Bio 

Jerry Leon Haliburton was born on September 19, 1954. By the early 1980s, he had accumulated a criminal record and was on parole at the time of the murder that led to his death sentence. At some point after his imprisonment, Haliburton adopted the name Amin Mahdi Abdush Shahid. Court records and Florida Department of Corrections records continued to identify him under both names.

Before the killing of Donald Bohannon, Haliburton had already been involved with the criminal justice system and had previously served prison time. His parole status at the time of the offense later became one of the aggravating circumstances considered during sentencing.

Murder Story

On August 9, 1981, Jerry Leon Haliburton burglarized the Palm Beach County home of Donald Bohannon. Bohannon was asleep when Haliburton entered the residence. During the burglary, Haliburton attacked Bohannon with a knife. The victim suffered thirty-one stab wounds to his neck, chest, arms, and scrotum. The injuries were fatal, and Bohannon died at the scene.

After his arrest, Haliburton was subjected to extensive police questioning. During the interrogation, an attorney had been retained on his behalf and sought access to him. However, investigators did not immediately permit the attorney to meet with his client. Haliburton also underwent a polygraph examination before eventually being allowed to consult with counsel.

The issue of denying the attorney access to Haliburton became the central constitutional question in his first appeal and eventually reached the United States Supreme Court.

According to testimony presented during the proceedings, Haliburton's brother reported that Haliburton had admitted killing Bohannon merely to determine whether he could take another person's life. On March 24, 1982, a Palm Beach County grand jury indicted Haliburton on one count of first-degree murder.

On September 16, 1983, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. Five days later, on September 21, the jury recommended a sentence of death by a vote of 10-2. On October 7, 1983, Circuit Judge Jack Cook formally sentenced him to death. Haliburton appealed to the Florida Supreme Court. On August 30, 1985, the court vacated both the conviction and death sentence because of concerns regarding the denial of counsel during police interrogation.

The State of Florida then sought review in the United States Supreme Court. On March 24, 1986, the Supreme Court vacated the Florida Supreme Court's decision and returned the case for reconsideration. Upon reconsideration, the Florida Supreme Court again vacated the conviction and sentence on October 1, 1987, and ordered a new trial.

Following the retrial, a jury once again recommended a death sentence on February 17, 1988, this time by a vote of 9-3. On April 11, 1988, Judge Hubert R. Lindsey resentenced Haliburton to death. Haliburton pursued numerous appeals and post-conviction proceedings in both state and federal courts during the following decades. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the renewed death sentence on April 5, 1990. Numerous habeas corpus petitions and post-conviction motions were later denied.

In the years after his resentencing, changes in Florida's capital sentencing law resulted in a number of death sentences being reconsidered. In 2018, Haliburton's death sentence was vacated, and he was resentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

As a result, Jerry Leon Haliburton no longer faces execution and remains imprisoned in the Florida Department of Corrections serving a life sentence for the murder of Donald Bohannon.