Jerry Bartlett JONES, Jr., Petitioner-Appellant, v. Tana WOOD, Respondent-Appellee

OPINION

THOMAS, Circuit Judge:

Jerry Jones claims he is innocent of the first degree murder of his wife. He contends compelling evidence implicates another person, proof which his lawyer failed to investigate before trial despite Jones’s entreaties. The district court granted summary judgment denying Jones’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. We reverse and remand.

I

Sometime around 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, December 3, 1988, Jones pounded on the door of his neighbors Graham and Paulette Smith. When Graham answered, Jones thrust his nearly five-year-old son Thomas into the…