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

Summary

The court held that Johnson's death sentences violated the constitutional requirement that the jury find the facts necessary to impose death. It rejected the State's argument that Johnson's convictions for other violent felonies insulated the sentences and found that the sentencing error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because the jury's nonunanimous recommendation and extensive mitigation prevented determining what aggravating findings the jury unanimously made. The court therefore vacated the death sentences and remanded for a new penalty proceeding. Perry, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part, agreed that the sentences were unconstitutional but would have required imposition of life sentences under the statutory remedy.