Fairman v. Anderson

CARL E. STEWART, Circuit Judge:

In this appeal, the State of Mississippi (“State”) contests the district court’s grant of Petitioner-Appellee Jerry Fairman’s (“Fairman”) petition for habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (1988). As we will explain infra, although we disagree with some of the district court’s reasoning, we concur in its conclusion that Fairman is entitled to habeas corpus, and we thus affirm the judgment of the court below.

I

On the afternoon of September 7, 1985, Fairman and Laverne “Whoop” Jones (“Jones”), each armed with a knife, met on a street corner and engaged…