Abdool v. State

In Abdool v. State, 53 So. 3d 208 (Fla. 2010), cert. denied, 132 S. Ct. 149, 181 L. Ed. 2d 66 (2011), the Court reviewed the following allegedly improper victim impact statement: "When I think about the agony this has caused me, it pales in comparison to the pain this has caused my son. Amelia had never been away from her brother Andrew. Andrew is two years younger. He loved--he looked up to his big sister and did everything with her. She drove him to school and she inspired him. He called her sister. Now I see him burning inside as he holds anger--as he holds his anger deep inside and I fear for the day when it will come out, and I fear losing my son, my only son, to this anger, pain, and remorse that can never be taken from him. That is more--that is one more future I cannot afford to lose." (Id. at 221.) The Court held that the admission of this statement was not in error because it was limited to the impact the victim's death had on the speaker and his son, and it was "directly related to the impact of the victim's death . . . on her family." Id. at 222. Further, the Court noted that the statement "did not offer any opinion about the crime, the defendant, or the appropriate sentence." Id.