Terry v. Petsock

OPINION OF THE COURT

ALITO, Circuit Judge:

This is an appeal from the denial of, a writ of habeas corpus in a Pennsylvania capital case. The petitioner, Benjamin Terry, raises one argument, namely, that his conviction for first-degree murder must be reversed under Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625, 100 S.Ct. 2382, 65 L.Ed.2d 392 (1980), because at his second trial, the judge, applying Pennsylvania Supreme Court precedent, did not instruct the jury on the lesser-included offense of third-degree murder. We reject this argument.

In Beck v. Alabama, the jury was instructed on capital murder, but an…