Nutter v. White

JOHNSON, Senior Circuit Judge:

This case arises on appeal following the district court’s order denying and dismissing the petition for writ of habeas corpus of petitioner-appellant Homer M. Nutter. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the district court’s decision and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

In 1985, Nutter was convicted of murder in the Circuit Court for Russell County, Alabama and sentenced to fifty years’ imprisonment. In charging the jury, the trial judge stated:

Now, you notice that I have used the term reasonable doubt. A…