Harvell v. Nagle

KRAVITCH, Circuit Judge:

The sole issue presented in this appeal from the district court’s denial of habeas corpus relief is whether the jury instruction on reasonable doubt at Appellant’s state trial for murder was constitutionally sufficient. 1 We hold that the jury instruction did not violate Appellant’s due process rights; accordingly, we AFFIRM.

I

The procedural background of this case is not disputed. A jury convicted Roy Avon Harvell of murder in August 1989; he was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, and his conviction was upheld on direct appeal. Harvell v. State, 572 So.2d…