Jon S. Miller, Cross-Appellee v. Richard L. Dugger, Cross-Appellant

KRAVITCH, Circuit Judge:

I

Jon Miller, the petitioner and appellant in this case, was released from jail in Lee County, Florida, on December 22, 1970. 1 That afternoon, Miller took a taxi driven by Margaret Louise Sessions from downtown Fort Myers to Fort Myers Beach. At the Beach Marina, Miller purchased from Stan-di Ollis a stainless steel fillet knife with a six- to eight-inch blade. Miller’s behavior raised suspicions in Ollis, who described Miller as “sort of wild looking,” and in Darrell Coleman, who witnessed the purchase. Coleman decided to follow Miller as he walked across a bridge…