Washington v. Murray

OPINION

PHILLIPS, Circuit Judge:

This is an appeal by Earl Washington, a Virginia death-row inmate, from the district court’s summary dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus challenging on various constitutional grounds his conviction and death sentence for capital murder following the commission of rape. We find no error in the dismissal except as to one claim of ineffective assistance of counsel respecting the failure to explore and use certain forensic evidence which allegedly was available to counsel and, if used, would have been directly exculpatory. As to that claim, we conclude that…