Opinion ID: 75487
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Jury Charges and Verdict

Text: 41 The trial court charged the jury with respect to the capital offenses charged in counts one and two of the indictment, as well as the lesser included offenses. In charging the jury with respect to the capital offenses, the court specifically instructed the jury regarding the intent element of an intentional killing, as follows: 42 [T]here must also be an intentional killing. Now the intentional killing must be intended and I will define to you intentional as follows. Intentional does not mean accidentally or inadvertently nor is a killing considered intentional because death occurs in a burglary. But it does mean that a person acted intentionally with respect to a result or to conduct described by the statute defining an offense when his purpose is to cause that result or engage in that conduct. The intent to kill must be independent of the act of committing the burglary itself but the two, the burglary and the intent to kill, must co-exist before this defendant could be convicted of the capital offense, as I have mentioned to you, and that is the highest offense included in this indictment. 43 Shortly thereafter, the trial court again instructed the jury regarding an intentional killing: 44 The third element involves the defendant's intentional killing of Annie Laura Orr in that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant personally shot, stabbed or otherwise killed the victim or that the defendant knowingly sanctioned and facilitated the killing done by another. 45 Later in the jury instructions, the court again explained the general meaning of the term intentionally, stating that: [a] person acts intentionally with respect to a result or to conduct described by a statute defining an offense when his purpose is to cause that result or to engage in that conduct. The trial court also charged the jury as to the lesser included offenses and explained the felony murder doctrine. The court instructed the jury that when a homicide is committed in the course of or during an attempt to commit certain felonies which are inherently dangerous to life, the intent which must be shown to support a conviction for murder is supplied by the criminal intent involved in the underlying felony. Thus, the court explained that the defendant did not have to intend the death of the victim in order to be guilty of felony murder. Id. The trial court strongly admonished the jury that the theory of intent underlying the felony murder doctrine could not be used to support a conviction of the capital offenses charged against Grayson: 46 I charge you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that looking to the intent of the defendant on the capital felony crime as charged in Count One and Count Two of the indictment, you may not, and I emphasize the words may not, look to or consider the felony murder doctrine, though said doctrine could be applicable to lesser included charges as the Court will define them to you. 47 With respect to Grayson's intoxication, the court instructed the jury, as follows: 48 Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I will charge you as to involuntary intoxication. If you believe from the evidence that Darrell Grayson was involuntarily intoxicated and did not act - and did not as a result of being involuntarily intoxicated, lacked capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his alleged conduct or to conform his alleged conduct to the requirements of the law the defendant therefore could not form the necessary intent to commit the act. 49 A person may become involuntarily intoxicated by the introduction into his body of substances such as alcohol or other drugs which impair or disturb his mental or physical capacities either, one, inadvertently as by accident or without knowing the nature or tendencies of the substance or, two as a result of being deceived or tricked into doing so by fraud, artifice or guile, or, three, as a result of being forced to do so himself or of it being forcibly introduced into his body without his consent. 50 A person may be deemed to know the nature or tendencies of a substance if, under the circumstances, he reasonably should have known such nature and tendencies. 51 Intoxication of the defendant whether voluntary or involuntary may be considered by the jury if relevant to consider as negating an element of the offense charged, such as intent. 52 However, being unaware of a risk because of voluntary intoxication is immaterial in a consideration of whether the defendant acted recklessly where recklessness is an element of the offense charges or a lesser included offense. 53 Intoxication does not in and of itself constitute a mental disease within the meaning of the 1975 Code of Alabama as defined in Section 13A-3-1. 54 Intoxication, other than involuntary intoxication, is not a defense to a criminal charge but may be considered by the jury, if relevant, on the question of whether the fact of intoxication negates an element of the offense charged such as intent, but not the element of recklessness. 55 (emphasis added). Finally, the court instructed the jury that it was free to disregard the defendant's confessions if it found them unworthy of belief. 56 After approximately forty minutes of deliberation, the jury submitted several written questions to the court, one of which asked the court to define intent. The court decided that the oral charge was sufficient and that the jury should be instructed to rely upon that charge in response to their questions. Defense counsel did not request a reinstruction on intent or object. Approximately one hour and ten minutes later, the jury returned a verdict finding Grayson guilty of capital murder. J. Sentencing Phase at Trial 57 At the sentencing phase, the State presented no additional evidence. The defense presented the testimony of Grayson and Grayson's mother. Grayson testified that he was only nineteen when he had committed the offense and that he had never committed a felony offense before, while his co-defendant, Kennedy, was a convicted felon. He told the jury that he had lived in Montevallo, Alabama his entire life and that he had completed the tenth grade in the public school system. He told the jury that he was one of eleven children and that most of his siblings worked to help support the family. Grayson's mother testified that Grayson had no prior felony record. It appears that defense counsel may have attempted to introduce evidence regarding Victor Kennedy's trial through the clerk of court but was prevented from doing so by the court's rulings. 58 In closing arguments, the State focused on the brutality of Grayson's crime, after explaining to the jury their responsibility to weigh the aggravating and mitigating circumstances in the case. 5 The State emphasized that Mrs. Orr's death was slow and agonizing and that she was horribly beaten and raped. The State claimed that these factors outweighed the defendant's age, record, and any remorse he might have. The State suggested to the jury that the atrocious nature of the crime would outweigh any set of mitigating circumstances that a defendant could present. 59 In closing, defense counsel argued to the jury that a death sentence would cause continuing grief to the Orr family and fail to bring a resolution to the death of Mrs. Orr the way a life sentence without parole would. Therefore, he argued that the jury should return a life sentence even though [t]he evidence shows that this is a death by electrocution case. He argued that Grayson could not be more greatly punished than to have to sit in a cell every day for the rest of his life. In arguing to the jury the mitigating circumstances, counsel told the jury that Grayson respected Mrs. Orr despite his actions. The focus of the closing, however, was on the best resolution for the Orr family. 60 The court instructed the jury with respect to the aggravating and mitigating circumstances to be considered in arriving at the proper punishment for Grayson's crime. The judge instructed the jury with respect to the mitigating circumstances of age and of no history of criminal activity. Although the court did not specifically discuss alcohol in its sentencing charge, the court instructed the jury at length on the defendant's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law as a mitigating circumstance. After deliberating for approximately forty minutes, the jury determined that Grayson should be punished by death. K. Sentencing Hearing Before Trial Judge 61 Approximately three weeks later, the judge held a sentencing hearing to consider the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of Grayson's crime and to decide the sentence. Under Alabama law at the time, the jury's sentence was not dispositive. Instead, the court was required to sentence Grayson to death or to life without parole. See Horsley v. Alabama, 45 F.3d 1486, 1488 n.1 (11th Cir. 1995). 62 At the sentencing hearing, the State relied exclusively on the trial evidence. Defense counsel noted that he had adequately stated to the Court the intent that he exhibited that night. Defense counsel also discussed the inadequacy of the funds allotted by the State of Alabama to provide for Grayson's defense in his capital case. Counsel further argued lack of intent to kill: 63 And that we would submit to the Court that even though limited in our ability to prepare a defense financially for Darrell Grayson, that we have presented the fact that this man did not possess the intent, did not have the malice with which to be convicted of a capital crime, and should not be sentenced to death in the electric chair of the State of Alabama. 64 The trial court sentenced Grayson to death by electrocution and made both specific findings of fact and findings of aggravating and mitigating circumstances present in the case. As aggravating circumstances, the court found: (1) that the killing was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of a rape, robbery, and burglary and (2) that the killing was especially heinous, atrocious and cruel when compared to other capital felonies. With respect to the latter aggravating circumstance, the court stated: 65 The Court finds that the actions of the Defendant were completely barbaric, showing a complete and utter disregard for not only human life, but human dignity. The Court cannot think of a case it has seen, heard, or even read, that would equal the cruelty shown in this case by the Defendant to Mrs. Orr. Indeed, the Court has some difficulty imagining what more the Defendants could have done to make this crime any more heinous, atrocious, or cruel. 66 The court also considered the mitigating circumstances, finding that Grayson had no long history of prior criminal involvement and that he was nineteen years old at the time of the offense. The court also noted that the Defendant was relatively poor and unemployed, had abandoned his education in the tenth grade, although he did receive training at a technical school, had been raised without a father and had given his mother little trouble in growing up, at the time of the capital felony. (Order on Imposition of Death Penalty, The court specifically found that there was no compelling evidence that Grayson lacked the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. He clearly knew what he was going to do, what he was doing, and what he did, was wrong and illegal. 67 L. Direct Appeal and Post-Conviction Proceedings 68 Grayson's conviction and death sentence were upheld on direct appeal. Grayson v. State, 479 So. 2d 69 (Ala. Crim App. 1984); Ex Parte Grayson, 479 So. 2d 76 (Ala. 1985), cert. denied, Grayson v. Alabama, 474 U.S. 865 (1985). Grayson then filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis in the state court of Alabama on January 10, 1986. On September 24, 1990, Grayson filed an amended petition for relief from conviction and sentence of death, pursuant to Temporary Rule 20 of the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure. That petition was amended on August 23, 1991, January 28, 1992, and again on March 26, 1992. 69 On April 6 and 7, 1992, the Shelby County Circuit Court held an evidentiary hearing on the petition. Grayson presented the following evidence from expert and lay witnesses regarding his alcoholism and chaotic upbringing that he claimed could have been presented to the jury at his trial. M. Experts at State Habeas Hearing 70 Dr. Cleveland's deposition testimony was introduced in Grayson's state habeas hearing. Dr. Cleveland has a Ph.D. in child and family development and compiled a family study and evaluated Grayson. Cleveland testified that Grayson's family was severely disturbed and that its members looked outside the family to have critical needs met.There was food available in Grayson's house most of the time, but the family was very violent and chaotic. There was little adult supervision over Grayson and his eleven siblings, and fighting and intoxication were the norm. Alcohol was available in Grayson's home from the time that he was a small child, and alcohol abuse was rampant in the household. Numerous people came and went from Grayson's overcrowded home, and his teenage sisters had children who resided with them. Dr. Cleveland explained the abusive and impoverished background of Grayson's mother and her inability to control or care for her children. Grayson's mother used corporal punishment as the only real means of controlling her children. Grayson had no positive male or female role models in his life. 71 As a result of this chaotic upbringing, Cleveland testified that Grayson was left without a way to solve problems or to cope with stresses of life and that he began drinking heavily at an early age. She explained that the alcohol consumption seemed to be like a medication for him at times. Id. On cross-examination, Cleveland conceded that Grayson's upbringing is not all that uncommon in impoverished settings and that such an upbringing does not necessarily lead to murder. While it appears from Cleveland's family study and chronology that many of Grayson's eleven siblings had scrapes with law enforcement and that six of them spent time in jail, it appears that Grayson was the only one convicted of a violent crime. 72 Grayson also presented the testimony of Dr. Phillips, a forensic psychiatrist with expertise in chemical dependency and substance abuse. Phillips opined that Grayson was suffering from a personality disorder and from dependency as a result of severe alcohol and drug abuse at an extremely young age, causing an inability to function at a level expected of someone his age in areas like social skills, responsibility, daily living skills, personal independence and self sufficiency. Phillips testified that Grayson's excessive drinking included periods of blackouts with some question of hallucination although they were extremely minimal and not terribly convincing in terms of my own diagnostic opinion.Phillips testified regarding alcoholic blackouts as amnestic episodes that result in memory loss while a person is in the process of functioning.And some of that anteriorgrade amnesia can have an onset in such a manner that as you are in a blackout you can't remember what you did the previous five minutes. Phillips testified that unintended consequences often result from intoxication and the impaired judgment that it causes. He also explained that Grayson's intoxication and other evidence at the crime scene suggested that Grayson did not appreciate the consequences of taping a pillow case over Mrs. Orr's head and the other actions he took that night. 73 Phillips opined that the absence of adult supervision and positive role models in Grayson's overcrowded home led to alcoholism in all but three of the twelve siblings. The chronic alcoholism of Grayson's mother led to chaos in the family, such as violence, disruption, arguing, hitting of children, and fights breaking out.The absence of space and privacy in the small impoverished shack made up of scraps of wood where Grayson was raised was also critical in Grayson's development according to Phillips. Phillips also opined that Grayson's lack of role models and validation at home led him to seek validation from the likes of Kennedy by conforming his behavior to the behavior patterns exhibited by Kennedy. Grayson was very perplexed at what he had done to Mrs. Orr and was ashamed of his role in the crime. Phillips opined that this confusion and shame were consistent with his diagnosis of alcoholism and intoxication at the time of the crime. On cross-examination, Phillips conceded that Grayson's alleged adjustment disorder following the crime did not contribute to his commission of the crime against Mrs. Orr. Although Grayson had a history of antisocial behaviors, Phillips did not think he suffered from antisocial personality disorder. Phillips testified that Grayson was not mentally retarded in his opinion, but was of average to low-average intelligence. 74 Dr. Burton, a licensed physician with a specialty in forensic medicine and pathology, opined that Mrs. Orr's death was the result of suffocation from a pillow case being taped over her head in such a way that it impaired her ability to breathe, although he conceded that it was possible that heart failure played some role. Burton testified that none of Mrs. Orr's wounds were of the type expected to cause death. Based upon her death by suffocation, Dr. Burton testified that Mrs. Orr might have been alive when Grayson and Kennedy left her home and that it was possible for a person to live up to two hours in such circumstances. Because of Mrs. Orr's advanced age, Burton testified that her bruising could have been caused with minimal trauma during a rape and restraint. Dr. Burton also explained that the presence of bruises showed that Mrs. Orr was not unconscious during the attack, but awake and struggling, which would have led her attackers to believe that she was able to breathe. 75 Dr. Burton further testified as to the effects of alcohol on an individual's ability to reason and understand the consequences of his actions. He opined that Grayson may have been capable of performing the mechanical tasks associated with covering Mrs. Orr's face and raping her, despite his intoxication, without comprehending the consequences of those mechanical acts. Further, he explained that an intoxicated individual might have difficulty recalling an event shortly thereafter, but might regain memory of the event over time. 76 Dr. McClaren was hired by the Alabama Attorney General's Office to conduct a psychological evaluation of Grayson. At the state habeas hearing, McClaren testified that he evaluated Grayson using the Wexler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised and that Grayson received a verbal IQ score of 88, a performance IQ score of 80, and a full-scale IQ score of 83. He testified that these results suggest average intellectual functioning. 6 McClaren also administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to Grayson and testified that he did not find any evidence that Grayson was psychotic or had a major mental illness after evaluating his score on the MMPI, although Grayson did display a profile frequently found among people who find themselves in conflict with societal realms. Further, McClaren opined that Grayson had some antisocial traits and suffered from some sort of unspecified personality disorder, although he could not be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. McClaren diagnosed Grayson as being in remission from alcohol, and possibly cannabis, dependency. McClaren opined that Grayson was able to appreciate the consequences of his actions on the night of the murder. 77 The deposition testimony of Dr. Zimmerman, a psychologist with a specialty in mental health evaluations, was admitted into evidence at Grayson's state habeas hearing. Zimmerman diagnosed Grayson as alcohol dependent at the time of his incarceration and opined that: he would go through physical withdrawal from alcohol, alcohol affected the way he thought and his behavior, and what we know from animal studies is that alcohol probably affected his brain and those chemicals in the brain that carry messages from nerve cell to nerve cell. Dr. Zimmerman also testified to alcohol's effects generally on an individual's ability to appreciate the consequences of his actions. Zimmerman opined that Grayson was experiencing an alcoholic blackout at the time of the murder. 78 He found that Grayson read at greater than a twelfth grade level. Dr. Zimmerman also rescored the MMPI administered to Grayson by Dr. McClaren. In the MMPI analysis of Dr. Zimmerman, it states: The long-range prognosis for this individual is not good as this type does not learn from experience, including psychotherapy and incarceration. N. Lay Testimony at State Habeas Hearing 79 At the state habeas hearing, Grayson also submitted the testimony of numerous lay witnesses. Richard W. Bell represented Grayson at trial and on appeal. His deposition was taken and introduced; plus he testified at the state habeas hearing. Bell had been practicing law in Alabama for approximately ten years when was appointed as defense counsel for Grayson. Although Bell had practiced in the area of criminal law prior to his appointment to Grayson's case, the defense of Darrell Grayson was Bell's first capital case. He recalls that his fee for the case was a $1,000 flat fee. Bell was the only attorney appointed to represent Grayson at the trial level. Bell explained that the thrust of his defense at the guilt phase of the trial was Grayson's lack of intent to kill Mrs. Orr. 80 The trial judge authorized him to spend the statutory maximum of $500 on experts in the case. Bell testified that he contacted some expert pathologists to seek assistance with Grayson's defense but was unable to hire those experts because their fees were more than $1500 per day. Counsel thought it would be futile to attempt to obtain funds over the statutory cap for experts from the trial judge and, therefore, he did not try. He stated that the lack of a serology expert was extremely important because he could not challenge the findings of the State's serologist regarding the rape of Mrs. Orr to ascertain whether his client was actually involved in the rape. 81 Counsel also opined that the testimony of an expert pathologist would have been critical in defending Grayson. He explained his opinion that the autopsy doctor never specifically testified as to the cause of Mrs. Orr's death at trial. Counsel felt that he could have showed that the State's pathologist had decided on death by asphyxiation as a result of an inability to determine any other cause of death. Counsel wanted to explore the possibility that Mrs. Orr died of a cardiac arrest and felt that the testimony of a defense pathologist would have been crucial in showing that Grayson had not intended Mrs. Orr to die. Counsel testified that the lack of sufficient funds to hire experts caused Grayson to just almost confess a plea to the death penalty. 82 Because Grayson had consumed gallons of alcohol prior to the killing, counsel expressed his opinion that he needed a toxicologist to develop evidence regarding the chemical effects on the body of consuming huge amounts of alcohol. Further, counsel testified that it would have been important to show the jury the genetic and physiological factors that lead to alcohol dependence and the physiological effects of such dependence, such as blackouts. If he could have afforded experts, counsel would have presented such evidence, both as a mitigating factor and to show a lack of intent. Finally, counsel explained that expert testimony regarding the effects of alcohol and alcohol withdrawal would have been crucial in support of his motion to suppress Grayson's confessions. 83 Trial counsel further testified that a good forensic psychologist would have been critical in explaining to the jury the psychological events [that] had occurred in [Grayson's] life that may have led to him entering that home between eleven and midnight of Christmas Eve eve and committing whatever acts were done in there. He explained that this evidence would have been critical in demonstrating to the jury that Grayson had not intentionally killed Mrs. Orr. According to counsel, this evidence might have produced a conviction of a lesser included offense in light of the jury's apparent concern over the intent issue as evidenced by their question to the judge regarding intent. Further, counsel conceded that such an expert may have assisted him in developing evidence regarding Kennedy's domination of Grayson in connection with the offense. 84 With respect to the Bryce Hospital records, counsel testified that he received them and read them, but that he would have picked them apart if he had been able to hire a mental health expert. Counsel did not talk with any of the doctors who evaluated Grayson at Bryce Hospital prior to trial and attributed this to his lack of an investigator. Counsel was not asked during his deposition why he did not utilize the hospital records he did have at trial. 85 Trial counsel also expressed his opinion that it would have been important to gather facts about Grayson's home life and community in preparation of a mitigation case. Counsel talked with Grayson about his background, but did not interview other witnesses and members of the community to develop evidence for the mitigation phase of the case due to his lack of funding and investigatory help. Bell testified that the lack of adequate funding prevented him from taking time from his busy civil practice to investigate fully the case against Grayson. 86 Although he did not sit through the earlier trial against Kennedy, Bell had heard that the lawyer who defended Kennedy had been extremely animated and aggressive, challenging every exhibit and witness. Because that strategy had resulted in a death sentence for Kennedy, Bell explained that his strategy was to keep Grayson's defense calm and under control. He felt that he could appease the jury by presenting Grayson as calmly as possible and by accepting a lot of the damaging but admissible evidence without putting up a big fight in front of the jury. 87 Counsel also explained that the case was extremely politically charged in that the Orr family was a prominent family in Montevallo, Alabama and because it was an attack on an elderly white widow by two black individuals. Due to the politically sensitive nature of the case and the prominence of the family, counsel explained that he subpoenaed every family member and then invoked the rule of sequestration of witnesses in an effort to keep them from all sitting in the front row before the jury throughout the entire trial. Counsel conceded that the actual nature of the crime was horrendous and opined that the trial judge was compelled to sentence Grayson to death for political reasons. 88 When the jury came back with a question to the trial judge about the definition of intent and manslaughter, counsel testified that he felt that his points about Grayson's lack of intent to kill Mrs. Orr had been communicated to the jury and he felt good about the question being asked. (I just felt that this was very, very good, as far as this jury was concerned, and I was hoping that we were going to come out with the manslaughter conviction, or possibly even just a straight murder.). He testified that the prosecutors prosecuting the case similarly felt that the jury had bought the defense case, saying to Bell: I don't know how it happened, but I think that you whipped us on this, if that's what they're thinking. Counsel testified that he felt that the judge's failure to re-instruct the jury may have cost Grayson his life. 89 Bell explained that Grayson was a cooperative client and had informed him that he was drunk at the time of the crime. Bell did not recall being informed of a history of alcohol abuse, however. After reviewing his own preadmission form for Grayson's evaluation at Bryce Hospital, which stated Cannot control drinking, drinks to the point of blacking out, counsel testified that he must have known of the problem. 90 Counsel testified that he felt that he might have secured a verdict on a lesser included offense if the trial had been held in another venue where the victim was not a well-known pillar of the community. Counsel for Grayson queried: So, even here, and even with this jury, but without any expert help or anything else, you gave them a run for their money on the question of whether there was intent or not? Bell answered: That's right. 91 On examination by the State, Bell acknowledged that mental health and other mitigating evidence is a double-edged sword that often does not affect the outcome in favor of a defendant. He admitted that such evidence is sometimes so negative that defense counsel would not want to use it. He conceded that the facts of the case were horrible and that the evidence against his client was very strong. Counsel also admitted that he thought Judge Walden would have sentenced Grayson to death even if the jury had given him a life sentence. 92 Grayson's habeas counsel asked Bell on cross-examination: Was it very important to you to investigate for the presence of mitigating circumstances about the life and background of your client, Darrell Grayson? Bell responded: Yes. Counsel asked Again, were you not about to do that because of the five hundred dollar limit, you didn't have an investigator? He responded: That's correct. I did not investigate, but there was possibly sociological implications in the family that would have been best served by a person trained in that kind of observations of a family unit. Other than the fact that Grayson was from a large family and that his mother was a cafeteria worker, counsel testified that he knew very little about Grayson's background. Thus, Bell's testimony appears to indicate that he did little or no investigation into the possibly mitigating factors present in Grayson's background. Counsel testified that he believed Grayson's alcoholism and intoxication on the night of the crime could have been a deciding factor with the jury with proper expert testimony. 93 Grayson's sister testified as to the drinking and violence in Grayson's childhood home. She described an argument between her sister and her mother in which her mother shot her sister and an argument between her mother and her stepfather in which shots were fired in the home. Grayson's mother was convicted of manslaughter in connection with the death of her first husband Edward Grayson. Defense Exhibit 7 in state habeas proceeding). O. State Habeas Court's Order 94 The state habeas court denied Grayson's petition for post-conviction relief. Without analysis, the court found all of Grayson's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel to be without merit. With respect to Grayson's claim that his arrest violated the Fourth Amendment, the court found that claim procedurally barred due to Grayson's failure to raise the claim at trial or on appeal. In the alternative, the court found that the evidence before the court at the time of trial did not establish that Grayson's arrest was illegal. Moreover, none of the evidence which was presented in this proceeding establishes that Grayson's arrest was not founded upon sufficient probable cause. 95 The state habeas court similarly found Grayson's claim that his confessions were involuntary was procedurally barred and, in the alternative, that it lacked merit. The court found: When all of the evidence is considered, it is apparent that Grayson's statements were properly admitted into evidence. Nothing before this Court establishes that Grayson's statements were involuntary, and Grayson is not entitled to relief on this claim because it lacks merit. 96 With respect to Grayson's claim that he was denied sufficient funds to retain an expert forensic pathologist, the court found the claim procedurally barred and then made an alternative finding that the claim lacked merit. First, the court found that Grayson could not state a claim for the denial of funds where his counsel sought and received the maximum funding allowable under Alabama law for expert assistance. Furthermore, the court found that the lack of such pathology evidence in no way prejudiced Grayson where the expert pathologist hired by the defense in connection with the post-conviction proceedings agreed with the State's pathologist who testified at trial. 97 The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals denied Grayson's appeal. Thereafter, Grayson filed a § 2254 petition, which the district court denied. Grayson timely appealed.