Donald M. Paradis v. A.J. Arave, Warden, Idaho State Penitentiary Al Murphy, Director, Idaho State Correctional Institution

On June 22, 1980, the bodies of Scott Currier and Kimberly Palmer were found in a forest in Idaho. Petitioner Donald Paradis and Thomas Gibson were tried jointly and acquitted of Currier’s murder in September 1980. Paradis and Gibson were tried separately in Idaho for the murder of Palmer. Both were convicted after trial by jury and sentenced to death by Judge Gary Haman, who found that they had acted with “utter disregard for human life.”

Paradis’ judgment of conviction and the sentence of death were affirmed by the Supreme Court of Idaho. State v. Paradis, 106 Idaho 117 , 676 P.2d 31 (1983), cert. denied, 468 U.S. 1220 , 104 S.Ct. 3592 , 82 L.Ed.2d 888 (1984). Thereafter, Paradis’ petition for state post-conviction relief was denied. Paradis v. State, 110 Idaho 534 , 716 P.2d 1306 (1986). Paradis subsequently filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho, challenging the judgment of conviction and the sentence on federal constitutional grounds. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court denied the petition. Paradis v. Arave, 667 F.Supp. 1361 (D.Idaho 1987), aff'd in part and rev’d in part, 954 F.2d 1483 (9th…