Paroled after an Illinois murder, Keith Gavin received two death sentences and life imprisonment for murdering a courier during a robbery and shooting at a pursuing officer. The district court granted conditional federal habeas relief, finding that state courts unreasonably rejected his claim that trial counsel failed to investigate mitigation. Postconviction evidence described childhood abuse, poverty, neighborhood violence, and the effects of 17 years in prison; Gavin and his family had not cooperated with trial investigators. The Eleventh Circuit held that the state court reasonably found no deficient performance or prejudice under Strickland, given counsel’s investigation, trial mitigation, and aggravating evidence. It also rejected Gavin’s claim that jurors prematurely voted on his sentence because Alabama’s no-impeachment rule barred testimony and clearly established Supreme Court law did not require an exception. The court reversed habeas relief on ineffective assistance and affirmed denial of relief on juror misconduct.