Florida Inmate Who Faced Death Penalty at 15 to be Freed 26 Years Later

A new novel by Dax-Devlon Ross, Make Me Believe: A Crime Novel Based on Real Events, follows the discoveries and dangerous encounters of a fictional author investigating the case of Toronto Patterson, the last juvenile defendant executed in Texas before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down this practice in 2005. Employing actual interviews with Patterson, court documents, news articles and courtroom testimony, Ross's book blends fact and fiction to confront some of the problems of capital punishment in Texas while providing a fascinating story.  Dax-Devlon Ross is a lawyer and writer of nonfiction, fiction and poetry.

(D. Ross, "Make Me Believe: A Crime Novel Based on Real Events," Outside the Box Publishing, 2011). 

Anthony Caravello was convicted of rape and murder for a crime he allegedly committed in 1983 at age 15 in Florida.  The prosecution sought the death penalty. Now DNA evidence from the crime scene points to another individual and may result in his exoneration.  The state is not contesting his release.  Caravello has an IQ of 67 and was convicted largely on the basis of his own statements, which he says were obtained from him after beatings during his interrogation.  At his sentencing, the judge commented, "I'll tell you this, Anthony: If the jury had recommended death, I would have had you electrocuted."  Instead, he was sentenced to life.  The prosecution is still pursuing the investigation.

(B. Skoloff, "Defense: DNA clears man convicted of murder, rape," Miami Herald (Associated Press), Sept. 9, 2009).  See Innocence and Juveniles.  More inmates have been exonerated from death row in Florida (23) than from any other state.