[SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA]

Oral Argument Press Summaries
September 14, 1999

The following summaries are drawn from briefs and lower court judgments. They are meant to provide a general idea of facts and issues presented in cases, and should not be considered official court documents. Facts and issues presented in these summaries should be checked for accuracy against records and briefs, available from the Court, which provide more specific information.

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Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Tuesday, September 14, 1999
Arrive early. Times & order of appearance are tentative and subject to change with no notice. Cases may be postponed due to exigent circumstances.
Case Time Facts & Issues Place of Origin
Thomas H. Provenzano v. State of Florida

No. 96,453 

Briefs not available

 9:00 Provenzano was convicted and sentenced to death for the January 1984 courthouse murder of Orange County Circuit Court bailiff William Arnold Wilkerson. He also was convicted of attempting to murder bailiffs Harry J. Dalton and Mark L. Parker. Provenzano is scheduled for execution Sept 24. In this case, his attorneys argue that he is incompetent to be executed and thus cannot be sent to the electric chair under U.S. Supreme Court cases barring execution of the insane. On the date this document was distributed (9/9/99), a separate appeal by Provenzano was pending in this Court alleging that prior alleged malfunctions of the electric chair have rendered it cruel and unusual, and thus unconstitutional. Orange County

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