DOMINICK A. OCCHICONE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Dominick Occhicone appealed the circuit court's denial of his motion for postconviction relief based on Hurst v. Florida, which changed capital sentencing procedures. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial, holding that Hurst does not apply retroactively to Occhicone's death sentence because it became final in 1991, before Hurst was decided.
Hurst does not apply retroactively to Occhicone's sentence of death because the sentence became final in 1991, before Hurst was decided in 2016. Therefore, Occhicone is not entitled to relief under Hurst.
[1] The Supreme Court's decision in Hurst v. …
[2] A motion for postconviction relief based on a new Supreme Court ruling will be denied if the ruling does not apply retroactively to the defendant's case.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Thus, Hurst does not apply retroactively to Occhicone's sentence of death.”
The Court's central holding that the new constitutional rule from Hurst v. Florida does not apply to sentences that became final before Hurst was decided.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOcchicone was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. A jury recommended death by a vote of seven to five, and the trial court sentenced him t…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Hurst V. Florida Retroactivity cases and more on FLexlaw
We have for review Dominick A. Occhi-cone’s appeal of the circuit court’s order denying Occhicone’s motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. This Court has jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.
Occhicone’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 Occhicone’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, Occhicone respondéd to this Court’s order to show cause arguing why Hitchcock should not be dispositive in this case.
After reviewing Occhicone’s response to the order to show cause, as well as the State’s arguments in reply, we conclude that Occhicone is not entitled to relief. Occhicone was sentenced to death following a jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of seven to five. See Occhicone v. State, 570 So.2d 902, 904 (Fla. 1990).1 His sentence of death became final in 1991. Occhicone v. Florida, 500 U.S. 938, 111 S.Ct. 2067, 114 L.Ed.2d 471 (1991). Thus, Hurst does not apply retroactively to Oc-chicone’s sentence of death. See Hitchcock, 226 So.3d at 217. Accordingly, we affirm the denial of Occhicone’s motion.
The Court having carefully considered all arguments raised by Occhicone, we caution that any rehearing motion containing reargument 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
Cited By
-
Occhicone v. State (Fla. 2026)
Authorities Cited (12 total)
- Hurst v. Florida., 136 S. Ct. 616 (U.S. 2016)
- Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016)
- Occhicone v. State, 768 So. 2d 1037 (Fla. 2000)
- 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)