Terry Smith v. State of Florida
139 So. 3d 839
Fla.2014Background
- On June 5, 2007, 19‑year‑old Terry Smith accompanied Breon Williams to a Jacksonville home to buy narcotics; Smith brought a ten‑millimeter handgun.
- Inside, Smith told occupant Desmond Robinson to "give it up," shots were fired, and Robinson was killed; Smith then moved through the house and fatally shot Berthum Gibson and Keenethia Keenan (both in bedroom area).
- Eyewitness Breon Williams saw Smith shoot Robinson and flee; forensic evidence included Smith’s palm print on interior Plexiglas of the back door and shell casings from the same gun in multiple rooms.
- Afterward Smith admitted in a car that he had shot three people; he disposed of the gun and burned clothes. Williams’s money and drugs remained at the scene.
- A jury convicted Smith of three counts of first‑degree murder (felony murder for all three; premeditated murder also for Gibson and Keenan) and attempted armed robbery; the jury recommended death for Gibson (8–4) and Keenan (10–2) and life for Robinson.
- The trial court found aggravators (prior capital felony based on contemporaneous murders; murder during attempted armed robbery merged with pecuniary gain), limited statutory mitigation (age 19), various nonstatutory mitigators, and imposed death sentences for Gibson and Keenan and life for Robinson.
Issues
| Issue | Smith's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for premeditated murder of Gibson and Keenan | Evidence did not refute self‑defense; convictions should be vacated | Eyewitness and forensic evidence support felony and premeditated murder; self‑defense not preserved at trial and is refuted by record | Affirmed: evidence sufficient for felony and premeditated murder |
| Weighting of aggravator (murder during course of felony) | Trial court improperly amplified aggravator by relying on premeditation (a nonstatutory aggravator) | Trial court may consider crime circumstances in weighing aggravator; premeditation evidence is sufficient | Affirmed: no abuse of discretion; not a separate nonstatutory aggravator |
| Proportionality of death sentences | Sentences disproportionate given mitigation | Aggravators and mitigators weighed reasonably; comparable to other upheld cases | Affirmed: death sentences proportional |
| Ring v. Arizona challenge to capital sentencing | Florida sentencing procedure unconstitutional under Ring | Ring satisfied where defendant had contemporaneous violent felonies and murder during enumerated felony | Affirmed: no Ring violation; convictions and sentences constitutional |
Key Cases Cited
- Victorino v. State, 23 So. 3d 87 (Fla. 2009) (preservation requirement for judgment of acquittal grounds)
- Twilegar v. State, 42 So. 3d 177 (Fla. 2010) (standards for reviewing sufficiency of direct and circumstantial evidence)
- Franqui v. State, 699 So. 2d 1312 (Fla. 1997) (elements of attempted armed robbery)
- Pagan v. State, 830 So. 2d 792 (Fla. 2002) (definition of premeditation)
- Larry v. State, 104 So. 2d 352 (Fla. 1958) (factors from which premeditation may be inferred)
- Brown v. State, 381 So. 2d 690 (Fla. 1980) (discussion on impermissible use of premeditation as separate aggravator)
- Hayward v. State, 24 So. 3d 17 (Fla. 2009) (proportionality precedent for death sentences)
- Chandler v. State, 75 So. 3d 267 (Fla. 2011) (Ring satisfied where defendant convicted of contemporaneous violent felony)