Harold Lamont Otey v. Gary Grammer, Warden of Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex

BOWMAN, Circuit Judge.

Harold Lamont Otey was convicted of first degree murder in the perpetration of first degree sexual assault and was sentenced to death. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court in State v. Otey, 205 Neb. 90, 287 N.W.2d 36 (1979), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 988, 100 S.Ct. 2974, 64 L.Ed.2d 846 (1980). State post-conviction relief also was denied, and that result was likewise affirmed on appeal. State v. Otey, 212 Neb. 103, 321 N.W.2d 453, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1080, 103 S.Ct. 502, 74 L.Ed.2d 641 (1982).

Otey then filed in federal…