Ramdass v. Angelone, 530 U.S. 156, 24 (2000)

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Cite as: 530 U. S. 156 (2000)

O'Connor, J., concurring in judgment

to inform the capital sentencing jury . . . that he is parole ineligible." Id., at 178 (O'Connor, J., concurring in judgment); see also id., at 163-164 (plurality opinion). Due process requires that "a defendant not be sentenced to death 'on the basis of information which he had no opportunity to deny or explain.' " Id., at 175 (O'Connor, J., concurring in judgment) (quoting Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U. S. 1, 5, n. 1 (1986)). Accordingly, where the State seeks to demonstrate that the defendant poses a future danger to society, he "should be allowed to bring his parole ineligibility to the jury's attention" as a means of rebutting the State's case. 512 U. S., at 177. I have no doubt that Simmons was rightly decided.

In this case, because petitioner seeks a writ of habeas corpus rather than the vacatur of his sentence on direct appeal, the scope of our review is governed by 28 U. S. C. § 2254(d)(1) (1994 ed., Supp. III). Accordingly, we may grant relief only if the Virginia Supreme Court's decision "was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States," ibid.; see also Williams v. Taylor, 529 U. S. 362, 402-409 (2000), which in this case is our holding in Simmons.

The Virginia Supreme Court concluded that Simmons was inapplicable because petitioner "was not ineligible for parole when the jury was considering his sentence." Ramdass v. Commonwealth, 248 Va. 518, 521, 450 S. E. 2d 360, 361 (1994). The court noted that, under Virginia law, any person who has been convicted of three separate felony offenses of murder, rape, or robbery "by the presenting of firearms or other deadly weapon" "shall not be eligible for parole." Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-151(B1) (1993). It explained that Ramdass was not parole ineligible at the time of his capital sentencing proceeding because the Kayani murder conviction would not constitute his third conviction for purposes of § 53.1-151(B1). Critically, the court held that, although Ramdass had been

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