In a federal habeas petition following the affirmance of his conviction on direct appeal in this death penalty case, the court held petitioner’s ineffective assistance claim, based on his assertion that counsel should have asked for instructions on second degree murder, failed because he could not show prejudice. The overwhelming evidence indicated the murders were of the first degree based upon planning in bringing a hatchet and a knife to the murder scene where two parents and their two children were killed, including victims with 37, 32, 46, and 25 separate wounds each.
Case Summaries