Eric Lee Simmons v. State of Florida, 207 So. 3d 860

Simmons was convicted of 2001 kidnapping, sexual battery, and murder; after a resentencing proceeding the jury returned an 8–4 advisory recommendation for death.
At resentencing the jury unanimously found three statutory aggravators (prior violent felony; murder during kidnapping/sexual battery; heinous/atrocious/cruel) and rejected two statutory mental-health mitigators; six jurors found 29 nonstatutory mitigators by greater weight.
The trial court weighed the aggravators (two given great weight, one moderate) against multiple nonstatutory mitigators and two additional mitigating factors found at a Spencer hearing (childhood intellectual disability and prison adjustment) and imposed death.
After oral argument the U.S. Supreme Court decided Hurst v. Florida (2016); Florida Supreme Court later held in Hurst v. State that a jury must unanimously find existence of aggravators, their sufficiency, and that aggravators outweigh mitigation before a judge may impose death.
The interrogation verdict here listed unanimous findings as to aggravators but did not show unanimous findings that aggravators were sufficient or outweighed mitigation; the advisory recommendation was not unanimous—creating the Hurst error.
The Florida Supreme Court vacated Simmons’s death sentence and remanded for a new penalty-phase because the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Hurst error was harmless.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Florida’s sentencing violated the Sixth Amendment under Hurst	Simmons: judge, not jury, made critical findings; Hurst requires jury unanimity on sufficiency and outweighing	State: interrogatory showing unanimous aggravators and advisory vote support sentence	Court: Hurst error occurred; interrogatory did not satisfy unanimity on sufficiency or outweighing and advisory was nonunanimous
Whether the interrogatory verdict cured Hurst error	Simmons: interrogatory did not include required unanimous findings on sufficiency/weight	State: written unanimous findings on aggravators were substantial compliance	Court: interrogatory insufficient—must show unanimous findings that aggravators are sufficient and outweigh mitigation
Whether the Hurst error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt	Simmons: error likely contributed given 8–4 advisory vote and unclear juror reasoning	State: jury unanimously found aggravators; that supports harmlessness	Court: Not harmless—State failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt error did not contribute to death recommendation
Remedy: new penalty phase vs automatic life under §775.082(2)	Simmons (and concurring justice): some argue statute requires life when death sentence held unconstitutional	State: remand for new penalty phase appropriate	Court: Vacated death sentence and remanded for new penalty-phase; separate concurrence argued for automatic life under statute

Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (U.S. 2016) (U.S. Supreme Court holding Florida scheme unconstitutional because judge, not jury, made critical sentencing findings)
Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016) (Florida Supreme Court requiring unanimous jury findings that aggravators exist, are sufficient, and outweigh mitigation)
Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002) (Sixth Amendment requires jury finding of any fact that increases penalty beyond prescribed statutory maximum)
Hall v. Florida, 134 S. Ct. 1986 (2014) (limitations on IQ cutoff in intellectual-disability death-penalty cases; consider standard error of measurement)
Spencer v. State, 615 So. 2d 688 (Fla. 1993) (procedures for postconviction presentation of mitigation evidence)
Simmons v. State, 934 So. 2d 1100 (Fla. 2006) (prior direct appeal affirming conviction and initial death sentence)
Simmons v. State, 105 So. 3d 475 (Fla. 2012) (postconviction decision vacating death sentence and remanding for new penalty phase due to inadequate mitigation investigation)