Autry v. Estelle

Justice Stevens, with whom Justice Brennan, Justice Marshall, and Justice Blackmun join,

dissenting.

Last year the applicant’s death sentence was affirmed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Autry v. State, 626 *4S. W. 2d 758, cert. denied, 459 U. S. 882 (1982). On January 14, 1983, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas denied the applicant’s first petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U. S. C. §2254 after holding an evidentiary hearing. On June 17, 1983, after full briefing and argument, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit…