William Duane Elledge v. Richard L. Dugger

Defendant-petitioner William Duane El-ledge appeals a district court order denying him federal habeas corpus relief; he raises six bases for relief. Because we find that Elledge has shown that his constitutional rights were violated in one respect, we vacate the district court’s judgment and remand with instructions.

Elledge was involved in three killings that occurred in a 36 hour period in August, 1974,1 although only the first murder — of Margaret Anne Strack — is at issue on appeal. Strack was raped and killed in Hollywood, Florida, on August 24, 1974; the two subsequent murders occurred…