IV. INTRODUCTION TO A DISCUSSION OF DAVIS'S SUBSTANTIVE CLAIMS: The Scope of Federal Habeas Review .................................... 19 A. Exhaustion of State Court Remedies: the First Condition Precedent to Federal Habeas Review ........................................ 19
B. The Procedural Default Doctrine: the Second Condition Precedent to Federal Habeas Review ........................................ 21
1. General principles ........................................ 21 2. Overcoming procedural default ............................. 27
a. The "cause and prejudice" standard .................... 28
i. "Cause" .................................... 28
ii. "Prejudice" ................................. 30
b. The "fundamental miscarriage of justice" standard ........ 31
C. The Statutory Overlay: The Effect of "the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996" on Habeas Review ................ 32
1. 28 U.S.C § 2254(e)(1) ..................................... 33
2. 28 U.S.C § 2254(d) ....................................... 34
a. The meaning of § 2254(d)(1)'s "contrary to" clause ....... 36
b. The meaning of § 2254(d)(1)'s "unreasonable application" clause ............................................ 38
c. The meaning of § 2254(d)(2)'s clause addressing an "unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceeding" ...... 41
d. Evaluating state court factual determinations under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2254(d)(2) and (e)(1) ..................... 42
D. The Burden of Proof and Heightened Pleading Requirements for Habeas Petitions .............................................. 43
E. Introduction to Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims .............. 46
1. The performance prong .................................... 49
2. The prejudice prong ...................................... 52
3. Deference accorded state court findings of historical fact, when evaluating ineffective assistance of counsel claims ................................................. 54
V. DAVIS'S CLAIMS .................................................. 56
A. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel During Guilt Phase of Trial .......... 56
1. Failure to adequately investigate the capital murder charge ................................................. 57
a. Time spent in preparation for trial ...................... 57
b. Scope of investigation ............................... 59
c. Failure to transcribe preliminary hearing ................ 60
2. Failure to locate, interview, and present exculpatory witnesses ............................................... 62
3. Failure to challenge the state's investigation and presentation of its case-in-chief . ............................ 65
4. Failure to present, argue adequately, and seek favorable rulings on pre-trial motions ......................... 72
5. Failure to present additional substantive evidence ............... 79
B. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel During Penalty Stage ............... 82
1. Failure to obtain mitigation evidence relating to childhood trauma and depravity ............................. 88
a. Conclusions of the trial court .......................... 90
b. Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals' initial opinion (dicta) . . 100
c. Opinion of Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on remand .. 104
d. Analysis ......................................... 112
i. Performance ................................ 113
ii. Prejudice .................................. 116
2. Failure to obtain or present any testimony regarding Davis's mental health .................................... 120— and —
3. Failure to obtain mental health evidence relating to mental/psychological dysfunction and brain damage ............ 120
a. Evidence presented in state court ..................... 121
b. Rule 32 court's order of denial ....................... 123
c. Decision of Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals .......... 126
d. Analysis ......................................... 126
4. Failure to discover and present mitigation evidence about prior felony conviction .............................. 128
5. Failure to object to the submission of the penalty phase case to the jury on a Friday at 4:30 p.m ................. 140
C. Counsel Was Ineffective for Not Objecting to Prosecutorial Misconduct ........................................................... 142
1. Implying that Davis had been involved in a gang prior to his arrest ............................................ 144
2. Improperly telling the jury that one purpose of convicting was to decrease crime in general ................... 149
3. Misstating the law and arguing facts not in evidence ............ 151
4. Improperly vouching for the veracity and quality of state witnesses .......................................... 152
5. Improperly commenting on Davis's failure to testify ............. 159
6. Improperly arguing that the jury could not consider mercy in reaching a verdict ................................ 166
7. Improperly instructing the jury that it was their duty to impose death ......................................... 169
8. Improperly arguing nonstatutory aggravating circumstances in support of conviction and sentence ............ 1749. Improperly denigrating Davis's right to an attorney ............. 178
D. Counsel were Ineffective for Failing to Preserve Investigation Records and Files for Review .................................. 181
E. Brady Claims ................................................ 184
1. The state failed to disclose Alphonso Phillips's known gang involvement and prior adjudications of delinquency charges against both Phillips cousins .............. 190
2. The state suppressed and/or mishandled material evidence recovered by police .............................. 195
3. The state failed to disclose death threats against Davis and his mother and the existence of a confidential informant who feared for his life .................. 196
F. The Admission of Highly Prejudicial Hearsay Testimony ............. 199
1. Willie Smith ............................................ 200
2. Shannon Hardy Wilson ................................... 201
G. Admission of a Note Found in the Pocket of Davis's Clothing ......... 208
H. Improper Consideration Through the Pre-Sentencing Report of Davis's Juvenile Record and Allegations of Gang Involvement ........ 213
I. Conviction and Sentence Obtained Through the Use of Uncorroborated Accomplice Testimony ........................... 217
J. The State Court Violated Davis's Constitutional Rights by Applying a Blanket Rule That Hearsay Evidence Is Inadmissible in Rule 32 Proceedings ........................................ 221
K. The State Court Violated Davis's Constitutional Rights When it Excluded the Testifying Expert's Social History Exhibit as Cumulative ................................................. 223
L. The State Court Violated Davis's Constitutional Rights By Adopting Verbatim the State's Proposed Factual Findings and Legal Conclusions ............................................ 227
M. The State Failed to Meet its Burden of Proving Capital Murder During the Course of a Robbery ................................. 233
N. Double Counting of Robbery as an Element of the Underlying Offense and as an Aggravating Circumstance at Sentencing Violated the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments ........ 236
O. The Trial Court's Failure to Conduct Individual Sequestered Voir Dire Deprived Davis of His Rights to Due Process and a Fair Trial by an Impartial Jury ...................................... 238
P. Davis's Rights to Due Process, a Fair Trial, and a Reliable Verdict From a Fair and Impartial Jury Were Violated When the Trial Court failed to "Life Qualify" the Veniremembers in Accordance with Morgan v. Illinois .............................. 240
Q. The Trial Court Erred By Granting the State's Motions to Strike for Cause Potential Jurors Elaine Thomas and Sandra Tilley .......... 243
R. The Trial Court's Failure to Strike for Cause Jurors Who Demonstrated Bias Against Davis Deprived Him of His Rights to Due Process and a Fair Trial by an Impartial Jury ................... 254
S. The Use of Improper Jury Instructions Deprived Davis of His Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment Rights .............. 262
1. Reasonable doubt ....................................... 262
2. Aggravating circumstances ................................ 269
T. The Trial Court's Instructions on Accomplices and Corroboration Constituted Reversible Error ....................... 272
U. The Penalty Phase Jury Instructions Implied That Aggravating Circumstances Did Not Have to Be Found Unanimously ............. 278
V. Misconduct by Jurors Deprived Davis of His Constitutional Right to Be Tried by an Impartial Jury ................................. 281
W. Alabama's Fee Cap Foreclosed Effective Representation ............ 286
X. Davis's Death Sentence Was Improperly Sought and Imposed Pursuant to a Pattern of Racial Bias .............................. 289 Y. The Manner of Execution Used by the State of Alabama Constitutes Cruel and Unusual Punishment ........................ 292
Z. The Execution of Mentally Retarded Persons With Borderline I.Q. levels and Brain Damage is Cruel and Unusual ................. 294
VII. EVIDENTIARY HEARING .......................................... 299
VIII. CONCLUSION...
