James Adams (Florida)  Case Summary Chart

Allegation

On May 10, 1984, the State of Florida, with the acquiescence of the federal government, executed James Adams in the electric chair. The state and federal governments failed to ensure Adams’s right to a fair and impartial trial. The unfair and racially discriminatory trial resulted in Adams’s execution.

Crime

On the morning of November 12, 1973 at approximately 10:30 a.m., Edgar Brown was beaten with a fire poker in the course of an alleged robbery in his home. He died in the hospital the next day as a result of the beating. Adams was arrested, tried, and convicted of his murder.

Salient Issues

• The one eyewitness who saw and spoke to a person leaving the house where the murder was committed originally said that he was certain Adams was not the person. At trial, this eyewitness testified that Adams "may or may not" have been the person to whom he spoke.
• One of the witnesses, Vivian Nickerson, borrowed Adams’s car shortly before the murder. This witness had a masculine appearance and fit many of the characteristics described by the eyewitness, but she was never included in any photo array or lineup.
• According to Vivian Nickerson’s original sworn statement, Adams was at her house at the time of the murder while she used his car. At trial, she testified to a different time-frame, alleging that Adams arrived after the time of the murder. The defense failed to impeach her testimony by raising the inconsistency between her two statements.
• According to the Florida State Crime Lab, hair found in the victim’s hand was not from Adams. This evidence was released three days after Adams was sentenced and then suppressed by the state.
• A small bloodstain on one of the dollar bills in Adams’s possession was consistent with the victim’s blood type, but also with 45 percent of people living in the United States.
• The one positive identification of Adams as the driver of the car seen in the victim’s driveway was made by a man who accused Adams of having an affair with his wife, for which he had threatened revenge.
• At the trial, Adams’s criminal record was used by the prosecution to prejudice the jury, and it was a determining factor in Adams’s conviction and death sentence.
• Prosecutors used Adams’s prior rape conviction, which was likely unconstitutional because he was tried without a lawyer, as an aggravating circumstance in the penalty phase of his trial to secure the death sentence.
• At the penalty phase of the trial, Adams’s defense attorney did not present mitigating evidence or challenge the prosecution’s use of a racially-biased prior conviction.
• Throughout the trial, Adams was referred to as "nigger" by both the prosecution and his own defense counsel.
• Prior to closing arguments, a private conference was held at which both the trial judge and prosecutor agreed that there was "no pre-meditation," which should have exempted Adams from a death sentence.
• The jury voted to convict Adams of capital murder. At sentencing, the vote for death was 7 to 5.

Trial

James Adams was convicted of capital murder on circumstantial evidence and on evidence that was contradictory. On the morning of the crime, Adams’s car had been seen traveling to and from the victim’s house and had been parked in the victim’s driveway. One witness reported that he thought Adams was driving the car towards the victim’s house shortly before the robbery and assault. A second witness positively identified Adams as the driver of the car seen leaving the victim’s home. This witness reportedly stated that he would testify against Adams because he believed that Adams was having an affair with his wife. However, the only witness to see a person leaving the victim’s house at the approximate time of the crime provided a description that did not fit Adams. After viewing a police line-up in which Adams was included, this witness was "positive" that Adams was not the person with whom he spoke. At trial, the same witness who could not pick Adams out of a lineup testified that Adams may or may not have been the person he saw leaving the house.

Adams said he was at the house of a friend, Vivian Nickerson, from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on the day of the murder. Nickerson initially confirmed Adams’s alibi and stated that she had borrowed Adams’s car before 10:30 a.m. At trial, she changed her testimony to say that Adams did not arrive at her house before 11:00 a.m. Adams’s attorney did not question the inconsistency of her statements. Although the state crime lab found that strands of hair on the victim were not from Adams, the crime lab report was not released until three days after the trial.

Race was a factor throughout the trial. During the trial, both the prosecution and the defense referred to Adams as "nigger." The prosecution repeatedly raised Adams’s prior conviction for rape in terms of the race of the victim. The fact that Adams had raped a white woman – not that he had merely committed rape – was the aggravating circumstance used by the state to secure a sentence of death, despite the fact that Adams had never before been convicted of a crime punishable by death.

Appeals

The Florida Supreme Court upheld Adams’s sentence in December 1976, and certiorari was denied on October 3, 1977. He received a stay of execution by the Florida Supreme Court in April 1978. The U.S. Supreme Court continued his stay so he could file his writ of certiorari, which was denied October 30, 1978. He had a clemency hearing November 5, 1979. His first death warrant was signed January 9, 1980. The Florida Supreme Court denied a stay, but he obtained one from the Southern District Court in February of 1980. His writ was denied in an unpublished opinion, and in July of 1983 the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial. On January 11, 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari, and on April 12, 1984, his second death warrant was signed. All relief was then denied in the courts, and on May 9, 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated his stay. He was executed the next day.

Conclusion

James Adams was executed despite undisputed evidence of racial discrimination and compelling evidence of innocence. James Adams did not receive a fair trial. His court-appointed lawyers failed to lodge a competent defense, the state withheld evidence, and both the prosecution and defense were racially-biased and used racist remarks, which served to bias the jury. Nonetheless, by denying all appeals, both state and federal appeals courts upheld both Adams’s conviction and his death sentence.

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