Thomas Loden, Jr. v. Rick McCarty

KING, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner-Appellant Thomas Edwin Lo-den raped and murdered Leesa Marie Gray in 2000. After pleading guilty, Lo-den was sentenced to death by a Mississippi state court. Loden now appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. That petition was premised on the denial of Loderi’s constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel during the guilt and sentencing phases of his trial. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.

I

Thomas Loden worked as a recruiter for the United States Marine Corps in…