Rodgers v. State
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the 2001 first-degree murder of his wife. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence. Defendant subsequently filed a motion for postconviction relief, raising several claims. The circuit court denied relief. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the postconviction court correctly denied relief on Defendant's claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, as (1) counsel's failure to investigate and present evidence that Defendant had organic brain damage did not undermine confidence in the sentence; (2) counsel was not constitutionally deficient regarding the child witnesses who testified at Defendant's trial; and (3) counsel's failure to present evidence regarding the registration of the gun used in the homicide did not undermine confidence in Defendant's sentence; and (4) counsel made a reasonable strategic decision to have Defendant wear jail clothing during the penalty phase.
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