Jones v. Bagley, No. 10-3339 (6th Cir. 2012)
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In 1994 Nathan was discovered in a hotel room, having suffered severe trauma to her head. Her jewelry was missing. Nathan died that afternoon. Police investigated three hotel employees who had prior criminal histories, eventually focusing on Jones. Police discovered that Jones had injured his hand on the day Nathan was killed and had filed a claim for workers’ compensation for an injury classified as a fist-to-mouth injury. Jones stated that he hurt his hand cleaning a banquet room. A search of Jones’s car produced Nathan’s pendant and a master key to the hotel. A jury convicted Jones on aggravated felony murder, aggravated burglary, and aggravated robbery, and recommended the death penalty. The Ohio Court of Appeals and Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and death sentence. Jones unsuccessfully sought state post-conviction relief and, in 2001, filed an unsuccessful habeas petition in federal district court. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, rejecting claims that the state trial court improperly admitted evidence that Jones exercised his right to counsel; that the prosecution failed to disclose exculpatory evidence, and counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to discover the withheld evidence; and that counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to investigate a history of crime at the hotel.
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