Willie James Hodges, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of postconviction relief concerning Hodges's first-degree murder conviction, concluding that his ineffective-assistance claims either failed to establish deficient performance or failed to show a reasonable probability of prejudice. Applying the intervening capital-sentencing decision, the court held that Hodges's death sentence could not stand because it was imposed under Florida's former sentencing scheme and followed a nonunanimous jury recommendation. The court therefore reversed the death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase. Canady, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have affirmed the death sentence because he would not apply the intervening decision retroactively.