Vahtiece Alfonzo Kirkman v. State of Florida

Summary

The court affirmed Kirkman’s first-degree murder conviction, concluding that evidence concerning a related murder was relevant, sufficiently limited, and not unfairly prejudicial. The court also independently determined that competent, substantial evidence supported the conviction under both premeditated-murder and felony-murder theories. Because the jury recommended death by a nonunanimous ten-to-two vote, the court held that the Hurst error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, vacated the death sentence, and remanded for a new penalty phase.