State v. Cosey
State v. Cosey
Opinion of the Court
additionally concurs and assigns reasons.
hi wholeheartedly agree with the majority’s decision to deny the defendant’s writ application in all respects. I write separately to address post-conviction counsel’s complaint of ineffective assistance of trial counsel during the penalty phase of this 1996 trial, and to specifically emphasize that the purpose of collateral review is not to second-guess trial counsel’s strategy with benefit of hindsight or provide a second penalty phase many years after the first.
Even if a Petitioner shows that counsel’s performance was deficient, he must also show prejudice, that is he must show ⅛ reasonable probability that but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result ... would have been different’. [I]n light of ... the nature and number of offenses he [Blank] committed, I believe there is no reasonable probability that the outcome of the penalty phase would have been different regardless of which of these two versions of [the petitioner] was presented to the jurors. Therefore, there is no reason to remand to further address this claim, which would serve only to continue the drain of resources that are badly needed for indigent defense.
I also write separately to express my concern over the inordinate span of time that has elapsed since a jury of twelve citizens recommended that this defendant be sentenced to death. Specifically, the crime occurred in 1990; the trial took place in 1996; the Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and |3death sentence in 2000
. As I noted in State v. Blank, 16-0213 (La.5/13/16), 192 So.3d 93 (Crichton, J., concurring), “[p]roviding a second penalty phase ... is not the purpose of collateral review, is completely contrary to the law, and represents an extraordinary drain on the limited resources available for indigent defense with negative repercussions that ripple through the entire criminal justice system.” Moreover, a finding of ineffective assistance of counsel at the penalty phase requires a showing that counsel failed to undertake "a reasonable investigation [which] would have uncovered mitigating evidence,” and that failing to put on the available mitigating evidence “was not a tactical decision but reflects a failure by counsel to advocate for his client’s cause,” which resulted in "actual prejudice.” State v. Hamilton, 92-2639, p. 6 (La.7/1/97), 699 So.2d 29, 32 (citing State v. Brooks, 94-2438 (La.10/16/95), 661 So.2d 1333; State v. Sanders, 93-0001 (La.11/30/94), 648 So.2d 1272).
. State of Louisiana v. Frank Ford Cosey, 97-KA-2020 (La.11/28/00), 779 So.2d 675, reh'g denied 1/12/01.
. Frank Ford Cosey v. Louisiana, 533 U.S. 907, 121 S.Ct. 2252, 150 L.Ed.2d 239 (2001), reh’g denied, 6/6/01.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Louisiana v. Frank Ford COSEY
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published