James Ernest Hitchcock, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee — Lewis, J., Concurring

Summary

Justice Lewis concurred in the result because Hitchcock first raised his Sixth Amendment challenge after his sentence became final and therefore failed to preserve it through trial and direct appeal. He disagreed with the majority's broader limitation on retroactive relief, reasoning that defendants who preserved the substance of the constitutional challenge before the governing Supreme Court decision should receive consideration of their claims. Justice Pariente, dissenting, would have applied the constitutional rule retroactively to Hitchcock and vacated his death sentence because the nonunanimous recommendation was unreliable and not harmless.