Opinion ID: 1681690
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mitigation and the Postconviction Motion

Text: Jones subsequently filed a motion for postconviction relief pursuant to rule 3.850, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, raising almost two dozen claims. Jones v. State, 855 So.2d 611, 614-15 & 615 n. 1 (Fla.2003). The circuit court limited the evidentiary hearing to Jones's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel related to a voluntary intoxication defense, mitigation, and appellant's pretrial competency. Id. at 615. At that hearing, Jones presented the testimony of two relatives: his sister Pamela Mills and his cousin Carl Leon Miller. They testified to physical childhood abuse Jones suffered when they all lived with their aunt, Laura Long. Jones's trial counsel testified that he was successful only in contacting Jones's aunt, grandmother, and third-grade teacher, who largely provided a positive early childhood history for Jones. Jones's third-grade teacher, Mrs. Vera Edwards, testified at the evidentiary hearing that Jones was well prepared for school every day, well behaved, and of a little above average intelligence, and he demonstrated no signs of being physically abused. School records indicated that in later years, when Jones began using drugs and skipping school, his grades drastically slipped. Several experts who had examined him testified on his behalf. Again, no one testified that he was mentally retarded. The circuit court found some of the testimony not credible and held that defense counsel's decision regarding which experts would testify at trial was strategic and reasonable. Jones, 855 So.2d at 618. This Court affirmed the circuit court's denial of relief. Id. at 615-16.