Full opinion text
ANDERSON, Circuit Judge: In this capital case, petitioner Wayne Coleman appeals from the federal district court’s order denying his petition for habeas corpus relief. At trial, the state’s evidence revealed the following tragic facts. On May 14, 1973, Coleman and Carl Isaacs entered Jerry Alday’s mobile home in Donalsonville, in Seminole County, Georgia, while their two companions, George Dun-gee and Billy Isaacs, remained outside initially. Several members of the Alday family began to arrive shortly thereafter. When Ned and Jerry Alday drove up in a jeep, Coleman, Carl Isaacs and Billy Isaacs forced the two to enter the home. Coleman then forced Ned Alday into the home’s north bedroom and shot him in the head several times. Carl Isaacs forced Jerry Alday into the south bedroom and shot him in the head several times. Jimmy Alday then drove up on a tractor, knocked on the door, and entered. Carl Isaacs forced him into the living room and shot him to death. Mary Alday, Jerry’s wife, then drove up and Carl Isaacs forced her inside. Immediately thereafter, Aubrey and Chester Alday arrived in a pickup truck. While Mary Alday was forced into the bathroom, Carl Isaacs took Aubrey to the south bedroom and killed him. Coleman took Chester Al-day to the other bedroom and killed him there. Mary Alday was then raped on the kitchen floor, taken from the mobile home, raped again in a wooded area, and then shot to death by Dungee. On September 4, 1973, a Seminole County grand jury indicted Coleman, Carl Isaacs, Dungee, and Billy Isaacs on six counts of murder. Some three months later, Billy Isaacs pleaded guilty to armed robbery and burglary. He was sentenced to a forty-year prison term. In January, 1974, the three remaining defendants were tried separately, convicted, and sentenced to death by electrocution. Carl Isaacs’ trial began on Monday, December 31, 1973; Dungee’s trial began the following Monday, January 7, 1974, and Coleman’s on the next succeeding Monday, January 14. The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Coleman’s convictions and sentences. The United States Supreme Court subsequently denied his petition for writ of certiorari. Coleman v. State, 237 Ga. 84, 226 S.E.2d 911 (1976) (Justice Hill dissenting on the basis of the pretrial publicity), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 909, 97 S.Ct. 1707, 52 L.Ed.2d 394 (1977). Coleman filed a state habeas corpus petition in the Superior Court of Tattnall County. On June 13, 1980, the superi- or court denied Coleman’s habeas corpus petition. On October 31, 1980, the Supreme Court of Georgia denied Coleman’s application for a certificate of probable cause to appeal. The United States Supreme Court denied Coleman’s second petition for writ of certiorari. Coleman v. Balkcom, 451 U.S. 949, 101 S.Ct. 2994, 68 L.Ed.2d 334 (1981). On July 8, 1981, Coleman filed for habeas corpus relief in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. In answer to Coleman’s habeas corpus petition, respondent conceded that Coleman had exhausted available state remedies for the issues raised in his petition. The district court denied Coleman’s petition. Coleman v. Zant, No. 81-42-THOM (M.D.Ga. Mar. 11, 1982). Coleman appealed to this court. Among other issues, Coleman argued that the federal district court erred in denying his request for discovery and an evidentiary hearing. After reviewing the record, we remanded to the district court for an evidentiary hearing. Coleman v. Zant, 708 F.2d 541 (11th Cir.1983). After further evidentiary development, the district court on March 18, 1985, again denied Coleman’s petition for habeas corpus relief. Petitioner raises six issues: (1) whether pretrial publicity and the community’s atmosphere were so prejudicial and inflammatory that the trial court’s refusal to grant petitioner's motion for a change of venue deprived him of rights guaranteed by the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments; (2) whether the special prosecutor’s participation in the trial deprived him of rights guaranteed by the Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments; (3) whether the Constitution required the state trial judge’s disqualification because he was the special prosecutor’s uncle; (4) whether the trial court’s jury instructions impermissibly shifted the burden of proof of intent and malice from the state to the defendant in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause; (5) whether petitioner was denied effective assistance of counsel; and (6) whether the trial court’s sentencing instructions adequately informed the jury as to its duty to consider mitigating circumstances. Since we conclude that this case is of that rare breed which does exceed the extremely high threshold test of presumed prejudice requiring a change of venue, we decline to rule on the other issues raised by Coleman. In Part I we discuss briefly the relevant legal standard. In Part II, we describe the publicity surrounding the petitioner’s trial. To convey an accurate picture of the sentiment in this small rural community, we have found it necessary to provide a comprehensive description of the publicity, beginning with the printed media, then the broadcast media, and finally, word-of-mouth communication in Seminole County. In Part III, we apply the legal standard to the totality of the circumstances generated by the publicity surrounding the petitioner’s trial, as evidenced by the record in the case. I. PRESUMED PREJUDICE AND A CHANGE OF VENUE The standards governing the change of venue issue were explained briefly in Coleman v. Zant, 708 F.2d 541, 544 (11th Cir.1983), but those standards bear repeating. Ultimately, those standards derive from the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause, which safeguards a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to be tried by “a panel of impartial, ‘indifferent’ jurors.” Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 722, 81 S.Ct. 1639, 1642, 6 L.Ed.2d 751 (1961). The trial court may be unable to seat an impartial jury because of prejudicial pretrial publicity or an inflamed community atmosphere. In such a case, due process requires the trial court to grant defendant’s motion for a change of venue, Rideau v. Louisiana, 373 U.S. 723, 726, 83 S.Ct. 1417, 1419, 10 L.Ed.2d 663 (1963), or a continuance, Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333, 362-63, 86 S.Ct. 1507, 1522, 16 L.Ed.2d 600 (1966). At issue is the fundamental fairness of the defendant’s trial, Murphy v. Florida, 421 U.S. 794, 799, 95 S.Ct. 2031, 2035, 44 L.Ed.2d 589 (1975). There are two standards which guide analysis of this question, the “actual prejudice” standard and the “presumed prejudice” standard. Because we grant relief on the presumed prejudice claim, we do not address the actual prejudice argument raised by Coleman. Prejudice is presumed from.pretrial publicity when pretrial publicity is sufficiently prejudicial and inflammatory and the prejudicial pretrial publicity saturated the community where the trials were held. Rideau v. Louisiana, 373 U.S. at 726-27, 83 S.Ct. at 1644-45; Murphy v. Florida, 421 U.S. at 798-99, 95 S.Ct. at 2035; Mayola v. Alabama, 623 F.2d 992, 997 (5th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 913, 101 S.Ct. 1986, 68 L.Ed.2d 303 (1981); see also Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333, 86 S.Ct. 1507, 16 L.Ed.2d 600 (1966); Estes v. Texas, 381 U.S. 532, 85 S.Ct. 1628, 14 L.Ed.2d 543 (1965). The presumed prejudice principle is “rare[ly]” applicable, Nebraska Press Ass’n v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539, 554, 96 S.Ct. 2791, 2800, 49 L.Ed.2d 683 (1976), and is reserved for an “extreme situation.” Mayola, supra, at 997. In fact, our research has uncovered only a very few additional cases in which relief was granted on the basis of presumed prejudice. See United States ex rel. Bloeth v. Denno, 313 F.2d 364 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 372 U.S. 978, 83 S.Ct. 1112, 10 L.Ed.2d 143 (1963); Pamplin v. Mason, 364 F.2d 1 (5th Cir.1966). The particular standard was clearly stated in Mayola v. Alabama: “where a petitioner adduces evidence of inflammatory, prejudicial pretrial publicity that so pervades or saturates the community as to render virtually impossible a fair trial by an impartial jury drawn from that community, ‘[jury] prejudice is presumed and there is no further duty to establish bias.’ ” 623 F.2d at 997 (quoting in part from United States v. Capo, 595 F.2d 1086, 1090 (5th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1012, 100 S.Ct. 660, 62 L.Ed.2d 641 (1980)). Because the question whether prejudice should be presumed is by its very nature shaped by the facts, we begin by reviewing the two key Supreme Court cases on that issue. Rideau v. Louisiana, 373 U.S. 723, 83 S.Ct. 1417, 10 L.Ed.2d 663 (1963), is the only Supreme Court decision in which prejudice was presumed from pretrial publicity and no other outside influences. In Rideau, the defendant confessed to robbing a bank in Calcasieu Parish, kidnapping three of the bank’s employees, and killing one of them. This confession was videotaped and subsequently broadcast three times by a local television station. The three broadcasts were seen respectively by 24,000, 53,-000, and 29,000 people in the community. Id. at 724, 83 S.Ct. at 1418. At that time, Calcasieu Parish had a population of 150,-000. At trial, the defendant’s motion for a change of venue was denied by the trial court. The Supreme Court held that this denial violated the due process clause. Although the court noted that three jurors who decided the case (the defendant was convicted and sentenced to death) had seen the televised confession, id. at 725, 83 S.Ct. at 1418, the Court was willing to presume prejudice “without pausing to examine a particularized transcript of the voir dire examination of the members of the jury.” Id. at 727, 83 S.Ct. at 1419. In the Court’s view, the televised confession “was Rideau’s trial,” and “[a]ny subsequent proceedings in the community so pervasively exposed to such a spectacle could be but a hollow formality.” Id. at 726, 83 S.Ct. at 1419. The other important case where a defendant called for the Supreme Court to presume prejudice based on prejudicial publicity was Murphy v. Florida, 421 U.S. 794, 95 S.Ct. 2031, 44 L.Ed.2d 589 (1975). There the Supreme Court held that the defendant was not denied due process when the trial court denied his motion for a change of venue. The defendant had been convicted in 1970 of offenses related to a robbery that took place in January 1968. In 1968 and 1969, the defendant was indicted for murder in another county, declared mentally incompetent, indicted on a federal conspiracy charge, and later declared competent. All of these events were extensively publicized since the defendant himself was newsworthy by virtue of his earlier participation in the 1964 theft of the Star of India sapphire. The Court rejected defendant’s presumed prejudice claim, however, finding that there was no inflamed community atmosphere, and noting that the news articles complained of appeared seven to twenty months before the jury was selected and that the articles were “largely factual in nature.” 421 U.S. at 802, 95 S.Ct. at 2037. II. THE PRETRIAL PUBLICITY With this background, we consider petitioner’s claim that prejudicial pretrial publicity saturated Seminole County. Because the degree of saturation of publicity in Seminole County is relevant, we note the general population characteristics in Seminole County according to the 1970 Census. Seminole County’s population was 7,059, and there were 2,117 households. Because the presumed prejudice claim requires an extensive evidentiary showing to warrant relief and because we are required to assess the “totality of the circumstances” in examining the petitioner’s claim, an extensive discussion of the pretrial publicity is in order. There were several sources of publicity in Seminole County in May of 1973. Newspaper coverage constitutes the most significant single source of the pretrial publicity in the record. The Donalsonville News, a weekly newspaper with a circulation of 1,800, or approximately 85 percent of the households in Seminole County, was the most widely-distributed newspaper in Seminole County; we examine it first. In the May 17, 1973 edition of the Donalsonville News, headlines read “Community shocked by murder of six members of the Alday family.” By the time the May 17, 1973, Donalsonville News was published, petitioner Coleman and his co-indictees had already been identified as suspects in the case, and their mugshots were displayed on the front page of the Donalsonville News. Similarly, the article identified Coleman and his co-indictees as being escapees from a Maryland prison. Another front-page article in the May 17 Donalsonville News entitled “Authorities conducting intensive search for escapees from Maryland” quoted one of the escapees as stating that he would “kill any policeman who tries to stop us for any reason.” The article also noted the possibility that Coleman and his co-indictees might have been responsible for the murder of a Pennsylvania youth, Richard Wayne Miller, whose car was found near the body of one of the victims. The article quoted William Beardsley, the director of the Georgia Department of Investigation, as saying that the circumstantial evidence against the four suspects was overpowering, and “[tjhere’s no point in looking for anybody else.” A third front-page article in the May 17 Donalsonville News described a proclamation issued by the Mayor of Donalsonville requesting all merchants and businesses to close between the hours of 3 and 4 during the funeral to show respect for the victims’ family. Finally, a fourth front-page article described the funeral service which was scheduled for that day. The May 24, 1973 Donalsonville News headlines read “Four are accused of Alday murders.” Below the article was a photograph of Carl and Billy Isaacs being taken to the arraignment hearing. The article described how petitioner Coleman had confessed to the killing of a Pennsylvania youth, Richard Miller, and how Coleman was to accompany authorities to Pennsylvania to help them search for Miller’s body. The article also reported that Peter Zack Geer, the former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, had been named special prosecutor in the case. In the article, Geer described his prior representation of the Al-days and how he had hunted and fished with two of the victims. The article also reported that at his arraignment, defendant Coleman “seemed to smirk and smile when the district attorney asked if he understood each of the charges against him.” The article concluded by noting that there was “considerable talk about the four accused killers getting a fair trial in Seminole County.” However, one of the surviving family members was quoted as stating that “[o]ur people in this county are good people ... [t]hey just want to see justice done and I believe the court will take care of that.” Another front-page article in the May 24 Donalsonville News reported that two months earlier, Governor Jimmy Carter had approved a new death penalty statute for the state. The article went on to list the circumstances under which the death penalty could be imposed. The district court viewed a front-page editorial in the May 24 Donalsonville News as typical of the publicity surrounding the crime. The editorial states, in pertinent part: Some folks say the best thing to do is to refuse to acknowledge a stupid question, but the stupids have been so frequent lately, let’s go ahead and put it into print, so maybe they’ll hush. Yes, the four men suspected and accused of the murder of the six Aldays can get a fair trial in Seminole County. And now that you’ve asked a question, how about answering one: Whatever gave you the idea of asking such a ridiculous question? While we’re at it, let’s go on and say a few words more. The four suspects cannot get a passive, indifferent trial here. Nor could any other such characters. But they could get a fair one. What’s the difference? The people of this community are capable of cooperating with and respecting the various steps toward their trial. They’re angry, very angry, about what happened on May 14, and they have never had much use for shiftless, sorry people. They were not the ones who abolished the death penalty and if you had run a survey months before the murders happened you would have found the people here opposed to doing away with it in cases in which the death penalty fits. There is a wide difference in the question of whether the people here could give the suspects a fair trial, and in our wanting to see the guilty ones punished and removed from being able to commit the same outrages again, a few years from now, on other innocent people. But our people want to be sure that the suspects now being held in jail are the ones who committed the crimes. We don’t want to see four innocent men punished, if they should turn out to be innocent of the charges against them, and the other charges to come. A man is said to be considered innocent until he is proven guilty. As for whether the people of our community are biased, unfair and not capable of rendering a fair verdict, how about exercising the same courtesy to our people as you offer to a defendant. We’re innocent of bias and prejudice, until you prove us guilty. Wait. There are a few screwballs among us who get a thrill out of talking dumb and sounding off about what all they’d like to do to the four men. No denying this. But they’re in the extreme minority, and they are pretty well known for their lack of sense. Bud Alday spoke the sentiments of his family when he said they didn’t want to see anybody else get hurt in this terrible tragedy that came our way. “Enough people have been hurt already,” he said. The Aldays know how painful such suffering is, and they’re wise enough, and concerned enough to not want to see more violence and sorrow. And there’s no room for error here. The only thing that any kind of mob action, or inciting troublesome thoughts can bring is more sorrow. Think about this often, as the long, drawn-out trial days go slowly along. It’s a hard fact of life, and there’s no profit in forgetting it. The law must be obeyed. On page 2 of the May 24 Donalsonville News the headline read “Four suspects in Alday murder case left a long trail of trouble, sorrow.” The article was a reprint of an article which had appeared earlier in The Dothan Eagle. The article began by noting that “[t]he coldblooded trail of a quartet of confessed killers leads to Seminole County again tomorrow, one week after the bullet-riddled bodies of six Alday family members were left in the South Georgia County.” Pictures of each of the murder victims accompanied the article as well as a photograph of the six coffins at the funeral. The article continued with a dramatized account of how the murders might have taken place. By the article’s own terms, it was “mostly conjecture backed up by evidence collected by a state toxicologist.” In the article, petitioner Coleman was reported as having admitted killing the Pennsylvania youth. Similarly, the article described Mrs. Mary Alday’s mother, who died from a heart attack several days after the commission of the crime, as another victim. The article also reported that Pennsylvania authorities wanted to question the suspects concerning the death of a Pennsylvania woman who had befriended Carl and William Isaacs when their car broke down near her home. According to the article, “[t]his, authorities say, could bring the number of victims to eight or nine if Mrs. Alday’s mother is counted.” The article then described Carl and William Isaacs as well as Wayne Coleman as having “started their journey toward their ultimate destiny at Donalsonville when they were quite young.” According to the article, the mother of Carl and William Isaacs and Wayne Coleman described the boys as “habitual delinquents and truants” who “lacked respect for their family and stole from their mother and other area homes.” A Maryland prison guard was quoted as describing Carl and William Isaacs as well as Wayne Coleman as “just plain mean.” The May 24 edition of the Donalsonville News also contained at page 9 a reprint of an editorial from the Camilla Enterprise. The editorial began by congratulating law enforcement officials for the swiftness with which they apprehended the suspects. The article then lamented the fact that law enforcement officials were unable to prevent the tragedy from occurring. According to the editorial, “[i]f you review the situation, it will lead you to the conclusion that the last half of the process of treatment and disposition of criminal cases must bear the major portion of the blame.” According to the article, for most mass murderers of the last decade “in general not too gross or difficult a punishment has been handed out.” The article concluded by noting that, There is no single law that will correct our present conditions, nor any quick easy solutions, but there is just no place in society for the kind of individuals who place no value on the life of any other individual with whom they come in contact. We kill rattlesnakes because they kill anything they come in contact with. We likewise shoot mad dogs or other rabid animals. When individuals become as these lower animals, they lose their right to human treatment. Burson, As We See It, Donalsonville News, May 24, 1973, at 9, col. 1. The May 31, 1973, edition of the Donalsonville News was headlined “No date set for committal hearings for four accused in Alday murders.” The article described the upcoming committal hearing and noted that the trial court had appointed eight lawyers in the area to defend the suspects. The article stated that “[apparently none of the eight lawyers named want the job, but under the law in such cases, the judge must appoint defenders for the accused, and there are stiff and severe penalties for attorneys who refuse.” The article also described three of the suspects as escapees and noted that Coleman had been flown to Pennsylvania the previous week to “search for the body of the youth he is said to have admitted killing shortly after the prison escape, before the four came to Donalsonville.” On page 2 of the May 31 edition of the Donalsonville News the headline read “Police use two psychics in search for body of Maryland high school senior.” The article described how Maryland police were using two psychics to attempt to locate the body of Richard Miller, a Pennsylvania youth. The article concluded by noting that “Coleman told police that after he escaped from a Maryland work camp, he shot and killed Miller and left his body beside a road in western Maryland near the Pennsylvania border.” Page 10 of the May 31 edition of the Donalsonville News contained a reprint of an editorial in the Houston Home Journal. The editorial stated in pertinent part: The horrible tragedy that struck the Alday farm family in rural Seminole County last week could have very well occurred right here in Houston County. This just wasn’t the route the vicious killers took in their escape from a Maryland minimum security prison. The brutal, senseless murders of six members of the Alday family should serve as another warning to all society that there is a need for capital punishment in this country. How can anyone who is aware of this heinous crime, still maintain that capital punishment is too harsh and should be stricken from our society for all time? The Alday case is a perfect case for capital punishment. It shows all too well our system of today with dealing with criminals is not working. Three of the persons charged with the execution style killings, escaped from a prison that was preparing them for life on the outside. They were to be released soon back into society. It seems clear that there are some criminals that just cannot be rehabilitated and should not be returned to society to destroy the lives of innocent, hard-working people like the Aldays. Those who oppose capital punishment argue that it is not a deterrent to brutal crimes. But it has been so long since we had an execution in Georgia that there is [sic] really no current statistics for an accurate evaluation. On the other hand, brutal crimes have climbed out of sight in the past several years and that ought to tell the “do-gooders” something about capital punishment. Look at it this way. When a person is convicted by the courts beyond a reasonable doubt of a crime like the slaughter of the Alday family, it seems to me there is nothing else society can do. It is absurd to accept the argument that such a criminal can be made to see the error of his ways. As long as such a criminal lives, he is indeed a threat to society. If he is put into prison, he has the opportunity for escape or parole. If he is executed, society has nothing more to fear from such a criminal. Branch, Out on a Branch, Donalsonville News, May 31, 1973, at 10, col. 1. The June 7, 1973, front-page headline of the Donalsonville News read “Body of youth is identified, 7th victim of Alday killers?” The first paragraph of the article reported that the Pennsylvania youth’s disappearance “was traced to four men charged with the slaying of the six members of the Alday family in Seminole County on May 14.” The article noted that the Pennsylvania youth was killed with a gunshot to the back of the head in the same method used to kill the Aldays. The article further stated that a Maryland state trooper found the body after piecing together information given to him by Carl Isaacs. The article continued on page 2 and noted that the suspects were apprehended near a roadblock in West Virginia after having stolen a car in Alabama and committed an armed robbery in Virginia “after leaving Donalsonville.” The same article also noted that one of the lawyers appointed in the case, Julian Webb, a state senator from the Donalsonville district, had been excused from the case. Senator Webb was quoted as stating, “I absolutely cannot in good conscience, both personally and professionally, defend any of the accused.” Page 6 of the June 7 edition of the Donalsonville News reprinted an editorial from the Baxley News-Banner. The editorial discussed the need for state Department of Investigation agents to have state-wide arresting powers. According to the editorial, the need “to track down the escaped convicts who brutally killed six members of the Alday family in Seminole County” demonstrated the need for such state-wide arresting powers. According to the article it was “a credit to law enforcement officers that the four criminals were so promptly apprehended and brought back to Seminole County to face life-long friends and relatives of the six members of the Alday family who had been murdered in cold blood.” The June 14, 1973, front-page headline of the Donalsonville News read “New lawyers are named to four charged with murder.” Except for its implication that the death penalty was appropriate in the case, the article was in other respects merely factual. Another front-page article entitled “Maryland to seek indictments, too,” noted that an “Allegheny County (Maryland) prosecutor” indicated that the four suspects would be indicted for the murder of Pennsylvania youth Richard Miller, as well. The July 12, 1973 headline in the Donalsonville News stated: “Attorneys ask hearing for accused in Alday murders.” Except for a brief repetition of facts of the crimes, including a reference to finding the nude body of Mary Alday and except for a suggestion that the case could involve the death penalty, the accompanying article contained only a description of procedural steps. The July 19, 1973 Donalsonville News reported in a front-page headline that “Committal hearing time set for accused in Alday case.” The article dealt primarily with procedural matters, but did note that the four suspects were not only charged with the murder of the six Aldays but also faced murder charges in the death of the Pennsylvania youth Richard Miller. The article also briefly repeated the facts of the crimes. The front-page headline in the July 26, 1973 Donalsonville News read: “Carl Isaacs Ordered Held for Action of Grand Jury.” The article reported that Carl Isaacs was bound over to the Seminole County Grand Jury after a closed committal hearing. Although the hearing was closed to the press and the public, the Donalsonville News reported that testimony at the hearing “centered mainly around fingerprints left by the suspects at the mobile home where the five Alday men were slain, and fingerprints found in a car owned by Jerry Alday, which was found abandoned in Livingston, Ala.” The article noted the interest of one of the defense attorneys in the constitutionality of the death penalty law, and the fact that Sen. Julian Webb was relieved from appointment in the case because he had sponsored the new death penalty statute. The article again noted that the four suspects were also charged with the death of Pennsylvania youth Richard Miller. Similarly, the article noted that Mary Alday had been raped and shot in the back of the head as well as noting that the men had been shot in the back of the head. The article also recapitulated the details of the suspects’ escape from a Maryland minimum security prison and the details of their arrest in West Virginia. Finally, the article concluded by noting that petitioner Coleman had reportedly confessed to the Pennsylvania murder of Richard Miller. The August 23, 1973 issue of the Donalsonville News contained the front-page headline “Grand jury drawn to serve for special term Sept. 4th.” The article briefly described the grand jury procedures and contained no prejudicial information. In the September 6, 1973 issue of the Donalsonville News, the headline read “Grand jury returns total of 19 charges in Alday cases.” The bulk of the article was factual and described the indictments returned by the grand jury, although the article did remind readers that the suspects’ “arrest climaxed a massive manhunt that carried the men from their escape from a Maryland prison on May 10 down the Atlantic seaboard, westward through Seminole County, to western Alabama, and back through Kentucky and Tennessee before they were arrested in Lynch, West Virginia.” The September 13, 1973 issue of the Donalsonville News contained the headline “Lawyers seek changes for accused in Al-day slayings.” The headline and much of the article was factual and nonprejudicial, describing how attorneys for William Isaacs had sought to get his case transferred to juvenile court, and indicating that attorneys for Carl Isaacs had filed a motion for change of venue. However, the article again noted that the suspects’ “arrests climaxed a massive manhunt that carried the men from their escape from a Maryland prison on May 10 down the Atlantic coast, westward through Seminole County, to Livingston, Ala., and back up through Kentucky and Tennessee before they were arrested in Lynch, West Virginia.” The article also indicated that the suspects were accused of “several other crimes along that t* route, including the murder of a Pennsylvania youth and at least two counts of armed robbery.” The article also reprinted a letter from the trial court judge to the attorneys for Carl Isaacs which cautioned the attorneys about “trifling with the Court.” Among other things, the letter stated: I think that now is a good time to get this message to you. I expect you and your law partner to do everything within your power to defend your client, but at the same time I expect you to respect the Court and not to undertake to trifle with the Court. In short, what I have reference to here is that in your Motion for Change of Venue you request that the trial be held in one of several place outside of the Pataula Judicial Circuit and several places beyond the limits of the State of Georgia. I notice in the Press that your law partner in his press release or in a statement to the press recognized the fact that this could not be done. Why it was done I do not know. I call to your attention that you came into this case voluntarily and you are welcome in this case and always welcome to practice law in the Pataula Judicial Circuit and I assure you that the court at no time will be disrespectful to you or your associates or clients nor to anyone else intentionally. I will not tolerate any trifling with the Court by you or anyone else. The October 11, 1973 Donalsonville News front-page headline read “Judge Geer sets December date for Alday murder trial.” The article reported the upcoming trial dates and noted that the trial judge had denied the defendants’ motion for change of venue. Although the article primarily reported procedural aspects of the case, the article did remind readers that' each of the victims “had been shot several times in the back of the head.” The article also noted that Mary Alday’s body had been found in the woods on a neighboring farm and that she had been shot and raped. The December 27, 1973 Donalsonville News front-page headline read “Accused in Alday Murders Go on Trial Here Monday.” The article first reported that Billy Isaacs had pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and armed robbery the previous Friday. The article then noted in five separate instances that Billy Isaacs was expected to be a key witness in the prosecution’s case. They read: He [Billy Isaacs] is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution in the coming trials, according to a reliable source. Billy Isaacs, 16, one of four Maryland men charged in the Alday family slayings in Seminole County, is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution against his brothers and a third companion whose trials are scheduled to begin Dec. 31. Young Isaacs, who has been confined in the Randolph County Jail at Cuthbert since late May, could well be the only eye witness to the crime available to the prosecution. Isaacs has also reportedly issued a statement to lawmen describing the slayings of Ned Alday, his three sons, Jimmy, Jerry, and Chester, his brother Aubrey, and his daughter-in-law, Mary Campbell Alday. Although informed courthouse sources maintain the younger Isaacs will be a key witness against his companions, special prosecutor Peter Zack Geer, of Albany, Saturday declined comment on the possibility that the youth will be called to testify. The article also noted that the four suspects “were arrested in West Virginia following a robbery attempt in neighboring Virginia.” In addition, the article stated that “Coleman has also admitted the slaying of a 19-year-old Pennsylvania youth, Richard Miller.” The January 3,1974 Donalsonville News front-page contained pictures of Carl Isaacs and the two sets of opposing lawyers. The front-page headline read “First Alday murder trial underway. Billy Isaacs testifies on events that took place May 14; Carl Isaacs first to face jury.” Among other things, the article noted that the special prosecutors retained to assist in the prosecution of the case, Mr. Geer and Mr. Lee, were “longtime friends of the victims of the May 14th slayings, and of their families.” The article then noted that Carl Isaacs’ attorney, Bobby Hill, “indicated his primary purpose [in taking the case] is to test the state’s new capital punishment law.” The article also reported that the prosecution was expected to ask for the death penalty in each of the three pending cases. The article then published the names and occupations of each of the jurors selected in Carl Isaacs’ case. The article also reported that most of special prosecutor Geer’s questioning of prospective jurors centered on the death penalty and stated that jurors who indicated any opposition to the death penalty were struck by Mr. Geer. The article stated that prospective jurors who indicated a strong belief in capital punishment were struck by the defense. The article also noted that “[d]ozens of reporters from newspapers, radio and television stations and wire services were on hand to cover the trial, part of the story that was selected as the second biggest story in the entire state last year.” The article also indicated that fingerprint experts from the state crime lab testified that Carl Isaacs’ fingerprints were found at the murder scene. The article noted that Mary Alday’s watch was found in the possession of one of the defendants and was introduced as evidence in the case. The .article indicated that Carl Isaacs remained expressionless, “even when he glanced at enlarged photographs of the dead Aldays his attorneys were studying.” Finally, the article concluded by noting that the state’s “objective will be to prove each of the men had a part in the murders, without emphasizing which man pulled the trigger on which particular victim.” Also appearing on the front page was the headline “16-year-old Billy takes stand and tells of tragic ‘spree’ of violence they brought to the Aldays.” In its entirety, the newspaper account of Billy Isaacs’ testimony read as follows: Billy Isaacs took the stand Wednesday morning to outline just how the six members of the Ned Alday family were killed on May 14. He said that the “spree” started out in Baltimore, Md., and ended up at Jerry Alday’s mobile home about 4 p.m. on May 14. Billy testified that Wayne Coleman and Carl Isaacs went into Jerry’s unlocked mobile home when no one was home. While they were in there, Billy said two men in a blue jeep came to the mobile home and they were forced at gunpoint to go inside the trailer. Billy said he forced the older man to empty his pockets and that Carl took a pen knife, wallet, some change and a cigarette lighter from the younger man who apparently was Jerry Alday since Carl asked him if he was married and lived in the trailer residence. The younger man said he did live in the mobile home and that he was married and his wife would soon be home. He said the man begged Carl not to hurt her. Carl took one of the men into the south bedroom and Wayne took the other in the north bedroom, Billy said. Shortly thereafter he heard shots in both bedrooms. Just about the time that Carl and Wayne came back to the kitchen a “middle-aged” man pulled into the yard on a John Deere tractor. Billy said he got off the tractor and knocked on the closed back door. Then Carl opened the door and stuck a gun in his face, and made him come into the trailer. Billy said Carl made the man take off his green coveralls, sunglasses and hat and then took him into the living room where he made him lie face down on the sofa. The younger Isaacs said Carl then shot the man one time in the head. A short time later Mary Alday arrived at the trailer and Carl who was moving the tractor, came around back of her, stuck a gun in her back and forced her into the mobile home. Billy said that while Carl was going through the woman’s purse two men in a green pickup truck drove into the yard. Billy said he and Carl ran around the trailer and came up on each side of the pickup from the back side. He said Carl stuck a gun in the driver’s face and both men were forced into the mobile home. The men were made to sit on the floor, and Mary, who was standing beside the doorway told them that the man in the living room was hurt. Carl then took Dungee and Mrs. Alday in a bathroom, he said. Then he came back and took one of the men in the south bedroom and Wayne took the other man in the north bedroom. Billy said there were shots in the north bedroom but only clicking noises in the south bedroom because Carl’s gun was empty. He said Carl came back into the kitchen and grabbed his .38 cl. pistol and went back into the bedroom where two shots were fired. “He came out laughing,” Billy said. “Carl told us ‘that bastard begged me for mercy.’ ” Billy said he went outside with Wayne to help them transfer “their stuff” from their car to Mrs. Alday’s automobile. When he went back inside Mrs. Alday was lying on the floor with the bottom part of her pants suit off and her top around her neck. He said Carl was standing by the table with his pants down. Later Mrs. Alday was forced to go with the four men. She left the trailer fully clothed but with a handkerchief around her eyes and mouth and her hands tied behind her. Billy said they went down the road a ways after pushing off their car with Mary’s car, but that Wayne discovered he had lost his wallet and they went back to the trailer home to get it. Then, Billy said they went to some woods and “wiped” their car of fingerprints. He said that Mrs. Alday was raped several times in the clearing before she was shot. Then all four got into Mrs. Alday’s car and went to Alabama. The January 10,1974 issue of the Donalsonville News contained the front-page headline “Two found guilty in Alday murders. Third man to go on trial here next Monday morning.” Under the headline was a picture of Dungee between two major articles. The article on the left was headlined, “Carl Isaacs, 19, first to hear jury’s verdict of death by electrocution,” and reported that the jury took only 68 minutes to find the defendant guilty of murder and only 38 minutes to decide that he should receive the death penalty. The article then noted that the jurors struggled for two hours to render a verdict which was considered acceptable under the law. According to the article, “[t]here were no indications of any waivering or doubt by the members of the jury, and on the seventh effort the correct verdict was entered into the court records.” The article then noted that Carl Isaacs’ attorneys contemplated an appeal in the case. The article stated: Hill [Isaacs’ attorney] made no secret that he took the case as a part of his battle against the death penalty, and not because he thought Isaacs and his companions were innocent. He made no effort to proclaim and establish innocence during the trial. In his statements to the jury, Hill and Farrington seemed to be basing all their efforts toward admitting Isaacs was guilty of the charges against him, but there should be no death sentence. Instead, he claimed the defendant should be placed in prison and studied. The article also reported that in Carl Isaacs’ case, the jury found aggravating circumstances of robbery, burglary, rape, and kidnapping. The article also stated that defendant Carl Isaacs yawned when special prosecutor Geer asked the jury to impose the death penalty in his closing argument. A second front-page article, to the right of Dungee’s picture, in the January 10 Donalsonville News was entitled “George Dungee, 35, second on trial, found guilty of May 14th murders.” After reporting that the jury had returned the death penalty in Dungee’s case, the article stated “Dungee made no signs of emotion. In fact, remarked one observer, he looked bored.” The article noted that the jury took 58 minutes to reach the guilty verdict, and approximately 2 hours to return the death sentence. The article also reported that although Dungee actually pulled the trigger on only one victim, the jury found him guilty on all six counts because state law “provides for guilt of all aiding and/or abetting such crimes.” As in the Carl Isaacs case, all the names of the jurors on Dungee’s panel were listed in the newspaper. The article stated that “Billy Isaacs testified Tuesday that he personally saw prison escapee George Dungee assault and kill Mrs. Mary Alday last May, after her husband and four other Alday men had been murdered earlier in the day.” The article recounted how “Billy again went through a detailed description of the execution-style murders of the six Aldays after he, Carl, Dungee and Wayne Colemen arrived at the mobile home of Mary and Jerry Alday, last May 14th.” The article also noted that, despite special prosecutor Geer’s remark in his opening statement that he intended to introduce a confession from Dungee, he failed to do so after defense attorneys said that they would move to suppress the confession. The article also contained a detailed account of Billy Isaacs’ testimony in the Dungee case. It stated: Billy said that after he and the other three men took Mrs. Alday to the woods where they forced her to take off her clothes, he saw Dungee assault the young woman, later forcing her to lie face down on the ground and shooting her twice in the back. Billy testified that Carl initially handed Coleman a pistol to shoot Mrs. Alday with, but then Dungee commented, “What about me?” Billy said Coleman “shrugged his shoulders,” handed the pistol over to Dungee, who then forced Mrs. Alday to walk a short way from them and shot her. The younger Isaacs boy said that after Dungee had shot Mrs. Alday, he reached down and took her Timex wrist watch from her arm and put it in his pocket. Other testimony during the day had indicated that the stolen watch was the same one found on Dungee when he and the other three men were arrested in West Virginia. A third front-page article in the January 10, 1974 issue of the Donalsonville News was headlined “Trial of Wayne Coleman, 26, to open at 9:30 in Seminole Superior Court,” and was accompanied by a picture of Coleman. After noting petitioner Coleman’s upcoming trial date, the article reminded readers of the fact that Coleman also faced charges in Maryland in the death of a Pennsylvania youth, Richard Miller. The article stated that the Pennsylvania youth “was slain with a gunshot wound in the back of the head, the same method used to kill the Aldays.” Finally, the article noted that petitioner Coleman, Carl Isaacs, and George Dungee were all escapees from a Maryland prison. The Albany Herald was also distributed in Seminole County and had a daily circulation of 518. It contained numerous stories concerning the Alday case. The May 15, 1973 front-page headline in The Albany Herald read “Family of Six Discovered Slain Near Donalsonville.” The article recounted how the bodies of six members of the Alday family had been discovered. The article noted that there were few leads at that point, but that one witness told police that Mrs. Mary Alday was seen leaving her home yesterday and being followed by three “hippie types.” The article concluded with a quotation from Seminole County Coroner Paul Mosley in which he stated that “[t]his is something that sounds like the wild West. Things like this just don’t happen here. These are things that you read about that happen in places like Chicago.” The May 16 edition of The Albany Herald contained the front-page headline “Seminole Killers Object of Nationwide Dragnet.” Pictures of the four suspects were placed immediately beneath the headline. The first sentence of the article identified three of the four suspects as escaped convicts. The article also stated that the suspects were believed to have abducted a Pennsylvania youth, Richard Miller. According to the article, “[ojfficials also said several other unsolved slayings along the Eastern Seaboard may be linked to the four.” The article also noted that “the three escapees were serving terms for convictions of crimes ranging from robbery to burglary.” Another article at page 5 of the May 16 Albany Herald was headlined “One of Victims Shot 7 Times.” The article quoted Coroner Paul Mosley as stating that “[y]ou can cover the bullet holes with a half dollar.” Another front-page article in the May 16 Albany Herald was entitled “Couldn’t Think of Nobody Disliking Them.” The article began by noting that the “slaughter of a quiet, clean-living farm family has left their southwest Georgia neighbors in enraged shock.” A local resident, speaking of the deceased victims, stated that he “couldn’t think of nobody disliking them.” The article generally described the high esteem neighbors held for the Alday family. The article also noted that the four suspects sought in connection with the killings were escapees from a Maryland prison. The May 17 Albany Herald contained the front-page headline “Alday Vehicle Found in Alabama. Reports on Suspects Pour In.” The article began by noting that “sorrowing Seminole County witnessed the mass funeral service for the Alday family.” The article noted that the Alday car had been found near Livingston, Alabama, and stated that “three escaped convicts and a fourth person [were] being sought in connection with the most brutal mass slayings in Georgia history.” In the same article, Georgia Division of Investigation Director William Beardsly indicated that a fingerprint found at the scene of the crime had been identified as belonging to Carl Isaacs. Beardsley further described circumstantial evidence against the four suspects as “overpowering” and stated “[t]here’s no point in looking for anybody else.” Another front-page article in the May 17 Albany Herald was headlined “Grieving Family Ponders Slaying of Six Loved Ones. Governor Offers Assistance.” In the article, a special assistant to Governor Jimmy Carter indicated that the slaying “was perhaps the worst crime in Georgia history.” In a third article on page 5 of the May 17 Albany Herald, the headline read, “Sheriff Wants Revenge but Beholden to Badge. ‘I’d Precook Them.’ ” The article quoted Sheriff Dan White as follows: If I had my way about it, I’d have me a large oven and I’d precook them for several days, just keep them alive and let them punish____ And I don’t think that would satisfy me. The article continued and stated that “[t]he integrity of the twenty-year veteran of law enforcement, however, overrides such emotion.” Sheriff White stated: Whenever I’m protecting them, I’m going to do my job and bring them to court, and I hope they’ll get justice. I don’t see where they could put up any plea for mercy____ The acts of these men are lower than animals. If a citizen gets out of hand and starts shooting people up, there’s only one way to arrest and that’s with a shotgun. Any man that believes in God believes in capital punishment____ I could throw the switch to the electric chair and never lose a minute’s sleep. Another page 5 article in the May 17 Albany Herald was headlined “Suspects Reported in Texas,” and quoted a Texas service station operator as having spotted the suspects in east Texas. In the same article, a Georgia official was reported as stating that there was ballistics evidence that the four suspects had killed the members of the Alday family. The May 18 front-page headline of The Albany Herald read “Seminole Slay Suspects Caught in West Virginia.” The article generally recounted the manner in which the suspects were apprehended in West Virginia and noted that the police roadblock was set up after the four men robbed a grocery store across the border in Virginia. In the article, Sheriff Dan White was reported as having stated that the suspects would not be jailed in Seminole County when they were brought to Georgia “because of ill feeling among residents of the rural community.” Sheriff White stated, “They will be jailed outside of Seminole County. I have an obligation to protect everybody. I want them brought to court. I want them brought to justice.” The article indicated that the defendants had been involved in a crime spree along the Eastern Seaboard, and that additional charges against the four suspects would probably include murder in Pennsylvania, auto theft in Alabama, and robbery in Virginia. Another front-page article in the May 18 Albany Herald was headlined “Deserve What They Get: Mother of Slay Suspects.” The first sentence of the article quoted the mother of Carl and Billy Isaacs and Wayne Coleman as stating “[t]hey are old enough to know right from wrong and deserve what they get when captured.” The article also noted that Isaacs, Coleman and Dun-gee were escapees from a Maryland prison where Isaacs and Coleman were serving terms for burglary and Dungee was serving a sentence for contempt of court. The article concluded with a quote from Mrs. Isaacs, “[t]hey had no respect for their family and those people in Georgia. How can they expect any from us?” Another front-page article in the May 18 Albany Herald contained the headline “Mrs. Alday’s Mother Dies at Colquitt.” In the article, a local physician stated that “complications arising from Mrs. Campbell’s diabetic condition and grief over her daughter’s slaying probably caused her death.” A fourth front-page article in the May 18 Albany Herald was headlined “Thousands Attend Biggest Funeral Ever in Sowega.” According to the article, “[i]t was by far the largest funeral ever conducted in Southwest Georgia.” The article described dignitaries attending the funeral as including Tommy Irwin, State Agriculture Commissioner; Mrs. Jimmy Carter, the governor’s wife; Hugh Broom, Chairman of the State Board of Transportation; and Cloyd Hall, a special assistant to Governor Carter. The May 19 edition of The Albany Herald was headlined “Alday Slay Suspects to be Returned to Donalsonville.” The front-page article generally described how the suspects had waived extradition to Georgia, and it also noted that the four would likely face charges of escape in Maryland, murder in Pennsylvania, armed robbery in Virginia, and auto theft in Alabama. In the same article, Coleman was reported to have confessed to an FBI agent to the murder of Pennsylvania youth Richard Miller. When asked why the Pennsylvania youth was killed, Coleman was reported as stating because “he didn’t want any witnesses.” In the same article, Georgia Division of Investigation Director William Beardsley stated that it would be up to Sheriff Dan White as to where the suspects would be placed when they arrived in Seminole County. Beardsley added, however, that he disagreed with reports that the suspects might not be safe in Seminole County. Beardsley stated, “I don’t believe there are that kind of people down there. I think they will be adequately treated.” The May 20 edition of The Albany Herald contained the front-page headline “Sheriff Maintains: Seminole Jail Inadequate to Hold Slaying Suspects.” In the article, the sheriff was reported as saying that the inadequacy of the Seminole County Jail was the sole reason for the suspects being held outside Seminole County and that fear of mob vengeance had nothing to do with the decision. Despite Sheriff White’s remarks, the article stated that “[h]owever, residents have talked of lynching since the bodies of the six were found in a mobile home of the Alday farm early Tuesday. Some have mentioned other forms of extreme punishments for the killers.” In the article, the prospect of a change of venue was mentioned and Sheriff White stated his belief that the four would stand trial in Seminole County. The sheriff further remarked, however, that “[i]f it were left up to me, I’d like to go ahead and try them today and get it over with.” The headline in another front-page article in the May 20 Albany Herald read “Gun Sales on Rise in Rural Seminole.” In the article, local gun store operators reported that there had been a noticeable increase in the sale of firearms in Seminole County. Pictures of the four suspects being led to their extradition covered the front page of the May 22 edition of The Albany Herald and a headline read “Four Arraigned Without Incident.” The article generally recounted the security precautions taken by police in transporting the suspects to their arraignment hearing. The article, however, also reported petitioner Coleman’s confession to the murder of Pennsylvania youth Richard Miller. Coleman was again quoted as stating that Miller was killed because they did not “want any witnesses.” The article concluded by noting that Peter Zack Geer, former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia and a personal friend of the victims, had been hired by the surviving members of the family to act as a special prosecutor in the case. Another front-page headline in the May 22 Albany Herald read “Donalsonville Slay Suspect Snickers as Charges Read. Army of Lawmen Guards Men.” According to the article, talk of vengeance was the reason why numerous state troopers and Georgia Department of Investigation officers were on hand to escort the prisoners to the arraignment hearing. The article reported that “Coleman threw his head back slightly and snickered” when asked whether he understood the charges against him. The article also noted that when the arraignment hearing was completed, and Coleman was escorted toward the door, his “eyes stopped on a female reporter from one of the wire services who had been sitting on the back row of the jury box.” The female reporter was then quoted as saying, “I don’t like the way he looked at me. God, did you see the way he looked at me?” The article also quoted special prosecutor Geer as stating that he had a “special interest” in the case since he had known the Aldays for a long time and had hunted and fished with two of the victims. The article concluded by noting that Geer would help in the prosecution of what had been described as the “worse [sic] crime in Georgia history.” On page 6 of the May 23 edition of The Albany Herald the headline read “First Day’s Search for Body Futile. Suspect ‘Unable or Unwilling.’ ” The article described how petitioner Coleman had been taken to Pennsylvania to assist in locating the body of Pennsylvania youth Richard Miller. The article also noted that Coleman reportedly confessed to the killing of Miller to eliminate witnesses who might later identify him. An article on the front page of the May 24 Albany Herald was headlined “Alday Suspects Could Face Death.” The article noted that a newly enacted state death penalty law could be applied to the four suspects. The article also indicated that three of the suspects, Carl Isaacs, Coleman, and Dungee, were escapees from a Maryland prison. The article stated that Coleman was serving a ten-year sentence for robbery; Isaacs, a four-year sentence for burglary; and Dungee, an eighteen-month sentence for contempt of court. The May 25 edition of The Albany Herald contained front-page headlines: “Judge Names Attorneys for Alday Slay Suspects. Nobody Wants Job.” The article recounted how the trial court had named eight attorneys to defend the four accused but that “apparently none of the eight want the job.” Attorney Harold Lambert was quoted as stating that “[t]his is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me professionally. There’s just no way I can get out of it. I pleaded with the judge for about 15 minutes yesterday but he apparently didn’t see any of my reasons as either legal or valid.” Other attorneys were quoted as stating that “they planned to provide the best courtroom defense, but with ‘reluctance.’ ” The article also recounted how state senator Julian Webb of Donalsonville “does not want the job.” According to the article, Webb stated that he should be excused from the case because of his close relationship with the victims’ family and because of his sponsorship of the Georgia death penalty statute, which would likely be at issue in the case. The May 26 Albany Herald contained an article at page 5 which was headlined “Psychic Pair Leads Lawmen in Search for Missing Youth. Alday Slay Link.” The article described how Maryland and Pennsylvania authorities had used two psychics to try and locate the body of a Pennsylvania youth, Richard Miller. The article noted that the youth “is believed to have been murdered by Wayne Coleman.” The article concluded by noting that “Coleman told police that after he escaped from a Maryland work camp, he shot and killed Miller and left his body beside a road in western Maryland near the Pennsylvania border.” Another article at page 5A of the May 26 Albany Herald contained the headline “Blakely Lawyer Also Protests Alday Slayings Defense Role.” In the article, attorney Tracey Moulton complained of the law which required Superior Court judges to appoint counsel for indigent defendants. Although Moulton’s complaints focused on the “terrible financial burden” that representation of petitioner Coleman would impose, he was also quoted