Hoskins v. State

Johnny Hoskins, a prisoner under sentence of death, appeals from the denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. This Court has jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons explained below, we affirm the circuit court’s order denying relief.

I. BACKGROUND

In October 1992, Hoskins raped and then gagged and bound Dorothy Berger, his eighty-year-old neighbor, in her home. After putting her in the trunk of her own car, Hoskins drove the car from Melbourne, Florida, to his parents’ home in Georgia. Upon arrival early in the…