Opinion ID: 1801025
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Relief Pursuant to Ring

Text: Both the Florida Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court have held that Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002), does not apply retroactively. See Johnson v. State, 904 So.2d 400, 402 (Fla. 2005); Schriro v. Summerlin, 542 U.S. 348, 358, 124 S.Ct. 2519, 159 L.Ed.2d 442 (2004). Melton's death sentence became final when this Court denied his Motion for Rehearing after rejecting his direct appeal, in July of 1994. This was nearly eight years before Ring was decided in 2002; therefore, Melton cannot rely on Ring to find his death sentence unconstitutional. See Washington v. State, 907 So.2d 512, 514 (Fla.2005) (finding defendant not entitled to relief under Ring because Ring is not applied retroactively).