DAVID EDWARD BARLOW, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The conviction is affirmed, but the death penalty is commuted to life imprisonment due to the invalidation of present death sentences by Furman v. Georgia.
[1] The imposition of the death penalty under statutes invalidated by Furman v. …
[2] A conviction is not rendered invalid by Furman v. …
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant was convicted and sentenced to death. The appeal addressed the penalty phase in light of Furman v. Georgia and other grounds for reversal.…
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The principal aspect of this appeal was disposed of by blanket opinion with other cases in the opinion by Adkins, J., in Anderson, et al. v. State, filed September 8, 1972, 267 So.2d 8 (Fla. 1972). That opinion dealt with the penalty phase in the light of the U.S. Supreme Court case of Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972), invalidating present death sentences; also our earlier Donaldson v. Sack opinion filed July 17, 1972, 265 So.2d 499 (Fla.1972).
Additionally, appellant’s Witherspoon 1 objections are rendered immaterial by Furman. Mr. Justice Blackmun in Moore v. Illinois, 408 U.S. 786, 92 S.Ct. 2562 at 2570-2571, 33 L.Ed.2d 706 (U.S. 1972), pointed this up in the following language:
“Inasmuch as the Court today has ruled that the imposition of the death penalty under statutes such as those of Illinois is violative of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 32 L.Ed.2d 346, it is unnecessary for us to consider the claim of noncompliance with the Witherspoon standards. In Witherspoon, 391 U.S. 510, 522 n. 21, at 523, 88 S.Ct. 1770, at 1777, 20 L.Ed.2d 776, the Court stated specifically, ‘Nor, finally, does today’s holding render invalid the conviction, as opposed to the sentence, in this or any other case’ (emphasis in original). The sentence of death, however, may not now be imposed.”
The other grounds for reversal cited of (1) improper testimony relating to prior crimes, was well within the rule, and (2) allegedly improper prosecutor’s questioning and closing argument, meet the applicable criteria and guidelines.
The briefs, record and oral arguments on appeal have been otherwise fully considered. Appellant having failed to *823demonstrate reversible error, the conviction is affirmed and the penalty of death is commuted to life imprisonment, as set forth in our earlier case of Anderson, et al. v. State, supra.
Affirmed.
ROBERTS, C. J., and ERVIN, ADKINS, BOYD and McCAIN, JJ„ concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Cleveland Lee Johnson v. State, 270 So. 2d 44 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972)…etition pursuant to CrPR 3.850, 33 F.S.A., and appeals the denial of that petition. The relief he sought has since been afforded him by the Supreme Court of Florida in In re Baker et al., Fla.1972, 267 So. 2d 331. See also Barlow v. State, Fla.1972, 267 So. 2d 822, holding that Witherspoon1 objections are rendered immaterial by Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346. This appeal is now moot, and is accordingly Dismissed. PIERCE, C. J., and LILES and Mc-NULTY, JJ., concur. . Withers…
Authorities Cited
- Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (U.S. 1972)
- Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510 (U.S. 1968)
- Moore v. Illinois, 408 U.S. 786 (U.S. 1972)
- Earnest Eugene Anderson v. State, 267 So. 2d 8 (Fla. 1972)
- Donaldson v. The Honorable Martin Sack, 265 So. 2d 499 (Fla. 1972)