Thomas Bevel v. State of Florida

Summary

The court affirmed Bevel's two death sentences after concluding that the trial court properly rejected the extreme mental or emotional disturbance mitigator, correctly instructed the jury on mercy, and properly limited argument concerning comparative proportionality. The court also rejected Bevel's preserved and constitutional challenges to Florida's capital-sentencing scheme. The court alternatively held that any error concerning the mental or emotional disturbance mitigator would have been harmless.