Ex Parte Troy Kunkle

Summary

The Court denied all of Troy Kunkle's habeas corpus claims, holding that the jury instructions and sentencing procedures used at his capital murder trial complied with the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments and that his counsel's performance was not constitutionally ineffective. Justice Clinton dissented, arguing that the majority failed to recognize the need for a specific mitigating instruction and mischaracterized counsel's strategic choices.