Jonathan Gentry v. Stephen Sinclair

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

JONATHAN LEE GENTRY , No. 09-99021 Petitioner-Appellant, D.C. No. v. 2:99-CV-00289-RSL

STEPHEN SINCLAIR, ORDER AND

Respondent-Appellee. AMENDED OPINION

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Robert S. Lasnik, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted November 17, 2011—Portland, Oregon

Filed August 28, 2012 Amended January 15, 2013

Before: Raymond C. Fisher, Richard A. Paez, and Richard R. Clifton, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Clifton GENTRY V . SINCLAIR

SUMMARY*

Habeas Corpus/Death Penalty

The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of a 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus petition challenging a conviction and capital sentence for murder.

The panel first determined that Gentry had exhausted his claim that counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to present mitigating evidence at sentencing, and that the claim was not procedurally defaulted because the Washington Supreme Court adjudicated it on the merits. The panel then held that the state court’s denial of the…