Mitigating Mental Health Evidence in Death Penalty Cases.

The article discusses a case in which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in a death penalty case was supported, primarily due to defense counsel's failure to hire a mental health expert to explore potential mitigating evidence during sentencing. Topics include the facts of the case, the court's ruling and reasoning, dissents from judges, and the importance of thorough mental health evaluations in capital trials.