& SC14-2039 Dane Patrick Abdool v. State of Florida and Dane Patrick Abdool v. Julie L. Jones, etc.

Dane Patrick Abdool appeals the denial of his motion to vacate his conviction of first-degree murder and sentence of death filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851, and he also petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus.1 For the reasons that follow, we affirm the denial of Abdool’s postconviction guilt phase claims and deny his guilt phase habeas claim, but we vacate his death sentence and remand for a new penalty phase.

I. BACKGROUND

The facts of this case were fully set out in this Court’s opinion on direct appeal. See Abdool v. State, 53 So.3d 208 (Fla. 2010). Briefly,…