to records and drinking wine for a period of time, the couples retired to separate bedrooms.
Shortly before the murder, petitioner had arrived at the apartment and, from a position *485 on the back porch, observed Jackson and petitioner's wife together, overheard them discuss going to bed, and witnessed them going into the bedroom. Angered by what he had seen, petitioner walked to his car located a block away, retrieved a gun, returned to the apartment, and shot both Jackson and his wife. Petitioner's wife was fatally wounded. Petitioner and Jackson are black as was petitioner's attorney at trial, Henry T. McKnight. Judy Smith was white.[1]
Petitioner's case was submitted to the jury on March 15, 1973 after approximately two days of trial. Though the record is not completely clear,it appears that for the final two of the approximately three days of deliberations the jurors stood eleven to one in favor of a guilty verdict. The reluctant juror was Mrs. Ilda Elliott. On March 20, 1973, Mrs. Elliott finally relented and voted guilty immediately after the testimony of Keith Jackson was read to the jurors on Mrs. Elliott's insistence. Having reached a verdict, the jurors, including Mrs. Elliott, were marshalled into the courtroom. After the reading of the verdict, the trial judge addressed the jury generally and asked whether said verdict was the verdict of all the jurors. Mrs. Elliott remained silent, thereby assenting to the unanimous verdict.
Several days after the trial, Mrs. Elliott was contacted by Mr. McKnight, trial counsel for petitioner. On Mr. McKnight's inquiry,