Damas v. State / Damas v. Secretary, Department of Corrections
The Florida Supreme Court affirmed denial of capital postconviction relief and denied habeas corpus relief for Mesac Damas, who was convicted of murdering his wife and five children. The Court held that Damas's competency claims were procedurally barred because they could have been raised on direct appeal, and that his ineffective-assistance claims regarding both competency proceedings and mitigation investigation failed under Strickland given his persistent obstruction and lack of cooperation with counsel and experts.
Key facts
- Mesac Damas was convicted of murdering his wife and five children and sentenced to death; he sought capital postconviction relief and habeas corpus relief based on competency claims and ineffective assistance of counsel claims.
- The trial court denied postconviction relief; Damas appealed, arguing that his counsel was ineffective for failing to pursue additional competency evaluations and mitigation investigation, and that procedural errors occurred in the competency proceedings.
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Why it matters
This opinion reinforces and applies existing precedent (Dougherty, Strickland, Cherry, Rose) rather than announcing new law, but its detailed treatment of how an uncooperative capital defendant's conduct affects both… — full analysis with a trial
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