Roy Phillip Ballard, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee — Polston, J., Concurring in Part and Dissenting in Part

Summary

Justice Polston concurs with the majority that Ballard’s first‑degree murder conviction should be affirmed, but dissents from the majority’s vacatur of the death sentence, arguing that the sentence is proportionate given the cold, calculated, premeditated aggravator and the lack of substantial mitigation. He relies on prior Florida cases upholding death sentences with a single aggravator and rejects the as‑applied Ring challenge.