Rozzelle v. Secretary, FL. Dept. of Corrections

Petitioner appealed the district court's denial of his untimely 28 U.S.C. 2254 petition challenging his Florida second-degree murder conviction. This appeal centered around the "depraved mind" mens rea in Florida Statutes 782.04(2). Petitioner conceded that his section 2254 habeas petition was not timely filed but claimed that an actual innocence exception to the statute's time-bar existed and argued that he made a sufficient showing of actual innocence in order for his petition to proceed. The court concluded that petitioner failed to state a cognizable actual innocence claim under Schlup v. Delo. Even if petitioner's claim of actual innocence were cognizable, his claim still failed because his "new" evidence was largely cumulative of what the jury heard, and he had not made a sufficient showing that it was more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted him of second-degree murder. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's denial of petitioner's time-barred section 2254 petition. View "Rozzelle v. Secretary, FL. Dept. of Corrections" on Justia Law