David Larry Nelson v. State of Alabama

ANDERSON, Circuit Judge:

David Larry Nelson was convicted on March 1, 1979 of “murder committed by a defendant who has been previously convicted of murder in the first or second degree in the twenty years preceding the crime,” under Ala.Code § 13 — 11—2(a)(13) (1975). The trial court allowed Nelson to represent himself at his February 1996 re-sentencing hearing without first conducting a hearing to determine whether he understood the risks of self-representation, pursuant to Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975). The only issue in this appeal is whether the…