Eric Lee Simmons, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee

Summary

The court held that Simmons's death sentence was unconstitutional because the jury did not unanimously find that the aggravating factors were sufficient to impose death or that they outweighed mitigation, and the death recommendation itself was not unanimous. The State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this constitutional error was harmless because the jury voted eight to four for death and the record did not reveal why four jurors rejected death. The court vacated the death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase. Perry, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have required imposition of a life sentence instead of a new penalty phase.