Shawn Rogers v. State of Florida

Summary

The court affirmed Rogers’s first-degree murder conviction and death sentence. It held that the penalty-phase instructions did not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt for the sufficiency and weighing determinations, that the challenged evidentiary and sentencing-order errors did not warrant relief, and that competent substantial evidence supported the conviction and aggravating circumstances. The court also concluded that the death sentence was proportionate. Justice Labarga concurred in part and dissented in part, emphasizing that the penalty-phase findings should be described as findings and that sentencing orders must meaningfully address mitigation.