Opinion ID: 46119
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Simmons Claim

Text: Whitaker’s final claim is that the trial court erred by not instructing the jury that, if sentenced to 18 life imprisonment, Whitaker would not be eligible for parole for 40 years. In Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 168-69, 171 (1994), the Supreme Court held that, in states where life without parole is a capital sentencing option, the defendant is entitled to inform the jury that the alternative to a death sentence is life without parole. This court has repeatedly refused to extend Simmons to require that state courts allow capital defendants to inform the jury about parole eligibility where a life sentence would include a possibility of parole. See, e.g., Coleman v. Quarterman, 456 F.3d 537, 544-45 (5th Cir. 2006); Hughes v. Dretke, 412 F.3d 582, 591-92 (5th Cir. 2005); Miller v. Johnson, 200 F.3d 274, 290-91 (5th Cir. 2000). Accordingly, we find that reasonable jurists could not dispute the district court’s resolution of this claim, and we deny Whitaker’s request for a COA.