Supreme Court Reinstates Death Penalty in Calif. Case, Says Psychiatric Evidence Introduced Too Late

The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated the death sentence for a man convicted in a Los Angeles double murder, despite evidence that his trial lawyer had failed to introduce evidence of his psychological problems. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion (PDF) reinstating the death sentence for Scott Lynn Pinholster, convicted of killing two men who interrupted him while robbing a drug dealer. The decision in Cullen v. Pinholster overturns a ruling granting habeas relief by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. According to Thomas, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act bars federal courts from considering new evidence that was not presented to state courts…