Kimbrough v. State
Kimbrough v. State
Opinion of the Court
Darius Mark Kimbrough appeals an order from the Ninth Judicial Circuit denying his successive postconviction motion filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851.
I. Background
Kimbrough is scheduled for execution on November 12, 2013, for the murder of Denise Collins. He “was convicted of first-degree murder, burglary of a dwelling with a battery therein, and sexual battery with great force and was sentenced to death consistent with a jury recommendation of eleven to one.” Kimbrough v. State, 700 So.2d 634, 635 (Fla. 1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1028, 118 S.Ct. 1316, 140 L.Ed.2d 479 (1998). In 1991, Kimbrough entered the victim’s apartment through a second-floor sliding glass door and attacked and raped her. Id. at 635-36. The victim died from blunt injury to the face. Id. at 636.
This Court upheld the convictions and death sentence on direct appeal in 1997. Id. at 639. And, in 2004, this Court upheld the denial of postconviction relief and denied habeas relief. Kimbrough v. State, 886 So.2d 965 (Fla. 2004). Kimbrough filed his current successive postconviction motion after Governor Scott signed a death warrant on October 4, 2013.
II. Analysis
In these successive postconviction proceedings, Kimbrough claims that Florida’s death penalty statute violates the Eighth Amendment’s evolving standards of decency because most states require a unanimous jury verdict to recommend a death sentence and because allegedly newly discovered evidence indicates that Florida witnessed an increase in death sentences in 2012 compared to the rest of the nation. We affirm the circuit court’s denial of relief.
Additionally, as the circuit court accurately noted in this case, “the various research studies cited by [Kimbrough] do not qualify as newly discovered evidence under the law governing newly discovered evidence.” See Foster v. State, — So.3d -, -, 2013 WL 5659482, *24 (Fla. 2013) (“[N]ew research studies are not recognized as newly discovered evidence.” (citing Schwab v. State, 969 So.2d 318, 325 (Fla. 2007); Rutherford v. State, 940 So.2d 1112, 1117 (Fla. 2006))). Accordingly, the circuit court properly denied relief.
III. Conclusion
For the reasons expressed above, we affirm the order of the circuit court denying Kimbrough’s successive postconviction motion. No rehearing will be entertained by this Court, and the mandate shall issue immediately.
It is so ordered.
. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.
. Claims raised under rule 3.851 "may be summarily denied when they are legally insufficient, should have been brought on direct appeal, or are positively refuted by the record.” Marek v. State, 8 So.3d 1123, 1127 (Fla. 2009) (quoting Connor v. State, 979 So.2d 852, 868 (Fla. 2007)).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Darius Mark KIMBROUGH v. STATE of Florida
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published