KENNETH HARTLEY v. JULIE JONES ETC (2017)

Kenneth Hartley petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus seeking relief under the United States Supreme Court's decision in Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016). However, as this Court has decided in Asay v. State, 41 Fla. L. Weekly S646 (Fla. Dec. 22, 2016), Hurst is not retroactive to cases decided before Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002). Hartley's death sentence was final in 1997 upon the Supreme Court's denial of certiorari. See Hartley v. Florida, 522 U.S. 825 (1997). Accordingly, Hartley is not entitled to relief under Hurst. The petition for writ of habeas corpus is hereby denied.

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING MOTION AND, IF FILED, DETERMINED.

I concur in result because I am bound by this Court's precedent from Asay v. State, 41 Fla. L. Weekly S646 (Fla. Dec. 22, 2016), which is now final. However, as I explained in my concurring in part and dissenting in part opinion in Asay, I would not deny retroactive application of Hurst to the defendant.

A True Copy

Test:

John A. Tomasino Clerk, Supreme Court

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Served:

BERDENE BEVIONE BECKLES

LINDA MCDERMOTT

HON. RONNIE FUSSELL, CLERK

LABARGA, C.J., and LEWIS, QUINCE, POLSTON, and LAWSON, JJ., concur. PARIENTE, J., concurs in result with an opinion. CANADY, J., concurs in result. PARIENTE, J., concurring in result.