Melton v. Secretary, Florida Dept. of Corrections, No. 13-12967 (11th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseA Florida jury convicted Antonio Melton of armed robbery and first-degree felony murder for shooting George Carter during a robbery of Carter’s pawn shop. He was sentenced to death. Melton sought postconviction relief from the Supreme Court of Florida, which denied relief. Melton then filed a federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that under "Roper v. Simmons," (543 U.S. 551 (2005)), the state courts violated his rights under the Eighth Amendment when they relied on a juvenile conviction as an aggravating factor in a capital case and when they failed to consider his "mental and emotional age." The district court denied the petition and refused to grant a certificate of appealability. Melton moved the Eleventh Circuit to grant him a certificate of appealability, and that request was denied. Melton moved for reconsideration to include as new issues his arguments based on Roper. Because neither issue was debatable, the Eleventh Circuit denied Melton’s motion.
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