State v. Herring (Slip Opinion)

*166{¶ 1} In this appeal, the state challenges a decision of the court of appeals granting the petition for postconviction relief of the defendant-appellee, Willie Herring, a death-row inmate. The state challenges the appellate court’s finding that Herring’s counsel provided ineffective assistance in failing to properly prepare for the mitigation phase of trial and the court’s decision to order a new sentencing hearing.

{¶2} We hold that the court of appeals properly applied the standards set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), in holding that…