Application of New Florida Death Penalty Statute to a Crime Committed Under Previous Unconstitutional Death Penalty Statute Does Not Violate the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution

Examines the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbert v. Florida. In Dobbert, Dobbert was convicted under a death penalty statute that the Court held unconstitutional. After the Florida Legislature changed the statute, Dobbert was convicted and sentenced to death again, this time under a constitutional statute. Dobbert appealed, claiming that this application of the new statute violated the ex post facto clause of the United States Constitution. The Court, in affirming Dobbert’s conviction, held that it did not.