O'ROURKE v. State

The petitioner Michael O’Rourke was convicted of the capital murder of his parents and sentenced to death by lethal injection. We affirmed the conviction. O’Rourke v. State, 295 Ark. 57, 746 S.W.2d 52 (1988). The petitioner now seeks permission to proceed in circuit court for post-conviction relief pursuant to Criminal Procedure Rule 37.

The petitioner’s chief allegations claim that his counsel was ineffective. To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, the petitioner must show first that counsel’s performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so…