William Pinson v. Terry Morris

ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

William Pinson, an inmate of the Missouri Department of Corrections, brought this case for habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. On a recommendation of a United States Magistrate,1 the District Court2 denied the petition, and Pinson appeals. After granting his application for a certificate of probable cause, we appointed counsel and set the case for oral argument. We now affirm.

I

In April of 1981 Pinson was convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court of Crawford County, Missouri, of rape and sodomy. The victim of both of the alleged crimes was Pinson’s mother, and she…