John Middleton v. Don Roper, 1

RILEY, Circuit Judge.

A Missouri state court sentenced John A. Middleton (Middleton) to death following Middleton’s convictions for two counts of first-degree murder. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Middleton’s convictions and sentences on direct appeal, and later affirmed the denial of his motion for post-conviction relief. Middleton timely applied for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The district court 2 denied habeas relief, but granted Middleton a certificate of appealability on eight grounds. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

We recite the facts of Middleton’s crimes as found by…