United States Sixth Circuit

District court's denial of a death-row inmate's petition for a writ of habeas corpus is affirmed where: 1) applying AEDPA deference, defendant has failed to demonstrate that the state court's application of Strickland was objectionably unreasonable; 2) defendant may be correct on his assertion that the district court got the insanity-defense standard wrong, but his claim is nonetheless meritless because he is wholly unable to prove prejudice; and 3) jury instructions with respect to the "principal offender" did not make the trial fundamentally unfair.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/31/2010
• Published 03/31/2010

Judges

Court

• United States Sixth Circuit

Counsel