Dean Kenneth Rockmore, Petitioner v. State of Florida, Responden — Pariente, J., Concurring in Part and Dissenting…

Summary

Pariente, J. concurring in part and dissenting in part, holds that the trial court’s modified jury instruction on abandonment was not harmless error and that any defendant who presents evidence of abandonment as a defense to robbery must receive a legally accurate special instruction. She would reverse Rockmore’s life sentence and remand for a new trial with the proper instruction. The opinion also notes that the majority’s selective view of the evidence improperly denied Rockmore the benefit of such instruction.