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Bolin's lawyers silent at sentencing hearing
By CARY DAVIS, Times Staff Writer NEW PORT RICHEY -- Prosecutor Mike Halkitis wants Oscar Ray Bolin executed. But on Friday, Halkitis found himself in the unusual position of ensuring Bolin had every chance of escaping a death sentence. Halkitis was thrust into the unusual role of advocate for the defense because Bolin, on the day he was scheduled to present evidence of why a judge should spare his life, decided instead to do nothing. He forbade his lawyers from calling any witnesses -- not a psychologist, not his parents, not even his wife and strongest advocate, Rosalie Bolin. "We've been advised by Mr. Bolin to do nothing," said defense attorney Sam Williams. So Halkitis took up the cause. He introduced into evidence transcripts from an earlier trial in which witnesses described Bolin's abusive childhood. Halkitis also asked Circuit Judge Craig C. Villanti to review transcripts of all of Bolin's previous trials and look for any potential mitigating factors. Villanti said he would "go where the trail leads." The judge will then pronounce his sentence -- death or life in prison without chance of parole for 25 years -- at a Dec. 28 hearing. Bolin was convicted in October for the December 1998 murder of 26-year-old Teri Lynn Matthews, who was abducted from the Land O'Lakes post office, beaten and stabbed to death. Halkitis, the archetypal aggressive prosecutor, wasn't trying to save Bolin's life on Friday. Quite the opposite: He was trying to build a record, he told the judge, so that Bolin wouldn't have an issue for appeal. Halkitis has plenty of reasons to proceed with caution. Six reasons, to be exact. That's how many times the Florida Supreme Court has overturned murder convictions and death sentences for Bolin, now 39. Twice Bolin has been convicted and sentenced to death for Matthews' murder. He also is awaiting retrials for the 1986 murders of two Hillsborough County women, Natalie Blanche Holley and Stephanie Collins. In previous trials, the defense has offered mitigation testimony from witnesses who have described Bolin's upbringing as unstable and violent. His parents, both carnival workers, beat him with a dog chain, belts, brooms and even a bat, witnesses have said. A psychologist has said Bolin suffered brain damage at some point. So why didn't Bolin want any of that evidence presented this time, when the law requires the judge to weigh all mitigating factors when arriving at a sentence? His attorneys and his wife, Rosalie, declined to answer that question when a reporter posed it. Bolin, for his part, told the judge there was no reason to offer mitigation for a crime he didn't commit. But Kathleen Reeves, mother of Teri Lynn Matthews, thinks Bolin already is laying the groundwork for another appeal. "It's just another ploy," Reeves said. -- Cary Davis covers courts in west Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6236, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6236. His e-mail address is
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