William Thomas Knotts v. Richard F. Allen, No. 06-10125 (11th Cir. 2006)

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[DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FILED U.S. COURT OF APPEALS ELEVENTH CIRCUIT December 19, 2006 THOMAS K. KAHN CLERK No. 06-10125 D. C. Docket No. 01-00518 CV-N WILLIAM THOMAS KNOTTS, Petitioner-Appellant, versus RICHARD F. ALLEN, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections, CHARLES E. JONES, Warden, et al., Respondents-Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama (December 19, 2006) Before DUBINA and WILSON, Circuit Judges, and HODGES,* District Judge. PER CURIAM: ____________________ *Honorable Wm. Terrell Hodges, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, sitting by designation. Appellant/Petitioner, William Thomas Knotts ( Knotts ) appeals the district court s order denying him federal habeas relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The issues presented on appeal are (1) whether the district court properly denied habeas relief on Knotts s claim of prosecutorial misconduct; and (2) whether the district court properly denied habeas relief on Knotts s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. Assuming that the arguments and comments made by the prosecutor during the trial were improper, we conclude that Knotts s closing argument and the trial court s instructions ameliorated the error, and that and the arguments and comments were offset by the overwhelming evidence establishing Knotts s guilt. We also conclude from the record that Knotts s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are meritless. For the above-stated reasons, we affirm the district court s order denying Knotts habeas relief. AFFIRMED.1 1 Knotts was initially sentenced to death but, after the Supreme Court released its decision in Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 125 S. Ct. 1183 (2005) (holding that states cannot execute a juvenile under the age of 18), and while his federal habeas petition was pending before the district court, Knotts s case was remanded to state court, where the trial court re-sentenced him to a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. 2

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