In Price v. Allen, No. 09-11716 (March 30, 2012), the Court affirmed the denial of habeas relief to an Alabama death row inmate convicted of murder in1993.
The Court rejected Price’s argument that the Alabama courts erred in denying his request for a change of venue based on pretrial publicity regarding his case. The Court noted that the nine news reports upon which Price relied to show pretrial publicity were published more than a year before the trial, and did not contain a confession or any "blatantly prejudicial information."
The Court also rejected the claim that Price’s defense counsel had inadequately investigated the venue motion, finding no facts that counsel should have found.
Finally, the Court rejected the claim that counsel was ineffective at the sentencing phase, finding that the family information Price claimed should have been presented to the jury did not establish a reasonable probability that the outcome of the sentencing would have been different.
