Court Opinion

ID: 9415642
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 19:04:35.843293+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:05:06.410340
License: Public Domain

BARKETT, Circuit Judge,
specially concurring:
The district court’s conclusion in this case is based on its acceptance of Chairman Ray’s testimony that “I have an open mind and I listen to every one of them.” Because I cannot say that the Court’s acceptance of this testimony was clear error, I concur in the majority’s decision. However, I am deeply troubled by the unusual nature of the court’s conclusion. On the one hand, the district court assumed, for purposes of decision, that Chairman Ray made the statement that “No one on death row [will] ever get clemency as long as [I am] Chairman of the Board.” But it did not so find as a fact. At the same time, the court found that Ray, who denied ever making the statement, was credible when he said that he could now entertain clemency petitions from death row inmates with an open mind. As it stands, the court has effectively assumed that Ray lied when he said he never made the initial statement, but was sincere when he said he could be neutral. It is troubling that the district court did not explore the question of Ray’s openness in light of questions involving his assumed original bias.