State v. Okafor
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The Supreme Court held that its 2017 judgment vacating on direct appeal Defendant's death sentence is final, that neither the Supreme Court nor the trial court can lawfully reinstate that sentence, and that, therefore, resentencing was required.
In 2015, Defendant was sentenced to death for first-degree premeditated murder. In 2017, relying on the then-applicable rule of Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016), the Supreme Court vacated Defendant's death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase proceeding. In 2020, the Supreme Court decided State v. Poole, 297 So. 3d 487 (Fla. 2020), in which the Court receded from Hurst. Because Defendant would have been constitutionality eligible for a death sentence under the rule of Poole the State asked the trial court to reinstate Defendant's death sentence. The trial court denied the State's motion. Thereafter, the State filed a petition arguing that reinstatement of Defendant's death sentence was required under Poole. The Supreme Court denied the petition, holding that the Court cannot reconsider its judgment vacating Defendant's death sentence and that the trial court also lacked the authority to reconsider the Supreme Court's final judgment vacating Defendant's death sentence.
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