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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
Pursuant to Sixth Circuit Rule 206
File Name: 08a0356p.06
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
_________________
M
AURICE
A.

M
ASON
,
Petitioner-Appellant,
v.
B
ETTY
M
ITCHELL
,
Respondent-Appellee.
X---->,--N No. 05-4511
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland.
No. 99-00524David A. Katz, District Judge.
Argued: November 28, 2007
Decided and Filed: October 3, 2008
Before: BOGGS, Chief Judge; MOORE and CLAY, Circuit Judges.
_________________
COUNSEL
ARGUED: David C. Stebbins, LAW OFFICES, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant. Adam Michael
Van Ho, OFFICE OF THE OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee.
ON BRIEF: David C. Stebbins, LAW OFFICES, Columbus, Ohio, Carol A. Wright, FEDERAL
PUBLIC DEFENDERS OFFICE, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant. Carol Ann Ellensohn, Matthew
C. Hellman, OFFICE OF THE OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellee.
MOORE, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which CLAY, J., joined. BOGGS, C. J.
(pp. 18-22), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.
_________________
OPINION
_________________
KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. This case returns to us following the district
courts denial of Petitioner-Appellant Maurice A. Masons (Mason) petition for a writ of habeas
corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. In Mason v. Mitchell, 320 F.3d 604 (6th Cir. 2003)
(Mason I), we remanded this case to the district court with instructions to hold an evidentiary
hearing regarding Masons claim that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at the sentencing
phase due to his counsels failure to conduct a reasonable investigation into his family background.
After holding an evidentiary hearing on December 29 and 30, 2003, and January 6, 2004, the district
court issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order denying Masons petition on October 31, 2005.
Mason v. Mitchell, 396 F. Supp. 2d 837 (N.D. Ohio 2005) (Mason II) (Joint Appendix (J.A.)
at 379-413). Although Masons counsel reviewed records provided by the state that contained some
1 No. 05-4511
Mason v. Mitchell
Page 2
references to violence and drug use in the Mason family home during Masons childhood, Masons
counsel failed to investigate Masons background and essentially conducted no interviews of any
of Masons family members prior to settling upon a plan for the sentencing phase that was limited
to appeals for mercy and claims of residual doubt. We hold that trial counsel provided ineffective
assistance by failing to interview Masons family members and investigate the obvious red flags
contained in state records suggesting that Masons childhood was pervaded by violence and
exposure to drugs in the home from an early age. Accordingly, we REVERSE the judgment of the
district court, GRANT Mason a conditional writ of habeas corpus that will result in the vacation of
his death sentence unless the state of Ohio commences a new penalty-phase trial against him within
180 days from the date that the judgment in this matter becomes final, and REMAND the case for
further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I. BACKGROUND
A. Facts
In Mason I, we summarized the factual background of this case as follows:
On February 8, 1993, Robin Dennis (Robin), the nineteen-year-old wife of
Chris Dennis (Chris), disappeared. Earlier that day, Robin and Chris had
socialized with Mason and other friends, and Chris and Mason had discussed trading
Chriss .22 caliber Colt Frontier Scout revolver for Masons television. The next
day, Robin was reported as missing to the Union County Sheriffs Department; the
report stated that Mason was the last person seen with Robin.
On February 10, 1993, Deputy Sheriff Jack Lautenslager (Lautenslager)
received a report about an abandoned car in a rural area of Marion County. Two
days earlier, Lautenslager had driven through that area and seen a black man
walking, whom he later identified as Mason. Chevron-style shoe impressions,
similar to those made by shoes that Mason and Robin owned, were found on the
outside of the passenger door and on the passengers side of the dash. Type-B blood,
Robins blood type, was found on the inside of the passenger door. A set of keys,
including car keys that fit a 1981 Chrysler owned by Masons wife, was on the cars
front passenger seat.
A few hours after this discovery, Dennis Potts (Potts) of the Marion County
Sheriffs Department questioned Mason about Robins disappearance. This
interview took place at the detectives office of the Sheriffs Department and lasted
for eighteen minutes. On February 12, 1993, following up on information from other
interviews, Potts questioned Mason again. The second interview took place in a
basement interrogation room and lasted, with pauses in the questioning, for four
hours. Mason appears to have understood that he was not under arrest at this time.
After the second interview, Masons parole officer took him into custody for a parole
violation.
On February 13, 1993, Robins body was found inside an abandoned building
that was within eighteen minutes walking distance from where her car had been
found. She was lying face down, wearing only a bra; her jeans and underwear were
pulled down to her ankles. Robins T-shirt and car keys were under her jacket,
which was found eight feet from her body with burrs and debris on it. The apparent
murder weapon, a blood-stained board with protruding nails, was found twenty feet
from her body. Another piece of wood found at the scene had strands of hair that
matched Robins hair. On February 15, 1993, detectives found a small blood-stained
piece of metal at the crime scene, which a firearms examiner later concluded was
identical to a grip-frame from a .22 caliber Colt Frontier Scout revolver and was
consistent with having come from the handle of such a revolver. No. 05-4511
Mason v. Mitchell
Page 3
On February 14, 1993, pathologist Dr. Keith Norton (Norton) conducted
an autopsy and concluded that Robin had died as a result of blunt force trauma
causing multiple skull fractures. Dr. Norton determined that the blood-stained board
found at the scene and the butt of a revolver could have caused Robins injuries. Dr.
Norton also found sperm in Robins vagina that DNA experts later matched to
Masons DNA. DNA material from Robins underwear also matched Masons DNA.
The experts did not find DNA from anyone other than Robin and Mason.
Mason I, 320 F.3d at 611-12 (footnotes omitted).
B. Procedural History
Our prior decision and the district courts decision after our remand both recount the
procedural history of this case, see Mason I, 320 F.3d at 612-13; Mason II, 396 F. Supp. 2d at 840-
42, and we draw upon those decisions in our summary here.
In September 1993, Mason was charged with (1) aggravated murder, with a death penalty
specification that the murder occurred during the commission of a rape; (2) rape, with a prior
aggravated felony specification; and (3) having a weapon while under disability, with an offense of
violence specification. In October 1993, after finding that Mason was indigent, the trial court
appointed Lawrence A. Winkfield (Winkfield) of Columbus, Ohio, as lead counsel and Ted I.
Coulter of Marion, Ohio, as co-counsel in charge of the mitigation phase.
In December 1993, Mason was reindicted on the same charges, with a firearm specification
added to each count, and Mason pleaded not guilty. Masons jury trial began on May 31, 1994, and
concluded on June 18, 1994, when the jury found Mason guilty on all three counts.
On June 27, 1994, the trial entered the sentencing phase, and the court held a mitigation
hearing in the presence of the jury. Masons counsel presented the testimony of two deputy sheriffs
from the Marion County Jail Division, who testified regarding Masons good behavior during his
time in incarceration pending trial. J.A. at 712-19 (Tr. at 4237-44). Masons counsel presented brief
testimony from Ruby Mason, Masons mother, as well as his brother, sister, and cousin. The family
members asked the jury to show mercy and to spare Masons life. J.A. at 720-27 (Tr. at 4245-52).
Terry Mason, Masons wife, then testified, and she pleaded for mercy and displayed for the jury
some drawings that Mason had made for her while incarcerated. J.A. at 727-30 (Tr. at 4252-55).
On cross-examination, the prosecution questioned Terry Mason regarding her memory of events on
the day of the murder. J.A. at 730-40 (Tr. at 4255-65).
Finally, Mason made an unsworn statement on his own behalf, in which he denied killing
Robin Dennis and asked the jury to sentence him to one of the two life sentences so that he could
have the chance to take [his case] through the Appeals Courts. J.A. at 754-57 (Tr. at 4279-82).
At that point, the defense rested and the prosecution did not offer any evidence in rebuttal.
The trial judge then instructed the jury regarding the three possible sentences that it could
impose: (1) a sentence of death;