Alex Pagan, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee

Summary

The Florida Supreme Court vacated Alex Pagan’s death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase because the Hurst error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt; the Court held the jury’s non‑unanimous recommendation rendered the sentence constitutionally infirm. The decision was contested by two dissenting justices who argued that Hurst does not apply retroactively and that the error, if any, is harmless.