JOSH AND THE PRESS

This is a special website set up the Florida Times-Union; you can learn a lot from this site. If you put "Maddie Clifton" in a search engine, it will also bring up a lot of stuff on the Internet about Josh and what happened. Court TV covered his trial live; we were on CBS' "48 Hours", and the case was mentioned on "Larry King Live", "Geraldo"; was in every major newspaper when it happened... Josh is still getting mail from people in places like Japan, who read about his case, or saw something on CNN, which incidentally, is where most of our family and friends found out what happened.

I kept a journal, which evolved into over 600 pages, covering mainly the first year of Josh's incarceration in 1998, when he was 14 years old. I have filing cabinets full of information; Josh's entire court case, news articles... I'm not sure I'd even know where to begin..

 

But, the above link should get you started, at least.

---

JOSH AND THE LAWYER

Josh's direct appeals, all the way to the Supreme Court, have failed. So, now we're working on the post-conviction relief, where we hope to gain a new trial by proving his original attorney was inadequate. Anyone watching Court TV's coverage could tell you that.

But, Steve, my husband, who died 18 months after Josh's arrest in a car accident, and I had no choice. We got a 2nd mortgage on our home, maxed out all of our credit cards, including gasoline cards, and sold things in order to hire an attorney for Josh. In retrospect, we would have been better off with a public defender. But, we were shell-shocked and any attorney in Jacksonville willing to take on the case was  like a miracle to us. So, we paid $60,000 to Richard Nichols, who would tell us things to get us excited and hopeful, and then in the 11th hour, not do them.

 

The opening day of the trial, Steve, myself and his two stepsons and a couple of close friends, sat in amazement as what Richard had told us was our "ace in the hole" never materialized. He then came to us and said, "Well, the judge wouldn't let me do that. It's not allowed; law was changed and I didn't know it." Well, what could we do? Fire him? Then what? We had no money left to hire another attorney in the middle of a trial. So, on we plowed, only to have Josh end up with no defense and a first-degree conviction with life and no parole.

 

And, to further cloud the water, the original attorney, Richard Nichols, who always promised to help in the post-conviction relief, as he intended to no longer being practicing law when that time came around, died suddenly this past fall after a routine surgical procedure.

 

This at least gives you a little bit of background... There's just so much more.

---

JOSH IN THE REAL WORLD

For people who actually knew Josh before his arrest (and still know him, of course), I have asked them to write something about his personality that they know is so drastically different than the monster depicted in the news reports, and different from the portrait the prosecution tried to paint for the jury. For others, perhaps just emphasizing the point that kids like Josh deserve some hope of one day being able to live free, and that it's grossly unfair to have some kids given such light sentences while others have absolutely no hope at all, would be a starting point.

 

I'd like to get a copy of a book written by Ann Edenfield "Family Arrested" that someone from church told me about - that describes how the entire family serves time with the convicted person. Studies show only death causes more stress on a family than incarceration of a loved one. (Wonder what this author would think about having both things happen in one family?)

 

Well, I'm digressing. I guess they could write in support of changing legislation for ALL children in Josh's situation; to reduce sentences via clemency or some other means; particularly kids who have never been in any kind of serious trouble before.

 

Also just had a phone call from one of my late husband's brothers; the eldest brother just passed away last night and I'll need to tell Josh about his uncle. I hate giving him news like that.

JOSH AND THE GOVERNOR

I spoke with Wendy Berger, one of Governor Bush's staff attorneys, in regard to Josh's case. We have been corresponding recently via email about the disparity in sentencing (The King Brothers, ages 12 and 14, who killed their father rec'd sentences of 7 and 8 years, respectively) and the sentence imposed upon Josh and other juveniles. The emails I have sent have all been read and acknowledged by the Governor and there will be a meeting soon between Wendy and the Governor to discuss the issues.

The emails I have sent have all been read and acknowledged by the Governor and there will be a meeting soon between Wendy and the Governor to discuss the issues. Wendy assured me that Joshua is not forgotten by the Governor's office and that his case will most definitely be discussed. In the meantime, she advised me to have Josh file for clemency this fall, after he has served five years.

This is why I am writing; to ask for letters on Josh's behalf to the Governor. If you would like to help, please write a letter to the Governor; you may send them to me if you like, and I will forward them on later this fall. My email address is:

Melissa Phillips
MiscMood@aol.com

If you prefer to write directly to the Governor on Josh's behalf:
Governor Jeb Bush 
Executive Office of the Governor
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
jeb.bush@myflorida.com

Again, I wish to stress that Josh will NOT file for clemency prior to November of 2003, so please hold on to your letters until that time. I thought letting you know this early would give you time to compose what you would like to say on Josh's behalf.

The request for clemency will be a reasonable request. Many people believe it's a plea for immediate release, and that is not the case at all. In Josh's case, it would be deemed reasonable for him to be eligible for release after 20 years, which would mean he would have served 25 years at that point.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your help.

With Love & Peace,
Deep Peace,
Missy

---

Please keep Joshua in your thoughts and Prayers and if you would like to write to Joshua, here is his address.

Joshua Phillips
DC # J11775
Marion Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 158
3269 NW 105th Street
Lowell, FL 32663

Again thank all of you who continue to work on behalf of
our loved ones who are incarcerated.

Each day is a new promise...
Time to cherish the past...
Time to embrace the present...
Time to welcome the future...
A day to celebrate...
Life !!!

The following is a summary of Senate Bill 72 (SB72), proposed by Senator Walter "Skip" Campbell. If passed, it would be a dramatic change for the way kids are dealt with in Florida's criminal justice system. However, the bill needs to go through three criminal justice committees before making it's way to the senate floor. If passed it will become effective July 2003. I have included the website address which outlines the specific language of the bill.

You can show support for Senator Campbell's bill by writing to the following senators who chair each of the committees the bill must pass through. The legislative session runs from March 10th to May 10th.

Click here for more information on SB72

Senator Walter "Skip" Campbell
Email: campbell.walter.web@ flsenate.gov
On The Web

HAUNTING IMAGES

JOSHUA PHILLIPS

JOSH PHILLIPS AND THE UNITED NATIONS

MARION CI

MTWT Prison Index