Name the court, case number, and date; habeas courts conditionally vacate rather than “overturn,” and a grant does not by itself compel release. Tim Carter and his wife were home alone when his wife locked herself in the bathroom threatening suicide, as she had done many times. According to Mr. Carter’s account, he knocked down the door and tried to take the gun from her as she shot herself. After a four-year investigation, law enforcement decided to charge Tim Carter with the murder of his wife. At trial, the prosecution’s own forensic expert testified that the blood-spatter evidence was inconsistent with his having handled the firearm or shot his wife. The jury nevertheless convicted him, and he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. The federal court granted the habeas petition overturning his conviction based on the trial counsel’s failure to allow Mr. Carter to testify.
