Thacker v. Dretke

JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:

Charles Thacker seeks a certificate of appealability (“COA”) from' the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Because Thacker cannot make a substantial showing of the denial of a federal constitutional right, we deny a COA.

I

A state jury found Thacker guilty of capital murder and further answered Texas’s special issues in a manner that required imposition of a death sentence. As summarized by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on direct review, the facts are as follows:

On the evening of April 7, 1993,…