Williams v. Thaler, No. 13-70015 (5th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CasePetitioner was convicted of robbery and murder and sentenced to death. After the district court denied his petition for writ of habeas corpus, petitioner sought a certificate of appealability (COA) under 28 U.S.C. 2253(c)(2). The court rejected petitioner's eight claims asserting that his trial counsel was ineffective because reasonable jurists could not debate the district court's conclusion that the state courts did not unreasonably apply Strickland v. Washington. In regards to petitioner's ninth and final claim asserting that he is intellectually disabled and is ineligible for the death penalty under Atkins v. Virginia, the court concluded that reasonable jurists could not debate the district court's resolution of petitioner's claim of intellectual ability. Accordingly, the court denied the COA request.
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