William Thomas Knotts v. Richard F. Allen
Opinion
Appellant/Petitioner, William Thomas Knotts (“Knotts”) appeals the district court’s order denying him federal habeas relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
The issues presented on appeal are (1) whether the district court properly denied habeas relief on Knotts’s claim of prosecutorial misconduct; and (2) whether the district court properly denied habeas relief on Knotts’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.
Assuming that the arguments and comments made by the prosecutor during the trial were improper, we conclude that Knotts’s closing argument and the trial court’s instructions ameliorated the error, and that and the arguments and comments were offset by the overwhelming evidence establishing Knotts’s guilt.
We also conclude from the record that Knotts’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are meritless.
For the above-stated reasons, we affirm the district court’s order denying Knotts habeas relief.
AFFIRMED. 1
. Knotts was initially sentenced to death but, after the Supreme Court released its decision in Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 125 S.Ct. 1183, 161 L.Ed.2d 1 (2005) (holding that states cannot execute a juvenile under the age of 18), and while his federal habeas petition was pending before the district court, Knotts's case was remanded to state court, where the trial court re-sentenced him to a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- William Thomas KNOTTS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Richard F. ALLEN, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections, Charles E. Jones, Warden, Et Al., Respondents-Appellees
- Status
- Unpublished