Opinion ID: 782363
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Criminal Conviction History

Text: 64 Lastly, even if it were somehow true that trial counsel's failure to investigate Murrell's criminal history was deficient performance, as appellate counsel alleges, it was not prejudicial. Even if counsel had jumped through every hoop that Murrell's appellate counsel, a veritable Monday morning quarterback, would now have him do, Murrell still would have had to admit to five prior criminal convictions — rather than the four convictions he insisted he had. See supra at 1110-1111. Any possible negative effect of the additional prior conviction (and even Murrell's explanation of the mixup in the record) was at most marginal. Moreover, we note that Murrell himself could have avoided any questioning and follow-up explanation of the nature of his prior convictions if only he had been candid regarding the number of convictions on his record. Instead, he was less than truthful and refused to admit that he did in fact have six criminal convictions on his record. 65 Considering that the evidence of guilt against Murrell was most convincing and overwhelming (eyewitness testimony of Burrage, Davis, corroborating testimony of Arndt, Henson, Shaw), and that Murrell would have, in any case, had to admit to five prior convictions, there is no reasonable likelihood that but for counsel's failure to correct the information regarding Murrell's prior record, the jury would have reached a different conclusion as to Murrell's guilt.