John Spenkelink - Crime, Legal Controversy

Crime, Legal Controversy

A drifter who had served time in California for petty crimes, Spenkelink shot and killed a fellow small-time criminal named Joseph Szymankiewicz in 1973 in Tallahassee, Florida. He claimed he had acted in self-defense, that Szymankiewicz had stolen his money, forced him to play Russian roulette, and sexually assaulted him. However, evidence indicated that Spenkelink had left their shared motel room, returned with a gun, and shot Szymankiewicz in the back. He turned down a plea bargain to second-degree murder, which would have resulted in a life sentence. In 1976 he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. In 1977 Governor Reubin Askew of Florida signed his first death warrant, but the Supreme Court stayed the execution pending consideration of 22 separate appeals. In 1979 Askew's successor, Bob Graham, signed a second death warrant. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall issued a second stay, which was overturned by the full Court.

Spenkelink's case became a national cause célèbre, encompassing both the broader debate over the morality of the death penalty and the narrower question of whether the punishment fit his crime. His cause was taken up by former Florida Governor LeRoy Collins, actor Alan Alda and singer Joan Baez, among many others. Also at issue was the assertion that capital punishment discriminated against the poor and underprivileged. (Spenkelink often signed his prison correspondence with the epigram, “capital punishment means those without capital get the punishment.”)

The execution was finally carried out on May 25, 1979 in "Old Sparky", the Florida State Prison electric chair. That morning a popular Jacksonville disc jockey aired a recording of sizzling bacon, and dedicated it to Spenkelink.