DENNIS WHITNEY, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Dennis Whitney appealed the denial of a Rule 3.850 motion seeking to set aside his murder conviction and death sentence on grounds of jury bias from adverse publicity. The court affirmed the denial, finding the issue moot because the death penalty had been vacated and replaced with a life sentence following the Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia.
The court affirmed the denial of Whitney's Rule 3.850 motion, finding the relief sought was moot because the death penalty had been vacated by the Circuit Court of Dade County and replaced with a life sentence following Furman v. Georgia.
[1] A motion for postconviction relief under Rule 3.850 CrPR is not the proper vehicle to seek avoidance of a death penalty that has already been vacated and replaced with a…
[2] A defendant's confession and stipulation to facts establishing guilt at trial may render moot claims regarding jury bias related to the death penalty.
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“Whitney confessed the crime, and at trial stipulated to facts establishing his commission thereof.”
Establishes that Whitney's guilt was not genuinely in dispute, undermining any bias claim.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWhitney, then seventeen years old, robbed a filling station on February 29, 1960, and shot the attendant Keeler twice in the face and back of the head…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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This is an appeal from an order of the trial court denying a motion filed under Rule 3.850 CrPR, 33 F.S.A.
The appellant Dennis Manford Whitney was indicted for murder in the first degree. Trial thereon before a jury resulted in a verdict of guilty without recommendation of mercy. Adjudication of guilt and death sentence followed. On appeal therefrom by Whitney to the Supreme Court of Florida the judgment was affirmed. See Whitney v. State, Fla.1961, 132 So.2d 599.
On a first motion for relief under Rule 3.850 CrPR, which was denied, and on a second motion under said rule for relief the denial of which is the basis of this appeal, Whitney sought to have the judgment set aside contending the jury was biased against him due to adverse publicity.
However, from the record and the opinion rendered by the Supreme Court in *404Whitney’s case it is apparent the relief sought by the current motion under Rule 3.850 was to avoid the death penalty which had been imposed. As disclosed in the Supreme Court’s opinion in 132 So.2d 599, 600-601, Whitney confessed the crime, and at trial stipulated to facts establishing his commission thereof.1 The question as to validity of the action of the jury relating to the death penalty appears to be moot, as this -court takes note of the circumstance that subsequent to the recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States dealing with capital punishment,2 in action taken by the Circuit Court of Dade County the death penalty against Whitney in this case was vacated and a life sentence imposed.
Affirmed.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (U.S. 1972)
- Whitney v. State, 132 So. 2d 599 (Fla. 1961)