Bio

James William Hamblen was born in 1929. Court records show that he had at least two years of college education and had previous experience representing himself in legal matters while imprisoned in Indiana.

Before the Florida murder case, Hamblen had a serious criminal record. During his Florida sentencing proceedings, the state introduced evidence that he had been convicted of rape in Indiana in 1964. That prior violent felony became one of the aggravating circumstances used to support his death sentence.

By 1984, Hamblen was in his mid-fifties. He later stated that he no longer had meaningful hopes or plans for his future. After his arrest in Florida, court-appointed doctors found him competent to stand trial and legally sane at the time of the offense.

Hamblen repeatedly expressed a desire to be executed. He dismissed his public defender, chose to represent himself, pleaded guilty, waived a jury recommendation in the penalty phase, and presented no mitigating evidence. His case became notable in Florida because it raised legal issues about whether a capital defendant could waive the presentation of mitigation and effectively volunteer for execution.

Murder Story

In March 1984, James William Hamblen killed Debbie Abbott, a 20-year-old woman he had been dating in Spring, Texas. Available public records provide fewer details about Abbott’s murder than about the Florida case. Hamblen later admitted that killing after his arrest in Florida.

After leaving Texas, Hamblen traveled to Florida. On April 24, 1984, he was in Jacksonville and needed money to park his rental car at the airport. He decided to rob a store. While driving through the area, he noticed a lingerie boutique called the Sensual Woman and chose it as a target.

Laureen Jean Edwards, the 34-year-old owner, was alone inside the shop. Hamblen entered the store, pulled a .38 caliber automatic pistol, and demanded money. Edwards gave him a small amount of cash from the register.

Hamblen then ordered Edwards into a dressing room and told her to remove her clothing. He later told police that he did not intend to sexually assault her and that he wanted to slow her down so she could not immediately follow him when he fled. While Edwards was in the dressing room, one shot was fired and struck the wall. Hamblen claimed that this first shot was accidental.

Edwards then told Hamblen there was more money in the back of the store and offered to lead him to it. As they moved through the shop, Hamblen saw her press a button that he believed was a silent alarm. He was correct. Angered that she had activated the alarm, he ordered her back into the dressing room.

Inside the dressing room, Hamblen shot Edwards once in the back of the head at close range. The medical examiner concluded that the gun barrel was likely touching or very close to her head when the shot was fired. Edwards died almost instantly.

Duval County sheriff’s officers responded to the silent alarm. When they arrived, they saw Hamblen inside the locked store. At first, they thought he might be the owner or an employee. When he refused to open the door, they became suspicious. After he came outside, he told them he knew the alarm had brought them there and said that he had “just killed a woman inside.”

Police found Edwards’ body in the dressing room. They recovered Hamblen’s .38 caliber pistol and confirmed that shell fragments and the spent bullet from the store had been fired from that weapon.

Hamblen was indicted for first-degree murder. He asked the court to discharge his public defender and allow him to represent himself. After a hearing, the judge found that he was competent to do so. Hamblen pleaded guilty and waived a jury sentencing recommendation. He accepted the state’s version of the facts, presented no mitigation, and stated that the prosecutor’s death recommendation was appropriate.

On September 21, 1984, the trial court sentenced Hamblen to death. The judge found aggravating circumstances including the prior violent felony conviction, the robbery-related nature of the murder, and cold, calculated, and premeditated conduct. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence in 1988, although it ruled that one aggravating factor was not supported.

Hamblen later briefly cooperated with legal efforts to stop his execution, but the courts denied relief. On September 21, 1990, exactly six years after his death sentence was imposed, he was executed in Florida’s electric chair. He was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m.

Before his execution, Hamblen made a written request asking prison officials to provide a more suitable waiting area for Laureen Edwards’ husband instead of the public area outside the prison. He wrote, “These are good people, and they deserve better than this.” During the execution, witnesses reported that Hamblen smiled, winked, and stuck out his tongue.