SWEET, GLENNON PAUL
General Information
DOB: June 30, 1955
Race: White
Gender: Male
Crime and Trial
County of conviction: Clay
Number of counts: One
Race of victim: White
Gender of victim: Male
Date of crime: February 8, 1987
Date of sentencing: January 21, 1988
Date of execution: April 22, 1998
Legal status:
Trial Counsel:
Ty Gaither
Last counsel of record:
Floyd Finch, Jr., and Scott Martin
Blackwell Sanders
2300 Main St., Suite 1100
Kansas City, MO 64141
Last judicial decision:
--Denial of habeas corpus affirmed by Sweet v. Delo, 125 F.3d 1144 (8th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1010 (1998).
Reported Opinions:
--Conviction, sentence and denial of post-conviction relief affirmed on direct appeal by State v. Sweet, 796 S.W.2d 607 (Mo. banc 1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 932 (1991).
--Denial of habeas corpus affirmed by Sweet v. Delo, 125 F.3d 1144 (8th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1010 (1998).
Significant legal issues:
--penalty phase instruction effectively requiring jury to find mitigating circumstances unanimously, in violation of Mills v. Maryland
--ineffective performance of state post-conviction counsel as "cause" to excuse Mr. Sweet's failure to raise certain IAC claims in state court, for purposes of federal habeas review, and the extent to which the defect may be cured by filing a motion to recall the mandate in state court
--prosecutor's cross-examination of a defense witness during the penalty phase, which included questions about Mr. Sweet's previous arrests without disclosing that such arrests led to acquittals or the non-pursuit of criminal charges
--trial court's exclusion of photograph albums made by Mr. Sweet and proffered as mitigating evidence