Ex Parte Tarver

Robert Lee Tarver, Jr., the defendant herein, was indicted and convicted under Alabama's 1981 capital punishment statute, §§ 13A-5-39 through 13A-5-59, Code 1975. For the murder of Hugh Sims Kite the defendant received the death penalty pursuant to § 13A-5-40(a)(2), which authorizes that penalty upon a conviction of murder committed during a robbery in the first degree or an attempt thereof. In the majority opinion the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the defendant's conviction and sentence. See Tarver v. State, 500 So.2d 1232 (Ala.Cr.App. 1986). The defendant filed a petition for writ of…