Stevens v. Armontrout

DIANA E. MURPHY, District Judge.

James Edward Stevens appeals from a final order of the district court,1 denying his petition for habeas corpus. Stevens contends that the district court erred by not appointing counsel and holding an evidentiary hearing on the voluntariness of certain confessions and by not finding his 200 year sentence a violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.2 We affirm.

Stevens was convicted of second degree murder in June 1971. On October 8, 1970, approximately one month after the fatal shooting, Stevens surrendered to police officer Francis Sullivan. Stevens’…