Full opinion text
OPINION AND ORDER VAN ANTWERPEN, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION This matter is before us pursuant to a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, filed by Arnold Holloway (“Petitioner”), a/k/a Nasir Kareem, a/k/a Arnold L. Walker, a/k/a/ Prince Lee Holloway, on April 3, 2000. Petitioner presents sixteen claims and numerous subclaims under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2254, in pursuit of relief from his state murder conviction and death sentence. Petitioner was arrested on May 30, 1985 and charged with possession of the instrument of a crime, criminal conspiracy and first degree murder arising from the death of Richard Caldwell on May 16, 1980. Richard H. Knox, Esq. was appointed by the state trial court to assist Petitioner in presenting his defense, but he withdrew upon the entry of appearance by the privately retained Barry Denker, Esq. (“trial counsel”). Petitioner was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Drew R. Barth (“the ADA” or “the prosecutor”). Petitioner was found guilty by a jury on all charges in the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, June Term, 1985, Nos. 1305-1308, Hon. Albert F. Sabo, presiding, on May 22, 1986. The same jury fixed the penalty at death the next day in a bifurcated proceeding. Mr. Denker filed post-verdict motions, but then sought to withdraw as counsel because of Petitioner’s dissatisfaction with his performance and his own ill health, but Judge Sabo ordered that his firm continue to represent Petitioner. Thereafter Petitioner was represented at post-verdict proceedings by Mary Zell, Esq., an associate of Mr. Denker’s, who refused to argue Mr. Denker’s ineffectiveness. In an opinion dated September 21, 1987, Judge Sabo denied relief on all grounds raised in the motion. Petitioner filed a timely appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He was represented on direct appeal by Richard R. Redmond, Esq. (“appellate counsel” or “direct appeal counsel”), who filed a brief on his behalf on November 2, 1988. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied relief on March 20, 1990. Commonwealth v. Holloway (“Holloway I”), 524 Pa. 342, 572 A.2d 687 (1990). On May 3, 1991 Petitioner filed a pro se petition for collateral post-conviction relief under the Pennsylvania Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 9541 et seq. On August 5, 1991, John P. Cotter, Esq. (“PCRA counsel”) was appointed to represent Petitioner in his post-conviction proceedings. PCRA counsel filed an Amended Petition and Memorandum of Law on June 21, 1993. Several more counseled and pro se supplemental petitions and memoranda of law were filed. On July 19, 1995, Judge Sabo ordered that an evidentiary hearing be held in conjunction with Petitioner’s claims for state post-conviction relief, and such hearing was held on February 10, 1997. Petitioner’s post-conviction claims were denied in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Criminal Appeals/Post Trial Unit, on July 16, 1997. Petitioner then filed a timely appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and briefs were filed by new counsel. The appeal was denied on October 1, 1999, and the decision of the Court of Common Pleas, Hon. Albert F. Sabo, was affirmed. See Commonwealth v. Holloway (“Holloway II”), 559 Pa. 258, 739 A.2d 1039 (1999). This case comes before us under § 2254 of the AEDPA, which permits federal courts to grant, under certain circumstances, a writ of habeas corpus to prisoners convicted in state court. Petitioner filed his Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Petition” or “Pet.”) in this Court on April 3, 2000. His Petition was followed by a Memorandum of Law in Support of Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Memorandum of Law” or “Pet. Mem. L”) and a Motion for Discovery on June 22 of that year. We denied the Motion for Discovery on August 9, 2000. The Commonwealth submitted its Response to Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Comm. Resp.”) on February 28, 2001. On March 23, 2001, we ordered that the Clerk of Quarter Sessions Court of Philadelphia County file with the Clerk of this Court all records of Petitioner’s state court proceedings, and we received such records on April 20, 2001. Petitioner filed a Reply Memorandum in Support of Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Pet. Reply Mem.”) on May 10, 2001. After reviewing the entire record and the filings of the parties, we found that Petitioner had shown good cause for us to exercise our discretion and order limited discovery of evidence supporting the claim of racial discrimination in the selection of Petitioner’s jury, which we ordered on July 5, 2001. The parties provided such discovery to each other and the Court by July 24, 2001. Oral arguments thereon were held on August 2, 2001, at which time Petitioner submitted a Motion for Summary Judgment on the Batson Claim. On August 6, 2001 we scheduled an evidentiary hearing to be held on August 16, 2001 as to direct appeal counsel’s reasons for not raising the Batson claim. On August 14, 2001 the Commonwealth filed a Response to Petitioner’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the Batson Claim and a Motion for Reconsideration of Grant of Evidentiary Hearing. The evidentiary hearing was held on August 16, 2001, at which time we denied the Motion for Reconsideration. Both parties filed post-hearing letter-briefs on August 17, 2001. All papers, oral arguments, evidence from the hearing, and the expanded record have been considered herein, except as specifically noted. We have placed the burden of proof on Petitioner to establish by a preponderance of the evidence any or all of the sixteen claims and numerous subclaims included in his Petition, and find that he has satisfied this burden with respect to one of his sub-claims. We therefore vacate Petitioner’s death sentence and remand his case to the Pennsylvania courts with an order that there be a resentencing proceeding. II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND The Commonwealth’s evidence at trial consisted primarily of Petitioner’s unsigned statement, the statement and testimony of Shirley “Bones” Baker (Baker), and the testimony of a medical examiner and several police officers. On May 16, 1980, at approximately 1:45 a.m., police were summoned to the 300 block of West Sedgley Street in Philadelphia, where, lying in the street, was a dead body later identified as Richard Caldwell (“Caldwell” or “the victim”). Baker was arrested in January 1985 on bench warrants arising from her failure to appear for sentencing on several drug charges. While under arrest, she made a statement to the police regarding her knowledge of the murder of Caldwell, implicating Petitioner and others. She testified at Petitioner’s trial, and her testimony was consistent in most material aspects with her previous statement. At trial, Baker described an operation in which she, Petitioner, Danny “Black” Freeman (Freeman), and Caldwell sold heroin for Leroy “Bubbles” Johnson (Johnson). Petitioner obtained heroin from Johnson and then distributed it to Baker, Freeman and Caldwell who sold it on the street. The money was split between the dealers who sold the heroin on the street and Petitioner, who then gave the money to Johnson. In May of 1980, Johnson grew impatient because Caldwell owed him money for drugs he sold. (N.T. 5/19/86 at 70-76, 85.) Petitioner revealed in his statement that Johnson was also angry at Caldwell because Caldwell owed money to a rival drug dealer with whom Johnson wanted to do business, and Caldwell’s debt was interfering with his plans. (N.T. 5/19/86 at 164-165.) Baker testified that around midnight on May 16, 1980 she was selling heroin at a bar at 7th and Allegheny Avenues in North Philadelphia. Johnson arrived and offered Baker some cocaine, so they left the bar and went to Baker’s apartment. After snorting the cocaine, Petitioner and Freeman arrived, and Petitioner asked to borrow Johnson’s van. Johnson informed them that Caldwell was in the van, and Petitioner replied, “I can take care of that now.” Then, Petitioner and Freeman went upstairs, got a shotgun, and left the apartment. Petitioner and Freeman returned between a half hour and an hour later and whispered with Johnson about shooting and strangling Caldwell. Petitioner, Johnson, and Freeman then left the apartment and Baker returned to the bar. (N.T. 5/19/86 at 79-83; 131.) Petitioner’s unsigned statement to police made after he was arrested in May 1985 presents a similar account with some significant differences. Petitioner stated that he, Johnson, Baker, and Freeman were all snorting cocaine in Petitioner’s apartment, while Caldwell was passed out in Johnson’s van. Johnson instructed Petitioner to “Go, get on your job.” Petitioner protested, wondering if he might simply hurt Caldwell instead of killing him. Johnson replied, “It’s either you or him.” According to the statement, Johnson had earlier told Petitioner: “When I get him set up take him out and shoot him.” After getting the shotgun and leaving the apartment, Petitioner and Freeman tied Caldwell’s hands together, and drove several blocks to 3rd and Sedgley Streets. They pushed Caldwell out of the van, strangled him, taking turns pulling at a belt around his neck, and each shot him once in the head. They then drove the van back to Seventh Street, and informed Johnson that the job was done. (N.T. 5/19/86 at 161-162.) The medical examiner, Dr. Halbert Fil-linger, testified that the cause of Caldwell’s death was two shotgun blasts to the head and strangulation by ligature. He revealed that the shotgun wounds had been inflicted at contact range on the right side of the victim’s head, and also testified that a 1.3 cm wide groove extended around the victim’s neck, indicating strangulation. (N.T. 5/19/86 at 57-58, 60.) Petitioner was tried for the first degree murder of Richard Caldwell, criminal conspiracy and possession of the instrument of a crime. He was convicted by a jury and sentenced to death. He has been denied relief from his conviction and sentence both on direct appeal and in state collateral proceedings under the PCRA. He now petitions this court for federal habeas corpus relief pursuant to § 2254 of the AEDPA. III. DISCUSSION A. Exhaustion and Procedural Default Before filing a petition for habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, a petitioner must exhaust all available state court remedies. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1)(A). The exhaustion requirement is a rule of comity, not jurisdiction, Castille v. Peoples, 489 U.S. 346, 349, 109 S.Ct. 1056, 103 L.Ed.2d 380 (1989), and is designed to allow state courts the opportunity to correct a state’s alleged violation of federal constitutional law before federal courts consider the matter. O’Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 U.S. 838, 844-45, 119 S.Ct. 1728, 144 L.Ed.2d 1 (1999). “An applicant shall not be deemed to have exhausted the remedies available in the courts of the State ... if he has the right under the law of the State to raise, by any available procedure, the question presented.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(c). Exhaustion requires that petitioner fairly present his claims to every level of state court, including offering each claim for discretionary review by a State’s highest court, and afford each reviewing court a fair opportunity to act on those claims. O’Sullivan, 526 U.S. at 845, 119 S.Ct. 1728; Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 275-76, 92 S.Ct. 509, 30 L.Ed.2d 438 (1971). To satisfy the “fair presentation” requirement, the state court pleadings must demonstrate that the legal theory and supporting facts asserted in the federal habeas petition are “substantially equivalent” to those presented to the state courts, see Doctor v. Walters, 96 F.3d 675, 678 (3d Cir.1996), and the method of legal analysis to be applied in federal court was available to the state courts, see McCandless v. Vaughn, 172 F.3d 255, 261 (3d Cir.1999). The petitioner bears the burden of proving that he has exhausted available state remedies. See Landano v. Rafferty, 897 F.2d 661, 668 (3d Cir.1990); Santana v. Fenton, 685 F.2d 71, 73 (3d Cir.1982). The petitioner is not, however, required to revisit claims raised on direct appeal in state collateral proceedings, see O’Sullivan, 526 U.S. at 844, 119 S.Ct. 1728 (citing Brown v. Allen, 344 U.S. 443, 447, 73 S.Ct. 397, 97 L.Ed. 469 (1953)), or seek alternatives to state habeas such as “a suit for injunction, a writ of prohibition, or mandamus or a declaratory judgment in the state courts.” Id. (citing Wilwording v. Swenson, 404 U.S. 249, 249-50, 92 S.Ct. 407, 30 L.Ed.2d 418 (1971) (per curiam)). If the petitioner is unable to prove that all claims in his petition satisfy the statutory exhaustion requirements, his entire petition must be dismissed without prejudice and returned to the state courts for consideration of the unexhausted claims. Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 522, 102 S.Ct. 1198, 71 L.Ed.2d 379 (1982); Lines v. Larkins, 208 F.3d 153, 159-60 (3d Cir.2000). In the clear absence of any colorable federal claim, unexhausted claims may be dismissed on their merits. See Lambert v. Blackwell, 134 F.3d 506, 515 (3d Cir.1997) (interpreting 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(2): “An application for a writ of habeas corpus may be denied on the merits, notwithstanding the failure of the applicant to exhaust the remedies available in the courts of the State”). If, however, state procedural rules bar a petitioner from seeking further relief in state courts, “the exhaustion requirement is satisfied because there is ‘an absence of available State corrective process.’ ” McCandless v. Vaughn, 172 F.3d at 260 (citing 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)); see also Gray v. Netherland, 518 U.S. 152, 161-62, 116 S.Ct. 2074, 135 L.Ed.2d 457 (1996) (“Because [the exhaustion] ‘requirement ... refers only to remedies still available at the time of the federal petition,’ it is satisfied ‘if it is clear that [the habeas petitioner’s] claims are now procedurally barred under [state] law.’ ” (citations omitted)); Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 732, 111 S.Ct. 2546, 115 L.Ed.2d 640 (1991) (“A habeas petitioner who has defaulted his federal claims in state court meets the technical requirements for exhaustion; there are no state remedies any longer ‘available’ to him.”). A federal court may not, however, proceed to the merits of a claim simply because that claim satisfies the exhaustion requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1)(A) and § 2254(c) because of a lack of available state process. Rather, “[i]n all cases in which a state prisoner has defaulted his federal claims in state court pursuant to an independent and adequate state procedural rule, federal habeas review of the claims is barred.” Coleman, 501 U.S. at 750, 111 S.Ct. 2546; see also Lines v. Larkins, 208 F.3d at 160 (quoting McCandless v. Vaughn, 172 F.3d at 260). Like exhaustion, the procedural default doctrine is based on principles of comity, and is intended to “reducef ] friction between the state and federal court systems by avoiding the ‘unseemliness]’ of a federal district court’s overturning a state court conviction without the state courts having had an opportunity to correct the constitutional violation in the first instance.” O’Sullivan, 526 U.S. at 844-45, 119 S.Ct. 1728. A claim is proeedurally defaulted if the state court of last resort refuses to consider its merits. See Ylst v. Nunnemaker, 501 U.S. 797, 801, 111 S.Ct. 2590, 115 L.Ed.2d 706 (1991) (“If the last state court to be presented with a particular federal claim reaches the merits, it removes any bar to federal-court review that might otherwise have been available.”); County Court v. Allen, 442 U.S. 140, 152-53, 99 S.Ct. 2213, 60 L.Ed.2d 777 (1979) (finding that, because the trial court “ruled on the merits” rather than on some state procedural ground, that the court “implicitly decided that there was no procedural default”). The Commonwealth argues that a number of Petitioner’s claims' or subclaims were not fairly presented, because Petitioner either never raised them at all, or did not analyze them in sufficient depth to put the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on notice that a federal claim was being raised. The Commonwealth further argues that such claims or subclaims would not be reviewable now in state court, because 42 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 9545(b), the timing requirement of PCRA, would bar a subsequent petition by Petitioner, and therefore the exhaustion requirement as to these subclaims is satisfied by procedural default “because there is ‘an absence of available State corrective process.’ ” McCandless v. Vaughn, 172 F.3d at 260 (citing 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)). We agree with the Commonwealth that any claims not fairly presented by Petitioner could not be raised in state court now because of the operation of § 9545(b). See Holland v. Horn, 150 F.Supp.2d 706, 721-26 (E.D.Pa.2001). Petitioner had already amended his PCRA petition several times, but he could have amended it again diming the sixty-day window of opportunity from November 17, 1995, when § 9545(b) was enacted, until it took effect on January 16, 1996, to include any omitted claims, without running afoul of the statute’s one year time limit. Not only does § 9545 bar Petitioner from raising any omitted claims in a subsequent PCRA petition; it also causes such claims before us to be procedurally defaulted. Section 9545 is an independent and adequate state ground barring our review of such claims absent a showing of cause and prejudice. See Holland, 150 F.Supp.2d at 730-40; see also Part III. B. 2, infra. Nearly all of the claims and subclaims explicitly raised by Petitioner are exhausted under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 by virtue of their having been fairly presented in state court. Upon reviewing the state court pleadings and the claims before us, we find that most of the legal theories and supporting facts asserted in the federal habe-as petition are “substantially equivalent” to those presented to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Pennsylvania trial courts, see Doctor v. Walters, 96 F.3d 675, 678 (3d Cir.1996), and the method of legal analysis to be applied by us was available to the state courts, see McCandless v. Vaughn, 172 F.3d at 261. Therefore, the vast majority of claims and subclaims explicitly raised are exhausted by virtue of having been fairly presented to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and trial-level state courts, and the few that were not fairly presented are exhausted by application of the time bar of § 9545(b). B. Standards of Review 1. Review under the AEDPA Under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, 28 U.S.C. § 2254, a petitioner may not be granted federal habeas relief if his claims were adjudicated on the merits in state court, unless the state court decision was (1) ... contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or (2) ... based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). Factual issues decided by the state court “shah be presumed to be correct. The applicant shah have the burden of rebutting the presumption of correctness by clear and convincing evidence.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1). The “threshold question under AEDPA is whether [petitioner] seeks to apply a rule of law that was clearly established at the time his state court conviction became final.” Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 390, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). An existing federal law is “clearly established” unless it either “breaks new ground or imposes a new obligation on the States,” id. at 391, 120 S.Ct. 1495, or was not “dictated” by precedent existing when the petitioner’s conviction became final. Id.; see also Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 301, 109 S.Ct. 1060, 103 L.Ed.2d 334 (1989). The fact that a federal standard “of necessity requires a case-by-case examination of the evidence, obviates neither the clarity of the rule nor the extent to which the rule must be seen as ‘established’ by this Court.” Williams, 529 U.S. at 391, 120 S.Ct. 1495 (citation omitted) (finding the Strickland standard for ineffective assistance of counsel to be clearly established). A state court decision is contrary to federal law as determined by the Supreme Court “if the state court arrives at a conclusion opposite to that reached by this Court on a question of law or if the state court decides a case differently than this Court has on a set of materially indistinguishable facts.” Williams, 529 U.S. at 413, 120 S.Ct. 1495. “[I]t is not sufficient for the petitioner to show merely that his interpretation of Supreme Court precedent is more plausible than the state court’s; rather, the petitioner must demonstrate that Supreme Court precedent requires the contrary outcome.” Matteo v. Superintendent, SCI Albion, 171 F.3d 877, 888 (3d Cir.1999). It is likewise not necessary for a petitioner to cite factually identical Supreme Court precedent. He may instead rely on a Supreme Court rule that, by virtue of its factual similarity or intention to apply to variant factual situations, “can fairly be said to require a particular result in a particular case.” Id. at 888-89. A state court adjudication is an “unreasonable application” of clearly established federal law if the court “identifies the correct governing legal principle from this Court’s decisions but unreasonably applies that principle to the facts of the prisoner’s case.” Williams, 529 U.S. at 413, 120 S.Ct. 1495. “[A] federal habeas court making the ‘unreasonable application’ inquiry should ask whether the state court’s application of clearly established féderal law was objectively unreasonable.” Id. at 409, 120 S.Ct. 1495 (emphasis added). Although the term “unreasonable” is often difficult to define, the most important distinction is that “an unreasonable application of federal law is different from an incorrect application of federal law.” Id. at 410, 120 S.Ct. 1495 (emphasis in original). A state court decision cannot be found unreasonable unless, “evaluated objectively and on the merits, [it] resulted in an outcome that cannot reasonably be justified under existing Supreme Court precedent.” Matteo, 171 F.3d at 890. The Third Circuit is of the view that in evaluating reasonableness, federal habeas courts are not precluded from considering the decisions of lower courts. Matteo, 171 F.3d at 890 (citing O’Brien v. Dubois, 145 F.3d 16, 25 (1st Cir.1998)). In fact, such lower court decisions may serve as “helpful amplifications” of Supreme Court precedent. Id. 2. Procedurally Defaulted Claims A federal claim is procedurally defaulted and federal habeas review of the claim is barred if the state court of last resort refuses to consider its merits, see Ylst v. Nunnemaker, 501 U.S. 797, 801, 111 S.Ct. 2590, 115 L.Ed.2d 706 (1991), if such refusal is “pursuant to an independent and adequate state procedural rule,” see Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 750, 111 S.Ct. 2546, 115 L.Ed.2d 640 (1991); see also Lines v. Larkins, 208 F.3d 153, 160 (3d Cir.2000). In its decision on Petitioner’s PCRA appeal, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court relied on two procedural grounds to refuse to adjudicate the merits of a number of Petitioner’s federal claims. See Holloway II, 559 Pa. 258, 739 A.2d 1039, 1044 (1999). First, it relied on its long-established rule that the failure of trial counsel to contemporaneously object to errors occurring at trial, and thus preserve these issues for appeal, results in a waiver of these issues. See id. (citing Commonwealth v. Williams, 541 Pa. 85, 660 A.2d 1316 (1995)). Such issues may only be considered on their merits if trial counsel is first shown to be constitutionally ineffective for failing to preserve the issues for appeal, and thus the Pennsylvania Supreme Court considered all such claims raised by Petitioner as claims of trial counsel’s ineffectiveness. See id. (citing Commonwealth v. Albrecht, 554 Pa. 31, 720 A.2d 693 (1998)). The court also relied on the interplay between two provisions of the PCRA, 42 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 9543(a)(3), which bars the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from hearing any claim that was previously litigated on direct appeal or was waived, and § 9544(b), under which “an issue is waived if the petitioner could have raised it but failed to do so before trial, at trial, ... on appeal or in a prior state postconviction proceeding,” to find that any claim not raised at trial, on direct appeal, before the PCRA trial court, or any combination thereof, was waived. Holloway II, 739 A.2d at 1044. Again, however, such waiver could be overcome if counsel were shown to be constitutionally ineffective for failing to raise such claims at the proper time, and thus all such claims were considered to be, and adjudicated as, claims of ineffectiveness of counsel for failure to timely raise the claims. Id. If either of these grounds are independent and adequate state procedural rules, we would be barred from examining the underlying claims on the merits. A state procedural rule is considered independent if it does not rely on the merits of a federal claim or “rest[ ] its decision primarily on federal law.” Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 260-61, 109 S.Ct. 1038, 103 L.Ed.2d 308 (1989); see also Ford v. Stepanik, 1998 WL 297626, at *3 (E.D.Pa. June 2, 1998). Such a rule is adequate under the procedural default doctrine if it is “firmly established and regularly followed” within the state. James v. Kentucky, 466 U.S. 341, 348, 104 S.Ct. 1830, 80 L.Ed.2d 346 (1984); see also Ford v. Georgia, 498 U.S. 411, 423-24, 111 S.Ct. 850, 112 L.Ed.2d 935 (1991) (stating that a state procedural rule may not be adequate if “the defendant ... could not be ‘deemed to have been apprised of its existence’ ”); Johnson v. Mississippi, 486 U.S. 578, 587, 108 S.Ct. 1981, 100 L.Ed.2d 575 (1988) (“[A] state procedural ground is not ‘adequate’ unless the procedural rule is ‘strictly or regularly followed.’ ”); Barr v. City of Columbia, 378 U.S. 146, 149, 84 S.Ct. 1734, 12 L.Ed.2d 766 (1964). But see Jamison v. Collins, 100 F.Supp.2d 521, 559 (S.D.Ohio 1998) (“A state procedural rule that was not firmly established at the time it should have been complied with by the petitioner, and therefore is applied retroactively, is not an adequate state ground that bars federal habeas review.”). The phrase “firmly established and regularly followed” requires that a petitioner have some sort of notice, at the time of his state court procedural default, of a state procedural rule’s potential impact on his case before that rule can be considered adequate. See Ford v. Georgia, 498 U.S. at 423-24, 111 S.Ct. 850; N.A.A.C.P. v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449, 457, 78 S.Ct. 1163, 2 L.Ed.2d 1488 (1958) (“[A] local procedural rule, although it may now appear in retrospect to form part of a consistent pattern of procedures ... cannot avail the State here, because petitioner could not fairly be deemed to have been apprised of its existence. Novelty in procedural requirements cannot be permitted to thwart review in this Court....”); Cabrera v. Barbo, 175 F.3d 307, 313 (3d Cir.1999) (“The reason for these requirements is that a petitioner should be on notice of how to present his claims in the state courts if his failure to present them is to bar him from advancing them in a federal court.”). The Third Circuit found this notice requirement satisfied when a presiding judge in a collateral proceeding specifically asked a petitioner if he had anything else to present. Cabrera, 175 F.3d at 313 (finding that petitioner had “ample opportunity” to present his defaulted claims in state court because “the judge at the hearing repeatedly gave Cabrera, who was present at the hearing, an opportunity to say ‘anything’ ”). Petitioner asserts that the §§ 9544(b) and 9543(a)(3) rules are not adequate, because the “relaxed waiver” doctrine makes such rules not “firmly established and regularly followed.” Under the “relaxed waiver” doctrine, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reserved its discretion “to address all issues arising in a death penalty case, irrespective of- a finding of waiver.” Commonwealth v. Travaglia, 541 Pa. 108, 661 A.2d 352, 356 n. 6 (1995). Petitioner suggests that the doctrine’s existence led him to believe that his state collateral claims would be preserved despite his violation of §§ 9544(b) and 9543(a)(3), and that he therefore was without proper notice of the statute’s potentially preclusive effect. We believe that these PCRA rules are adequate state grounds barring our review of the underlying claims on the merits. Petitioner is correct in citing the existence of such a doctrine, at least prior to the PCRA amendments of November 17, 1995, at which time the doctrine appears to have been eradicated by the language of those amendments, which state that “[ejxcept as specifically provided otherwise, all provisions of this subchapter shall apply to capital and noncapital cases.” 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 9542 (emphasis added). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court verified this interpretation in Commonwealth v. Peterkin, 554 Pa. 547, 722 A.2d 638 (1998), in which it upheld the constitutionality of the 1995 PCRA amendments against challenges that they could not, in conjunction with the relaxed waiver doctrine, provide reliable notice of the availability of state collateral review. The clear language of the 1995 amendments, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling that the relaxed waiver doctrine could not trump the statute’s authority, leads us to conclude that Petitioner could not have justifiably relied on the relaxed waiver doctrine as grounds for failing to timely raise his claims. See Holland v. Horn, 150 F.Supp.2d at 722 n. 11 (E.D.Pa. 2001) (finding that to the extent relaxed waiver existed, it ended with the enactment of the 1995 PCRA amendments). Furthermore, the relaxed waiver doctrine was never as broad or as widespread as Petitioner asserts. See Commonwealth v. Williams, 541 Pa. 85, 660 A.2d 1316, 1319-1320 (1995) (‘While we have recognized that waiver rules are often relaxed in capital cases, ... we have held in other capital cases that issues not raised before the trial court were waived.... This Court does not countenance trial counsel intentionally sitting by silently at trial only later to complain of trial errors on appeal after an unfavorable verdict. That a matter is a death penalty case in no way relieves trial counsel of the duty to raise appropriate contemporaneous objections at trial to allow the trial court to cure any alleged error as well as preserve issues for appellate review.”) (citing Commonwealth v. Goins, 508 Pa. 270, 495 A.2d 527, 530 (1985) (plurality) (appellant’s claims of prosecutorial misconduct are waived for trial counsel’s failure to object); Commonwealth v. Peterkin, 511 Pa. 299, 513 A.2d 373 (1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1070, 107 S.Ct. 962, 93 L.Ed.2d 1010 (1987) (even though issue of whether exclusion of prospective jurors was of constitutional dimension, the issue was waived because defense counsel indicated he had no objection to the challenges for cause of the two jurors); Commonwealth v. Szuchon, 506 Pa. 228, 484 A.2d 1365 (1984) (whether prospective jurors were improperly excluded is waived and cannot be addressed for the first time on appeal because trial counsel failed to object to the challenge of prospective jurors or to rehabilitate them through further questioning)). Clearly, relaxed waiver was not so widespread that Petitioner could have justifiably relied on it to believe that the PCRA waiver rules regarding the requirement of raising claims at the earliest opportunity were not “firmly established and regularly followed.” James v. Kentucky, 466 U.S. 341, 348, 104 S.Ct. 1830, 80 L.Ed.2d 346 (1984). The phrase “firmly established and regularly followed” requires that a petitioner have some sort of notice, at the time of his state court procedural default, of a state procedural rule’s potential impact on his case before that rule can be considered adequate. See Ford v. Georgia, 498 U.S. 411, 423-24, 111 S.Ct. 850, 112 L.Ed.2d 935 (1991). Nor could Petitioner be deemed not “ ‘to have been apprised of [the] existence’ ” of such rules. Id. (quoting N.A.A.C.P. v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449, 457, 78 S.Ct. 1163, 2 L.Ed.2d 1488 (1958)). Because the relaxed waiver doctrine was not so broadly or frequently applied as to justify reliance on it or justify a belief that the PCRA rules at issue were not “firmly established and regularly followed,” we find such rules to be “adequate” so as to bar our direct review of the underlying claims. Even if the relaxed waiver doctrine were sufficiently widespread such that Petitioner could have believed that any claim not raised on direct appeal could be raised on the merits in his PCRA petition without a showing that direct appeal counsel was ineffective for failing to assert the claim, Petitioner would still be faced, as to many claims, with the waiver that occurred when trial counsel failed to preserve such issues for appeal. Such waiver rests not only on the PCRA rules, but on the longstanding independent rule that any issues not preserved by trial counsel’s contemporaneous objection could only be reviewed as claims of trial counsel’s ineffectiveness for failing to raise them. The “relaxed waiver” doctrine never, or at least rarely, applied to such waivers, see Commonwealth v. Williams, 660 A.2d at 1316, and cases cited therein, and therefore the contemporaneous objection rule must also be considered “adequate” so as to bar our direct review of the underlying trial errors. Federal review of defaulted claims is prohibited, unless Petitioner is able to “demonstrate cause for the default and actual prejudice as a result of the alleged violation of federal law.” Coleman, 501 U.S. at 750, 111 S.Ct. 2546. The Supreme Court has identified three circumstances in which procedural default may be excused for cause: (1) if the “factual or legal basis for a claim was not reasonably available to counsel,” (2) “if some interference by officials made compliance [with state procedural rules] impracticable,” or (3) “if the procedural default is the result of ineffective assistance of counsel.” Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 488, 106 S.Ct. 2639, 91 L.Ed.2d 397 (1986). If cause is established, a petitioner must then also demonstrate actual prejudice as a result of the procedural default. Actual prejudice requires that the petitioner “shoulder the burden of showing, not merely that the errors at his trial created a possibility of prejudice, but that they worked to his actual and substantial disadvantage, infecting his entire trial with error of constitutional dimensions.” United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 170, 102 S.Ct. 1584, 71 L.Ed.2d 816 (1982) (emphasis in original). Petitioner does not contend that either of the first two circumstances demonstrating cause are relevant to his claims, except as we have explained in note 10, and we agree and so find. Although Petitioner argues that none of his claims are defaulted, he argues that if we were to find such a default, his trial and appellate eoun-sel were constitutionally ineffective in not raising his defaulted claims. We will therefore limit our analysis of Petitioner’s defaulted claims to the adequacy of his legal representation. Ineffective assistance of counsel is a violation of the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees every defendant “[i]n all criminal prosecutions... the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.” A showing of ineffective assistance requires satisfaction of two components. First, counsel must have been so deficient that his “representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness.” Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 688, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Second, a petitioner must show that counsel’s “deficient perfor-manee prejudiced the defense.” Id. In determining whether counsel acted reasonably, there remains a “strong presumption that counsel’s conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.” Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052; Diggs v. Owens, 833 F.2d 439, 444-45 (3d Cir.1987). Counsel’s actions are evaluated “ ‘on the facts of the particular case, viewed as of the time of counsel’s conduct.’ ” Lockhart v. Fretwell, 506 U.S. 364, 371, 113 S.Ct. 838, 122 L.Ed.2d 180 (1993) (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. 2052). A lack of success is not proof of unreasonableness, see Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052, and strategic and tactical decisions are not grounds for an ineffective assistance claim unless counsel displayed “ineptitude, inexperience, lack of preparation or unfamiliarity with basic legal principles.” Commonwealth of the Virgin Islands v. Weatherwax (“Weatherwax I”), 20 F.3d 572, 579 (3d Cir.1994), rev’d on other grounds, Commonwealth of the Virgin Islands v. Weatherwax (“Weatherwax II”), 77 F.3d 1425, 1435 (3d Cir.1996). Prejudice exists if there is “a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052; see also United States v. DeRewal, 10 F.3d 100, 104 (3d Cir.1993) (defining prejudice as deprivation of “a trial whose result is reliable”). A reasonable probability is “a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. In assessing the likelihood that the result would have been different, courts “must consider the totality of the evidence before the judge or jury.” Id. at 695, 104 S.Ct. 2052. This standard of prejudice applies when counsel’s deficiencies deprive his client of a substantive or procedural right. See Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 391-93, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389. In a limited number of cases, when counsel’s deficiencies do not deprive his client of another substantive or procedural right, the Strickland prejudice analysis is insufficient to determine whether a petitioner has been deprived of his right to assistance of counsel, and the focus is instead on fundamental fairness. Williams, 529 U.S. at 391-93, 120 S.Ct. 1495 (citing Lockhart, 506 U.S. at 369, 113 S.Ct. 838; Nix v. Whiteside, 475 U.S. 157, 175, 106 S.Ct. 988, 89 L.Ed.2d 123 (1986) (“[T]he ‘benchmark’ of an ineffective assistance claim is the fairness of the adversary proceeding.”)). In order to establish prejudice as a result of deficient representation in such cases, a defendant must demonstrate that “counsel’s unprofessional errors so upset the adversarial balance between defense and prosecution that the trial was rendered unfair and the verdict rendered suspect.” Lockhart, 506 U.S. at 369, 113 S.Ct. 838 (citing Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 374, 106 S.Ct. 2574, 91 L.Ed.2d 305 (1986)). When counsel’s deficiency does result in the deprivation of a right that his client is entitled to, however, “[c]ases such as [Nix and Lockhart ] do not justify a departure from a straightforward application of Strickland.” Williams, 529 U.S. at 393, 120 S.Ct. 1495. The prejudice standard applied in the ineffective assistance context is nearly identical to the actual prejudice standard for excusing a procedural default articulated in Coleman. As a result, we may rely on any findings of prejudice within our ineffectiveness inquiry to satisfy any claims of actual prejudice to Petitioner. Furthermore, the standard used to determine ineffective assistance as grounds for cause is identical to that applied with respect to substantive claims for relief under the Sixth Amendment. As a result, we rely on our above explanation of the Strickland standard in all our ineffective assistance inquiries. If we find sufficient cause and prejudice under Coleman to excuse the procedural default caused by the failure of trial counsel to contemporaneously object, or caused by direct appeal counsel for failure to raise a claim, or both, as would be necessary in some cases, we believe we would then exercise plenary review the of the merits of the underlying claim. See, e.g., Appel v. Horn, 250 F.3d 203, 210 (3d Cir.2001) (“It follows that when, although properly preserved by the defendant, the state court has not reached the merits of a claim thereafter presented to a federal habeas court, the deferential standards provided by AEDPA and explained in Williams do not apply ... [and] the federal habeas court must conduct a de novo review over pure legal questions and mixed questions of law and fact, as a court would have done prior to the enactment of AEDPA.”); Hameen v. State of Delaware, 212 F.3d 226, 248 (3d Cir.2000) (“[U]nder the AEDPA the limitation on the granting of an application for a writ of habeas corpus is only ‘with respect to any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in state court proceedings.’ Hence we exercise pre-AEDPA independent judgment....”); Smallwood v. Gibson, 191 F.3d 1257, 1264 (10th Cir.1999) (finding that under AED-PA “we are generally subject to two different frameworks of review, depending upon whether the state courts addressed the merits of the claim for relief. If the state courts have not heard the claim on its merits, we review the district court’s legal conclusions de novo”). Even if the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined, in the course of adjudicating a claim of ineffectiveness, that the underlying, procedurally defaulted claim had no merit, we would not be bound by this purported determination of the merits of that claim. See Sistrunk v. Vaughn, 96 F.3d 666, 673 (3d Cir.1996). We also note that in Sistrunk, the Third Circuit explained that the doctrine that an independent and adequate state ground bars federal relief “applies whenever the state court relies upon such an adequate and independent state ground, even when it goes on to address the federal claim in am alternative holding.” Id. (citing Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 109 S.Ct. 1038, 103 L.Ed.2d 308 (1989)). The Third Circuit further reasoned that “[i]f federal review of a federal claim is foreclosed when the state court addresses the merits of the federal claim in an alternative holding directed to that claim, surely federal review must also be foreclosed when the state court addresses the merits of the federal claim only in the course of resolving another, independent claim.” Id. at 675. Thus, if the Pennsylvania Supreme Court relied upon an independent and adequate state ground with respect to any subclaim and we find the procedural default to be excused, we may examine the underlying claim and apply de novo review to it rather than the AEDPA standard. See Appel v. Horn, 250 F.3d at 210; Hameen v. State of Delaware, 212 F.3d at 248. We would still presume that any state court’s factual determinations are correct, rebuttable only on a showing of clear and convincing evidence. See Appel, 250 F.3d at 210 (citing 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1)); see also Smallwood, 191 F.3d at 1264 (state court factual findings are reviewed for clear error). 3. Fairly Presented Claims That Were Neither Adjudicated on the Merits, nor Procedurally Defaulted As with claims for which a procedural default was overcome by a showing of cause and prejudice, we would also review de novo any claim that was not adjudicated on the merits by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court due to the erroneous application of the “previously litigated” bar of 42 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 9543(a)(3) and § 9544(a), because such a bar would not be “adequate” to prevent our review. In the course of deciding Petitioner’s PCRA appeal, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court invoked the “previously litigated” bar to decline to review a number of claims, asserting that it had addressed such claims on direct appeal. Holloway II, 739 A.2d at 1044. We respectfully find that, in several instances, some of these claims or subclaims were not actually addressed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, even if its decision in Holloway I is read broadly. Even though the Pennsylvania Supreme Court could have properly found such claims to be waived for failure to raise them on direct appeal, it did not rely on that procedural bar, and we are therefore not bound by the existence of such a bar, even though we would be bound by it had the court asserted it. Because such claims are therefore not procedurally defaulted, and were not, in fact, adjudicated on the merits, but were fairly presented, we review them de novo. See Appel v. Horn, 250 F.3d at 210; Hameen v. State of Delaware, 212 F.3d at 248. C. Petitioner’s Substantive Claims 1. Claim I-Exclusion of Evidence of Alleged Accomplice’s Acquittal Petitioner claims that the exclusion of his knowledge and the knowledge of Detective Gilbert, who interrogated him, of the acquittal of Freeman, offered for the purpose of showing Petitioner’s state of mind and the detective’s motive to fabricate Petitioner’s alleged confession, was a violation of Petitioner’s Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process, present a defense, and to a fair trial. He also claims that all prior counsel were ineffective to the extent that they failed to fully, timely, and properly raise this issue. Petitioner argues that because he knew that his alleged accomplice, Freeman, had been acquitted, he had a strong motive not to make any statement. According to Petitioner, the only evidence against either Freeman or him was the statement of Shirley Baker, and Freeman was acquitted on that evidence, so Petitioner allegedly reasoned that he would likewise be acquitted, and therefore he never would have made the statement. Petitioner further argues that because the detective also knew of both Freeman’s acquittal and Baker’s testimony, the detective concocted Petitioner’s alleged confession using Baker’s testimony, so that at least someone would be convicted for the Caldwell murder. Petitioner raised these issues both in his amended PCRA Petition to the PCRA hearing court and in his initial PCRA brief before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that these issues were not raised on direct appeal or before the PCRA trial court, however, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court deemed them to be waived. Com monwealth v. Holloway (Holloway II), 559 Pa. 258, 739 A.2d 1039, 1044-45 (Pa.1999). Because Petitioner alleged ineffectiveness of all prior counsel, however, the court adjudicated the claims from the standpoint of a ineffectiveness claim. See id. We must therefore do so as well, applying the AEDPA standard. In deciding the ineffectiveness claim, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court noted that Petitioner’s underlying federal claim was based on a due process theory, explained the claim, and then decided that the claim had no merit. See Holloway II, 739 A.2d at 1044-45. The court then proceeded to examine Petitioner’s state law claim as to the exclusion of this evidence. Petitioner argues that because the case relied upon by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in this latter discussion, Commonwealth v. Meredith, 493 Pa. 1, 425 A.2d 334 (1981), was simply a state law case, and neither it nor any case it cited to discussed due process issues, the court never decided the federal claim. We find that the court did not adjudicate the federal claim within the meaning of the AEDPA, 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d), but that it adjudicated the claim of ineffectiveness of counsel for failure to raise this evidentiary issue previously on the basis that neither the federal claim nor the state claim had merit. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 691, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) (counsel cannot be ineffective for failing to raise a meritless claim). The court’s brief description of Petitioner’s due process claim and the decision that the claim has no merit would suffice for us to conclude that it considered and decided the federal claim so as to be “adjudicated on the merits” for the purpose of applying AEDPA, were the claim in such a procedural posture that the court was examining the claim directly, see Werts v. Vaughn, 228 F.3d 178, 204 (3d Cir.2000), therefore they suffice for us to conclude that it decided the issue as an underlying basis for the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. It appears that the court simply moved on to examine the state-law issue without using a transition sentence. We have reviewed the court’s ineffectiveness adjudication under the AEDPA standard, and we find that it is neither contrary to, nor an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States. In the process of our review, we also find that we agree with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that the underlying claim has no merit. Therefore, not only do we find that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision must be upheld under the AEDPA and thus deny relief; if we were to examine the underlying claim de novo, either by concluding that it had been fairly presented but not adjudicated on the merits, or after a showing of cause and prejudice, we would likewise deny relief. Petitioner argues that under Chambers v. Mississippi 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973), and Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683, 689-90, 106 S.Ct. 2142, 90 L.Ed.2d 636 (1986), his rights to due process, to present a defense and to a fair trial were violated. He argues that he should have been permitted to offer evidence of his and Detective Gilbert’s knowledge of Freeman’s acquittal solely for the purpose of showing that Petitioner had no motive to make the statement and thus never would have, and that Detective Gilbert had a motive to create the statement. The Supreme Court has traditionally been reluctant to “impose constitutional constraints on ordinary evidentiary rulings by state trial courts.” Crane, 476 U.S. at 689, 106 S.Ct. 2142. The Constitution gives trial judges “wide latitude” to exclude evidence that is “repetitive,” “only marginally relevant,” or that poses an undue risk of “harassment, prejudice, or confusion of the issues.” See Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 679, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 (1986). Further, the Court has “never questioned the power of States to exclude evidence through the application of evidentiary rules that themselves serve the interests of fairness and reliability-even if the defendant would prefer to see the evidence admitted.” Crane, 476 U.S. at 690, 106 S.Ct. 2142 (citing Chambers, 410 U.S. at 302, 93 S.Ct. 1038.). Nevertheless, the Court has held in a few limited cases that state court evidentiary rulings violated the defendant’s Fifth or Sixth Amendment rights. In Chambers, the Court held that under the facts of that case, the defendant’s right to due process was violated. 410 U.S. at 286, 93 S.Ct. 1038. The trial court had excluded evidence that a third person on separate occasions orally confessed to three different Mends to the murder for which Chambers was convicted, under circumstances that bore substantial assurances of trustworthiness, as well as evidence that this person made, but later repudiated, a sworn written confession. Id. at 287-90, 93 S.Ct. 1038. The testimony of the three persons to whom the oral confessions were made, as well as the repudiated written statement were excluded as hearsay, because Mississippi recognized no exception for admissions against penal interest. Further, because of Mississippi’s common-law voucher rule, the trial court prevented Chambers from cross-examining this third person when he called him as a witness. The Court held that, due to this combination of evidentiary rulings, Chambers was deprived of his right to due process. The Court emphasized that it was establishing no new principles of constitutional law and limited its holding to the facts and circumstances of the case before it. Id. at 302-303, 93 S.Ct. 1038. Therefore Chambers provides little support for Petitioner. Crane, which dealt with the exclusion of evidence of the circumstances surrounding a confession, is somewhat more helpful to Petitioner and is the standard by which we determine whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision that the exclusion of the evidence at issue did not violate Petitioner’s right to due process (and to a fair trial) was an unreasonable application of, or contrary to, federal law. In Crane, the trial court excluded testimony concerning the circumstances of defendant’s confession because it pertained to the issue of voluntariness, which had been resolved against the defendant in a pretrial ruling. 476 U.S. at 684-85, 106 S.Ct. 2142. The defendant, however, offered the testimony to show that the statement was not credible. The Court held that the exclusion of the testimony deprived the defendant of a fair trial. In Crane, the Court held that even though a trial court may have ruled on the issue of the voluntariness of a confession, a defendant may offer proof on the circumstances of the confession that go to volun-tariness, not because voluntariness may be relitigated, but because those very same circumstances go to the credibility of the confession, i.e. whether the contents are true, and because such information is particularly relevant where there is no physical evidence linking the defendant to the crime and the entire defense is that, for a variety of reasons, the defendant’s earlier admission of guilt should not be believed. Here, Petitioner wants to offer the circumstance of his state of mind, i.e. of the knowledge that he had, to show that he never would have made the statement he is alleged to have made, and therefore did not make it. Chambers deals with the credibility of the confession; the instant case deals with the credibility of the defendant on the stand denying that he made the statement; both are jury issues. The narrow language of Crane covers the circumstances in which the confession occurred, i.e. the physical and psychological environment that yielded the confession. Id. at 688-89, 106 S.Ct. 2142. Under such a reading, Crane would not provide an avenue for relief for a defendant who claims that he never even made the statement. One could also read Crane as standing for the proposition that a defendant must be allowed to offer evidence that goes to credibility even though that evidence would be excluded if offered for a different reason, such as a pretrial issue that may not be relitigated or an issue that is otherwise irrelevant. Crane instructs that a defendant must have “a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense” including “an opportunity to be heard.” Id. at 690, 106 S.Ct. 2142 (citing In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257, 273, 68 S.Ct. 499, 92 L.Ed. 682 (1948)). Such opportunity requires that a defendant be allowed to present “competent, reliable evidence bearing on the credibility of a confession when such evidence is central to the defendant’s claim of innocence.” Crane at 690, 106 S.Ct. 2142. “[EJxclusion of this kind of exculpatory evidence deprives a defendant of the basic right to have the prosecution’s case encounter and ‘survive the crucible of meaningful adversarial testing.’ ” Id. at 690-91, 106 S.Ct. 2142 (quoting United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 656, 104 S.Ct. 2039, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984)). Even under this broader reading of Crane Petitioner is not entitled to relief. Here, the claim that the confession was fabricated was central to Petitioner’s claim of innocence, and the evidence of Freeman’s acquittal and Petitioner’s knowledge thereof was central to Petitioner’s claim that he had no motive to make such a statement, but rather had motive not to make it. For this case to fall within the teaching of Crane, there must be “competent, reliable evidence” that Petitioner knew of Freeman’s acquittal. The only evidence is Petitioner’s statement at the suppression hearing that he knew of the acquittal, as well as Petitioner and his wife’s blurting out at trial that Petitioner knew that Freeman had been acquitted. Such uncorroborated self-serving statements by Petitioner are inherently biased and therefore cannot be said to be competent and reliable. The statement by Petitioner’s wife would seem to be based upon a hearsay statement by Petitioner. Petitioner’s argument also rests on the assumption that because he knew of Freeman’s acquittal, he would have had no motive to confess. This is a faulty assumption. People confess to crimes for a variety of reasons, even when it is not in their interest to do so. Here, there are several obvious reasons Petitioner could have confessed and tried to obtain leniency by implicating Johnson in the murder. First, as the Commonwealth argued at trial, he knew that Baker had implicated him in the murder and was willing to testify at his trial. Second, if he knew of Freeman’s acquittal, he could be concerned that Freeman, his alleged co-conspirator, could make a statement or testify against Petitioner, implicating him in the murder. Freeman could not be retried, even if he implicated himself while implicating Petitioner. Therefore, what may have been the strongest reason for Freeman to refrain from making a statement about Petitioner’s involvement no longer existed. Third, because Freeman had been acquitted, there was a higher likelihood that one of the other suspects in the case, of which Petitioner was one, was the murderer. Any of these motives, alone or in combination, could suffice for Petitioner to confess while attempting to deflect the blame for the murder from himself as much as possible. Petitioner’s argument also rests on the deduction that he would be acquitted because Freeman had been acquitted on the same evidence. This reasoning is also faulty because there were separate trials and juries, and it also assumes that all of the evidence against each defendant would be the same, and it ignores credibility issues. There is no reason to believe that Petitioner and Freeman were equally credible, or even that each jury would find that the respective defendant was more credible than Baker. Further, the assumption requires that Baker’s statement or testimony implicate both Petitioner and Freeman equally, and that the juries understand that to be the case. Baker’s statement and testimony at the two trials show that it was Petitioner who did most, if not all, of the talking to Johnson, with Baker present, about the murder of Caldwell. Further, Baker testified and stated that Johnson either ordered Petitioner to commit the murder or alerted him to the opportunity to commit the murder. Johnson did not direct these comments at Freeman. Rather, it was Petitioner who ordered Freeman to accompany him. With such facts, it would be incorrect to deduce that because Freeman was acquitted, Petitioner would also be acquitted. Finally, we must note that the reason for which Petitioner sought to introduce the evidence was very close to the' reason for which it may not be offered. Evidence of an alleged co-conspirator’s acquittal may not be introduced to persuade the jury that the defendant should likewise be acquitted. See, e.g., United States v. Sanders, 95 F.3d 449, 454 (6th Cir.1996); United States v. Fernandez-Roque, 703 F.2d 808, 813 (5th Cir.1983); Commonwealth v. Meredith, 493 Pa. 1, 425 A.2d 334, 337 (1981); Commonwealth v. Quaranta, 295 Pa. 264, 145 A. 89, 91-92 (1928); cf. United States v. Gambino, 818 F.Supp. 536, 539 (E.D.N.Y.1993), aff'd 59 F.3d 353, 367 (2d Cir.1995) (evidence of defendant’s own prior acquittal is not admissible for purpose of demonstrating government’s motive to fabricate prosecution, based on alleged frustration with its inability to obtain conviction). Petitioner wanted to tell the jury that he himself made that deduction, and therefore he never would have made the statement. Such an offer of proof is tantamount to offering the acquittal for the purpose of enticing the jury to make the same deduction that the Petitioner allegedly made. Athough Judge Sabo could have instructed the jury to limit the use of the