Hodges v. Epps

BENAVIDES, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner-Appellee Quintez Wren Hodges (“Hodges”), convicted of capital murder and kidnapping in Mississippi and sentenced to death and twenty years in prison, respectively, filed a petition for federal habeas relief in district court. The district court granted habeas relief with respect to the sentencing phase of trial, ruling that the sentencing instructions incorrectly informed the jurors that Hodges would be eligible for parole in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The State has appealed. We agree with the district court that the…