Colwell v. State

OPINION

This is an appeal from a district court order denying a post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Appellant Lawrence Colwell, Jr., faces a death sentence. He contends for various reasons that the district court erred in denying his habeas petition without holding an evidentiary hearing. We conclude that this contention lacks merit. He also contends that his sentencing by a three-judge panel violated his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial under a recent United States Supreme Court decision, Ring v. Arizona. We conclude that Ring does not apply here. We therefore affirm…