Opinion ID: 4231291
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Robertson would be classified as a G3 inmate

Text: Warden Nelson testified at Robertson’s punishment trial that if Robertson were sentenced to life with parole, he would be classified as a G3 inmate. However, because Robertson had served more than 10 years of the sentence and because he had only minor disciplinary infractions during his time on death row, Robertson would “automatically be categorized as a G2 if given a life sentence.” Robertson, 2011 WL 1161381, at . Robertson relied on Woods to refute Warden Nelson’s classification during the hearing on Robertson’s motion for a new trial. Id. at . Woods, however, only indicated that he “disagreed with Warden Nelson’s use of the word ‘automatic,’ stating that it ‘was not a good choice of words.’” Id. Although Woods disagreed with Warden Nelson’s word choice, “the evidence indicate[d] that [Robertson] was 7 Case: 17-70013 Document: 00514282125 Page: 8 Date Filed: 12/21/2017 No. 17-70013 eligible for G2 status if given a life sentence.” Id. As the district court found, the state court’s determinations appear to be correct. The district court correctly held that Woods’s mere disagreement with Warden Nelson’s language was not enough to show that the state court unreasonably determined that Warden Nelson’s testimony was not false or misleading. See Boyle v. Johnson, 93 F.3d 180, 186 (5th Cir. 1996). B. Prison personnel are underpaid and under-staffed Warden Nelson testified that prison employees are underpaid, that there is rapid turnover, and that there is under-staffing to the point where one staff member may be in charge of up to 150 offenders. Robertson, 2011 WL 1161381, at . In response, Woods testified that his investigation did not indicate that there would have ever been one guard supervising 150 inmates as a typical situation. Id. He further stated that the complexity of the prison system makes it nearly impossible to establish a sound guard-to-inmate ratio. Id. Because Woods did not present concrete evidence to refute Warden Nelson’s testimony, the district court agreed with the TCCA that the jury would not have been misled or misinformed by the Warden’s testimony. See id. C. General population is more violent than administrative segregation Warden Nelson testified at trial that the general population had more incidents of violence than administrative segregation or death row. Id. at . Although Woods testified that it is “common sense” that inmates on administrative segregation are more dangerous, there is a higher opportunity for violent incidents in general population simply because there are more inmates in general population. Id. Woods ultimately “conclud[ed] that the warden’s testimony did not give a false impression about the amount or nature of violence in prison.” Id. The district court necessarily could not have erred in agreeing with the TCCA that the Warden’s testimony on this issue was not 8 Case: 17-70013 Document: 00514282125 Page: 9 Date Filed: 12/21/2017 No. 17-70013 false or misleading when Robertson’s own expert agreed with the Warden. See id. D. Inmates’ ability to come and go from their cells to work At trial, Warden Nelson thoroughly described the process used for an inmate to travel from his cell to his respective job. See id. at –10. She explained that each inmate was accounted for before leaving his cell and then accounted for again by his job supervisor. Id. She testified that each inmate was accounted for “eight times in a 24-hour period.” Id. at . When Woods testified on this issue, his testimony nearly mimicked that of Warden Nelson’s. Id. at . The district court correctly relied on the TCCA’s determination that Woods’s testimony was “substantially identical to that presented by the warden at trial.” Id. Accordingly, Robertson failed to establish that the jury relied on inaccurate information presented by Warden Nelson. E. Prison filled with psychopaths As the TCCA aptly summarized, defense counsel objected to a document on relevance, arguing “that the law requires individualized punishment and . . . appellant can’t help it if there are a bunch of psychopaths in prison.” Id. (internal quotations and alteration omitted). The court sustained the defense’s objection. Id. Later in Warden Nelson’s examination, the prosecution brought up the defense counsel’s comment about prison being filled with psychopaths. Id. Warden Nelson stated that she remembered the characterization, and when the prosecution asked if she agreed, Warden Nelson replied, “Yes, sir.” Id. Robertson relies on Woods’s testimony, “that it would be inaccurate to say that every inmate is a psychopath,” as evidence that Warden Nelson provided false testimony. Id. But, Woods agreed “that there are probably more psychopaths in prison.” Id. The district court agreed with the TCCA that Woods’s testimony does not demonstrate that Warden Nelson’s testimony was false or misleading to the jury. Id. In fact, Woods’s testimony, that it would be 9 Case: 17-70013 Document: 00514282125 Page: 10 Date Filed: 12/21/2017 No. 17-70013 inaccurate to characterize all inmates as psychopaths, is irrelevant to Warden Nelson’s testimony—she never even offered such testimony. See id. Accordingly, the district court did not err in denying habeas relief on this issue. F. Robertson’s two new claims The district court correctly noted that because Robertson failed to present two of his assertions—the warden’s inaccurate testimony in a different trial as evidence she was unreliable and the warden’s speculations as to his conduct violations—to the TCCA on direct appeal, these claims are barred from consideration by the federal courts through his habeas petition. Cullen v. Pinholster established that § 2254 “imposes a limitation on the discretion of federal habeas courts to [consider] new evidence.” 563 U.S. at 185. The record supports the district court’s determination that it could not consider these two new grounds for relief. 4