Summary
Two U.S. Supreme Court cases involving murderers who seek to relitigate their claims in federal court after the state courts reasonably rejected their claims as presented there.
David Ramirez stabbed to death his girlfriend and her 15-year-old daughter. Witnesses reported hearing the victims scream and cry for help for 20-30 minutes. He was convicted and sentenced to death. The state courts rejected his claims, including a claim that his lawyer was ineffective in presentation of the mitigating evidence. In federal court, Ramirez wanted to present additional evidence on mitigation, none of which has any demonstrable connection to the crime. After the federal district judge rejected the claim, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sent the case back for a full evidentiary hearing on this evidence.
Barry Jones was seen hitting his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter. He then refused to take her for medical attention as her condition obviously worsened, falsely telling concerned visitors that she had already been seen by paramedics. The little girl died of a bowel laceration. His conviction was affirmed on appeal, and a later claim that his lawyers had been ineffective was denied. In federal court, he sought to introduce evidence disputing whether the girl's injuries had been caused by the blow he was seen inflicting or by an earlier injury. The evidence did not dispute that he effectively caused the girl's death by not taking her to the hospital when she was obviously and gravely ill.
CJLF has joined the case to argue that in these circumstances a second hearing in federal court, after defendants have already had the chance to present their evidence to the state courts, is blocked by an Act of Congress, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. The law has an exception for defendants with strong claims of actual innocence, but that exception does not apply to these cases. ...
