Legal Opinion
Sowell v. Anderson
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Decided November 15, 2011No. 08-3522, 08-3575PublishedCited by 12 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
OPINION
ROGERS, Circuit Judge.
Billy Joe Sowell was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death by a three-judge panel in 1983. At sentencing, counsel’s mitigation strategy was to portray Sowell as a good person who lost his temper under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Counsel pursued this strategy despite having available the reports of several court-appointed mental health experts, which hinted at Sowell’s difficult upbringing but did not provide specific details about his severely impoverished and abusive childhood. Despite these reports, counsel did not conduct an…
2Cases cited26 opinions
- Strickland v. WashingtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1984
- Brady v. MarylandSupreme Court of the United States · 1963
- Williams v. TaylorSupreme Court of the United States · 2000
- Wainwright v. SykesSupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- Wiggins v. Smith, WardenSupreme Court of the United States · 2003
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3Cited by12 opinions
- Nicole Harris v. Sheryl ThompsonCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2012
- Stumpf v. RobinsonCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2013
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- Strouth v. ColsonCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2012
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