Comer

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND1

Crime

The facts of this case are deeply disturbing. Comer, his companion Juneva Willis (“Willis”), and Willis’s two chil- dren arrived at the Burnt Corral campground in Apache Lake, Arizona on February 2, 1987. The next evening, Comer invited a nearby camper, Larry Pritchard, to dine with him and Willis, and, after the meal, Comer shot him in the head. It is unclear whether Pritchard died immediately from the 1 The facts related to Comer’s crime, charges, and conviction are largely taken from the Supreme Court of Arizona’s 1990 decision in this case. See State v. Comer, 799 P.2d 333, 336-38 (Ariz. 1990). COMER v. SCHRIRO 11123 gunshot wound or later on. Comer later stabbed him in the neck. Comer then removed an Emergency Medical Techni- cian (“EMT”) badge from Pritchard’s pocket, and Willis hid Pritchard’s body by covering it with wood. After the murder, Comer and Willis drove to Pritchard’s campsite, where they stole a number of Pritchard’s belongings, as well as his dog.

Comer and Willis then proceeded to the campsite of Jane Jones and Richard Smith, campers whom they had met earlier that day. Remembering from…