Prosecutors: DNA tests backfire in 1981 murder – The News Herald

All of the DNA requested has been worked, and there are no big surprises there, State Attorneys Office Chief Deputy Larry Basford told the court Thursday. The results were not only not exculpatory, but they could further incriminate him.

PANAMA CITY Recent DNA testing did not clear a man condemned to death for a 1981 murder, but he still could see a new sentencing under Florida's revised death penalty laws.

Defense attorneys had hoped a DNA test might open the possibility of a new jury trial for James Armando Card, 70, who was convicted in 1982 of the robbery, kidnapping and first-degree murder of Janice Franklin. However, during a status conference Thursday regarding Card's conviction and death sentence, prosecutors said the DNA tests appear to have backfired.

All of the DNA requested has been worked, and there are no big surprises there, State Attorneys Office Chief Deputy Larry Basford told the court Thursday. The results were not only not exculpatory, but they could further incriminate him.

Card, who has been on death row for 35 years, was not present for Thursdays status conference. Recent shakeups in Floridas death penalty procedure opened up the chance for Card to argue against the death penalty, as the jury in his case sentenced him to death by an 11-1 margin, not the newly required unanimous vote after a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled May 4 that Card was deserving of a second penalty hearing. The court then sent the case back to the 14th Judicial Circuit, where it once again will be argued.

A date has yet to be scheduled for the resentencing hearing. Card's defense also has yet to announce whether they will further pursue a new trial.

On June 3, 1981, Card had armed himself with a knife before robbing the Western Union office where Franklin worked, investigators said. During a struggle, Franklins fingers were severely cut on both hands, almost severing several fingers on her right hand. Card then forced Franklin in a car and drove 8 miles to a wooded area, where he promised he wouldnt hurt her, according to investigators.

When Card and Franklin arrived at the wooded area, Card instead came up from behind her, grabbed her hair, pulled her head back and slit her throat several inches deep. Investigators said Card then stood over Franklin, a woman he knew, and watched her bleed to death, later telling a friend he even enjoyed it.

Cards case is one of the oldest on death row from Bay County, second only to that of Charles Kenny Foster. So far, four cases in the circuit have been granted a new penalty phase while seven other people on death row are awaiting review, including Foster.

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Prosecutors: DNA tests backfire in 1981 murder - The News Herald