Opinion ID: 390520
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Second Degree Murder Conviction as Denial of Due Process.

Text: 25 The trial court instructed the jury on capital murder, second degree murder, and manslaughter. 2 The jury found Holt guilty of second degree murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. In his petition, Holt challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction on two grounds. 26 Holt first contends that his conviction for second degree murder violates due process because the jury could not rationally acquit him of capital murder, yet convict him of second degree murder. Holt argues that the state, consistent with the requirements of capital murder, attempted to prove that he deliberately planned the murder of his wife by hiring Jackson to kill her and that the jury, by acquitting him of capital murder, rejected the heart of the prosecution's case. 27 The Missouri Supreme Court rejected this claim. State v. Holt, supra, 592 S.W.2d at 764. The court reasoned that the jury accepted the state's evidence, but decided to convict him of second degree murder as a matter of leniency. The court concluded that the jury had a right to convict on either the capital murder or second degree murder charge, provided there was evidence before the jury to support such a conviction. Id. This conclusion rests on the state court's interpretation of the Missouri murder statutes. We are thus not faced with an issue cognizable in a federal habeas corpus petition, as long as the state introduced sufficient evidence to support the second degree murder conviction. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 324, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2792, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); Davis v. Campbell, 608 F.2d 317, 319 (8th Cir. 1979). 28 Holt also contends that his conviction rested on insufficient evidence because no rational trier of fact could have believed the testimony of Roger Jackson. Holt characterizes Jackson as a mentally defective murderer whose testimony was impeached by every conceivable means recognized by law. 3 The trial court found Jackson to be of sound mind and competent to testify. The state's medical expert disputed Holt's evidence and concluded that Jackson was not mentally retarded. As the magistrate reasoned, (e)ven if we concede that Jackson was not the best witness, the other evidence of Holt's guilt was strong and convincing. In addition to Jackson's testimony that Holt offered him money and a gun to kill Mrs. Holt, the state presented corroborative evidence of Holt's participation in the crime. Wanda Sue McAllister and Margaret Jackson testified that Holt repeatedly expressed his intention to kill his wife. McAllister also confirmed Holt's specific plan to hire Jackson to kill Mrs. Holt. From our independent review of the record, we conclude that the Missouri Supreme Court correctly ruled that sufficient evidence supported the conviction of second degree murder. Holt's conviction, therefore, does not violate due process. 29