State v. Fitzpatrick
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and sexual battery. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death on the murder conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence of death on direct appeal. Defendant subsequently filed an amended motion to vacate judgment of conviction and sentence. After an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court vacated Defendant's judgment of guilt of first-degree murder and his sentence of death and ordered a new trial, concluding that Defendant established the deficiency and prejudice prongs of Strickland v. Washington for his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and had established cumulative error. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant's trial counsel provided constitutionally deficient representation during the guilt phase; and (2) Defendant was entitled to a new trial.
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