Covington v. State

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions and death sentences for the first-degree murders of a mother and her two children. The court held (1) the trial court did not err in concluding that the “particularly vulnerable” aggravator was proven beyond a reasonable doubt as to the murders of the two children; (2) the trial court did not err in finding that the especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel aggravator applied to one of the children’s murder; (3) Defendant’s challenges to the sufficiency of the sentencing order were unavailing; (4) any error in the trial court’s failure to consider parole ineligibility as a mitigating circumstance was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt; (5) Defendant’s guilty pleas were knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered; (6) the death sentences were proportionate; and (7) Defendant was not entitled to relief under Hurst v. Florida, 577 U.S. __ (2016). View "Covington v. State" on Justia Law