Alex Pagan, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee

Summary

The court vacated the order denying Pagan’s postconviction motion, held that his death sentence resulted from Hurst error, and remanded for a new penalty phase. Because the jury recommended death by a vote of seven to five and the sentence became final after Ring, the court determined that the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Justices Lawson and Polston dissented, concluding that the Hurst error was either absent, nonretroactive, or harmless under the proper analysis.