Earl Richmond - Chronology of Events

5/6/2005 - Earl Richmond executed at 2 a.m.
5/5/2005 - Governor Michael Easley denies clemency
5/5/2005 - U.S. Supreme Court denies application for a stay of execution and petition for a writ of certiorari.
3/17/2005 - Correction Secretary Theodis Beck sets an execution date of May 6, 2005
2/28/2005 - U.S. Supreme Court denies Powell's petition for a writ of certiorari.
2/6/1998 - North Carolina Supreme Court affirms Powell's conviction and sentence of death.
6/1/1995 - Earl Richmond sentenced to death in Cumberland Superior Court for the murders of Helisa, Phillip and Darien Hayes.

North Carolina Department of Correction
For Release: IMMEDIATE
Contact: Sherri Johnson
Date: 5/5/2005
Phone: (919) 733-5612

GOV. EASLEY DENIES CLEMENCY IN RICHMOND CASE

Raleigh - Gov. Mike Easley today denied the clemency petition filed by Earl Richmond Jr., a convicted triple murderer scheduled for execution at 2 a.m. on May 6, 2005.

Richmond is on death row for the November 1991 murders of Cumberland County residents Halisa Hayes and her two children, Phillip and Darien. Richmond was also convicted of the first degree rape of Hayes and is serving a life sentence for the death of Lisa Ann Nadeau in New Jersey. “Given the facts and circumstances of this case, I find no compelling reason to invalidate the sentence recommended by the jury and affirmed by the courts,” said Easley.

For Release: IMMEDIATE
Contact: Public Affairs Office
Date: March 18, 2005
Phone: (919) 716-3700

Execution date set for Earl Richmond Jr.

RALEIGH - Correction Secretary Theodis Beck has set May 6, 2005 as the execution date for inmate Earl Richmond Jr. The execution is scheduled for 2 a.m. at Central Prison in Raleigh.

Richmond, 43, was sentenced to death June 1, 1995 in Cumberland County Superior Court for the November 1991 murders of Helisa S. Hayes and her children Philip Hayes and Darien Hayes. He also received a life sentence for first-degree rape.

Central Prison Warden Marvin Polk will explain the execution procedures during a media tour scheduled for Monday, May 2 at 10:00 a.m. Interested media representatives should arrive at Central Prison’s visitor center promptly at 10:00 a.m. on the tour date. The session will last approximately one hour.

The media tour will be the only opportunity to photograph the execution chamber and deathwatch area before the execution. Journalists who plan to attend the tour should contact the Department of Correction Public Affairs Office at (919) 716-3700 by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 29.

ATTENTION EDITORS: A photo of Earl Richmond Jr. (#0343602) can be obtained by using the "Offender Search" function on the Department of Correction Web site at www.doc.state.nc.us. For more information about the death penalty, including selection of witnesses, click on “The Death Penalty” link.

Raleigh News & Observer

"Killer executed for 1991 crimes; raped and strangled a woman and killed her two children in 1991," by Andrea Weigl. (May 6, 2005)

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A former Army drill sergeant was executed this morning for killing and raping a Fayetteville woman and then strangling her two children to death with electrical cords.

Earl Richmond Jr. , 43, of Fayetteville, had been a family friend to Helisa Stewart Hayes and had dated one of her sisters. He even served as a pallbearer at the funerals for Hayes, 27, and her son, Phillip, 8, and her daughter, Darien, 7. In November 1991, the family's bodies were found in their home at the Sunshine Mobile Home Park in Fayetteville. Hayes had been beaten and strangled. Her son had been stabbed 40 times with a pair of scissors and had an electrical cord wrapped around his neck five times. Her daughter was strangled with the cord from a curling iron.

Richmond had been a best friend to Wayne Hayes, Helisa Hayes' former husband and the children's father. Wayne Hayes was scheduled to be among the witnesses to Richmond's death by lethal injection at 2 a.m. today at Central Prison near downtown Raleigh. Other scheduled witnesses included Hayes' sister, Tara Clark, and Theresa Nadeau Collins, the sister of another of Richmond's victims. "He's a beast in human skin," said Collins, of Plainfield, Conn. "He doesn't have any remorse."

Richmond had been separately convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Army Spc. Lisa Ann Nadeau, 24, in April 1991 -- seven months before the Hayes murders. Nadeau, a payroll clerk at Fort Dix, N.J., had been beaten with a hammer, stabbed, hog-tied and strangled. Richmond did not become a suspect in Nadeau's death until after he was arrested in the Hayes murder. He was sentenced to life in prison for Nadeau's killing. Richmond had been removed as a drill sergeant at Fort Dix for misconduct, officials said at the time

Richmond has been on North Carolina's death row since June 1995. He was moved at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday to the death watch area, which has four cells and a day room away from death row and is where prisoners stay before execution. At 4:05 p.m. Thursday, he learned that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his request to stay the execution. Richmond did not request a last meal, a prison spokeswoman said. By 8 p.m., Gov. Mike Easley denied Richmond's plea for clemency.

Richmond's appellate lawyers say a judge should not have allowed prosecutors to argue for a death sentence by saying Richmond was still a danger to society without letting jurors know he was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The state's lawyers point out that a federal appeals court ruled it amounted to "harmless" error and a jury would likely have still sentenced Richmond to death.

Richmond's lawyers also say Nadeau's father, Arthur, should not have been allowed to testify about his daughter's death during the sentencing phase of the trial about the Hayes' murders. Arthur Nadeau's testimony was based on what he heard at the trial in New Jersey, and amounted to hearsay, Richmond's lawyers said. Richmond was denied his constitutional right to confront a knowledgeable witness about Nadeau's killing, they say.

But the state's lawyers say Richmond's own confession about Nadeau's death was far more damaging than anything Arthur Nadeau said on the witness stand. Arthur Nadeau's testimony was an accurate account of his daughter's injuries, which the defense doesn't dispute, the state lawyers added.

ProDeathPenalty.Com

A former drill sergeant who brutally murdered a Cumberland County woman and her two children a few months after killing an Army clerk in New Jersey will face execution in May, North Carolina's top prison official said Friday. Earl Richmond Jr., 43, is scheduled for execution at 2 a.m. May 6 at Central Prison in Raleigh, Correction Secretary Theodis Beck said in a statement.

Richmond was sentenced to death in 1995 for the November 1991 murders of Helisa S. Hayes, her son Phillip and her daughter Darien. He also received a life sentence for first-degree rape. Testimony at Richmond's trial indicated he raped and strangled Helisa Hayes, 27, after an argument. He then took 8-year-old Phillip to a bathroom, where he strangled him with the cord to a hair curler and stabbed him 20 times with a pair of scissors. He strangled Darien, 7, in her room with the cord from a curling iron.

Richmond was separately sentenced to life in prison without parole for a 1992 conviction in New Jersey on a federal murder charge. Richmond killed Lisa Ann Nadeau, a Fort Dix, N.J., payroll clerk, months before the triple murder in Cumberland County, which borders Fort Bragg. In July, a federal appeals court rejected arguments that Richmond was denied adequate legal representation. His appeals lawyers argued that his trial attorneys failed to present expert evidence that he couldn't form intent to kill his victims because he had consumed 20 beers, a fifth of liquor and smoked crack cocaine on the night of the slayings. Richmond's defense attorney said at the trial that besides being under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, he flew into a rage when Hayes hit him during an argument.

Richmond's appellate record states the following facts of the case: During the early morning of November 2, 1991, Richmond went to the home of Helisa Hayes, the ex-wife of his best friend, Wayne, and allegedly engaged in consensual intercourse with her. Thereafter, Richmond and Helisa allegedly got into an argument about Helisa flaunting her relationships with other men in front of her ex-husband. During this argument, Richmond, after supposedly being struck with an object by Helisa, grabbed and carried her into her bedroom. Once inside of the bedroom, Richmond struck Helisa in the face with his fist and proceeded to engage in "forceful" intercourse with her. After having "forceful" intercourse with Helisa, Richmond strangled her to death with his hands and poured rubbing alcohol over her vaginal area. Richmond then grabbed Helisa's eight-year-old son, Phillip, who was laying down in the hallway outside of his mother’s bedroom, carried him into the bathroom, stabbed him approximately forty times with scissors and wrapped an electrical cord five times around his neck. After killing Phillip, Richmond went into the bedroom of Helisa's seven-year-old daughter, Darien, who was sleeping in her bed, and strangled her to death with the cord from a curling iron.

Helisa's father discovered the bodies of his daughter and two grandchildren on November 4th when, after having not heard from Helisa for two days, he became concerned about her safety and broke into her home. Because Richmond was Helisa’s ex-husband's best friend and because he was well acquainted with Helisa and her children, even serving as a pallbearer at their funerals, police interviewed Richmond, among others, soon after the dead bodies of Helisa and her two children were discovered.

During this initial interview, Richmond told police that he had not been to the family's home during the weekend of the murders. Moreover, Richmond sought to shift attention from himself by telling police that he believed his friend Wayne had visited his ex-wife's home at some point during the weekend in question. Consequently, police, rather than considering Richmond a suspect, focused their attention on Helisa’s ex-husband, Wayne Hayes, another man who was known as her boyfriend at the time of the murders, and Helisa's father.

Approximately three months after the murders however, Richmond became a suspect when his sister informed police that she had dropped Richmond off near Helisa's home on the early morning of November 2nd after they and others attended an all night house party. In light of this information, police requested a suspect rape kit from Richmond, which revealed, through DNA evidence, that the semen found inside of Helisa’s body belonged to Richmond. Based on this DNA evidence, police brought Richmond in for an interview on April 3, 1992. During this interview, Richmond, after initially denying any involvement in the murders of Helisa and her two children, confessed to having committed the murders upon being informed that DNA evidence revealed that his semen was found inside of Helisa's body.

When asked to describe the murders, Richmond told police, in sum, the following: At approximately 3:45 a.m. on the morning of November 2nd, he went to Helisa’s home after leaving an all night house party. Upon arriving at Helisa’s home, he and Helisa got into an argument about her "messing" around on Wayne Hayes. After arguing, he and Helisa engaged in "forceful" sex and then got into another argument. During this argument, Helisa struck him with an object and called her son, Phillip, into the room. In response, he knocked Helisa to the ground by striking her in the face with his fist, grabbed her son, who at this point had entered the room, and took him into the bathroom where he stabbed him to death with scissors. After killing Phillip, he went into the bedroom of Helisa’s daughter, Darien, and strangled her to death with the cord from a curling iron. He then went back into Helisa’ bedroom where he strangled her to death with his hands and poured rubbing alcohol on her vaginal area.

During a subsequent interview on April 5th, Richmond, although altering his recollection of the events, confirmed his confession. During this interview, Richmond told police, in sum, the following: Upon arriving at Helisa’s home at approximately 3:45 a.m., he engaged in consensual intercourse with Helisa. After having consensual intercourse, he and Helisa got into an argument about Helisa flaunting her relationships with other men in front of Wayne Hayes. During this argument, Helisa struck him with an object and called her son, Phillip, into the room. In response, he carried Helisa into her bedroom, struck her in the face with his fist, engaged in "forceful" sex with her, strangled her to death with his hands, and poured rubbing alcohol on her vaginal area. After killing Helisa, he grabbed her son, who had entered and left the room during the aforementioned events and subsequently laid down in the hallway outside Helisa's bedroom, and took him into the bathroom where he stabbed him to death with scissors. After killing Helisa’s son, he went into her daughter’s bedroom, Darien, and strangled her to death with the cord from a curling iron.

Based on his April 3rd and 5th confessions, Richmond was indicted on July 6, 1992 for these crimes. While awaiting trial on these charges, Richmond was charged in the April 4, 1991 murder of Lisa Ann Nadeau, an army dispersing clerk at the Fort Dix military base. On May 28, 1993, Richmond was convicted of Lisa Nadeau’s murder and subsequently sentenced to life without parole. Richmond was tried and convicted in May 1995 for the Hayes murders.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Earl Richmond - North Carolina - May 6, 2005 2:00 a.m. EST

On May 6, 2005 at 2:00 a.m., the state of North Carolina is scheduled to execute Earl Richmond Jr., a black man, for the July 1992 murders of Helisa Hayes and her two children, Phillip and Darien, in Cumberland County.

Richmond, heavily intoxicated on crack cocaine and alcohol, went to the Hayes residence on Nov. 2, 1991. There, he and Ms. Hayes engaged in an act of consensual sex. Shortly thereafter, the two became embroiled in a heated argument. The argument became violent, with Ms. Hayes hitting Richmond and Richmond, in return, punching her in the face. Richmond then raped and killed Ms. Hayes. Afterwards, Richmond killed her son and daughter.

Richmond fully confessed to the triple homicide. He was charged with the rape and murder of Ms. Hayes and the murders of her two children. At trial, he pled not guilty to all charges. The jury found him guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree rape. It imposed three death sentences and one term of life imprisonment on Richmond for his crimes. Richmond’s trial lasted only two days.

Richmond’s mitigating circumstances are substantial. He was forced to endure a harsh, abusive childhood. As a child, he suffered from physical and verbal abuse at the hands of an alcoholic father. Additionally, one of his sisters claims that there is a possibility that he was sexually abused by their father.

A psychologist and psychiatrist that examined Richmond testified that he was severely depressed, possessed a personality disorder, and suffered from substance abuse. They concluded that these conditions, coupled with his troubled upbringing, significantly lessened his ability to act in accordance with the law.

In addition to these unfortunate circumstances and impairments, Richmond’s alcohol consumption and drug use on the night prior to the murders puts into question the extent to which he was able to act with premeditation. One of Richmond’s sisters testified that she witnessed Richmond consume an excessive amount of alcohol at a party that evening. Additionally, she admits that she and Richmond both smoked crack cocaine later on in the night. The large quantity of alcohol consumed by Richmond and his use of crack cocaine suggest that Richmond’s ability to plan the Hayes’ murders was significantly impaired.

Richmond’s behavior during the early morning hours of Nov. 2, 1991 was most likely a product of an unhealthy upbringing and substance abuse problems. He deserves treatment—not death. Write to Gov. Mike Easley of North Carolina and inform him of your opposition to the execution of Earl Richmond Jr.

New Criminologist

"Earl Richmond Jr. - A monster is about to die in North Carolina." (Published on 01 May 2005)

A former drill sergeant who brutally murdered a Cumberland County woman and her two children a few months after killing an Army clerk in New Jersey, pond scum Richmond will face execution in May, North Carolina's top prison official said Friday. Earl Richmond Jr., 43, is scheduled for execution at 2 a.m. May 6 at Central Prison in Raleigh, Correction Secretary Theodis Beck said in a statement.

Richmond was sentenced to death in 1995 for the November 1991 murders of Helisa S. Hayes, her son Phillip and her daughter Darien. He also received a life sentence for first-degree rape. Testimony at Richmond's trial indicated he raped and strangled Helisa Hayes, 27, after an argument. He then took 8-year-old Phillip to a bathroom, where he strangled him with the cord to a hair curler and stabbed him 20 times with a pair of scissors. He strangled Darien, 7, in her room with the cord from a curling iron. Richmond was separately sentenced to life in prison without parole for a 1992 conviction in New Jersey on a federal murder charge.

Richmond killed Lisa Ann Nadeau, a Fort Dix, N.J., payroll clerk, months before the triple murder in Cumberland County, which borders Fort Bragg.

In July, a federal appeals court rejected arguments that Richmond was denied adequate legal representation. His appeals lawyers argued that his trial attorneys failed to present expert evidence that he couldn't form intent to kill his victims because he had consumed 20 beers, a fifth of liquor and smoked crack cocaine on the night of the slayings. Richmond's defense attorney said at the trial that besides being under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, he flew into a rage when Hayes hit him during an argument. Richmond's appellate record states the following shocking facts of the case:

During the early morning of November 2, 1991, Richmond went to the home of Helisa Hayes, the ex-wife of his best friend, Wayne, and allegedly engaged in consensual intercourse with her. Thereafter, Richmond and Helisa allegedly got into an argument about Helisa flaunting her relationships with other men in front of her ex-husband. During this argument, Richmond, after supposedly being struck with an object by Helisa, grabbed and carried her into her bedroom.

Once inside of the bedroom, Richmond struck Helisa in the face with his fist and proceeded to engage in "forceful" intercourse with her. After having "forceful" intercourse with Helisa, Richmond strangled her to death with his hands and poured rubbing alcohol over her vaginal area. Richmond then grabbed Helisa's eight-year-old son, Phillip, who was laying down in the hallway outside of his mother’s bedroom, carried him into the bathroom, stabbed him approximately forty times with scissors and wrapped an electrical cord five times around his neck. After killing Phillip, Richmond went into the bedroom of Helisa's seven-year-old daughter, Darien, who was sleeping in her bed, and strangled her to death with the cord from a curling iron.

Helisa's father discovered the bodies of his daughter and two grandchildren on November 4th when, after having not heard from Helisa for two days, he became concerned about her safety and broke into her home. Because Richmond was Helisa’s ex-husband's best friend and because he was well acquainted with Helisa and her children, even serving as a pallbearer at their funerals, police interviewed Richmond, among others, soon after the dead bodies of Helisa and her two children were discovered.

During this initial interview, Richmond told police that he had not been to the family's home during the weekend of the murders. Moreover, Richmond sought to shift attention from himself by telling police that he believed his friend Wayne had visited his ex-wife's home at some point during the weekend in question. Consequently, police, rather than considering Richmond a suspect, focused their attention on Helisa’s ex-husband, Wayne Hayes, another man who was known as her boyfriend at the time of the murders, and Helisa's father.

Approximately three months after the murders however, Richmond became a suspect when his sister informed police that she had dropped Richmond off near Helisa's home on the early morning of November 2nd after they and others attended an all night house party. In light of this information, police requested a suspect rape kit from Richmond, which revealed, through DNA evidence that the semen found inside of Helisa’s body belonged to Richmond. Based on this DNA evidence, police brought Richmond in for an interview on April 3, 1992.

During this interview, Richmond, after initially denying any involvement in the murders of Helisa and her two children, confessed to having committed the murders upon being informed that DNA evidence revealed that his semen was found inside of Helisa's body. When asked to describe the murders, Richmond told police, in summary, the following: At approximately 3:45 a.m. on the morning of November 2nd, he went to Helisa’s home after leaving an all night house party. Upon arriving at Helisa’s home, he and Helisa got into an argument about her "messing" around on Wayne Hayes. After arguing, he and Helisa engaged in "forceful" sex and then got into another argument.

During this argument, Helisa struck him with an object and called her son, Phillip, into the room. In response, he knocked Helisa to the ground by striking her in the face with his fist, grabbed her son, who at this point had entered the room, and took him into the bathroom where he stabbed him to death with scissors. After killing Phillip, he went into the bedroom of Helisa’s daughter, Darien, and strangled her to death with the cord from a curling iron. He then went back into Helisa’ bedroom where he strangled her to death with his hands and poured rubbing alcohol on her vaginal area.

During a subsequent interview on April 5th, Richmond, although altering his recollection of the events, confirmed his confession. During this interview, Richmond told police, in sum, the following: Upon arriving at Helisa’s home at approximately 3:45 a.m., he engaged in consensual intercourse with Helisa. After having consensual intercourse, he and Helisa got into an argument about Helisa flaunting her relationships with other men in front of Wayne Hayes. During this argument, Helisa struck him with an object and called her son, Phillip, into the room. In response, he carried Helisa into her bedroom, struck her in the face with his fist, engaged in "forceful" sex with her, strangled her to death with his hands, and poured rubbing alcohol on her vaginal area. After killing Helisa, he grabbed her son, who had entered and left the room during the aforementioned events and subsequently laid down in the hallway outside Helisa's bedroom, and took him into the bathroom where he stabbed him to death with scissors. After killing Helisa’s son, he went into her daughter’s bedroom, Darien, and strangled her to death with the cord from a curling iron.

Based on his April 3rd and 5th confessions, Richmond was indicted on July 6, 1992 for these crimes. While awaiting trial on these charges, Richmond was charged in the April 4, 1991 murder of Lisa Ann Nadeau, an army dispersing clerk at the Fort Dix military base. On May 28, 1993, Richmond was convicted of Lisa Nadeau’s murder and subsequently sentenced to life without parole. Richmond was tried and convicted in May 1995.

Charlotte Observer

"Man who killed 4 is executed; Richmond convicted in 1991 slayings of 2 women, 2 children," by William L. Holmes. (Associated Press Posted on Sat, May. 07, 2005)

RALEIGH - Wayne Hayes nervously bounced his leg while waiting in Central Prison early Friday for the arrival of the man who killed his two young children and a pair of women nearly 14 years ago. Earl Richmond Jr. came as expected at 1:50 a.m., shirtless, strapped to a gurney and with bags of poison hanging at his side. Richmond flashed a quick smile at his lawyers. He winked at his two sisters, who gazed at him through thick glass, and told them he loved them.

It's unclear whether he acknowledged Hayes, his former longtime good friend. Richmond was sentenced to death in 1995 for the slayings of Hayes' ex-wife, 27-year-old Helisa Stewart Hayes, and his two children, 8-year-old Phillip and 7-year-old daughter Darien. Hayes clasped the hands of one of the children's aunts and the sister of another woman Richmond killed in New Jersey as he waited for the execution to start at 2 a.m. Richmond was pronounced dead at 2:19 a.m.

After his arrest in North Carolina, Richmond was charged in the April 5, 1991, slaying of Army Spec. Lisa Ann Nadeau at Fort Dix, N.J. Nadeau, 24, of Plainfield, Conn., was found bound, beaten, stabbed and strangled in her Army base residence. Richmond was sentenced to life in prison in New Jersey before being returned to North Carolina.

In November 1991, Richmond raped Helisa Hayes and then strangled her after the two argued, according to investigators. Phillip witnessed the attack and Richmond dragged him to a bathroom, where he strangled him with the cord to a hair curler and stabbed him more than 20 times with a pair of scissors. He then went into Darien's room and strangled her as she slept.

Days later, he was a volunteer pallbearer at the funerals and rode in a limousine with Wayne Hayes to the services.

North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium

"Killer Richmond goes quietly, with apology," by Paul Woolverton. ( May 7, 2005: The Fayetteville Observer)

RALEIGH - In his final statements, Earl Richmond Jr. of Cumberland County apologized to the relatives of the people he killed in 1991. "My actions have crushed the dreams and hearts of many families," he wrote in a letter to the Hayes, Stewart and Nadeau families.

Richmond, a former Army drill sergeant, was put to death by injection Friday morning for the murders of Helisa Stewart Hayes and her two children in their home outside Fayetteville. He was 43. He had been given a life sentence for killing Army Spc. Lisa Ann Nadeau at Fort Dix, N.J.

At 1:40 a.m. Friday, 15 people were in the execution viewing room to watch Richmond die. On the front row, inches from the double-pane window into the death chamber, sat his sisters Erica Woods and Lavonne Melvin and his lawyers, Jonathan Broun and Ann Groninger. Cumberland County District Attorney Ed Grannis sat on the front row, though slightly separate from Richmond's family. The other witnesses included Cumberland County District Court Judge John Dickson, who was Richmond's prosecutor in 1995; Assistant District Attorney Cal Colyer; Tara Clark and Trenda Boston, sisters of Helisa Hayes; Wayne Hayes, who was her ex-husband; and Theresa Collins, Nadeau's sister. Two reporters stood in the back of the room, and two Department of Correction staff members stood on the sides.

Silence prevails

For most of the next 40 minutes, the room was silent but for the whooshing of the building's air conditioning, the breathing of the witnesses and the rustling as they shifted in their chairs. The room was dim, lit by one bulb above the death-chamber window and the light spilling in through the chamber window. At 1:49, the heavy steel door in the death chamber opened. Richmond was wheeled in on a gurney, covered from feet to shoulders by a pale blue sheet. His upper body was elevated. His head rested on a pillow. Prison employees pushed the gurney close to the window. Richmond winked at his sisters and flashed two quick smiles.

A few minutes later, he raised his head and appeared to mouth the words "I love you" to each sister. Then he mouthed something else, perhaps to Wayne Hayes, on the second row. It wasn't clear what he was trying to say. Richmond lay his head back on the pillow, closed his eyes and turned his face to the right, away from the window. But his profile - sharp features, high cheekbones, goatee and mustache - remained visible. He never opened his eyes again. At 1:57, Central Prison Warden Marvin Polk entered the viewing room. "Ladies and gentlemen, I've been in contact with the secretary of correction," he said. "If there are no further instructions, the execution will proceed as scheduled."

Polk left the room.

At 1:59, Richmond quickly raised and shifted his head, then lay back down. At 2, the executioners began injecting the chemicals through intravenous lines into his body. His eyelids fluttered. Thirty-five seconds later, his chest rose with a deep breath. Then Richmond's breathing grew shallow. It appeared to stop about 30 to 40 seconds later. His mouth dropped open. Richmond showed no more movement.

At 2:20, the curtain in the window to the execution chamber was drawn shut. Polk returned to the viewing room moments later. "Ladies and gentlemen, the sentence of the court has been carried out," Polk announced. "He was pronounced dead at 2:19 a.m."

Witnesses' reaction

Richmond was the first man since 1940 to be executed for a crime committed in Cumberland County. He was the 36th person North Carolina has executed since it reinstated the death penalty in 1977. Relatives of Hayes, Nadeau and Richmond declined to be interviewed afterward.

Grannis, the Cumberland County district attorney, gave a written statement. He said his office is grateful that the state executed Richmond. "We trust that Earl Richmond Jr.'s execution has provided some measure of justice for his victims and for the citizens of the State of North Carolina," he wrote. Broun and Groninger had a brief news conference after the execution. They released documents that suggest Richmond was a changed man on Central Prison's death row, one with a strong Christian faith and one who accepted responsibility for his actions.

In a paper titled "Testimony of Earl Richmond," which he delivered to 78 death row inmates Tuesday, Richmond cited his faith and said he had been ready for his execution for years. "I don't believe in the death penalty under any circumstances, but I was born to die, and now I'll die to live," he said. At 5 p.m. Thursday, nine hours before the execution, Richmond was scheduled to get the traditional final meal, a dinner of whatever he requested, within reason, prison spokesmen said. Richmond decided not to take this last privilege. "My victims got no last meal," he said in his testimony to the other inmates. He said he had asked Gov. Mike Easley not to consider clemency for him.

No interviews

Richmond refused news interviews. He had told his lawyers not to talk publicly about his case, Broun said after the execution. "He did not want us to be talking about his remorse or other things beforehand because he did not want it to be thought of as just some ploy or some attempt to get clemency," Broun said. Even though Richmond did not feel he deserved clemency, Broun and Groninger requested it on his behalf and on behalf of his family, Broun said. Easley denied the clemency shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday.

Richmond raped and strangled 27-year-old Helisa Hayes in her home off Bingham Drive near Fayetteville in November 1991. Then he stabbed her 8-year-old son, Phillip Desmond Hayes, with scissors 62 times and slashed his throat before wrapping an electric cord around his neck. He strangled Hayes' daughter, Darien, with an electric cord.

In April 1991, he tied up Army Spc. Lisa Ann Nadeau, 24, in her townhome at Fort Dix, N.J., stabbed her in the leg, hit her in the head, and raped and strangled her. He let her two children live. One was 3 years old; the other, 6 months.

The prison released a transcript of Richmond's final statement, given orally less than an hour before his death. "At this time, I'd like to extend my deepest apologies to all the victims' families and their loved ones," he said. "I'd like to say that I'm not a man that shies away from his responsibilities. I'd like to say that I hope that now, through my death, that y'all can move forward with your lives. Thank you and God bless you."

"Richmond executed for 1991 triple murder," by Paul Woolverton. (May 6, 2005 Fayettesville Observer)

RALEIGH - Ten minutes before his execution Friday morning, Earl Richmond Jr. winked and flashed two quick smiles to his sisters, Erica Woods and Lavonne Melvin, through the double pane glass window of the execution chamber.

A few minutes later, he appeared to mouth the words “I love you” to them, and then mouthed something else, perhaps to Wayne Hayes, who sat on the second row. It wasn’t clear what he was trying to say. Wayne Hayes was the husband of Helisa Stewart Hayes, one of the people Richmond murdered in 1991 in her home near Fayetteville. Richmond also killed her two children, Phillip Desmond Hayes, 8, and Darien, 7. Richmond then lay his head on the pillow of his death bed, closed his eyes and turned his face away from the window of the viewing room. He never opened his eyes again.

As the execution began at 2 a.m., Richmond's eyes fluttered. He took a deep breath 35 seconds later, then his breathing appeared to stop about a minute into the execution. Everyone in the witness room remained silent. At 2:12 a.m., Wayne Hayes said something in a whisper to Theresa Collins, sister of Lisa Nadeau. Richmond was serving a life sentence for killing Nadeau in 1991 in Fort Dix, N.J. The curtain to the execution chamber was drawn shut 20 minutes after the execution began. Central Prison Warden Marvin Polk declared Richmond dead at 2:19 a.m.

Richmond also was a suspect in the killing of 64-year-old Ann Shanholtz of Fayetteville in December 1990.

In a transcript of Richmond's final statement, he said, "At this time, I'd like to extend my deepest apologies to all the victims' families and their loved ones. "I'd like to say that I’m not a man that shies away from his responsibilities. I'd like to say that I hope that now, through my death, that y'all can move forward with your lives. Thank you and God bless you."

Richmond chose to forgo the traditional last meal offered to condemned inmates, saying, according to his attorney's, that he didn't want a last meal because his victims didn't have a last meal.

Cumberland County District Attorney Ed Grannis, who witnessed the execution, said, in a written statement, that his office is grateful that the state executed Richmond. "We trust that Earl Richmond Jr.’s execution has provided some measure of justice for his victims and for the citizens of the State of North Carolina," Grannis said.

Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Richmond's request for a stay of execution and North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley decided against granting clemency. "Given the facts and circumstances of this case, I find no compelling reason to invalidate the sentence recommended by the jury and affirmed by the courts," Easley said in a written statement.

Hayes' four sisters and Nadeau's sister said Thursday evening that Richmond's death, by lethal injection, would not be severe enough. The procedure would put him to sleep, paralyze him, and then stop his heart. "I would just like for him to know that what he's getting is not enough," said Trenda Boston, one of Helisa Hayes' younger sisters. "What he really deserves is to be raped, and to be stabbed and to be strangled. Everything that he's ever done to all these victims, he needs to have that done to him."

Boston said she dated Richmond in high school in Fayetteville and introduced her sister to Wayne Hayes, whom Helisa eventually married. Wayne Hayes and Richmond were close friends, Wayne Hayes said this week. Helisa Hayes' sisters said that while growing up they never saw any sign that he would become a serial rapist and a serial killer.

Theresa Collins of Plainfield, Conn., is Nadeau's sister. She said that all of the murders could have been prevented if police and prosecutors in New Jersey had done a better job in 1989. That year, two women were sexually assaulted. Another man was arrested for one of the assaults, convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was released after 3 years because DNA evidence showed that Richmond assaulted the woman.

Authorities didn't collect Richmond's DNA until months after the Hayes murders. The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office investigated Richmond after one of his sisters told them he was near her house before the murder. His DNA tied him to the Hayes and Nadeau killings.

Collins and Tara Clark of Fayetteville, Helisa Hayes' youngest sister, were chosen to witness the execution. Jim Armstrong of Fayetteville would have liked to watch it, too. His mother was Ann Shanholtz. Investigators were almost certain that Richmond killed Shanholtz, but they never could prove it. "I feel sorry for this man's family," Armstrong said. "I'm sure that they've gone through a lot, too, but I've always believed that sooner or later, if you've done wrong, your turn will come." He said he just wishes he knew for sure whether Richmond was the killer.

Richmond's family members have declined requests for interviews. Early Thursday evening, Richmond told prison officials that he would forgo the traditional final meal. Richmond would be the first person put to death for a conviction in Cumberland County since 1940. That year, 20-year-old Robert Williams was executed for raping a 60-year-old woman from Hope Mills in 1938.

Serial killer Velma Barfield, who was from Cumberland County and executed in 1984, was sentenced to death in Bladen County Superior Court for poisoning her boyfriend in Robeson County.

"40 clergy urge N.C. Legislature to stop, study executions." (May 3, 2005: The Herald-Sun)

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Forty senior members of the clergy from churches across North Carolina released a letter Tuesday calling on legislators to pass a two-year moratorium on executions in order to study whether the death penalty is fairly meted out.

The group, which included high-ranking Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Muslim, Jewish and other clergy from across the state, urged support of a bill currently before a state House committee.

The measure would, upon passage, call for an immediate suspension of executions for two years while lawmakers examine the use of capital punishment in the state. "The future of the death penalty is not at stake here," the letter, addressed to state House and Senate members, read. "The principles of fairness and due process are. ... Only such a moratorium can allow a period of careful, balanced review without the distractions and conflicts of interest among the experts on both sides of the issue that would be sure to arise if executions were allowed to proceed while the study was ongoing."

Dozens of congregations and local governments across the state have voiced their support for a moratorium, including some individuals who support the death penalty, noted Bishop Michael B. Curry of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina.

Both death penalty supporters and opponents "want to make certain our laws and practices are consistent with a just and decent society," he said at a brief news conference held by about a dozen people who signed the letter. "We want North Carolina to be a state characterized by justice for all."

State v. Richmond, 347 N.C. 412, 495 S.E.2d 677 (N.C. 1998) (Direct Appeal).

Defendant was convicted in the Superior Court, Cumberland County, E. Lynn Johnson, J., of three counts of first-degree murder and imposed three sentences of death. On grant of motion to bypass Court of Appeals as to additional conviction for first-degree rape, the Supreme Court, Whichard, J., held that: (1) trial court's decisions on challenges for cause based on prospective jurors' beliefs regarding death penalty was not abuse of discretion; (2) evidence that defendant attended funeral of victims was admissible; (3) serious personal injury element of first-degree rape can include injury that results in death; (4) defendant was not entitled to jury instruction on second-degree murder as to child victims; (5) defendant was not entitled to instruction on voluntary intoxication; (6) prosecutor's arguments in guilt/innocence and sentencing phases did not require trial court to intervene ex mero motu; (7) depraved-heart malice can support first-degree murder conviction; (8) proposed nonstatutory mitigating circumstances were subsumed by submitted circumstances; (9) defendant was not entitled to proposed peremptory instructions; (10) polling of jury satisfied statutory requirements that each juror agree with each recommendation of death; and (11) sentence of death was not disproportionate. No error. Frye, J., filed a dissenting opinion. Webb, J., filed a dissenting opinion in which Frye , J., joined.

WHICHARD, Justice.
On 6 July 1992 defendant was indicted for three counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree rape, all occurring during the early morning hours of 2 November 1991. Defendant was tried capitally, and the jury returned verdicts finding him guilty of the first-degree rape and the first-degree murder of Helisa Hayes, the latter based on malice, premeditation, and deliberation and under the felony murder rule; the first-degree murder of Phillip Hayes based on malice, premeditation, and deliberation; and the first-degree murder of Darien Hayes based on malice, premeditation, and deliberation. Following a capital sentencing proceeding pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 15A-2000, the jury recommended that defendant be sentenced to death for each of the three murders. The trial court sentenced defendant accordingly and additionally sentenced him to a consecutive **683 term of life imprisonment for the first-degree rape. For the reasons set forth herein, we conclude that defendant received a fair trial, free from prejudicial error, and that the sentence of death is not disproportionate.

The evidence tended to show that in the early morning hours of 2 November 1991, defendant went to the home of victim Helisa Hayes, where she resided with her two children, Phillip and Darien. Defendant was a close friend of Helisa's ex-husband. While at the home, defendant had "forceful" sex with Helisa, beat her, and strangled her to death. Defendant then took her son Phillip into the bathroom, where defendant strangled him with the electrical cord of a curling iron and stabbed him numerous times in his head and body with a pair of scissors. After killing Phillip, defendant went into Darien's bedroom, sat her up on her bed, and strangled her to death with a curling-iron cord.

* * *

Finally, there are four statutory aggravating circumstances which, standing alone, this Court has held sufficient to sustain a sentence of death. Bacon, 337 N.C. at 110 n. 8, 446 S.E.2d at 566 n. 8. The jury found all four in this case: the (e)(3) and (e)(11) circumstances with regard to all three murders, the (e)(5) circumstance with regard to the murder of the adult victim, and the (e)(9) circumstance with regard to the murder of one of the child victims.

We conclude that the present case is more similar to cases in which we have found the sentence of death proportionate than to those in which we have found it disproportionate or those in which juries have returned recommendations of life imprisonment. We conclude that the sentence of death is not disproportionate and hold that defendant received a fair trial and capital sentencing proceeding, free from prejudicial error. NO ERROR.

Richmond v. Polk, 375 F.3d 309 (4th Cir. 2004). (Habeas)

Background: Following affirmance on direct appeal of his death sentences and his convictions of first-degree rape and three counts of first-degree murder, 347 N.C. 412, 495 S.E.2d 677, and denial of post-conviction relief, petitioner sought writ of habeas corpus. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Malcolm J. Howard, J., denied relief, and petitioner appealed.

Holdings: The Court of Appeals, Gregory, Circuit Judge, held that:
(1) North Carolina statute requiring accompanying affidavits in support of post-conviction motion was adequate and independent state ground for procedural default on ineffective assistance claims;
(2) petitioner did not show cause to excuse procedural default;
(3) petitioner did not show that he was actually prejudiced as result of default;
(4) state court's rejection of Morgan claim regarding voir dire was neither contrary to nor unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent;
(5) state court unreasonably applied Simmons rule regarding instruction on parole ineligibility; and
(6) petitioner was not entitled to habeas relief due to his inability to show that Simmons error was not harmless under Brecht standard. Affirmed.

GREGORY, Circuit Judge.
Petitioner-appellant Earl Richmond, Jr. was sentenced to death after being found guilty by a North Carolina jury of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree rape. Following exhaustion of his rights of review in the North Carolina courts, Richmond filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina asserting sixteen separate claims.

After reviewing the merits of Richmond's claims, the district court granted the State of North Carolina's motion for summary judgment and denied Richmond's habeas petition. The district court thereafter issued Richmond a certificate of appealability for his claims that: (1) the state trial court's voir dire questions were constitutionally inadequate under Morgan v. Illinois, 504 U.S. 719, 112 S.Ct. 2222, 119 L.Ed.2d 492 (1992); (2) his counsel rendered ineffective assistance during the guilt phase of his trial by failing to present expert and available lay testimony regarding his inability to form the requisite intent for first-degree murder because of his level of intoxication; (3) his counsel rendered ineffective assistance during the penalty phase of his trial by failing to present expert testimony regarding his substance abuse and its effect on his behavior; and (4) the state trial court's denial of his request for an instruction informing the jury of his parole ineligibility for a prior federal murder conviction violated the Supreme Court's holding in Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 114 S.Ct. 2187, 129 L.Ed.2d 133 (1994).

We subsequently issued Richmond a certificate of appealability for his claim that his counsel rendered ineffective assistance during the penalty phase of his trial by failing to (1) retain a sexual abuse expert and (2) request that childhood sexual abuse be presented to the jury as a possible mitigating factor. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the district court's denial of Richmond's habeas petition.

During the early morning of November 2, 1991, Richmond went to the home of Helisa Hayes, [FN1] the ex-wife of his best friend, Wayne Hayes, and allegedly engaged in consensual intercourse with her. Thereafter, Richmond and Ms. Hayes allegedly got into an argument about Ms. Hayes flaunting her relationships with other men in front of her ex-husband. During this argument, Richmond, after supposedly being struck with an object by Ms. Hayes, grabbed and carried Ms. Hayes into her bedroom. Once inside of Ms. Hayes' bedroom, Richmond struck Ms. Hayes in the face with his fist and proceeded to engage in "forceful" intercourse with her. After having "forceful" intercourse with Ms. Hayes, Richmond strangled her to death with his hands and poured rubbing alcohol over her vaginal area. Richmond then grabbed Ms. Hayes' eight-year-old son, Phillip, who was laying down in the hallway outside of his mother's bedroom, carried him into the bathroom, stabbed him approximately forty times with scissors and wrapped an electrical cord five times around his neck. After killing Phillip, Richmond went into the bedroom of Ms. Hayes' seven-year-old daughter, Darien, who was sleeping in her bed, and strangled her to death with the cord from a curling iron. Ms. Hayes' father, William Stewart, discovered the bodies of his daughter and two grandchildren *315 on November 4th when, after having not heard from Ms. Hayes for two days, he became concerned about her safety and broke into her home.

FN1. Although the parties spell Ms. Hayes' first name as "Halisa" in their briefs, we spell Ms. Hayes' first name in this opinion as "Helisa" because this is how it is spelled in Richmond's indictment and the opinions rendered by the district court and state courts.

Because Richmond was Wayne Hayes' best friend and because he was well acquainted with Ms. Hayes and her children, even serving as a pallbearer at their funerals, police interviewed Richmond, among others, soon after the dead bodies of Ms. Hayes and her two children were discovered. During this initial interview, Richmond told police that he had not been to Ms. Hayes' home during the weekend of the murders. Moreover, Richmond sought to shift attention from himself by telling police that he believed Wayne Hayes had visited Ms. Hayes' home at some point during the weekend in question. Consequently, police, rather than considering Richmond a suspect, focused their attention on Ms. Hayes' ex-husband, Wayne Hayes, her boyfriend at the time of the murders, Barrett Parks, and her father, William Stewart. Approximately three months after the murders, however, Richmond became a suspect when his sister, Andrea Knight, informed police that she had dropped Richmond off near Ms. Hayes' home on the early morning of November 2nd after they and others attended an all night house party. In light of this information, police requested a suspect rape kit from Richmond, which revealed, through DNA evidence, that the semen found inside of Ms. Hayes' body belonged to Richmond. Based on this DNA evidence, police brought Richmond in for an interview on April 3, 1992.

During this interview, Richmond, after initially denying any involvement in the murders of Ms. Hayes and her two children, confessed to having committed the murders upon being informed that DNA evidence revealed that his semen was found inside of Ms. Hayes' body. When asked to describe the murders, Richmond told police, in sum, the following:

At approximately 3:45 a.m. on the morning of November 2nd, he went to Ms. Hayes' home after leaving an all night house party. Upon arriving at Ms. Hayes' home, he and Ms. Hayes got into an argument about her "messing" around on Wayne Hayes. After arguing, he and Ms. Hayes engaged in "forceful" sex and then got into another argument. During this argument, Ms. Hayes struck him with an object and called her son, Phillip, into the room. In response, he knocked Ms. Hayes to the ground by striking her in the face with his fist, grabbed her son, who at this point had entered the room, and took him into the bathroom where he stabbed him to death with scissors. After killing Phillip, he went into the bedroom of Ms. Hayes' daughter, Darien, and strangled her to death with the cord from a curling iron. He then went back into Ms. Hayes' bedroom where he strangled her to death with his hands and poured rubbing alcohol on her vaginal area. J.A. 346-67 (testimony of Lieutenant Don Smith).

During a subsequent interview on April 5th, Richmond, although altering his recollection of the events, confirmed his confession. During this interview, Richmond told police, in sum, the following: Upon arriving at Ms. Hayes' home at approximately 3:45 a.m., he engaged in consensual intercourse with Ms. Hayes. After having consensual intercourse, he and Ms. Hayes got into an argument about Ms. Hayes flaunting her relationships with other men in front of Wayne Hayes. During this argument, Ms. Hayes struck him with an object and called her son, Phillip, into the room. In response, he carried Ms. Hayes into her bedroom, struck her in the face with his fist, engaged in "forceful" sex with her, strangled her to death with his hands, and poured rubbing alcohol on her vaginal area. After killing Ms. Hayes, he grabbed her son, who had entered and left the room during the aforementioned events and subsequently laid down in the hallway outside Ms. Hayes' bedroom, and took him into the bathroom where he stabbed him to death with scissors. After killing Ms. Hayes' son, he went into her daughter's bedroom, Darien, and strangled her to death with the cord from a curling iron. Id. at 474-86 (testimony of Captain Art Binder). Based on his April 3rd and 5th confessions, Richmond was indicted on July 6, 1992 for the first-degree rape of Ms. Hayes; the first-degree murder of Ms. Hayes; the first-degree murder of Phillip Hayes; and the first-degree murder of Darien Hayes.

While awaiting trial on these charges, Richmond was charged in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey with the April 4, 1991 murder of Lisa Ann Nadeau, an army dispersing clerk at the Fort Dix military base. On May 28, 1993, Richmond was convicted of Ms. Nadeau's murder and subsequently sentenced to a term of life imprisonment. Because the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, Pub.L. No. 98-473, Title II, 98 Stat.1987, abolished parole for federal offenses committed after November 1, 1987, Richmond is not eligible for parole on this conviction.

After being convicted and receiving a life sentence in federal court for Ms. Nadeau's murder, Richmond was tried during the May 1, 1995 criminal session of the Superior Court for Cumberland County, North Carolina for the rape and murder of Ms. Hayes and the murders of her two children. Prior to the commencement of Richmond's trial, the court ruled that the State would be allowed to introduce evidence about Richmond's federal conviction for the murder of Ms. Nadeau, as an aggravating factor, during the penalty phase. Consequently, Richmond's attorneys requested the court's permission to ask potential jurors during voir dire whether "if ... knowing that [Richmond] had a previous first-degree murder conviction, they could still consider mitigating circumstances ... in determining what their ultimate recommendation as to life or death is going to be." State v. Richmond, 347 N.C. 412, 495 S.E.2d 677, 683 (1998). The court denied this request on the basis that it was a "stakeout" question aimed at determining what prospective jurors would do if presented with a certain state of evidence. Moreover, the court noted that Richmond's attorneys could get the information they needed to empanel an impartial jury through broader and more appropriate questions.

At trial, Richmond's attorneys called his two sisters, Sheila Jordan and Erica Richmond, as their sole witnesses. Jordan testified that: (1) Richmond drank beer on a regular basis; (2) she observed Richmond consume about two to three forty-ounce beers prior to attending a house party on the night of November 1st; (3) Richmond consumed a lot of hard liquor, which he did not regularly drink, within the first couple hours of arriving at the party; (4) Richmond drove her to purchase twenty dollars worth of crack cocaine, of which each of them took one hit; (5) Richmond became extremely obnoxious after taking a hit of the crack cocaine, which frightened her because she had never witnessed him have such a reaction to crack cocaine; (6) Richmond, after returning to the party at approximately 1:45 a.m., consumed alcohol for another two hours prior to leaving the party; and (7) she had never observed Richmond consume so much alcohol. Erica Richmond testified that Richmond regularly *317 drank beer and that, although she could not quantify the amount of alcohol that Richmond consumed at the party, she saw Richmond with a glass of alcohol throughout the night.

At the conclusion of Richmond's two day trial, the court held a charge conference. During this conference, the court denied Richmond's request for a voluntary intoxication jury instruction on his three first-degree murder charges because Richmond's attorneys failed to produce substantial evidence showing that he was "utterly incapable of forming a deliberate and premeditated purpose to kill." Id. at 557, 495 S.E.2d 677. Specifically, the court found:

Assuming arguendo that the Defendant has shown consumption of alcohol and drugs through the testimony of one or more of his own family members, that same evidence also shows an ability of the Defendant to drive an automobile and to follow directions to and from the scene of the party to a locale where drugs apparently were consumed. Later, the Defendant, at his request was dropped off approximately a mile to a mile and a half from the trailer of H[e]lisa Hayes at approximately 3:45 a.m. There now remains a void about the Defendant and his activities after 3:45 a.m. that can be illustrated by a few simple questions: Where did the Defendant go? Did the Defendant go directly to H[e]lisa Hayes' trailer? Did the Defendant stop, rest or sleep before going to the Hayes trailer? How long did it take the Defendant to get to the trailer? Did the Defendant walk? Did the Defendant catch a ride? If the Defendant walked, how long did it take him? What was the time that the Defendant arrived at the Hayes trailer? Did the Defendant arrive a couple of hours later, which would be approximately 5:45 a.m.? The Defendant's various statements contained details and recollections of events that depict a man aware of the events unfolding in the Hayes trailer on the morning hours of that day.

* * *

We hold that Richmond's ineffective assistance of counsel claims were procedurally defaulted in state court pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A-1420(b)(1), an adequate and independent state procedural rule. Because Richmond does not argue that our failure to consider his claims will result in a "fundamental miscarriage of justice" and because Richmond has failed to establish cause to excuse his procedural default and prejudice therefrom, we are precluded from considering his ineffective assistance of counsel claims under the procedural default doctrine. We also hold that the North Carolina Supreme Court's adjudication of Richmond's Morgan claim was neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. We do, however, hold that the North Carolina Supreme Court's adjudication of Richmond's Simmons claim constituted an unreasonable application of Simmons because Richmond's future dangerousness was put in issue and not limited to the threat he posed in prison. Nonetheless, we hold that Richmond is not entitled to habeas relief on his Simmons claim because he is unable to show that the trial court's Simmons error was not harmless under Brecht. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's denial of Richmond's habeas petition. AFFIRMED