Scott Panetti v. William Stephens, Director

PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:

A Texas jury convicted petitioner-appellant Scott Louis Panetti of capital murder and sentenced him to death. Panetti filed separate federal habeas petitions challenging his competency to be executed as well as his competency to represent himself at trial. The district court denied relief but granted a certificate of appealability. We affirm.

I

This case has a long and complicated procedural history. In 1992, Panetti shot his estranged wife’s parents at close range, killing them and spraying his wife and three-year-old daughter with their blood. At trial,…