Louis Michael Winkler, Jr., Respondent v. State of South Carolina, Petitioner

Summary

The South Carolina Supreme Court reversed the post‑conviction relief court’s finding that trial counsel was ineffective for not objecting to the trial judge’s refusal to answer the jury’s questions about the effect of a non‑unanimous verdict, and also reversed the PCR court’s denial of additional time to obtain brain‑damage evidence, vacating its denial of that claim and remanding for further proceedings. The Court ordered a new sentencing proceeding. Justice Pleicones, in a partial concurrence/dissent, would have upheld the ineffective‑counsel finding, and Justice Hearn, in a concurrence, raised a separate error concerning juror testimony under Rule 606(b).