Ronald Cauthern v. Roland Colson

CLAY, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which COLE, J., joined., and ROGERS, J., joined in part. ROGERS, J. (pp. 489-92), delivered a separate opinion dissenting from Parts III. B. and VI. B. 1. of the majority’s opinion.

OPINION

CLAY, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner, a convicted murderer and rapist sentenced to death in Tennessee, sought a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). The district court denied his petition in its entirety, but granted Petitioner a certifícate of appeala-bility on one claim — that the state improperly excluded mitigation evidence at his resentencing…