Affidavit From Foreman Of The Jury - Marilyn Federico
State of Florida )
)ss
County of Broward )
I, Marilyn Federico, having been duly sworn, hereby say:
1. My name is marilyn Federico. I presently live in Lighthouse Point,
Florida. I was the foreman of the jury that heard the case of State
of Florida v. Paul William Scott.
2. During the trial, Paul Scott had completely inadequate representation. His
attorney gave me, as a juror, the impression that he was not
concerned with defending Mr. Scott. The attorney was certainly not an
enthusiastic advocate for Mr. Scott, but acted more like he just had a job to do.
3. When we, the jury, chose to recommend the death sentence, I recall
the the overriding sentiment was that we did not want Mr. Scott to
be released from prison. I voted for the death penalty in Mr. Scott's
case because there was no other way to commit him to a sentence which would
last the rest of his life. The sentence or life without parole did
not exist at the time of Mr. Scott's sentencing. I remember wishing
that we could recommend a true life sentence.
4. The testimony presented at trial gave the appearance the Paul
Scott was involved in planning the murder of James Alessi. After reviewing
the affidavit of Charles Vincent Soutullo in which he admits, among
other things, the he lied at trial, I have serious doubt that Paul
Scott went to Mr. Alessi's house for any purpose other than to
do drugs with him. The jury should have heard the truth about what
Mr. Soutullo knew. It could have made a difference.
5. The fact that Paul Scott is left-handed
was extremely important in convincing me that he struck the fatal blow
to Mr. Alessi. I have reviewed the affidavits of Jeff Walsh and Rick
Kondian. This is the kind of information that would have been important
for the jury to hear. It refutes the very critical notion that only the
left-handed Mr. Scott could have wielded that blow. It is just another
example of the poor defense that Mr. Scott had.
6. I reviewed the statement of Bernadine Beth Bernard. Her account of Paul
Scott's normal appearance versus the bloody appearance of Rick Kondian in the
hours after the murder is significant. I wish I had heard about this and
about all of the other statements I have reviewed but were not made
at trial.
7. Since I voted to sentence Paul Scott to death, I have thought of
the day that he will be executed with a certain dread. This is
because I would be perfectly comfortable knowing that he would live
the rest of his life in prison.
8. After reviewing these statements and affidavits, I believe that Paul
Scott's involvement in Mr. Alessi's death was overstated at the trial.
There is clearly reason to believe that Mr. Scott's level of responsibility
in this crime is not as high as it appeared to be back during the trial.
9. If all of this information had been presented at trial, the
verdict could have been different. If all of this had been presented
at trial, the jury would have been given a more complete and accurate
account of what happened at Mr. Alessi's house the night of his death.
Further affiant sayeth naught.
Marilyn Federico
Sworn to and subscribed to before me this 3rd day of August, 1994.
Provided proper identification.
NOTARY PUBLIC, STATE OF FLORIDA