Anthony Wainwright

Florida Death Row Inmate Appeal Denied In 1994 Murder Of Kidnapped 23-Year-Old Woman

A federal appeals court this week denied an appeal by a Death Row inmate convicted in the 1994 murder and rape of a woman kidnapped from a Lake City supermarket parking lot.
Anthony Wainwright, FDLE

A federal appeals court this week denied an appeal by a Florida Death Row inmate convicted in the 1994 murder and rape of a woman kidnapped from a Lake City supermarket parking lot.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected arguments raised by inmate Anthony Wainwright, including that new evidence could show he was innocent in the murder of 23-year-old Carmen Gayheart.

Wainwright and Richard Hamilton were accused of kidnapping Gayheart from a Winn-Dixie parking lot after escaping from a North Carolina prison, according to a 1997 Florida Supreme Court opinion that detailed the case.

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Wainwright and Hamilton were accused of raping and murdering Gayheart, whose body was found in Hamilton County. Wainwright, now 52, was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to death.

In the appeal, Wainwright, in part, offered a report from a DNA analyst that criticized the findings of two state DNA experts who testified at Wainwright’s trial, according to Tuesday’s opinion.

But in upholding a ruling by a federal district judge, the appeals-court panel said the new evidence “is insufficient when considered together with the other evidence presented” at his trial.

“Reasonable jurors, considering the new evidence along with the evidence available at trial, would still find Mr. Wainwright guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” said the 17-page opinion by Judges Adalberto Jordan, Britt Grant, and Andrew Brasher.

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