McGehee v. Norris, No. 08-1182

In a capital habeas matter, grant of petitioner's habeas petition is reversed where: 1) to the extent that certain excluded testimony regarding petitioner's family's abuse of a dog was offered to show a pattern of physical violence, it was contradicted by other evidence showing that petitioner himself was not abused; 2) it was not unreasonable for the Arkansas Supreme Court to conclude that petitioner was not prejudiced by the trial judge's decision to sustain an objection to a witness's testimony about the abuse of petitioner's sister; and 3) the absence of any prejudice was particularly apparent given the horrific nature of the crime.

Read McGehee v. Norris, No. 08-1182

Appellate Information

Submitted: May 14, 2009

Filed: December 16, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Wollman