Herring was convicted of murdering a 7-Eleven store clerk in Daytona Beach in May 1981, and sentenced to death. His sentence was upheld on appeal. Later, Herring and other death row inmates alleged that their public defender, Howard Pearl, had a serious conflict of interest in that he was a special sheriff's deputy in Marion County. The state argued that the position was purely honorary. The trial court refused to set aside the death penalty, and Herring appeals.