Morris v. Secretary Dept. of Corrections, No. 09-15471 (11th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CasePetitioner was convicted of first degree murder, burglary of a dwelling, and robbery with a deadly weapon after the brutal killing of an 88-year-old woman in her apartment. Defendant was sentenced to death and after direct appeal, defendant subsequently sought review of the district court's denial of his habeas petition. At issue was four claims: (1) the alleged ineffective assistance of counsel in excluding petitioner from an unrecorded bench conference during the penalty phase of trial; (2) the alleged ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to advise petitioner of his right to testify at the penalty phase or to call him to testify at the penalty phase; (3) an alleged trial court error in concluding that petitioner's past drug use was "not mitigating"; and (4) cumulative error. After thorough review, the court also concluded that petitioner was not entitled to relief on any of these claims. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court and denied the petition.
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