William Barnes v. Carlton Joyner

Reversed and remanded by published opinion. Judge THACKER wrote the opinion, in which Judge FLOYD joined. Judge AGEE wrote a dissenting opinion.

THACKER, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner William Leroy Barnes (“Barnes”), an inmate on North Carolina’s death-row, appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus against Carlton Joyner, Warden of the Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina (hereinafter, the “State”). In 1994, after a jury trial in North Carolina state court, Barnes was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Immediately after the jury…