Steele v. Beard

OPINION

ARTHUR J. SCHWAB, District Judge.

I. Introduction

In June of 1985, Roland Steele was charged with murdering Lucille Horner, age 88, Minnie Warrick, age 86, and Sarah Kuntz, age 85. The following year, in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, a jury convicted him of three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of robbery, and two counts of theft by unlawful taking. Following a penalty hearing, the jury sentenced him to death on each murder conviction.

Before this Court is Steele’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which he has filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. He raises…