Tyrone Werts v. Donald T. Vaughn the District Attorney of the County of Philadelphia the Attorney General of the State of Pennsylvania

OPINION OF THE COURT

MANSMANN, Circuit Judge.

In this appeal, we are asked to decide whether a habeas petitioner, who is presently serving a mandatory term of life imprisonment upon a conviction for second degree murder, was denied his constitutional right to a fair trial due to the prosecutor’s alleged misconduct during the opening and closing arguments of his state court trial. The petitioner also contends in the alternative that he was denied effective assistance of counsel to the extent trial counsel failed to preserve his due process claim. With one exception, we find the petitioner’s due…