Kirkpatrick v. Chappell, No. 14-99001 (9th Cir. 2020)
Annotate this Case
The Ninth Circuit panel filed an order amending its June 13, 2019 opinion affirming the district court's denial of William Kirkpatrick's habeas corpus petition challenging his death sentence for two counts of first-degree murder and denying Kirkpatrick's petition for rehearing, writing that, in light of the aggravating evidence, the jury still would have found that the death sentence was warranted.
Specifically, the panel amended the petition to write that, in light of the substantial aggravating evidence presented in comparison to the minimal mitigation evidence, "absent improperly-considered facts," the jury still would have found that the "bad evidence" was so substantial in comparison with the "good" evidence that a sentence of death was warranted instead of life without parole. With these amendments, the Fourth Circuit denied Appellant's petition for panel rehearing.
Court Description: Habeas Corpus / Death Penalty. The panel filed an order (1) amending its June 13, 2019, opinion affirming the district court’s denial of William Kirkpatrick’s habeas corpus petition challenging his capital sentence for two first-degree murders; (2) denying Kirkpatrick’s petition for panel rehearing; and (3) denying on behalf of the court Kirkpatrick’s petition for rehearing en banc. The panel amended the opinion to write that, in light of the substantial aggravating evidence presented in * This case was originally decided by a panel comprised of Judge Stephen Reinhardt, Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, and Judge Alex Kozinski. Appellee’s petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc was pending when Judge Kozinski retired. Following Judge Kozinski’s retirement, Judge Christen was drawn by lot to replace him. Following the death of Judge Reinhardt, Judge Bea was drawn by lot to replace him. Ninth Circuit General Order 3.2.h. The newly constituted panel granted Appellee’s petition for rehearing before a three-judge panel on July 18, 2018. The newly constituted panel re-heard argument on December 10, 2018. The filing of this opinion serves to withdraw the original opinion. KIRKPATRICK V. CHAPPELL 3 comparison to the minimal mitigation evidence, absent improperly-considered facts, the jury still would have found the bad evidence is so substantial in comparison with the good that it warrants death instead of life without parole.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on October 10, 2017.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.