Joseph Amrine v. Michael Bowersox, Superintendent, Potosi Correctional Center

MURPHY, Circuit Judge.

Before the court is Joseph Amrine’s petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Amrine was convicted in 1986 for murdering a fellow prisoner, and he was sentenced to death. His conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Missouri Supreme Court, State v. Amrine, 741 S.W.2d 665 (1987) (en banc), as was the denial of post conviction relief, Amrine v. State, 785 S.W.2d 531 (1990). He filed this petition for federal habeas relief in 1990 and an amended petition in 1991. 1 The federal district court 2 denied habeas relief in 1996 on the basis that his claims…