Garcia v. Quarterman

EDITH H. JONES, Chief Judge:

This appeal raises questions concerning whether a petitioner is entitled to a new sentencing hearing for capital murder based on the Supreme Court’s Penry line of cases,1 whose purpose is to afford effective jury consideration of evidence mitigating a defendant’s moral culpability. The district court granted COA on this sole issue, after rejecting the others petitioner raised. After careful review, we conclude that Garcia has failed to meet the standards governing habeas relief under AED-PA.

I. Background

Around 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 30, 1987, Debbie Rodriguez…