Rhoades v. Davis, No. 16-70021 (5th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CasePetitioner, convicted of two murders and sentenced to death, sought a certificate of appealability (COA) on five claims for habeas relief. The court denied a COA on petitioner's claim that the convicting court unconstitutionally prevented him from informing the jurors about the parole implications of a life sentence, because this claim was foreclosed by circuit precedent. The court also denied a COA on his claim that his trial counsel provided constitutionally ineffective assistance by failing to object to (a) comments by the prosecutor supposedly implicating petitioner's right not to testify and (b) the guilt/innocence-phase discussion of petitioner's extraneous offenses. The court explained that petitioner failed to present a colorable argument that the state court's finding defense counsel’s trial strategy reasonable was unreasonable. The court granted a COA on petitioner's claims that the convicting court unconstitutionally prevented him from presenting mitigating childhood photographs of himself to the jury during the sentencing phase; that the convicting court unconstitutionally permitted the jury to hear testimony about the possibility of release on furlough for capital defendants sentenced to life in prison; and that the State violated Batson v. Kentucky when it exercised racially motivated peremptory strikes against two prospective jurors.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on January 28, 2019.
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