Humphreyv.Riley
William David Riley was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering his three children by setting fire to their mobile home. After this Court affirmed his convictions and sentences, the habeas court granted relief, finding that trial counsel's deficiencies had prejudiced Riley. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed that ruling in the Warden's appeal. Applying Strickland, it held that the combined effect of counsel's assumed or established deficiencies—including discovery failures, expert strategy, limits on false-confession testimony, mental-health evidence, and failure to present a 911 recording—did not create a reasonable probability of a different result in light of the overwhelming evidence, including Riley's inculpatory statements. The Court also held that Riley could not overcome procedural default on claims that the State suppressed or presented false testimony because the recording was consistent with the trial testimony and did not show that witnesses had lied. The Court affirmed the denial of relief on the cross-appeal grounds it addressed, but remanded for the habeas court to consider Riley's ineffective-assistance-of-appellate-counsel claim, which it had not reached. All Justices concurred.
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