Ellerbee v. State

Defendant was entitled to a new penalty phase proceeding pursuant to Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016) and Mosley v. State, 209 So. 3d 1248 (Fla. 2016) and based on his claim of ineffective assistance of penalty phase counsel.Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and other crimes. The jury recommended a sentence of death for the murder by a vote of eleven to one. The trial court imposed a sentence of death. Defendant later filed a motion to vacate judgment of conviction and sentence pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851. The postconvcition denied all claims, concluding that penalty phase counsel was deficient but that Defendant was not prejudiced as a result. Defendant appealed and filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus seeking relief pursuant to Hurst v. Florida, 577 U.S. __ (2016). The Supreme Court affirmed the denial of postconvcition relief but granted the petition for writ of habeas corpus, vacated Defendant’s death sentence, and remanded, holding (1) trial counsel was deficient for failing to discover paternal neglect, paternal abuse, and the extent of paternal substance abuse, and the deficiency was prejudicial; and (2) the failure to require a unanimous verdict regarding the sentence of death was not harmless. View "Ellerbee v. State" on Justia Law