State v. Robinson

The State appeals the trial court’s order granting Ceasar Robinson’s motion for post-conviction relief, filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, based on newly discovered evidence. We reverse, concluding that the trial court abused its discretion in granting postconviction relief where the evidence was not likely to produce an acquittal on retrial.

In the early morning hours of December 5, 1981, Avil Francis was shot to death while sleeping at a residence in Winter Haven, Florida. His newlywed wife, Bernadette Francis, was shot in the head, but survived the shooting. The…