Konstantinos “Kosta” Fotopoulos, a Greek-born prisoner who has spent 36 years under a death sentence in Florida, remains incarcerated following decades of unsuccessful appeals, including renewed federal court proceedings in 2025. His case has attracted attention in Greece, where he has been described as the only living Greek national on death row in the United States.
Fotopoulos, now 67, was sentenced to death on November 1, 1990, after being convicted of two first-degree murders and involvement in a plot to kill his wife. He has consistently maintained his innocence and challenged both the prosecution’s evidence and the fairness of the proceedings that resulted in his death sentence.
The case became widely known in Greece in 2015, when journalist Sofia Papaioannou interviewed him inside a Florida maximum-security prison. During the interview, Fotopoulos expressed concern about his family’s reputation in Greece and continued to dispute the accusations against him.
Two murders and a disputed prosecution
According to Florida Supreme Court records, the case originated in 1989, when Fotopoulos operated a bar and maintained a relationship with employee Deidre Hunt. Prosecutors alleged that the pair participated in the October 20 murder of Kevin Ramsey, who was shot at a secluded rifle range in Volusia County.
Investigators subsequently linked the killing to a conspiracy targeting Fotopoulos’ wife, Lisa. On November 4, 1989, Bryan Chase entered the couple’s home and shot her in the head, seriously injuring her. Fotopoulos then shot and killed Chase. Prosecutors maintained that Chase had been recruited to murder Lisa and that Fotopoulos orchestrated the wider conspiracy.
The prosecution presented videotape evidence connected to Ramsey’s killing and testimony from Hunt, who also received death sentences. Fotopoulos denied masterminding the crimes, but the jury convicted him and recommended capital punishment by an 8–4 vote.
His conviction and sentence were upheld by the Florida Supreme Court in 1992, and the US Supreme Court declined to review the case in 1993.
A major legal dispute subsequently emerged over whether prosecutors had presented inconsistent accounts of the relative responsibility of Fotopoulos and Hunt during their separate proceedings.
In January 2007, a federal district judge granted Fotopoulos relief from his death sentences and ordered new sentencing proceedings, finding constitutional problems involving his legal representation and the prosecution’s arguments.
The victory was short-lived. In February 2008, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned that decision, restoring the original sentences. The Supreme Court declined another appeal in October 2008.
Latest appeals rejected as death sentence remains in force
Fotopoulos pursued another challenge following the US Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling in Hurst v. Florida, which addressed constitutional deficiencies in Florida’s capital sentencing procedures.
His lawyers argued that the jury’s nonunanimous recommendation should invalidate his sentences. However, in January 2018, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the newer requirements did not apply retroactively to his case, which became final in 1993.
More recent proceedings have produced no change in his legal status. In March 2025, the Eleventh Circuit ruled in a separate civil rights lawsuit involving Fotopoulos and two other death row prisoners who alleged deficiencies in their appointed post-conviction representation.
On July 1, 2025, Fotopoulos filed another federal habeas corpus petition. The Eleventh Circuit denied his request for authorization to pursue a successive petition on July 28, while a subsequent request for reconsideration did not secure relief.
On September 18, 2025, a federal district court dismissed his separately filed petition without prejudice and denied his request for appointed counsel. The dismissal was procedural and did not amount to a new examination of his innocence claims.
The possibility of diplomatic intervention has also attracted attention in Greece, where successive governments have opposed capital punishment. However, publicly accessible records examined for this report do not establish a recent formal Greek request for clemency in Fotopoulos’ case.
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