Elijah Brookins, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee

Summary

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Elijah Brookins’ first‑degree murder conviction but vacated his death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase because the jury’s recommendation was not unanimous, creating a Hurst error that was not harmless. The Court held that the trial court properly admitted collateral crime evidence for impeachment, that the State’s comments on Brookins’ silence were permissible, and that the evidence supported the conviction. Justice Lawson, concurring in part and dissenting in part, argued the death sentence should stand because the Hurst error does not apply given Brookins’ prior violent felony conviction.