Kevin G. Jeffries, Jr., Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee

Summary

The court affirmed Jeffries's convictions for first-degree murder, armed burglary, and armed robbery because competent, substantial evidence supported both the premeditated-murder and felony-murder theories. It held that his death sentence violated the requirement that critical sentencing findings be made unanimously by the jury, and that the error was not harmless given the ten-to-two recommendation and mitigating evidence. The court vacated the death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase. Justice Pariente, joined by Justice Quince, would have required a relative-culpability analysis and reduced the sentence to life, while Justice Canady, joined by Justice Polston, would have affirmed the death sentence; Justice Lawson concurred specially.