Robert Cruz McLAIN, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Arthur CALDERON, Warden, Respondent-Appellant

Opinion by Judge KOZINSKI; Concurrence by Judge FERGUSON.

KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge.

I

Robert Cruz McLain has a history of raping and sometimes killing young women. He was convicted and sentenced to death for one of those killings; the California Supreme Court affirmed. People v. McLain, 46 Cal.3d 97, 249 Cal.Rptr. 630, 757 P.2d 569 (1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1072, 109 S.Ct. 1356, 103 L.Ed.2d 824 (1989). Having exhausted his state court remedies, McLain filed a federal habeas petition raising 28 claims for relief.1 The district court rejected 27 of those claims, but set aside McLain’s death…