WILLIAM H. KELLEY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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William H. Kelley sought post-conviction relief under Hurst v. Florida, arguing his 1986 death sentence violated the Sixth Amendment. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of his motion, holding that Hurst does not apply retroactively to sentences that became final before the Hurst decision.
Hurst does not apply retroactively to Kelley's death sentence because his sentence became final in 1986, prior to the Hurst decision. Accordingly, Kelley is not entitled to relief under Hurst.
[1] The Supreme Court's decision in Hurst v. …
[2] A motion for postconviction relief seeking to apply Hurst v. …
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Hurst does not apply retroactively to Kelley's sentence of death.”
The Court's holding that the Hurst decision does not have retroactive application to sentences that became final before Hurst was decided.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceKelley was sentenced to death in 1986 following a jury recommendation for death by a vote of eight to three. His death sentence became final in 1986. …
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We have for review William H. Kelley’s appeal of the circuit court’s order denying his motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. This Court has jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.
Kelley’s motion sought relief pursuant to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Hurst v. Florida, — U.S. -, 136 S.Ct. 616, 193 L.Ed.2d 504 (2016), and our decision on remand in Hurst v. State (Hurst), 202 So.3d 40 (Fla. 2016), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 137 S.Ct. 2161, 198 L.Ed.2d 246 (2017). This Court stayed Kelley’s appeal pending the disposition of Hitchcock v. State, 226 So.3d 216 (Fla. 2017), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 138 S.Ct. 513, 199 L.Ed.2d 396 (2017). After this Court decided Hitchcock, Kelley responded to this Court’s order to show cause arguing why Hitchcock should not be dispositive in this case.
After reviewing Kelley’s response to the order to show cause, as well as the State’s arguments in reply, we conclude that Kelley is not entitled to relief. Kelley was sentenced to death following the jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of eight to three, and his sentence of death became final in 1986. See Kelley v. State, 486 So.2d 578, 580 (Fla. 1986).1 Thus, Hurst does not apply retroactively to Kelley’s sentence of death. See Hitchcock, 226 So.3d at 217. Accordingly, we affirm the denial of Kelley’s motion.
The Court having carefully considered all arguments raised by Kelley, we caution that any rehearing motion containing rear-gument will be stricken. It is so ordered.
LABARGA, C.J., and POLSTON, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.
PARIENTE, J., concurs in result with an opinion.
LEWIS and CANADY, JJ., concur in. result.
QUINCE, J., recused.
concurring in result.
I concur in result because I recognize that this Court’s opinion in Hitchcock v. State, 226 So.3d 216 (Fla. 2017), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 138 S.Ct. 513, 199 L.Ed.2d 396 (2017), is now final. However, I continue to adhere to the views expressed in my dissenting opinion in Hitchcock.
PARIENTE, J.,
concurring in result.
I concur in result because I recognize that this Court’s opinion in Hitchcock v. State, 226 So. 3d 216 (Fla. 2017), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 138 S.Ct. 513, 199 L.Ed.2d 396 (2017), is now final. However, I continue to adhere to the views expressed in my dissenting opinion in Hitchcock.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Hurst v. Florida., 136 S. Ct. 616 (U.S. 2016)
- Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016)
- Florida v. Hurst., 137 S. Ct. 2161 (U.S. 2017)
- Hitchcock v. State, 226 So. 3d 216 (Fla. 2017)
- Rainey v. Dist. Attorney Off. of Philadelphia., 138 S. Ct. 513 (U.S. 2017)
- Ward v. Neal, 137 S. Ct. 2161 (U.S. 2017)
- Boone v. Lorie Davis, 137 S. Ct. 2163 (U.S. 2017)
- Loud v. Lorie Davis, 138 S. Ct. 513 (U.S. 2017)
- Allen v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 513 (U.S. 2017)
- Kelley v. State, 486 So. 2d 578 (Fla. 1986)