PART 1

THE STATE ATTORNEY’S OFFICE OF THE FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA

It has already been reported that John Molchan publicly threatened Rakeem Florence with perjury in a capital case if he recants. Not a surprising move since Florence asserts that Molchan directed his testimony. So now, of course, Molchan is trying to prevent him from recanting.

Now another monkey wrench has been thrown in Molchan’s efforts to prevent the truth from surfacing in this case. An attorney assigned to Gonzalez Jr. disclosed he had a conflict of interest because this attorney had represented someone ,who was not charged in this case, that has knowledge of what transpired that July night in 2009. The “confidential informant” has information that will exonerate Gonzalez Jr. This was discussed on the record in hearing.

So if Molchan were truly pursuing justice, he would want to make sure this death penalty case was handled fairly. Up until now, he has had no interest in making sure the conviction was sound.

Gonzalez Jr. had a hearing on June 10, 2021. This hearing was to discuss the reason his newly appointed attorney claimed he had a conflict and could not handle his case. The attorney disclosed to Judge Geeker and State Attorney Molchan that he previously represented someone on the periphery of the Billings case in a case unrelated to the murders. This person disclosed info about what happened in the house on that July night to his attorney. Being jammed up, this person had his attorney try to negotiate a deal for him on his case by providing information that would change everything in the Billings cases. Here’s what he says:

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The State Attorney’s office was not interested in justice or truth. A white collar crime trumped the truth. That pesky paperwork to deal with verdicts already out there., there was no real time for that. Mr. Molchan, tell me again, why you are offended by the implication that you are anything but ethical??

This is a death penalty case….is it really too much to ask that things be done right?

The full transcript is available here.