In habeas proceedings arising from a conviction for rape and aggravated murder and a death sentence, denial of the petition is affirmed where: 1) defendant did not meet his burden of demonstrating a reasonable probability that, but for the alleged error of omitting certain mitigating evidence, he would not have been sentenced to death, and he also failed to show that the state court's decision was contrary to or an unreasonable application of Strickland under the modified-AEDPA standard; 2) sufficient evidence supported defendant's convictions; 3) defendant did not demonstrate any juror bias; and 4) the re-reading of identical jury instructions did not qualify as critical stages of trial, and defendant identified no prejudice stemming from his counsel's absence during this event.