Dickson v. Quarterman

EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge:

Ryan Heath Dickson, a Texas death row inmate, appeals the denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus petition. He claims that the State failed to disclose the existence of two audiotapes containing potential impeachment evidence under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), and that the federal district court erred by denying his petition for habeas relief.

I

On November 27, 1994, police in Amarillo, Texas, were called to a small grocery store operated by Carmelo Surace and his wife, Marie. When they arrived, the officers found…