The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a Death Row inmate convicted of murdering three family members in 1990 in Polk County.
Justices, in a 6-1 decision, turned down arguments that David Joseph Pittman should receive an evidentiary hearing about whether he is intellectually disabled.
A determination of intellectual disability could have shielded Pittman from potential execution. The majority opinion was shared by Chief Justice Charles Canady and Justices Ricky Polston, Alan Lawson, Carlos Muniz, John Couriel, and Jamie Grosshans.
Justice Jorge Labarga dissented.
Pittman, now 60, was convicted in the murders of Clarence and Barbara Knowles, and their daughter Bonnie Knowles.
They were family members of Pittman’s ex-wife, according to court documents. After the murders, Pittman set the family’s house on fire.
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