State v. Goff (Slip Opinion)

*218 {¶ 1} Appellant, James R. Goff, was convicted of the aggravated murder of Myrtle Rutledge and sentenced to death. We affirmed his convictions and sentence on direct appeal. State v. Goff , 82 Ohio St.3d 123 , 694 N.E.2d 916 (1998) (" Goff I ").

*219 {¶ 2} In 2010, concluding that Goff had received ineffective assistance of appellate counsel with respect to his right to allocution at trial, a federal court granted a writ of habeas corpus effective 120 days later "unless the Ohio courts reopen Goff's direct appeal * * * to permit his counsel to raise this issue." Goff v. Bagley , 601 F.3d 445 , 482…