McMURTEY

I. Factual Background

Early in the morning on August 10, 1979, McMurtrey shot and killed two men and seriously injured a third man in an incident at the Ranch House Bar in Tucson, Arizona. McMurtrey and the three victims had apparently engaged in loud conversations about their toughness and had arm- wrestled, chewed glass, and shown off their tattoos. McMurtrey eventually went out to the parking lot and obtained a revolver from an acquaintance. He then returned to the bar, approached the victims, and fired the gun until it was empty. McMurtrey fled the state. In August 1980, approxi- mately one year later, McMurtrey was arrested in Topeka, Kansas, and returned to Arizona for prosecution in the Ranch House shooting.

II. Procedural History

A. State Court Proceedings

At trial, which began in July 1981, represented by attorney Bertram Polis and his associate counsel Henri Sadacca, McMurtrey did not deny shooting the victims. Rather, McMurtrey pleaded the defenses of self-defense, lack of pre- meditation, and insanity. On July 13, 1981, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on two counts of premeditated first degree murder and one count of attempted first degree murder.…