McGirth v. State
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, and fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions and sentences. Defendant later filed an amended motion to vacate judgment of conviction and sentence under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851. After holding an evidentiary hearing, the postconviction court denied Defendant’s amended rule 3.851 motion, concluding that, due to Defendant’s failure to offer any evidence, the burden of proof had not been met. Defendant appealed the denial of postconviction relief and also filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus. The Supreme Court affirmed the denial of postconviction relief but granted the habeas petition and vacated Defendant’s death sentence, holding that a Hurst error occurred during Defendant’s penalty phase proceedings, and the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Remanded for a new penalty phase proceeding based on Hurst v. Florida.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.