Rhoades v. Davis

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The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a petition for federal habeas relief for petitioner, who was convicted of capital murder and was sentenced to death. The court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by excluding photographs from petitioner's childhood that were offered as mitigation evidence during the sentencing phase where the exclusion of the photographs did not have a substantial or injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict; while the furlough testimony would not have been accurate if given after the legislative amendment, it was valid at the time it was given and a subsequent change to the statute did not make the earlier testimony—based on an earlier version of the law—invalid; and the state court was not unreasonable in rejecting petitioner's Batson challenges. View "Rhoades v. Davis" on Justia Law