It's Bobby Joe Long's turn!

[Carl Shawver]

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In response to the recent petition initiative of Sheriff Grady Judd to encourage the Governor to sign the death warrant of convicted cop killer Paul Johnson, a writer sent a letter to the Tampa Tribune in which he asserted that "Public sentiment should have nothing to do with when the governor decides to sign a death warrant."

On October 17th the Tribune published a follow up letter from retired HCSO Sgt. Stephen Cribb which clearly demonstrates that Sgt. Cribb does not agree with that sentiment.

He states that he is sending a letter to Governor Crist, enclosing an ink pen and asking the governor to use the pen to sign the death warrant of convicted serial killer Bobby Joe Long. Sgt. Cribb, along with several other deputies, made the arrest of Long.

Bobby Joe Long was arrested on November 16, 1984, and was charged with the murders of ten young women. Twenty-five years later he still lives on death row. Most of the ten women he murdered did not live to celebrate their 25th birthdays.

I join Sgt. Cribb in calling for the governor to sign the death warrant of Bobby Joe Long, ending the farce which has for decades allowed a convicted serial murderer to elude the justice which he so richly deserves.


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In response to the recent petition initiative of Sheriff Grady Judd to encourage the Governor to sign the death warrant of convicted cop killer Paul Johnson, a writer sent a letter to the Tampa Tribune in which he asserted that "Public sentiment should have nothing to do with when the governor decides to sign a death warrant."

On October 17th the Tribune published a follow up letter from retired HCSO Sgt. Stephen Cribb which clearly demonstrates that Sgt. Cribb does not agree with that sentiment.

He states that he is sending a letter to Governor Crist, enclosing an ink pen and asking the governor to use the pen to sign the death warrant of convicted serial killer Bobby Joe Long. Sgt. Cribb, along with several other deputies, made the arrest of Long.

Bobby Joe Long was arrested on November 16, 1984, and was charged with the murders of ten young women. Twenty-five years later he still lives on death row. Most of the ten women he murdered did not live to celebrate their 25th birthdays.

I join Sgt. Cribb in calling for the governor to sign the death warrant of Bobby Joe Long, ending the farce which has for decades allowed a convicted serial murderer to elude the justice which he so richly deserves.


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Hey Charlie grow a set. Bobby Joe Long has been an oxygen thief for at least 25 years. Time for the needle..................Get on with it we need the room. :devil: :devil: :devil:

Dont bet anything on ole Charlie doing anything that doesnt benifit ole Charlie. he is a poiltician in every sense of the word and will only do things that help his fame and fortune. we were all burned when he was first elected because he made all these promises to fight for 20-&-out and to fight the insurance compaines ect and all he has done is fight the lines at the bank so insurance compaines can get to the teller quickly. its in todays paper that we had no hurricane problems this year or last yet the insurance compaines are requesting rate hikes and of course the state of florida is considering it. Bobby joe long and Paul Beasley Johnson have both been on death row about 20 years longer than they should have been and why is ole Charlie SUDDENLY ACTING like he gives a crap?? oh thats right, the politician is attempting to weasel his way into the Senate and you can expect two things to happen in the near future. both the above mentioned scumbag murderers will continue to live while the pathetic judicial process is manipulated even further and ole Charles will get elected to the Senate because floridians are morons and believe anything a politician tells them.

Carl, your post was well thought out, and made a lot of sense. I would suggest that your folks start a petition, and a letter campaigne to Governor Crist. That is how Sheriff Judd was able to make such progress in the Johnson case. We had people dedicated to seeing the petition campaigne through. They put a lot of time and effort into it. Action gets results. I'm not a big death penalty proponent, BUT if someone is given the death penalty, it should be carried out in a reasonable length of time. Allowing that person to sit on Death Row for two and three decades is unreasonable. No other country in the world does that. And to say that public opinion shouldn't have any influence on when the Governor signs a Death Warrant, well that's just idiotic. Public opinion has everything to do with the death penalty, so it should also hold weight on how it is administered. There is a lot that is good about Florida, but it's judicial system is not one of those things. Our judicial system is so broken, I don't believe it's fixable in it's current format. And I've worked within it, in Florida, for almost 25 years.

Last year, my 19 year old nephew was murdered in central Virginia, where my family lives. Like Bobby Joe Long's victims, he was the innocent victim of an evil individual who was looking for someone to kill. My nephew was killed on May 3, 2008. His killer went to trial on October 1, 2008. He was found guilty on October 5, 2008, and sentenced on December 12, 2008. Virginia abolished its probation and parole system in the mid 1990's, so inmates do the time they are sentenced to. My nephew's murder did not meet the death penalty requirements there, but my sister is at peace with the killer's sentence. He will never be a free man again. He was 22 years old when he killed my nephew. He will spend the rest of his life in isolation, in one of Virginia's two Super Max Security prisons, being forgotten by society, as he deserves.

If a conservative state like Virginia can put victims over criminals, why can't Florida? My sister will have to live with the pain of her loss for the rest of her life. We all will. But her court ordeal was over within months of my nephews death. In Virginia, a felony case MUST go to trial within 180 days of being assigned to the Circuit Court. No delays are acceptible. Their attorney's work within that obligation. Why can't we here in Florida? Why do victims of crime, and victim's families have to wait 3, 4, and even 5 years before their case even goes to trial. That is completely unacceptible. To call it acceptible, is to admit you're happy with a broken system that fails society miserably. If our system doesn't change drastically, our children will suffer from our inaction. They will be the ones who have to live with what we've created. Right now, it doesn't look very promising. Getting Governor Crist to sign the death warrant on Paul Beasley Johnson and Bobby Joe Long is a step in the right direction. But that's not even the tip of the iceberg. I wish you luck in your endeavor though.
Be Safe,
Ann Cash
PCSO
SE Patrol

It's a different story when the victim is your cousin. I just wish you had the same feelings when Officer Christopher Horner was murdered, You didn't make any attempt to bring his killers to justice. We will never forget.

It's a different story when the victim is your cousin. I just wish you had the same feelings when Officer Christopher Horner was murdered, You didn't make any attempt to bring his killers to justice. We will never forget.

Why? Why? This post was to express anger over the system that is obviously broken, not to start crap. If you don't have anything valuable and are looking for trouble go do your job and find it. It was a terrible thing that happened to Horner and I am pleased that the truth was found out. This is not the place to throw someone under the bus and try to make them look stupid. Especially when you have more skeletons in your closet then a grave yard.

I went to the trial one day and there were more pcso officers than haines city pd in the court room.

And one thing to add to the above blog, those detectvies working that murder not only had to deal with the immense preasure of homicide involving a police officer but the preasure of their own staff to either "get on board" or they were black balled. those detectives did the best investigation possible under those circumstances.

The victim was my nephew, not my cousin. And what does that have to do with ANYTHING posted here? You simply used this thread to turn this into a personal attack. That's ok, I have a thick skin. But it's totally inappropriate in this topic.

As for the Horner case, I will say this, and no more. As much as I wanted that case to be a homicide (we all did), I remain convinced that my original analysis was correct. If you believe it was a homicide, you win. You should be happy with the end results. Leave it at that. I, however, based my findings on physical evidence, not emotions. Absolutely NO physical evidence was used to prosecute that case. The word of a career criminal was all that was needed. Things work much differently in Federal Court. You don't need proof to win a case.

Chris Gamble was all the Federal prosecutor needed to convict 5 people of that death. Chris Gamble, who had been arrested 60+ times, who changed his story multiple times, who had an axe to grind with his co-defendants for not fulfilling their promise to take care of his family while he did time.

Shortly before Gamble was to testify against his first co-defenant, I was afforded a unique opportunity. While assisting the prosecutor in preparing his case (I'm sure you had no idea I was involved in that, right?). I was allowed an extended visit with Gamble at the Hillsborough County jail. I had voiced my desire to one day talk to him, so I could hear his story about what happened in that cemetery. The case had cost me a career that I was very good at, and had worked very, very hard to build. If I/we had been wrong, I just wanted to know...with all doubt removed. I wanted closure so I could put it behind me, and move on. Gamble was the only one who could give me that. Sadly enough, he didn't come through. He was pleasant, polite, and did speak with me about the case. I had arrested him in the past, and he remembered me as being fair. So he was willing to talk to me. He just wasn't able to settle my doubts about his story.

Gamble could not put the entire event together for me. He would give me a detail here and there, but was unable to respond to my questions. Many of his details didn't make sense. They conflicted with the evidence I saw. When I called him on this, he couldn't explain himself. He was obviously uncomfortable with me. He wouldn't even give me details that he had given to the prosecutor. I would note that the prosecutor and a detective were with us during this meeting. They encouraged him to tell me what he had told them, but he couldn't. I believe it was because he knew that I knew he was lying. But the most telltale part of the entire meeting was when I asked Gamble why he made the call in the first place. He said...in their presence...that he was very angry at his boys (the co-defendants), and he wanted to get even. They had a deal, and his buddies hadn't kept their word. They were supposed to take care of his family while he was in prison, and they didn't do that. He was angry because he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison, and they were still free, partying and robbing. His exact words were, "I want them to do the same kind of time I'm doing". If that isn't a motive, I don't know what is. In spite of the fact that he said this in front of them, they didn't seem to notice the importance of it.

After the meeting with Gamble, they seemed dishearted that I wasn't able to get any satisfaction from his statements. They couldn't understand why he wouldn't tell me what he'd told them. They genuinely believed his story, and wanted me to as well. So did I. As much as that case had cost me, I desperately wanted to believe him, so it would have all been worth the loss. But it didn't happen. Before we parted ways, they promised to make arrangements for me to be able to sit in on the trial when Gamble testified. That way, I'd be able to here his story for myself. However, that never happened. Apparently, I made Gamble too nervous, so I was never able to hear his testimony. I was also assured that Gamble's testimony had no strings attached. I was assured that he was NOT getting any deal for less time. Well, we all now know that wasn't true.

I've learned to accept things as they are, and move on. I accept that there are a lot of people who truly believe Christopher Horner was murdered. They worked very hard to see that vision through. I respect that kind of dedication. I simply don't share that view of how he died. I'm glad they have been able to give peace to those who needed it. I wish I could've been counted among them, but we must agree to disagree. I can live with that. This happened a very long time ago, and I have put it out of my life. But if you still have issues with it that I can resolve, you know where to find me. I do not seek your approval, or your agreement. However, if you what to address the matter with me, you'll show me the same respect you want from me. Have the nads to face me. Don't hide here, behind a fake name. Oh! While you're "not forgetting" things, remember that I was the case agent when Winter Haven Police Officer Johnnie Patterson was murdered. Why don't you ask some of those officers how they feel about the job I did? Regardless of the Horner case, my product record stands on it's own. Examine it all you like.

Now we've gone far enough off topic. The subject was Bobby Joe Long. Let's get back to it.
Ann Cash

And we all love and respect you Ann for standing your ground and and not bowing down like so many others do every day here in order to get promoted.

You were wrong Ann.

The physical evidence et al was looked at by other agencys and they made different determintations.

You want to write a 600 page essay reference why you were right feel free.

You were wrong then and your wrong now.

I won't forget either.