In Jones v. Campbell, No. 04-11911 (Jan. 20, 2006), the Court denied habeas relief to an Alabama death row inmate sentenced to death for 1978 murders.
The Court rejected the ineffective assistance of counsel claims, finding that the alleged failure to investigate the defendant’s abusive childhood, mental health problems, and intoxication was not ineffective in view of the mixed evidence on these points, and the fact that the outcome would not have been different even if these avenues had been pursued.
The Court also rejected the argument that counsel was ineffective for failing to object to a deficient "malice" instruction, finding that the overwhelming evidence of murder of parents in the presence of their children rendered any error "harmless."
Finally, the Court rejected a claim of racial animus by a former defense lawyer toward his client as unpreserved, and found no evidence that this affected the representation.
