sat in Miles’ garage and talked at length about religion.  
Taylor’s next witness was Lloyd King, his uncle.  King testified that 
Taylor had always been a polite person.  The third witness, Judy 
Rogers, was a friend of the family who testified that she thought 
Taylor had a learning disability.  Taylor’s next witness was another 
uncle, Don King, who testified that, during fifth and sixth grades, 
Taylor experienced difficulty in reading and that his reading 
comprehension was poor.  King also stated that Taylor was a very 
passive person.  As his last witness, Taylor called his adoptive mother, 
Lenette Taylor, who testified that Taylor had experienced difficulty 
concentrating in school and that she had tried unsuccessfully to get 
him into special education classes.  She testified that Taylor’s I.Q. had 
been tested and found to be around 68 to 70, which, according to her, 
is in the mildly retarded range.  On cross-examination, she 
 
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acknowledged that, in 1979, when he was nine years old, Taylor had 
tested in a normal intellectual range.  The record further reflects that, 
although defense counsel had Taylor examined by two mental health 
experts, counsel found it to be in Taylor’s best interest not to present 
the experts’ testimony at trial.  As an additional mitigating factor, 
Taylor offered evidence that he was only twenty years old at the time 
of the murder. 
The jury recommended the death sentence by a vote of ten to 
two.  In sentencing Taylor to death, the trial judge found the following 
aggravating factors: (1) the murder was committed during the course 
of a burglary and/or sexual battery; (2) the murder was committed for 
financial gain; and (3) the murder was committed in an especially 
heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner.  As the sole nonstatutory 
mitigating factor, the trial judge found that Taylor was mildly 
retarded.  The trial judge sentenced Taylor to death for the first-degree 
murder, to fifteen years’ imprisonment for the burglary, and to 
twenty-seven years’ imprisonment for the sexual battery. 
Id. at 1039-41.  On October 3, 1994, the United States Supreme Court denied 
Taylor’s petition for writ of certiorari.  Taylor v. Florida, 513 U.S. 832 (1994).  
Thus, Taylor’s conviction and sentence of death became final on that date.   
 
We affirmed the denial of Taylor’s initial motion for postconviction relief 
filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 and denied his petition 
for writ of habeas corpus.  Taylor v. State (Taylor II), 62 So. 3d 1101, 1106 (Fla. 
2011).  After the release of Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016), and Hurst v. 
State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016), cert. denied, 137 S. Ct. 2161 (2017), Taylor filed 
his first successive motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of 
Criminal Procedure 3.851, and we affirmed the postconviction court’s denial of 
relief.  Taylor v. State (Taylor III), 234 So. 3d 649, 650 (Fla. 2018).   
 
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Taylor then filed this second successive motion for postconviction relief 
pursuant to rule 3.851, alleging newly discovered evidence in the form of an 
exculpatory affidavit of a witness and new DNA evidence.  Without conducting a 
case management conference, the postconviction court denied Taylor’s motion.  
This appeal follows.   
ANALYSIS  
 
Taylor raises two claims in his appeal to this Court.  First, Taylor asserts that 
the postconviction court’s failure to hold a case management hearing, known as a 
Huff1 hearing, violated his due process rights.  Second, Taylor contends that, on the 
merits, the postconviction court erred in summarily denying his second successive 
postconviction motion.  All of these claims are addressed individually below.   
I.  
In his first claim, Taylor contends that the postconviction court violated his 
due process rights by failing to hold a case management conference, pursuant to 
Huff, before ruling on his second successive motion for postconviction relief.  In 
accordance with our extensive precedent on the failure to hold Huff hearings for 
successive motions for postconviction relief, we conclude that any error here was 
harmless.   
                                          
 
 
1.  Huff v. State, 622 So. 2d 982 (Fla. 1993).   
 
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In Huff, we stated: 
Because of the severity of punishment at issue in a death 
penalty postconviction case, we have determined that henceforth the 
judge must allow the attorneys the opportunity to appear before the 
court and be heard on an initial 3.850 motion.  This does not mean 
that the judge must conduct an evidentiary hearing in all death penalty 
postconviction cases.  Instead, the hearing before the judge is for the 
purpose of determining whether an evidentiary hearing is required and 
to hear legal argument relating to the motion.   
622 So. 2d at 983.  This Huff hearing requirement was later expanded to include 
rule 3.851 motions.  See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851(f)(5)(B).   
Nevertheless, in Groover v. State, 703 So. 2d 1035 (Fla. 1997), we 
elaborated that our holding in Huff was limited to initial death penalty 
postconviction motions.  Id. at 1038.  We noted that although Huff hearings are 
preferred in order to allow the parties to present their legal arguments, one was not 
required in Groover’s case because his successive postconviction motion was 
without merit.  Id.  “[E]ven if a Huff hearing had been required in [Groover], the 
court’s failure to do so would be harmless as no evidentiary hearing was required 
and relief was not warranted on the motion.”  Id.  Moreover, we have repeatedly 
upheld our holding in Groover with regard to Huff hearings on legally insufficient 
or meritless successive postconviction motions.  See Marek v. State, 14 So. 3d 985, 
999 (Fla. 2009) (holding that the failure to hold a Huff hearing on Marek’s fourth 
successive postconviction motion that was legally insufficient on its face and 
without merit was harmless and stating that “[t]he failure to hold a hearing on a 
 
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successive postconviction motion that is legally insufficient on its face is harmless 
error” (citing Davis v. State, 736 So. 2d 1156, 1159 n.1 (Fla. 1999); Groover, 703 
So. 2d at 1038)); Davis, 736 So. 2d at 1159 n.1 (“In view of the fact that the instant 
motion is successive and legally insufficient on its face, we find this error 
harmless.” (citing Groover, 703 So. 2d at 1038)); see also Mordenti v. State, 711 
So. 2d 30, 32 (Fla. 1998) (holding a failure to hold a Huff hearing on Groover’s 
fourth successive postconviction motion was harmless error whereas the same lack 
of Huff hearing on Mordenti’s first motion for postconviction relief was not).  
Therefore, we have repeatedly emphasized that the failure to hold a Huff hearing 
on legally insufficient or meritless successive postconviction motions is harmless 
error.   
Here, the postconviction motion at issue is Taylor’s second successive 
postconviction motion.  Moreover, as discussed at length below, the postconviction 
court below properly found that Taylor’s successive postconviction motion was 
without merit.  Therefore, although Huff hearings are preferred on all 
postconviction motions, we conclude that the failure to hold a case management 
hearing in the instant proceeding was harmless.  See, e.g., Groover, 703 So. 2d at 
1038.  Thus, this claim of Taylor’s successive motion for postconviction relief 
fails.   
 
 
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II.  
 
Taylor next asserts that the postconviction court erred in summarily denying 
his newly discovered evidence claims.  Taylor presents two items of newly 
discovered evidence, both of which the postconviction court deemed to be 
meritless: (1) an affidavit from James Dixon, and (2) new DNA evidence.  Each 
piece of newly discovered evidence is addressed individually below.   
A.  Standard of Review 
We originally enunciated the standard of review governing claims of newly 
discovered evidence in Jones v. State, 709 So. 2d 512 (Fla. 1998).  In sum,  
[t]o obtain a new trial based on newly discovered evidence, a 
defendant must meet two requirements.  First, the evidence must not 
have been known by the trial court, the party, or counsel at the time of 
trial, and it must appear that the defendant or defense counsel could 
not have known of it by the use of diligence.  Second, the newly 
discovered evidence must be of such nature that it would probably 
produce an acquittal on retrial.  See Jones, 709 So. 2d at 521.  Newly 
discovered evidence satisfies the second prong of the Jones test if it 
“weakens the case against [the defendant] so as to give rise to a 
reasonable doubt as to his culpability.”  Jones, 709 So. 2d at 526 
(quoting Jones v. State, 678 So. 2d 309, 315 (Fla. 1996)).  If the 
defendant is seeking to vacate a sentence, the second prong requires 
that the newly discovered evidence would probably yield a less severe 
sentence.  See Jones v. State, 591 So. 2d 911, 915 (Fla. 1991). 
In determining whether the evidence compels a new trial, the 
trial court must “consider all newly discovered evidence which would 
be admissible” and must “evaluate the weight of both the newly 
discovered evidence and the evidence which was introduced at the 
trial.”  Id. at 916.  This determination includes 
 
whether the evidence goes to the merits of the case or 
whether it constitutes impeachment evidence.  The trial 
 
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court should also determine whether the evidence is 
cumulative to other evidence in the case.  The trial court 
should further consider the materiality and relevance of 
the evidence and any inconsistencies in the newly 
discovered evidence. 
 
Jones, 709 So. 2d at 521 (citations omitted). 
Preston v. State, 970 So. 2d 789, 797-98 (Fla. 2007) (alterations in original).  
Furthermore, “[t]he summary denial of a newly discovered evidence claim will be 
upheld if the motion is legally insufficient or its allegations are conclusively 
refuted by the record.”  Taylor v. State, 3 So. 3d 986, 999 (Fla. 2009) (citing McLin 
v. State, 827 So. 2d 948, 954 (Fla. 2002)).  “To support a summary denial without 
a hearing, a trial court must either state its rationale in its decision or attach those 
specific parts of the record that refute each claim presented in the motion.”  
Anderson v. State, 627 So. 2d 1170, 1171 (Fla. 1993).  Where no evidentiary 
hearing is held, this Court has delineated that it must accept the defendant’s factual 
allegations, “to the extent they are not refuted by the record.”  Foster v. State, 810 
So. 2d 910, 914 (Fla. 2002) (quoting Peede v. State, 748 So. 2d 253, 257 (Fla. 
1999)).2   However, we have nonetheless stated that “there may be cases where, 
from the face of the affidavit, it can be determined that the affidavit is ‘inherently 
                                          
 
 
2.  In addition, with regard to successive postconviction motions under rule 
3.851(f)(5)(B), “[i]f the motion, files, and records in the case conclusively show 
that the movant is entitled to no relief, the motion may be denied without an 
evidentiary hearing.”  Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851(f)(5)(B).   
 
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incredible,’ ” which may ultimately warrant summary denial.  McLin, 827 So. 2d at 
955 (quoting Robinson v. State, 736 So. 2d 93, 93 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)).  
Moreover, we have also indicated that “there may be cases where the newly 
discovered evidence is ‘obviously immaterial’ to the verdict,” which might also 
warrant summary denial.  Id. at 956 (quoting Robinson, 736 So. 2d at 93).   
In addition, this Court has emphasized the need for a cumulative analysis 
when determining the validity of a newly discovered evidence claim:  
Based on the standard set forth in Jones[], the postconviction 
court must consider the effect of the newly discovered evidence, in 
addition to all of the admissible evidence that could be introduced at a 
new trial.  Swafford v. State, 125 So. 3d 760, 775-76 (Fla. 2013).  In 
determining the impact of the newly discovered evidence, the court 
must conduct a cumulative analysis of all the evidence so that there is 
a “total picture” of the case and “all the circumstances of the case.”  
Id. at 776 (quoting Lightbourne v. State, 742 So. 2d 238, 247 (Fla. 
1999)). . . . As this Court held in Lightbourne, and more recently in 
Swafford, a postconviction court must even consider testimony that 
was previously excluded as procedurally barred or presented in 
another postconviction proceeding in determining if there is a 
probability of an acquittal.  Swafford, 125 So. 3d at 775-76; 
Lightbourne, 742 So. 2d at 247; see also Roberts v. State, 840 So. 2d 
962, 972 (Fla. 2002) (holding that upon remand, if the trial court 
determined that the testimony in a newly discovered evidence claim 
was reliable, the trial court was required to review that new evidence, 
as well as claims under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S. Ct. 
1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), that were previously rejected in a prior 
postconviction motion, because the evidence was equally accessible to 
the defense and there was no reasonable probability that the result of 
the trial would have been different had the evidence been disclosed). 
Hildwin v. State, 141 So. 3d 1178, 1184 (Fla. 2014).   
 
 
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B.  Newly Discovered Affidavit Evidence 
Taylor first asserts that an allegedly exculpatory affidavit by Dixon 
constitutes newly discovered evidence that warrants relief.  Dixon’s affidavit, in 
full, states: 
I, James Dixon worked for Walter Holton in the early 90’s 
doing odd jobs.  Holton sold large amounts of cocaine with a Cuban 
Friend from Miami, who drove a Porsche.  Both men were dangerous 
if you crossed them and were known to put contract hits out on people 
who crossed them.  I was questioned by Police about a sailboat 
necklace that was possibly connected to a homicide.  I got the sailboat 
necklace from Angela Smith, who was the girlfriend of Walter Holton 
at the time.  She told me that she got it from his Cuban friend, who 
told her to “never get rid of it”. [sic]  I did not tell the police where I 
got the necklace from, because I was afraid of Walter Holton and his 
Cuban friend.  My DNA was collected by the police and I was cleared 
of any involvement with the homicide case.   
Taylor supplements the information contained within Dixon’s sworn affidavit with 
a number of additional facts he claims to have obtained from Dixon himself.  The 
postconviction court below summarized these additional facts to the following: 
Defendant claims Dixon knows Mr. Holton murdered Ms. Vest 
because Dixon allegedly said “Mr. Holton admitted he murdered Ms. 
Vest because she threatened him after one of her friends had a drug-
related conflict with Mr. Holton.”  Defendant maintains Dixon’s 
alleged conclusion that Holton, not Defendant, murdered Ms. Vest is 
supported by Dixon’s alleged statements that (1) Angela Smith lied to 
police when she provided an alibi for Holton when Dixon “was selling 
cocaine for Mr. Holton that night and knew Holton was not with Ms. 
Smith”; (2) he knows Holton’s [Ford Ranchero] was damaged after 
hitting a mailbox “belonging to a house they robbed”; and (3) he gave 
the sailboat necklace to someone “who later pawned it.”  According to 
Defendant, Dixon said he came forward at this time because Holton, 
who had “put a hit out” on Dixon, has died.   
 
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(Citation omitted.)   
 
In denying this claim of Taylor’s successive postconviction motion, the 
postconviction court noted that Dixon’s affidavit relies on inferences stacked upon 
inferences in order to establish the likelihood of acquittal on retrial.  Additionally, 
the postconviction court noted that there is no definitive statement within the 
affidavit that anyone other than Taylor murdered Ms. Vest.  Finally, the 
postconviction court found that Taylor’s assertion that Dixon murdered Ms. Vest 
or was present during the murder of Ms. Vest did not constitute newly discovered 
evidence because this evidence was available at trial and defense counsel could 
have found it through due diligence prior to trial.   
 
The first prong of the Jones test requires that the evidence must not have 
been known by the trial court, the party, or counsel at the time of trial, and the 
defendant or defense counsel could not have known of it by the use of diligence.  
Jones, 709 So. 2d at 521.  We agree with the postconviction court that evidence 
indicating Dixon was a possible suspect in the murder of Ms. Vest was available to 
the defense before trial, based on Dixon’s own assertion that his DNA was taken 
during the police investigation and he was excluded as a possible suspect.  
However, with regard to Holton’s possible involvement in the murder, we 
conclude that this evidence was previously unavailable to Taylor, based on 
Dixon’s previous unwillingness to testify.   
 
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The second prong of the Jones test requires that the newly discovered 
evidence be of such a nature that it would probably produce an acquittal on retrial.  
Id.  In assessing this prong, we consider “whether the evidence goes to the merits 
of the case or whether it constitutes impeachment evidence . . . whether the 
evidence is cumulative to other evidence in the case . . . the materiality and 
relevance of the evidence and any inconsistencies in the newly discovered 
evidence.”  Id.  For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that Taylor’s claim 
fails on the second prong of the Jones analysis because Dixon’s affidavit would 
probably not produce an acquittal on retrial.   
 
First, the postconviction court was correct in determining that Dixon’s 
affidavit would not produce an acquittal for Taylor on retrial because the 
information within the affidavit, even if true, presents a theory of the case—
namely, that another individual, not Taylor, murdered Ms. Vest—that is 
cumulative to that already presented by the defense at trial.  Specifically, Taylor’s 
entire defense at trial was that his codefendant, Murray, committed the murder, 
based upon the testimony of FBI Special Agent Joseph A. Dizinno, an expert in 
hair and fiber analysis, which linked hairs found on the victim and at the scene of 
the crime to Murray, but not Taylor.  Because Agent Dizinno could not match any 
of the hairs found on the victim or at the scene of the crime to Taylor, the defense 
argued that he was not the perpetrator.  As evidenced by the guilty convictions on 
 
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each of the charged crimes, the theory of an alternative murderer was rejected by 
the jury.  Thus, attempting to present up to three additional suspects (i.e., Walter 
Holton, the “Cuban friend,” or Angela Smith) would have been cumulative and 
would probably not produce an acquittal on retrial.   
 
Second, the postconviction court was correct in finding that the Dixon 
affidavit would not produce an acquittal on retrial based on the fact that the 
evidence in the trial record clearly and directly refutes the claims made by Dixon 
in his affidavit with regard to who the true perpetrator was, thus indicating the 
inherent unreliability of the information contained within the affidavit.  See Foster, 
810 So. 2d at 914 (holding that the Court must accept the defendant’s factual 
allegations “to the extent they are not refuted by the record” (emphasis added) 
(citing Peede, 748 So. 2d at 257)).  Specifically, the information Dixon now 
presents is directly refuted by the following portions of the trial record: (1) 
testimony from Dr. James M. Pollock, Jr. matching semen recovered from a blouse 
found at the scene of the crime to Taylor’s DNA profile; (2) testimony from 
Johnny Allen Taylor3 and Jason Leister indicating that Taylor, on two different 
occasions, went into the backyard of his old residence looking for items in the area 
                                          
 
 
3.  Johnny Allen Taylor is unrelated to the defendant in this case.  Johnny 
Taylor’s connection to the defendant is that he and the defendant lived together at 
the time of the murder.  In the interest of clarity, Johnny Taylor will be referred to 
as such, and the defendant will be referred to as Taylor.   
 
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where Ms. Vest’s jewelry was found; (3) evidence and testimony from Detective 
T. C. O’Steen that the sailboat necklace, along with multiple other pieces of 
jewelry identified as belonging to the victim, was found buried in the backyard of 
Taylor’s old residence; and (4) testimony from Detective John Robert Bogers and 
Timothy Dale Cowart about inculpatory statements made by Taylor.  Each of these 
items will be individually addressed in more detail below.   
1.  Semen Match 
 
Dr. Pollock, an expert in forensic serology and DNA analysis, testified at 
trial that he received a number of items for testing in connection with this case: (1) 
a stain from a bedspread; (2) a stain from a blouse; (3) a blood sample from Ms. 
Vest; (4) a vaginal swab from Ms. Vest; and (5) a liquid blood sample from Taylor.  
Dr. Pollock explained that the DNA samples from the bedspread and Ms. Vest’s 
vaginal swab were too degraded to perform proper DNA analyses.  Dr. Pollock 
was, however, able to perform DNA testing on the stain from the blouse recovered 
at the scene of the crime.  Through this testing, Dr. Pollock found that the DNA 
recovered from the blouse stain matched the DNA profile from Taylor’s blood 
sample.  In so finding, Dr. Pollock testified that the probability of selecting an 
unrelated individual from the overall gene population having the same DNA 
profile was one in six million, which he further narrowed down to a probability of 
one in twenty-three million, when looking only at the Caucasian database.   
 
- 17 - 
We conclude that Dr. Pollock’s testimony matching DNA recovered from a 
stained blouse found at the crime scene to that of Taylor’s DNA profile directly 
refutes Taylor’s current claim that Dixon’s affidavit is so exculpatory that it would 
produce an acquittal on retrial.  Contrary to what Taylor now attempts to assert, 
none of the information contained within Dixon’s affidavit refutes or explains the 
scientific DNA evidence linking Taylor to the place where Ms. Vest was 
murdered.  Therefore, we conclude that the likelihood that Dixon’s affidavit would 
produce an acquittal on retrial, in light of the DNA evidence linking Taylor to the 
crime scene, is very slim.   
2.  The Sailboat Necklace 
Taylor’s roommate during the time that Ms. Vest was murdered, Johnny 
Taylor, testified that he and Taylor lived together in September of 1990, and that 
Taylor moved out sometime before Christmas of 1990.  Johnny Taylor further 
testified that in January 1991, after Taylor moved out, he and his brother renovated 
the fencing in the backyard of their split duplex.  Approximately a week after 
redoing the fence, Johnny Taylor testified that his dogs dug up a sandwich bag 
containing jewelry from an area of the backyard bordering the duplex.4  At trial, 
                                          
 
 
4.  Linda Engler, a longtime friend of Ms. Vest who saw her multiple times a 
week, testified at trial that Ms. Vest regularly wore a gold coin on a chain, that Ms. 
Vest was wearing gold earrings the day before she was murdered, and that Ms. 
Vest often wore a “ship pendant.”  Further, Engler identified photographs depicting 
the gold coin, ship pendant, gold earring, and gold chains as those belonging to 
 
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Johnny Taylor testified that the sandwich bag contained two necklaces, a coin, and 
an earring.5  Johnny Taylor turned these items over to Detective O’Steen and gave 
a sworn statement.  Johnny Taylor testified that, approximately two days after he 
gave his sworn statement, Taylor came over with two other individuals.  While the 
others sat at the kitchen table drinking beers, Taylor went into the backyard for a 
minute or two and then returned to the table, where he explained that he was 
looking at the new fence.  Taylor and the two other individuals left shortly 
thereafter.   
Next, Jason Leister testified that, around February 1991, he went to Johnny 
Taylor’s house with Taylor and another individual.  While there, Leister testified 
that Taylor went out to the backyard and returned with dirty hands that he 
proceeded to wash.  Leister testified that, when asked what he was doing, Taylor 
responded “that he left some things over there and they were gone.”   
                                          
 
Ms. Vest.  In addition, Engler identified items of evidence as the gold coin, the 
ship pendant, the earring, and two gold chains that she had previously identified as 
belonging to Ms. Vest.   
 
5.  Johnny Taylor identified the same items of evidence previously described 
by Engler to be those belonging to Ms. Vest as being the items he found contained 
within the sandwich bag in his backyard.  Specifically, the items of evidence 
Johnny Taylor identified were a coin, an earring, a ship pendant, and two gold 
chains.   
 
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Finally, Detective O’Steen testified that, in February 1991, he visited Johnny 
Taylor’s duplex, where he recovered a gold coin, a sailboat pendant, a gold earring, 
and two gold chains.  Detective O’Steen identified each of the five pieces of 
jewelry admitted into evidence as those he recovered from Johnny Taylor.  In 
addition, Detective O’Steen testified that he obtained all five pieces of jewelry 
from Johnny Taylor and his brother.   
We conclude that the information within the Dixon affidavit concerning the 
ship pendant is directly contradicted by the testimony presented at trial.  
Specifically, Detective O’Steen’s testimony that he recovered the sailboat pendant 
directly from Johnny Taylor and his brother contradicts Dixon’s statement that he 
had possession of the sailboat necklace, which he obtained from Angela Smith and 
later gave to another individual to pawn.  See Foster, 810 So. 2d at 914 (holding 
that the Court must accept the defendant’s factual allegations “to the extent they 
are not refuted by the record” (emphasis added) (citing Peede, 748 So. 2d at 257)).  
The trial record directly refutes Dixon’s affidavit, thus indicating its inherent 
incredibility.  Therefore, we conclude that the postconviction court was correct in 
summarily denying this newly discovered evidence claim because “the motion, 
files, and records . . . conclusively show that [Taylor] is entitled to no relief” on 
their face.  Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851(f)(5)(B).  Furthermore, the statements contained 
within the affidavit would not produce an acquittal on retrial.   
 
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3.  Taylor’s Inculpatory Statements 
Detective John Robert Bogers testified at trial that in the course of taking 
Taylor’s blood, saliva, and hair samples pursuant to a search warrant, Taylor asked 
how long it would take for the results of the samples to come back.  When 
Detective Bogers asked why, Taylor “stated he was just wondering when we would 
be back out to pick him up.”   
Timothy Dale Cowart, Taylor’s cellmate in jail, testified that Taylor made 
statements to him about the case.6  Specifically, Taylor told Cowart that he and a 
partner were committing a burglary and “[t]hat it was a messy job, that the lady 
surprised him inside the trailer, and he stabbed her and then choked her and then 
had to strangle her with a cord to make sure she was dead.”  Cowart testified that 
Taylor stated that the State had taken hair and body samples and had done a rape 
test on him that could put him at the crime scene, but not his partner.  Further, 
Taylor stated that his tissue and hair alone could convict him, and that the State 
also had recovered property removed from the home that could place him at the 
                                          
 
 
6.  Cowart testified to having at least five felony convictions in other states 
and “[f]our or five maybe six” misdemeanor convictions in Florida involving 
dishonesty.  Cowart further indicated that, in exchange for his sworn statement in 
Taylor’s case, he received a sixty-day sentence and probation on the petit theft case 
he was in jail for at the time of Taylor’s alleged statements. 
 
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scene.  Cowart also indicated that Taylor had asked him to obtain a gun and a 
handcuff key and place it in a hospital bathroom so that Taylor could escape.   
We conclude that the Dixon affidavit would not produce an acquittal on 
retrial because it does not present any information disputing or explaining the 
statements made by Taylor as to the murder.  Instead, Taylor’s statements to 
Detective Bogers and Cowart link him to the crimes for which he was convicted, 
and Dixon’s suggestion that another individual might have committed the murder 
does not eradicate these statements.  Moreover, when considered alongside 
evidence presented at trial matching Taylor’s DNA profile to the DNA recovered 
from a stained blouse found at the scene and the evidence and testimony presented 
with regard to the recovery of the sailboat pendant, Dixon’s affidavit has little to 
no effect on the probability of acquittal on retrial.   
For the reasons discussed above, we conclude that Dixon’s affidavit fails the 
Jones test when considered alongside the evidence and testimony in the trial 
record, because the information it contains is refuted by the record and thus would 
not produce an acquittal on retrial.  Therefore, we hold that the postconviction 
court did not err in summarily denying this claim of Taylor’s successive motion for 
postconviction relief.   
 
 
 
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C.  Newly Discovered DNA Evidence 
Taylor next asserts that two pieces of newly discovered DNA evidence 
entitle him to relief: (1) disagreement between the procedures used by Dr. Pollock 
in matching Taylor’s DNA to semen found on the victim’s blouse and the opinion 
of Shirley Zeigler, another DNA analyst, on more appropriate testing procedures, 
and (2) new developments in Taylor’s codefendant’s case challenging the DNA 
testing of hair fibers found at the crime scene.  As discussed below, we hold that 
neither of the two alleged pieces of newly discovered evidence constitute newly 
discovered evidence that would entitle Taylor to relief.   
First, with regard to the alleged disagreement between Dr. Pollock and 
Zeigler as to the appropriate DNA testing procedures to be used, we conclude that 
the postconviction court was correct in summarily denying this claim, finding that 
it is not newly discovered evidence, because the claim was previously raised—and 
denied by this Court—in Taylor’s initial postconviction motion.  Taylor II, 62 So. 
3d at 1111, 1115-17.  Additionally, even if this evidence were newly discovered, 
we conclude that it would not produce an acquittal on retrial because, as we stated 
in Taylor II, “although Zeigler testified during postconviction proceedings that 
there were differences between her report and that of Dr. Pollock, she did not 
disagree with Dr. Pollock’s ultimate findings.”  Id. at 1112 (emphasis added).  
Therefore, Zeigler’s testimony, if introduced on retrial, would not controvert Dr. 
 
- 23 - 
Pollock’s ultimate finding matching Taylor’s DNA to the semen found on the 
victim’s blouse and thus would not produce an acquittal on retrial.  Therefore, we 
hold that the postconviction court did not err in denying this portion of Taylor’s 
newly discovered DNA evidence claim.   
Second, with regard to the hair samples that were matched to Murray, we 
again conclude that the postconviction court was correct in summarily denying this 
claim because it is neither newly discovered nor would it produce an acquittal on 
retrial.  In essence, Taylor argues that Murray’s challenge to the hair fibers found 
at the crime scene entitles him to relief because it indicates that he was not the 
perpetrator.  This claim is meritless.  As an initial matter, the hair fibers are not 
newly discovered, as they were presented at Taylor’s initial trial in 1991.  
Furthermore, as explained above, the defense presented Agent Dizinno’s testimony 
matching Murray’s hair sample, not Taylor’s, to the hair fibers recovered at the 
scene, in order to present a theory of the case that someone other than Taylor 
murdered Ms. Vest.  Although Murray now challenges the testing procedures used 
in matching his hair to those recovered from the scene, this has no bearing on 
Taylor’s guilt or innocence.  Taylor is linked to the crime scene through a DNA 
match of semen recovered from a blouse in Ms. Vest’s trailer.  Presenting further 
evidence that the hair recovered from the scene does not match Taylor’s would not 
produce an acquittal on retrial.  Instead, this evidence would be cumulative 
 
- 24 - 
evidence attempting to show that someone other than Taylor committed the 
murder, a proposition that was already presented to—and rejected by—the jury at 
trial.  Thus, the “new” evidence relating to hair fibers from the crime scene would 
not produce an acquittal on retrial.  Therefore, we conclude that the postconviction 
court did not err in summarily denying this claim of Taylor’s successive 
postconviction motion.   
D.  Cumulative Analysis 
Although not explicitly conducted by the postconviction court below, this 
Court has emphasized the need to conduct a cumulative analysis in newly 
discovered evidence claims.  Hildwin, 141 So. 3d at 1184.  For this cumulative 
analysis, we have explained the need to consider all of the evidence of the case, 
including testimony that was previously excluded as procedurally barred or 
presented in another postconviction proceeding in determining the probability of 
acquittal on retrial.  Id.  Accordingly, below we conduct a cumulative analysis in 
order to comprehensively assess the probability of acquittal on retrial.   
 
When examining the newly discovered evidence presented, in addition to the 
evidence previously presented at trial and in prior postconviction claims, such as 
Zeigler’s disagreement with Dr. Pollock’s DNA testing procedures, we conclude 
that the postconviction court was correct in denying Taylor’s successive 
postconviction motion because none of the new or previously presented evidence 
 
- 25 - 
would likely produce an acquittal on retrial.  The newly discovered evidence and 
claims Taylor raised in his prior postconviction motion do not refute the evidence 
linking him to the murder of Ms. Vest.   
Namely, if Zeigler were presented to testify on retrial, her testimony would 
reflect that she ultimately agreed with Dr. Pollock’s conclusion that the semen 
found on Ms. Vest’s blouse was a direct match to Taylor’s DNA profile.  This 
direct evidence linking Taylor to the scene of the crime would not be refuted by the 
presentation of Zeigler as an additional witness and thus would not produce an 
acquittal on retrial.   
Similarly, as discussed at length above, neither the presentation of Dixon as 
an additional witness to testify as to Holton’s alleged involvement in Ms. Vest’s 
murder nor the presentation of additional evidence on the hair samples from 
Murray’s case would refute the evidence in the record matching Taylor’s DNA 
profile to the semen recovered at the crime scene.  Additionally, this new evidence 
would not undercut the fact that Ms. Vest’s jewelry was found at Taylor’s old 
residence and multiple witnesses testified that he returned to the residence 
seemingly in an attempt to recover the jewelry.  Ultimately, even with the 
presentation of the newly discovered evidence and testimony from Taylor’s prior 
postconviction claims, the evidence in the record against Taylor is abundant and 
essentially unrefuted.  Therefore, we conclude that, even in conducting a 
 
- 26 - 
cumulative analysis, the evidence in question would not produce an acquittal on 
retrial.  See id.   
CONCLUSION  
 
For the reasons discussed above, we affirm the postconviction court’s denial 
of Taylor’s second successive motion for postconviction relief.   
 
It is so ordered. 
CANADY, C.J., and LEWIS, QUINCE, POLSTON, LABARGA, and LAWSON, 
JJ., concur. 
PARIENTE, J., concurs in result with an opinion. 
 
ANY MOTION FOR REHEARING OR CLARIFICATION MUST BE FILED 
ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 27, 2018.  A RESPONSE TO THE MOTION 
FOR REHEARING/CLARIFICATION MAY BE FILED ON OR BEFORE 
JANUARY 2, 2019.  NOT FINAL UNTIL THIS TIME PERIOD EXPIRES TO 
FILE A REHEARING/CLARIFICATION MOTION AND, IF FILED, 
DETERMINED. 
 
PARIENTE, J., concurring in result. 
I concur in result regarding the newly discovered evidence claims.  As to the 
Hurst7 claim, I write separately to emphasize how Steven Taylor’s case 
demonstrates precisely why this Court’s cut-off for Hurst retroactivity results in 
unconstitutional arbitrariness.  Taylor’s conviction became final in 1994.  Taylor v. 
State, 630 So. 2d 1038 (Fla. 1993) (direct appeal), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 832 
                                          
 
 
7.  Hurst v. State (Hurst), 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016), cert. denied, 137 S. Ct. 
2161 (2017); see Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016). 
 
 
- 27 - 
(1994).  On the other hand, because Gerald Murray, Taylor’s accomplice who was 
convicted for the same 1990 murder as Taylor, received three retrials, his 
conviction did not become final until 2009.  Murray v. State, 3 So. 3d 1108, 1113 
& n.2 (Fla.), cert. denied, 558 U.S. 949 (2009).8  And, even though both 
defendants received nonunanimous recommendations for death—Taylor received a 
ten to two jury recommendation for death and Murray received an eleven to one 
jury recommendation—Murray will receive a new penalty phase because of the 
procedural history of his case, but Taylor will not.  See Taylor v. State, 234 So. 3d 
649 (Fla. 2018). 
Therefore, Taylor’s case is a clear example of the unconstitutional 
arbitrariness caused by the bright line this Court created for Hurst retroactivity—
that Hurst does not apply retroactively to sentences of death that became final 
before Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002).9  In my concurring in part and 
dissenting in part opinion in Asay V, I explained:  
I conclude that Hurst should apply to all defendants who were 
sentenced to death under Florida’s prior, unconstitutional capital 
sentencing scheme.  The majority’s conclusion results in an 
                                          
 
 
8.   Murray v. State, 838 So. 2d 1073 (Fla. 2002) (reversing Murray’s 
convictions and vacating sentences on direct appeal after first retrial); Murray v. 
State, 692 So. 2d 157 (Fla. 1997) (reversing Murray’s convictions and vacating 
sentences on direct appeal after original trial). 
 
 
9.  Hitchcock v. State, 226 So. 3d 216 (Fla.), cert. denied, 138 S. Ct. 513 
(2017); Asay v. State (Asay V), 210 So. 3d 1 (Fla. 2016), cert. denied, 138 S. Ct. 41 
(2017). 
 
- 28 - 
unintended arbitrariness as to who receives relief depending on when 
the defendant was sentenced or, in some cases, resentenced.  For 
example, many defendants whose crimes were committed before 2002 
will receive the benefit of Hurst because they were previously granted 
a resentencing on other grounds and their newest death sentence was 
not final when Ring was decided.  To avoid such arbitrariness and to 
ensure uniformity and fundamental fairness in Florida’s capital 
sentencing, our opinion in Hurst should be applied retroactively to all 
death sentences. 
 
210 So. 3d at 36 (Pariente, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (footnote 
omitted).  Indeed, I have continuously expressed this view, including in this 
Court’s recent opinion denying Taylor Hurst relief under Hitchcock.  Taylor, 234 
So. 3d at 650 (Pariente, J., concurring in result). 
 
Taylor’s case is the textbook example of the “unintended arbitrariness” I 
pointed out in Asay V.  210 So. 3d at 36 (Pariente, J., concurring in part and 
dissenting in part).  Taylor and Murray were both convicted of first-degree murder 
and sentenced to death after nonunanimous jury recommendations for death for the 
murder of Alice Vest in September 1990.  Murray, 3 So. 3d at 1113 & n.2; Taylor, 
630 So. 2d at 1039.  Yet, only one will receive a new penalty phase.  Clearly, the 
Court’s line-drawing for the retroactivity of Hurst creates unconstitutional results 
for defendants like Taylor.   
An Appeal from the Circuit Court in and for Duval County,  
Russell L. Healey, Judge - Case No. 161991CF002456AXXXMA 
 
Michael P. Reiter, Ocala, Florida, 
 
 
for Appellant 
 
- 29 - 
 
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Jennifer A. Donahue, Assistant Attorney 
General, Tallahassee, Florida, 
 
 
for Appellee