Robert McCoy was charged with murdering three members of his estranged wife’s family. He insisted that he was innocent and had been out of state, but his appointed lawyer conceded to the jury during the guilt phase that McCoy had committed the murders and argued only that his mental state prevented a first-degree-murder conviction. McCoy repeatedly objected, yet the jury convicted him and imposed three death sentences. The Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment gives a defendant the autonomy to choose the objective of the defense and to insist that counsel refrain from admitting guilt. Counsel controls trial management, but the decision to maintain innocence and seek an acquittal belongs to the client, even when counsel reasonably believes a concession would improve the chance of avoiding a death sentence. The Court distinguished a strategy adopted after a client’s silence from an express client objection. It reversed the Louisiana Supreme Court’s judgment and remanded. Justice Alito, joined by Justices Thomas and Gorsuch, dissented.