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: Capital Defense Weekly

weekly email edition available

By Karl R. Keys, Esq.

This week’s email edition is here. From the intro: The South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision in Donney S. Council v. State, affirming the grant of penalty phase relief, leads off this edition. The justices ruled, 4-1,  that trial counsel should have done more than simply have Council’s mother testify during the sentencing phase of his trial. Council  suffered head trauma as a child, his father was a violent alcoholic, and his family had a pronounced history of mental illness “Given there is evidence to support the PCR judge?s holding that Respondent?s trial counsel was ineffective in failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence at the penalty phase of Respondent?s trial, we affirm the PCR judge?s decision vacating Respondent?s sentence and ordering a new sentencing hearing...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on September 21, 2008 (boomark / email).