Daniel Alvarez, Sr. v. William E. Boyd

MANION, Circuit Judge.

At 7:00 a.m. on December 14,1998 Alicia Godina, while walking to a commuter train, was attacked and severely stabbed. She identified Daniel Alvarez, a former boyfriend, as the attacker. However, Alvarez not'Only denied it and presented a plausible alibi, but also the only eyewitness to the attack said Alvarez was not the perpetrator. Nevertheless, an Illinois jury convicted him of attempted first-degree murder. He was sentenced to forty years in prison. Alvarez brought this § 2254 motion, arguing that the cumulative effect of two evidentiary rulings denied him a fair…