Scott v. Mullin

LUCERO, Circuit Judge.

Sidney Soren Scott, an Oklahoma state prisoner, appeals the denial, in part, of his petition for habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Scott was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death after the jury found the existence of two aggravating circumstances — that the murder was committed to avoid arrest and that Scott was a continuing threat to society. The district court denied habeas relief on fifteen grounds, but granted relief upon concluding that Morgan v. Illinois, 504 U.S. 719, 112 S.Ct. 2222, 119 L.Ed.2d 492 (1992), was violated during…