Bio

John Gary Hardwick Jr. was born on May 29, 1959. By December 1984, Hardwick was living in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. Court filings describe him as unemployed at the time and involved in selling drugs, including cocaine and marijuana. He was also connected to a group of people who used alcohol and drugs during the Christmas weekend when Keith Pullam was killed.

Hardwick was married at the time. Records from the case indicate that his wife, Darlene Hardwick, was 16 years old and pregnant. Before the murder conviction, Hardwick was also charged in a separate but related case involving robbery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping. On June 27, 1985, he received two 17-year sentences for those offenses.

Murder Story

On December 24, 1984, a fisherman found the body of Keith Pullam floating in the St. Johns River in Duval County, Florida. Pullam had suffered several serious injuries. Medical evidence showed that he had been stabbed three times in the chest and back, shot once in the back, and struck around the head after death. The injuries showed that Pullam had been violently attacked before his body was dumped in the river.

Investigators later connected the killing to a dispute involving stolen drugs. Michael Hyzer, who knew both Hardwick and Pullam, testified that Hardwick admitted killing Pullam because Pullam had stolen drugs from him. Hardwick was indicted for first-degree murder on April 4, 1985. In a separate case connected to the same events, he was also charged with robbery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping and received two 17-year prison terms on June 27, 1985.

Hardwick’s murder trial was held in Duval County. On March 13, 1986, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. On March 27, 1986, the jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of 7 to 5. On April 24, 1986, Judge L. Page Haddock sentenced Hardwick to death.

Hardwick appealed to the Florida Supreme Court. He raised several claims, including improper exclusion of testimony, restriction of cross-examination, refusal to allow him to represent himself, and challenges to aggravating and mitigating circumstances. On February 4, 1988, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed both his conviction and death sentence.

The United States Supreme Court declined review on October 3, 1988. In January 1990, Florida’s governor signed a death warrant for Hardwick. The Florida Supreme Court granted a stay of execution on March 15, 1990, while post-conviction proceedings continued.

Hardwick later pursued state and federal habeas appeals. In 2003, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of relief as to his conviction but vacated the denial of relief as to his death sentence. The court ordered further proceedings to determine whether trial counsel had been ineffective during the penalty phase by failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence.

Years later, in 2015, federal appellate reporting stated that Hardwick had not received adequate legal representation before being sentenced to death. The court ordered Florida either to hold a new sentencing hearing or resentence him to life in prison.

John Gary Hardwick Jr. remains imprisoned. His original first-degree murder conviction stands, but his death sentence was no longer active after the federal rulings requiring new sentencing proceedings.