Hinton v. State

Anthony Ray Hinton challenges his two capital-murder convictions and the resulting sentences of death. We granted cer-tiorari review to determine one issue: whether Hinton was denied effective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel allegedly failed to procure a competent firearms-identification expert to testify in his defense.

Background

Hinton was convicted in September 1986 of two counts of murder made capital because the murders were committed during the course of a robbery. The jury recommended by a vote of 10-2 that Hinton be sentenced to death on each count. The trial court…