Death Sentence for Burglary Sexual Battery and First-Degree Murder In Florida

In Murray v. State, 3 So. 3d 1108 (Fla.), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 396, 175 L. Ed. 2d 273 (2009), Murray was convicted of burglary of the victim's home, sexual battery and first-degree murder. She had been beaten, stabbed, sexually battered, and strangled. Id. at 1114. Murray declined to present any mitigation and the court found four aggravators-- prior violent felony, commission of the murder during a burglary or sexual battery or both, financial gain, and heinous atrocious and cruel (HAC). The court found five nonstatutory mitigators. Id. This Court found the sentence proportionate and affirmed. Id. at 1125. See also Johnston v. State, 841 So. 2d 349, 361 (Fla. 2002) (finding death sentence proportionate for sexual battery, beating, and strangulation where aggravators included prior violent felony, murder in course of a felony, and HAC weighed against one statutory mitigator and numerous nonstatutory mitigators).