Devin Allen Bennett v. State of Mississippi

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Bennett’s post-conviction petition challenging his death sentence based on alleged ineffective assistance during the penalty phase. The court held that counsel’s performance did not warrant presumed prejudice and that Bennett failed to establish a reasonable probability that additional mitigation evidence would have produced a different sentence because the evidence was largely cumulative and potentially harmful. The court also held that any error in refusing depositions from two out-of-state witnesses was harmless. No separate opinions were filed.