Cite as: 504 U. S. 527 (1992)
Opinion of Stevens, J.
Court has failed to do so here. In Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U. S. 242, 255-256 (1976), this Court approved the limiting construction adopted by the Florida Supreme Court for the heinousness factor; 4 however, the guidance given in State v. Dixon, 283 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1973), was certainly not provided in the bare bones of the instruction given by the trial court in this case. See n. 2, supra.
II
Petitioner's failure to object to the instruction at trial did not deprive the Florida Supreme Court or this Court of the power to correct the obvious constitutional error. First, petitioner did object to the vagueness of this aggravating circumstance in a Motion To Declare Section 921.141, Florida Statutes Unconstitutional Re: Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances at the start of trial, see App. 8, 10; 5 however, that motion was denied. See 1 Tr. 9. Second, the Florida Supreme Court, though noting that petitioner had failed to make a contemporaneous objection to the instruction at the time of trial, nevertheless went on to reach the merits of petitioner's claim. See 580 So. 2d 595, 603 (1991). Thus, the Florida Supreme Court, far from providing us with a plain statement that petitioner's claim was procedurally barred, see Michigan v. Long, 463 U. S. 1032, 1042 (1983), has merely said that the claim was "not preserved for appeal," 580 So. 2d, at 602, and has given even further indica-4 In State v. Dixon, 283 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1973), cert. denied, 416 U. S. 943 (1974), the Florida courts had construed the heinousness factor to apply only to "the conscienceless or pitiless crime which is unnecessarily torturous to the victim." 283 So. 2d, at 9.
5 In particular, petitioner alleged: "Almost any capital felony would appear especially cruel, heinous and atrocious to the layman, particularly any felony murder. Examination of the widespread application of this circumstance indicates that reasonable and consistent application is impossible. This standard is vague and over-broad and provides no basis for distinguishing one factual situation from another. Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U. S. 420 (1980)." App. 10.
547
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