Black v. State

OPINION

GARDEBRING, Justice.

This is an appeal from the denial of a petition for postconviction relief. Petitioner James Willis Black was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder in June 1978 in the burning deaths of his girlfriend and her two young children. Black appealed his conviction, which was affirmed. State v. Black, 291 N.W.2d 208 (Minn.1980). He then petitioned for habeas corpus relief in the federal courts, a claim that was reviewed on the merits and denied. Black v. Woods, 651 F.2d 528 (8th Cir.1981). Now, 18 years after his initial conviction, Black has filed a petition for…