Paul Beasley Johnson, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee

Summary

The court reversed the denial of Johnson's successive postconviction motion, vacated his three death sentences, and remanded for a new penalty phase before a newly empaneled jury. It held that the State intentionally used a jailhouse informant to elicit statements after Johnson had counsel, that the prosecutor knowingly presented false testimony and misleading argument to defeat suppression, and that the State failed to prove the resulting error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt in sentencing, although it was harmless as to guilt. The court rejected Johnson's other claims. Justice Polston, dissenting, would have affirmed because the informant's testimony was brief, impeached, cumulative, and immaterial to the death sentences.