Doyle Lee Hamm v. Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections

Petitioner-Appellant Doyle Lee Hamm was convicted in 1987 of the capital crime of robbery-murder and sentenced to death by an Alabama court. Following unsuccessful direct appeals and collateral proceedings in the Alabama' state courts, Hamm filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in federal court, which the district court denied. Hamm appeals the rejection of his petition on three grounds. Hamm contends that unconstitutionally obtained prior convictions were impermissibly used as an aggravating circumstance in his death sentence. He also asserts that,his trial…