Thomas Dewey Pope was convicted of three Florida murders and sentenced to death for one of them. On federal habeas review, the district court denied relief on Pope's guilt-phase ineffective-assistance claims but granted relief on two penalty-phase claims: counsel allegedly failed to develop mitigation evidence and failed to object when the prosecutor told the jury that Pope preferred death to life imprisonment. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of relief on the guilt-phase claims. It held that the Florida Supreme Court's rejection of those claims was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of Strickland, and that Pope had not shown entitlement to another hearing. The court vacated the penalty-phase grant, however, because the district court had relied on untested allegations without giving either side an evidentiary hearing. Pope alleged that available evidence concerning his abusive childhood, Vietnam service, substance use, mental illness, and capacity for rehabilitation could have affected the sentencing recommendation. The Eleventh Circuit remanded for a hearing on those penalty-phase claims and left open the applicable deference question after the factual record was developed.