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November 1, 2006
SMITH DENIED RELIEF; RELEASE DATE SET FOR JULY, 3221
State Attorney Steve Meadows appeared before the Florida Parole Commission
in a successful effort to insure that convicted murderer Jimmy Lee Smith
remains behind bars.
In a hearing in Tallahassee, James Ghiotto, who has visited Smith on death
row over a 20-year period, used the allotted 10 minutes to provide a
treatment plan and urged the release of Smith.
A letter from the victim’s sister was read by a victim advocate and then
Meadows described the crime and the impact on the community and told the
commissioners that they should not show “one ounce of sympathy for people
that prey upon children.” After his remarks, Meadows read a letter from a
local citizen(text at the end of this release), said it indicated the effect
that this crime had and still has on the community, and asked the commission
to deny any relief.
The commissioners unanimously agreed that Smith should not be allowed review
for the maximum five years. The commission could have moved up the release
to any date after the completion of the 25-year minimum sentence. The
tentative release date was set for July 2, 3221.
Smith was originally sentenced to death, in October 1978, for the stabbing
and strangulation murder of a Cottondale woman and her 12-year old daughter.
A Federal appeals court reversed the Florida Supreme Court and vacated the
conviction and sentence. After a new trial, in Tampa, in 1992, Smith was
sentenced to life. Under the sentencing laws in effect at that time; Smith
was eligible for parole consideration after 25 years. Florida law has
changed so that those convicted of first degree murder now face death or
life without the possibility of parole.
Meadows said that the media attention given to this case and the public
response were encouraging. “This man committed one of the most brutal,
dastardly acts imaginable. It is my sincere hope that he will never walk our
streets as a free man.”
Smith, 53, was not present for the hearing. He is currently serving his
sentence in Polk Correctional Institution.
Text of the letter read to the commission by Steve Meadows:
Honorable Monica David,
My name is Mary J. Robinson. I am writing concerning the upcoming parole
hearing for Jimmy Lee Smith. He murdered Bonnie Myrtle Ward and her 12-year
old daughter, Donna Lynn Strickland of Cottondale in the spring of 1978.
I knew Donna, the child. From 1973 until Nov. 1977, I worked in the post
office in Cottondale before transferring to Panama City. This family was
poor and survived on welfare. The mother never seemed to get out much. Each
day, after school, Donna, who was the oldest child, would come to the post
office to check their mail in general delivery. She would have at least two
of the younger children with her; sometimes carrying the youngest on her
hip.
When check day came, she would buy money orders to pay for lights and water
and take the children across the street to the IGA to buy groceries. We
called her “the little mother.” She apparently assumed the adult role in the
household. There was no father in the picture.
The most memorable thing about her was her optimism. She was always smiling,
cheerful, and pleasant. She looked like a real-life “Little Orphan Annie.”
She had brilliant red curls which sprang from her head like corkscrews and
bounced when she walked. She had a sprinkling of freckles. She always
laughed when we called her “Annie” instead of Donna. One would never have
guessed she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders which were so
slight. This child deserved good things in her life. Instead she was
viciously murdered by the transient psychopath who was her mother’s live-in
boyfriend. They were not chosen randomly. He was caught in her mother’s car
trying to cash their welfare check.
At the time this happened, the media reported that he stated he cut Donna’s
chest open so he could feel her evil heart beating in his hands. Please do
not allow him to live the life he stole from this beautiful, gentle child so
brutally.
Sincerely,
Mary J. Robinson
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