holding that, under Florida’s felony-murder statute, "a felony-murder conviction [can be] predicated upon a single act of aggravated child abuse that caused the child’s death”
How later courts described this case
- holding that, under Florida’s felony-murder statute, "a felony-murder conviction [can be] predicated upon a single act of aggravated child abuse that caused the child’s death”
- holding that when the legislature has explicitly stated that a particular felony is a predicate felony for felony murder, the merger doctrine does not apply
- holding that a felony murder conviction can be based on aggravated child abuse consisting of a single violent act
- stating that stare decisis may yield where an error in legal analysis has occurred
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
QUINCE, J.,
dissenting.
I dissent because the single act of aggravated abuse in this case is necessary to prove the felony murder. Thus, the aggravated abuse is a necessarily lesser included offense of the felony murder. This is no different from a case of second-degree murder and manslaughter. Certainly, a defendant could not be convicted of second-degree murder and manslaughter of the same victim.