Rector v. Johnson

STEWART, Circuit Judge:

In 1982, Charles Rector was convicted for the murder of Carolyn Kay Davis. For that, Rector was sentenced to die. Rector’s conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court denied certio-rari. Rector then sought and was denied state habeas relief. In a fifty-four page or der, a federal magistrate judge denied Rector federal habeas relief; the district court adopted the magistrate’s report and recommendation over Rector’s objections. The district court also refused to grant Rector a Certificate of Probable…