State of Florida, Appellant/cross-Appellee v. Gerald Delane Murray, Appellee/cross-Appellant. Gerald Delane Murray…

Summary

The court affirmed the postconviction court's partial grant and denial of relief, including the grant of a new penalty phase based on the nonunanimous death recommendation, and denied habeas relief. It held that the newly discovered evidence and ineffective-assistance claims did not satisfy the governing requirements because the evidence was not sufficiently reliable or outcome-changing and counsel's challenged decisions were reasonable or nonprejudicial. The court also affirmed summary denial of the successive postconviction motion because the innocence allegations were conclusively refuted by the trial record. Justice Pariente, concurring, criticized the disparate treatment of Murray and his accomplice under the retroactivity line for penalty-phase relief, while Justice Polston, joined by Chief Justice Canady, would not have affirmed the new penalty phase.