Opinion ID: 1654062
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: Counsel failed to object to Instruction S-3 which was defective in violation of state law and the Eighth Amendment.

Text: ¶ 41. Davis next argues that Shaddock was ineffective for failure to object to Sentencing Instruction S-3 on the basis that a signature line appeared only under the death option and made the life option appear secondary. ¶ 42. When this Court considered this issue on direct appeal, it found that defense counsel had objected to S-3 on numerous grounds, but not on this ground, therefore, the issue was first procedurally barred. See Davis, 684 So.2d at 664. As to the merits, this Court cited Jenkins v. State, 607 So.2d 1171 (Miss.1992), where the same kind of deficiency was alleged, but in Jenkins the death option, along with the foreman's signature line was on the next to last page, while the life options, without signature line, were on the last page of the instruction. Since that was not the case in Davis's case (all three options appeared on the same page), this Court distinguished this case from Jenkins and found the issue without merit. As we found on direct appeal that the issue of missing signature lines was without merit, we further find that Shaddock was not ineffective for failure to object on this basis.