Opinion
No. SC08-59.
February 17, 2009.
Lower Tribunal No(s). 94-CF-1283.
Edward J. Zakrzewski, a prisoner under sentence of death, appeals the circuit court's denial of his successive motion for postconviction relief filed under Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.850 and 3.851. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)( 1), Fla. Const. After this Court affirmed Zakrzewski's conviction and sentence on direct appeal, see Zakrzewski v. State, 717 So. 2d 488 (Fla. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1126 (1999), Zakrzewski sought postconviction relief in this Court and federal courts. See Zakrzewski v. State, 866 So. 2d 688 (Fla. 2003) (affirming denial of postconviction relief); Zakrzewski v. McDonough, 455 F.3d 1254 (11th Cir. 2006), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1349 (2007) (affirming denial of federal habeas); Zakrzewski v. McDonough, 490 F.3d 1264 (11th Cir. 2007) (vacating and remanding denial of motion filed under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)). On remand, the district court again denied relief. See Zakrzewski v. McDonough, 2007 WL 2827735 (N.D. Fla. Sep. 26, 2007). Appeal of that denial is currently pending in the Eleventh Circuit. See Zakrzewski v. McDonough, 2008 WL 150050 (N.D. Fla. Jan. 14, 2008) (certificate of appealability granted.)
In his current postconviction appeal in this Court, Zakrzewski raises two claims: (1) that the court erred in summarily denying his claim that Florida's procedures for carrying out lethal injection violate the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution; and (2) that the court erred in denying his claim that newly discovered evidence, consisting of the 2006 American Bar Association Report entitled Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in the State Death Penalty System: The Florida Death Penalty Assessment Report, demonstrates that his conviction and sentence constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. This Court has previously rejected each of these claims.See Ventura v. State, 34 Fla. L. Weekly S71 (Fla. Jan. 29, 2009) (rejecting challenge to Florida's lethal injection protocols); Tompkins v. State, 994 So. 2d 1072 (Fla. 2008) (rejecting challenge to Florida's lethal injection protocols and rejecting claim as to the unconstitutionality of the death penalty system based on the ABA report); see also Henyard v. State, 992 So. 2d 120 (Fla. 2008);Lightbourne v. McCollum, 969 So. 2d 326 (Fla. 2007); Schwab v. State, 969 So. 2d 318 (Fla. 2007); Diaz v. State, 945 So. 2d 1136 (Fla. 2006);Rutherford v. State, 940 So. 2d 1112 (Fla. 2006).
Accordingly, the trial court's denial of postconviction relief on both issues is hereby affirmed.
It is so ordered.
QUINCE, C.J., and WELLS, PARIENTE, LEWIS, CANADY, POLSTON, and LABARGA, JJ., concur.