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Full Opinion
Case: 24-70004 Document: 62-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/21/2025
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
____________
FILED
May 21, 2025
No. 24-70004
____________ Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
John Allen Rubio,
Petitioner—Appellant,
versus
Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
Correctional Institutions Division,
Respondent—Appellee.
______________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 1:18-CV-88
______________________________
Before Jones, Duncan, and Douglas, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam: *
In 2010, John Allen Rubio was convicted of four counts of capital
murder and sentenced to death. Following a series of post-conviction remedy
attempts in state court, he petitioned the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Texas for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court
determined that Rubio was not entitled to habeas relief, and denied both the
_____________________
*
This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
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No. 24-70004
petition and a certificate of appealability (“COA”). He now requests a
COA from this court. For the reasons that follow, we DENY his motion.
I
A
The facts surrounding Rubio’s crime are especially harrowing. Rubio
and his co-defendant, Angela Camacho, were common-law partners. After a
period of living without a consistent home, Rubio, Camacho, and Camacho’s
two children moved into a house that lacked electricity or running water. 1
Soon after moving in, Rubio asked Camacho what she would do if he killed
the children; Camacho wrote it off, figuring he was joking.
Several months later, while Camacho was pregnant with the youngest
child, Mary Jane, Child Protective Services (“CPS”) removed Julissa and
John and placed them with Camacho’s mother. The couple complied with
CPS’s requirements, taking parenting classes while Rubio underwent drug
testing and obtained employment. The children were ultimately returned,
but Rubio soon lost his job and resumed his pattern of substance abuse. Mary
Jane was born soon thereafter, in January 2003.
While unemployed, Rubio earned money by washing cars and as a
“prostitute,” ECF 31-1, at 11; nevertheless, the family was short on money.
Rubio’s mother, who also was a “prostitute,” ECF 31-1, at 11, and struggled
with substance abuse, lived with them but rarely covered her share of the
rent. Tight on money, Rubio and Camacho feared eviction. To cover their
costs, Rubio’s lover, Jose Luis Moreno, would provide him with money and
_____________________
1
Julissa and John were both Camacho’s children by a previous relationship. Mary
Jane, the youngest, was the child of Rubio and Camacho.
2
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groceries. Moreno, however, would also provide Rubio with various
addictive substances, predominantly spray paint.
Despite the couple’s financial woes, the children were generally
healthy and well-nourished, as Rubio and Camacho frequently walked them
to a nearby charitable organization that provided lunch and dinner. They also
received food stamps.
One day, however, the couple received a notice that Julissa’s food
stamp benefits would be terminated due to issues with her social security
number. In March 2003, on the day before the murders, the hospital
informed the couple that it could not provide the necessary records to the
government to remedy the issue with Julissa’s records.
As they bussed home from the hospital, Rubio began proclaiming that
everybody surrounding them wanted to hurt them, despite Camacho’s
assessment that the area was generally safe. Rubio claimed that a lady at the
bus stop wanted to steal his money, and that a young girl on the bus who
offered a piece of candy to John had poisoned the gift. When they exited the
bus, a “woman with dark marks on her forehead” allegedly gestured rudely
to Camacho, which Rubio identified as “the devil’s sign.” Frightened, they
hurried home.
Upon return, Rubio swept an egg over Julissa and cracked it into a
glass of water. Examining the glass, he determined that someone had “done
something evil to Julissa.” In fear, the couple considered relocating to a
motel for the evening, but they could not locate Rubio’s wallet. They
ultimately concluded that an acquaintance had stolen it. Unfortunately, the
wallet contained that month’s rent, which was due the next day.
At approximately 2:00 a.m., Rubio’s mother returned home. Rubio
requested that she provide her share of the rent, but she, too, was without
money. He then asked his mother, whom he believed to be a witch, to fight
3
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off the children’s evil spirits, but she declined. Instead, she informed him
that he had the power to fight off the spirts, and that he would need to use it.
She left the house at 3:00 a.m.
Rubio subsequently nailed the back door shut “to keep bad spirits
from entering the apartment.” He killed the family’s pet hamsters with a
hammer and bleach because he believed them to be possessed, and began
speaking about the anti-Christ and an impending battle between good and
evil. 2
Later that day, Rubio determined that the children were possessed
and that he would kill them. After ordering Camacho into the bathroom, he
decapitated their two-month-old child, Mary Jane, and then requested
Camacho’s assistance. He placed Julissa, who was struggling mightily, on
the floor next to Mary Jane’s body and ordered Camacho to hold Julissa’s
legs while he stabbed and decapitated her.
Rubio washed the girls’ bodies and put them into trash bags. He told
Camacho to clean the carpet and knife while he placed the girls’ heads into a
bucket in the kitchen. Rubio then claimed that John still had evil energy; he
and Camacho restrained him, and Rubio decapitated him as well. Following
the murders, he forced Camacho to engage in sexual intercourse with him
under threat of gang rape, and the pair showered.
Rubio’s brother arrived at the house shortly thereafter and called the
police. Rubio surrendered, stating: “[J]ust arrest me I know I did something
bad but I rather my children be dead than be possessed.” Camacho provided
three police statements corroborating Rubio’s account, with some minor
_____________________
2
Camacho later testified that Rubio only ever acted abnormal when he inhaled
spray paint. However, Camacho claimed that Rubio had not used spray paint for the
previous five days.
4
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timeline inconsistencies. The State charged Rubio with four counts of capital
murder.
B
Rubio underwent two separate trials. He was convicted and sentenced
to death in the first, in large part based on out-of-court statements made by
Camacho, who was unavailable as a witness during trial after invoking her
Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. After that trial, however,
the Supreme Court issued Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), which
altered Confrontation Clause jurisprudence. Rubio’s conviction was
consequently overturned. He was re-tried, convicted, and sentenced to
death. He appealed, and his conviction was affirmed.
In October 2013, Rubio petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in state
court. In August 2016, the state habeas court held an evidentiary hearing,
following which Rubio filed a supplemental habeas application that raised
four more grounds. In April 2017, the state habeas judge issued findings of
fact and conclusions of law regarding the merits of the original 2013 petition,
recommending that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (“TCCA”) deny
the relief requested. The judge also found that the 2016 supplemental
application was a subsequent application and directed it to the TCCA.
Ultimately, the TCCA denied the 2013 habeas petition and found that the
2016 supplemental habeas petition was an abuse of the writ because it did not
qualify under the state’s successive petition law.
In September 2019, Rubio filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in
federal court and amended it five months later, raising ten claims. Only one
of those claims, however, had previously been presented to the state courts,
so the district court stayed the case to permit Rubio to exhaust his state-court
remedies by raising the other nine grounds in the TCCA. After the TCCA
dismissed his successive habeas petition as an abuse of the writ, he submitted
5
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his second amended petition to the district court. The district court denied
all grounds of relief and denied him a COA. He now moves this court for a
COA.
II
When a petitioner seeks to appeal a district court’s denial of habeas
relief, they must, pursuant to the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty
Act (“AEDPA”), make a “substantial showing of the denial of a
constitutional right” to be granted a COA. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). This
requirement is jurisdictional: the appeal may not be taken without its
issuance. Id. § 2253(c)(1).
To demonstrate the violation of a constitutional right, the petitioner
must satisfy § 2253(c)(2), which requires them to “show that reasonable
jurists could debate whether . . . the petition should have been resolved in a
different manner or that the issues presented were adequate to deserve
encouragement to proceed further.” Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336
(2003) (alteration omitted) (quoting Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484
(2000)). And, where the claim is disposed of on procedural grounds, the
petitioner must demonstrate “that jurists of reason would find it debatable
whether the petition states a valid claim on the denial of a constitutional right,
and that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the district court
was correct in its procedural ruling.” Slack, 529 U.S. at 478.
When the petitioner seeks a COA on claims denied on the merits by
a state court, § 2254(d), as amended by the AEDPA, “imposes a highly
deferential standard for evaluating state-court rulings and demands that
state-court decisions be given the benefit of the doubt.” Hardy v. Cross, 565
U.S. 65, 66 (2011) (per curiam) (quoting Felkner v. Jackson, 562 U.S. 594, 598
(2011) (per curiam)). Our review is “limited to the record that was before
the state court that adjudicated the claim on the merits, . . . [and] requires an
6
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examination of the state-court decision at the time it was made.” Cullen v.
Pinholster, 563 U.S. 170, 181–82 (2011). Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d), we will
not grant a petition for a writ of habeas corpus with respect to a claim
adjudicated on the merits in state court, unless that adjudication (1) “was
contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established
Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States,” or
(2) “resulted in a decision that was 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)(1)–(2).
III
Rubio seeks a COA on the following overarching grounds:
(1) ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to reasonably investigate his
prenatal exposure to alcohol; (2) ineffective assistance of counsel for failure
to investigate and prepare his insanity defense; and (3) violation of his due
process rights under Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264 (1959), by solicitation of
false testimony. Because “[n]o reasonable jurist could find the district
court’s assessment [of the Strickland issue] debatable or wrong,” Brewer v.
Lumpkin, 66 F.4th 558, 565 (5th Cir. 2023), we deny his COA. See Slack,
529 U.S. at 484.
A
Rubio first requests a COA for his claim of ineffective assistance of
counsel for failure to investigate his prenatal alcohol exposure. Because he
preserved this issue during state-court habeas proceedings, § 2254(d)
controls. The relevant “analysis includes layers of deference to both trial
counsel and the state court, rendering it ‘doubly deferential.’” Holberg v.
Lumpkin, No. 21-70010, 2023 WL 2474213, at *4 (5th Cir. Mar. 13, 2023)
(quoting Cullen, 563 U.S. at 190). To prevail on the merits, Rubio must show
“that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional
7
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errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different,” 3 keeping in
mind that “strategic choices must be respected in these circumstances if they
are based on professional judgment.” Id. (quoting Strickland v. Washington,
466 U.S. 668, 681, 694 (1984)).
The district court, considering this claim, described the relevant
information regarding fetal alcohol syndrome (“FAS”): it “is one of several
different disorders under what is now recognized as the umbrella ‘fetal
alcohol spectrum disorder.’” An individual who has fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder (“FASD”) 4 may experience mental and physical defects, including
stunted fetal growth or weight, facial dysmorphia, damaged brain structures,
or other physical damage. Rubio argues that trial counsel overlooked the
possibility that other effects associated with FASD contributed to his acts
and mental capacity, and that his counsel failed to adequately explore this
possibility.
He noted before the state court that the following red flags should
have inspired trial counsel to investigate the possibility that he suffered from
FASD: (1) his bizarre behavior; (2) testimony that his mother consumed
drugs and alcohol while pregnant; (3) Dr. Fabian’s report from 2009
signaling that Rubio’s mother’s alcohol use increased prenatal risk factors;
(4) Dr. Pinkerman’s report identifying prenatal alcohol abuse; (5) a letter
from Dr. Brams linking developmental issues to his parents; and (6) reports
_____________________
3
In other words, Rubio must demonstrate “(1) that his trial counsel rendered
deficient performance, and (2) that the deficient performance resulted in actual prejudice.”
King v. Davis, 883 F.3d 577, 586 (5th Cir. 2018).
4
FASD “is a non-diagnostic umbrella term that encompasses all four of the
diagnostic categories caused by prenatal alcohol exposure that were described in the
diagnostic guidelines published in 1996 by the Institute of Medicine of the National
Academies.” Brown Report, at 41.
8
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from Drs. Martinez and Morris regarding Rubio’s mother’s drug and alcohol
abuse. 5
The state habeas court held an evidentiary hearing regarding the
effectiveness of counsel as it related to their investigation of FAS and
FASD. Rubio’s habeas counsel elicited testimony from his trial counsel, Ed
Stapleton, who explained that he chose not to pursue the FASD theory
because (1) Rubio did not have facial dysmorphia; (2) Dr. Owens’s report
proved inadequate to demonstrate brain damage; (3) Dr. Morris did not
identify a deficiency in Dr. Owens’s report; and (4) the defense was poorly
funded. At some point during the testimony, Stapleton’s trial co-counsel,
Nathaniel Perez, shouted out from the gallery that they provided Rubio
ineffective assistance of counsel. The court acknowledged the attorneys’
humility and willingness to “fall[] on the sword” but noted that they
“worked with what [they] had.”
Although the state court acknowledged counsels’ awareness of
Rubio’s mother’s alcoholic intake, it denied the ineffective assistance of
counsel claim. First, it noted that “there [was] insufficient evidence to find
that, at the time of [Rubio’s] trial . . . , the development, investigation[,] and
presentation of a full-scale FASD based defense was reasonably available to
trial counsel.” Second, trial counsel thoroughly investigated Rubio’s
behavior, and relied on medical experts’ findings that it was inspired by
something other than FASD. Third, an argument premised on FASD is a
double-edged sword: while it may assist in mitigation, it also harms the
defendant’s position in the future danger inquiry; thus, the attorneys made a
strategic decision in determining how much to focus on FAS. Fourth, and
_____________________
5
In the present motion, he claims that the primary “red flags” come from (1) his
2003 trial; (2) the investigation leading up to the 2010 trial; and (3) the competency hearing
before the 2010 trial.
9
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finally, Rubio failed to demonstrate that the jury would have answered the
mitigation inquiry differently.
The federal district court found that “fairminded jurists could [not]
disagree that the state court’s decision conflicts with [the United States
Supreme] Court’s precedents.” It walked through the evidence, noting that
trial counsel investigated the connection between Rubio’s mother’s
substance abuse and his behavior, including by seeking the opinions of several
experts. Further, Rubio failed to demonstrate that any doctor ever
conclusively diagnosed him with FASD. Instead, the court noted that
Rubio’s counsel formulated a strategy reasonable at the time. It also found
that the TCCA properly considered the prejudice prong under Strickland,
and that Rubio has not demonstrated that fairminded jurists would disagree
with that conclusion.
After review of the record, we, too, find that reasonable jurists could
not disagree with the conclusion that Rubio’s trial counsel was effective. See
Dunn v. Reeves, 594 U.S. 731, 739–40 (2021) (“[A] federal court may grant
relief only if every ‘fairminded juris[t]’ would agree that every reasonable
lawyer would have made a different decision.” (second alteration in
original)). His attorneys sought the opinions of several doctors, investigated
the possibility of FAS, and, while they may have been misled by an over-
emphasis on the importance of facial dysmorphia, they considered the
defense to the extent they could. 6 See Rompilla v. Beard, 545 U.S. 374, 383
_____________________
6
Rubio’s motion primarily focuses on his attorneys’ misconception that facial
dysmorphia is required for FASD. It is true that Dr. Natalie Brown provided a report that
noted that “FASD tends to be a hidden condition because most people in this population
have [alcohol related neurodevelopmental disorder] rather than FAS and consequently, no
obvious physical abnormalities.” But Rubio says nothing to truly dispute the state habeas
court’s factual determination that “trial counsel conducted a thorough and detailed
investigation into the cause of [Rubio’s] bizarre behavior by retaining numerous medical
doctors and mental health experts who examined [Rubio] and opined that the cause of this
10
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(2005) (“[R]easonably diligent counsel may draw a line when they have good
reason to think further investigation would be a waste.”); Gonzales v.
Stephens, 606 F. App’x 767, 772–73 (5th Cir. 2015) (rejecting ineffective
assistance of counsel claim where defense counsel secured a
neuropsychologist who “concluded that Gonzales had no brain damage”).
Reasonable jurists could not debate that the investigation and presentation of
this defense failed to amount to the “reasonably effective assistance”
Strickland requires, especially under the strength of the double deference we
provide state-court rulings. See Dunn, 594 U.S. at 739–40. And, because
Rubio has failed to show that his attorneys fell below the Strickland standard,
we need not consider the prejudice prong. 7
_____________________
behavior was something other than FASD.” Specifically, these doctors made the
following diagnoses, potentially among others: “delusional disorder with other psychotic
features; severe learning disorder; schizophrenia, paranoid type; major depressive
disorder, recurrent; inhalant dependence; cannabis abuse; psychotic disorder NOS (not
otherwise specified); and, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).” Rubio
does not successfully contest these statements or demonstrate that his attorneys committed
“unprofessional errors,” Cullen, 563 U.S. at 190, especially considering that the state
court’s factual determinations are “presumed correct” unless the petitioner “rebut[s] the
presumption of correctness by clear and convincing evidence.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1).
7
Rubio provides lengthy arguments in both his motion and reply brief that the
district court failed to consider § 2254(d)(2), instead premising its findings on § 2254(d)(1).
While § 2254(d)(1) precludes the grant of a petition for writ of habeas corpus unless the
state court’s determination “resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an
unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme
Court of the United States,” § 2254(d)(2) allows a reversal of the state court’s denial if it
“resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light
of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.”
Rubio makes no showing that the state court, in light of all of the evidence in its
proceedings, made an unreasonable determination of facts. As described above, the federal
district court identified several facts that the state court weighed in determining that
Rubio’s counsel was not ineffective. Among these facts is that Rubio was never diagnosed
with FASD and that counsel investigated the possibility that he had FASD. While the
district court ultimately stated its conclusion under § 2254(d)(1), there is no indication that
11
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B
Rubio next requests a COA for review of his claim that his counsel
was ineffective by failing to investigate and prepare his insanity defense. 8 As
the district court noted, Rubio failed to present this claim in 2013 during his
state habeas proceedings, so the TCCA refused to consider the merits of the
claim under the state’s procedural bar. The claim is therefore procedurally
defaulted because “the last state court to review the petitioner’s claims
unambiguously based its denial on a state procedural bar.” Mullis v.
Lumpkin, 47 F.4th 380, 387–88 (5th Cir. 2022) (quoting Gonzales v. Davis,
924 F.3d 236, 243 (5th Cir. 2019) (per curiam)). Rubio bears the burden of
demonstrating that an exception to this rule applies to be granted a COA.
See McCleskey v. Zant, 499 U.S. 467, 494 (1991), superseded by statute on other
grounds, AEDPA, 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b), as recognized in Banister v. Davis, 590
U.S. 504 (2020).
As the district court rightly pointed out, ineffective representation by
state habeas counsel may be sufficient cause to overcome the procedural bar
for an ineffective assistance of trial counsel claim. Martinez v. Ryan, 566 U.S.
_____________________
it erred in failing to proclaim the same determination under § 2254(d)(2). Indeed, Rubio’s
most direct attack is that the state habeas court improperly found that Rubio’s attorneys
were aware of red flags because one “testified under oath that the reason they abandoned
an FASD investigation was because he thought FASDs required facial dysmorphia and
Rubio had none.” But the very next sentence in Stapleton’s testimony was that, while he
believed facial dysmorphia was required, he investigated FASD until he “got Dr. Owens’s
report on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or lack of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.” Rubio has not
provided clear and convincing evidence that the state court erred in its factual
determinations.
8
Rubio’s motion notes that this second request incorporates Claims Three and
Seven asserted before the district court, which the court had considered under the greater
“mental health” challenges umbrella. We therefore eschew consideration of the third
claim that the district court considered in that grouping, identified as Claim One and
relating to failure to include a qualified mental health expert on the defense team.
12
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1, 17 (2012). Therefore, Rubio must satisfy the Strickland test: that trial
counsel was so deficient that they were “not functioning as the ‘counsel’
guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment,” thus “prejudic[ing] the
defense.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687. Then he must demonstrate “that
habeas counsel was ineffective in failing to present those claims in his first
state habeas proceeding.” Garza v. Stephens, 738 F.3d 669, 676 (5th Cir.
2013).
1
Rubio’s first argument under his overarching “mental health”
challenge is that his trial counsel failed to investigate and prepare his insanity
defense. He argues that his attorneys misunderstood the proper Texas legal
standard for a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity defense, and that they failed
to provide the proper standard to their expert witnesses.
The district court found that Rubio failed to demonstrate that his trial
counsel either misunderstood the legal standard, or that they examined
witnesses with the improper standard. It noted that Rubio raised this same
habeas challenge to the TCCA after his first conviction, which provided
Rubio’s counsel with “the benefit of the TCCA’s decision, including its
unambiguous recitation of Texas law regarding an insanity defense.” See
Rubio v. State, 241 S.W.3d 1, 9 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (“[The primary issue
to be resolved at trial was] whether the appellant, at the time of the conduct
charged, as a result of severe mental disease or defect, did not know that his
conduct was wrong.”); id. at 12 (Keller, J., dissenting) (noting that “wrong”
in this context means “illegal”). The court further provided excerpts of trial
testimony in which his attorney referred the expert witness to the correct
legal standard, asking that the witness “assume that there is some Texas case
13
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law that says . . . knowledge of ‘wrong’ means knowledge of ‘illegal.’” 9 And
it rejected any claim based on the fact that Dr. Morris inadvertently erred in
describing the legal standard in his expert report. 10
Considering the record, Rubio has failed to show that he has a
substantial claim, and he has pointed us to no portion of the district court’s
analysis with which fairminded jurists would disagree. 11 Because Rubio fails
_____________________
9
“It is an affirmative defense to the prosecution that, at the time of the conduct
charged, the actor, as a result of severe mental disease or defect, did not know that his
conduct was wrong.” Tex. Penal Code § 8.01(a). “Under Texas law, ‘wrong’ in this
context means ‘illegal.’” Ruffin v. State, 270 S.W.3d 586, 592 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008).
The pertinent question, therefore, is whether “the defendant factually know[s] that society
considers this conduct against the law, even though the defendant, due to his mental
disease or defect, may think that the conduct is morally justified.” Id.
10
It is true that Dr. Morris’s expert report misstated the standard of review in its
opinion. He admitted that he “probably should have” looked more closely at that line. But
he also unequivocally stated that weeks prior to trial he came to the conclusion that Rubio
“did not know that [his action] was wrong.” Indeed, he consistently stated that he felt that
Rubio did not understand the consequences when committing the act, even though another
expert witness testified before the jury that Rubio acted “regardless of the consequences.”
11
Rubio asserts that the district court engaged in “claim-splitting” by failing to
consider all of Rubio’s allegations under this claim cumulatively. There is no evidence that
the district court failed to consider the evidence under the totality of the circumstances.
While the district court singled out several allegations, it noted that none was significant,
and they deserved little weight given Rubio’s “limited attention” provided to them and
their lack of relation “to the main thrust of his claim.”
Finally, to the extent that he challenges the district court’s prejudice
determination, the district court rightly emphasized that the jury had heard evidence
demonstrating Rubio’s knowledge of the wrongfulness of his action; he failed to show that
he would have been found not guilty with the “proper” legal standard. For instance, Rubio
instantly surrendered to officers, telling them to “just arrest” him because while he
“kn[ew] [he] did something bad,” he “rather[ed] [his] children be dead than be
possessed.” He also informed officers in a statement that he “told [his] wife that [they]
should make love for the last time because [they] were going to jail.” Moreover, Camacho
testified that Rubio planned to flee to Mexico; Rubio asked the detective, “I killed the
children, what more do you need?”; he purchased cleaning supplies in advance of the
murders; and Dr. Morris, when asked about Rubio’s “arrest me” statement, said that he
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to make this showing, we do not consider whether he can clear the procedural
default.
2
Rubio’s other mental-health-based challenge surrounds the failure to
introduce medical records from his time spent in prison, which he contends
demonstrate his mental illness. He believes that such evidence could
controvert other testimony that showed that Rubio was not on antipsychotic
medication while incarcerated.
As with the legal standard claim, the district court found that Rubio
failed to clear the substantial claim hurdle. Instead, the court found that his
trial counsel possessed the prison records and had to balance a “mixed bag”
of double-edged evidence: while he may have been prescribed the
medication, he often refused to take it. Further, the records demonstrated
that Rubio’s odd behavior was often self-reported and an atypical form of
psychosis, all of which were reviewed by the relevant expert witness. The
district court concluded that counsels’ “decision not to utilize [the records]
falls within the type of reasonable strategic decisions of trial counsel.”
Having reviewed the briefing and the record, Rubio has failed to show that
his attorneys fell below the Strickland standard.
Because “[n]o reasonable jurist could find the district court’s
assessment debatable or wrong, Brewer, 66 F.4th at 565, we deny his motion
for a COA as to this claim. See Slack, 529 U.S. at 484.
_____________________
“think[s] that . . . you have to consider [it] a possibility” that such a statement is an
“indication that [Rubio] knew what he had done was wrong.” See Ex Parte Rubio, No.
65,784-04 and No. 65,784-04, 2018 WL 2329302, at *2 (Tex. Crim. App. May 23, 2018).
While he may have considered his actions “morally justified,” he also clearly knew that
“society considers this conduct against the law.” Ruffin, 270 S.W.3d at 592.
15
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C
As to the district court’s umbrella category of “expert witnesses,”
Rubio only requests a COA for his Napue claim that the State knowingly
elicited false testimony from Dr. Michael Welner. As with his mental health
claims, Rubio’s petition before the state habeas court regarding his Napue
claim was dismissed as an abuse of the writ, and it is therefore procedurally
defaulted. Once again, because he fails to make a substantial claim, we do not
reach the procedural default issue.
Underlying this claim is the testimony of State rebuttal witness Dr.
Welner, a forensic psychologist who had interviewed both Rubio and those
who knew him. Dr. Welner interviewed Rubio for fourteen hours
approximately one month before his re-trial. Rubio v. State, No. AP-76,383,
2012 WL 4833809, at *11 (Tex. Crim. App. Oct. 10, 2012). He determined
that Rubio did not suffer from a severe mental disease at the time he
committed offense because (1) there were several instances of Rubio’s
alleged delusion that were undercut by his statements or actions, 12 and
(2) while he did not consistently take anti-psychotic medications, he also did
not generally demonstrate symptoms.
Rubio, however, contends that the State knew (or should have known)
that Dr. Welner provided false testimony when he claimed that (1) Rubio
failed to take his anti-psychotic medication and (2) his absence of symptoms
of psychosis during that time suggested that he lacked the alleged mental
_____________________
12
For instance, before ever claiming that he committed the murders “because he
was the ‘chosen one,’” he asserted that he did so because Camacho instructed him to.
Rubio, 2012 WL 4833809 at *11. He told the officers he almost called the police right after
the offense, and he deflected responsibility onto Camacho rather than immediately
confessing. Id. He also allegedly recognized Julissa when he killed her, inconsistent “with
his professed delusion that his deceased grandmother had possessed [her].” Id.
16
Case: 24-70004 Document: 62-1 Page: 17 Date Filed: 05/21/2025
No. 24-70004
health disorder. As with the mental health ineffective assistance of counsel
claim, he asserts that his medical records from the jail show that he reported
his hallucinations and delusions while incarcerated. This, he claims, proves
that Dr. Welner’s testimony was false.
For Rubio to succeed on such a claim, he “must show that the
prosecution knowingly solicited false testimony or knowingly allowed it ‘to
go uncorrected when it appear[ed].’” Glossip v. Oklahoma, 145 S. Ct. 612,
626 (2025) (quoting Napue, 360 U.S. at 269). The district court properly
determined that the record did not support a conclusion that Dr. Welner
falsely testified. As it explained, the record demonstrated Rubio’s refusal to
take prescribed medication and his feigned symptoms of mental illness.
Indeed, Dr. Welner testified about several reasonable explanations for
Rubio’s reported hallucinations other than insanity, and described how some
of his behaviors were inconsistent with insanity. To the extent that Rubio
challenges that conclusion, he does not provide any evidence that shows that
it was improper. Instead, much of the evidence is self-serving or
inconclusive. One record to which he points us notes “[patient] reports
medication compliance.” Another notes that “[h]e stated that he has been
on meds for ‘years.’” Yet another merely notes the various medications that
he was prescribed, none of which appear to actively treat schizophrenia or
psychosis. While it is true that one record from 2006 notes his “strong meds.
compliance,” including by taking Chlorpromazine—which treats
schizophrenia—in fifty-four out of sixty relevant instances, this single
medical record is insufficient to overcome the wealth of other evidence that
supports Dr. Welner’s statement. Further, the district court found that the
statements were not material and that Rubio failed to show that the State
17
Case: 24-70004 Document: 62-1 Page: 18 Date Filed: 05/21/2025
No. 24-70004
knew it elicited false testimony. 13 Rubio has failed to demonstrate that
Welner’s testimony violates Napue.
IV
For the reasons described above, Rubio has failed to demonstrate that
any of his claims merit the grant of a COA and further review of the district
court’s opinion. Accordingly, his motion for a COA is DENIED.
_____________________
13
There is not a “reasonable likelihood [this statement] [could] have affected the
judgment of the jury.” Glossip, 145 S. Ct. at 626–27 (second alteration in original) (quoting
Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 154 (1972)). This statement merely provided the jury
one of several reasons that Dr. Welner did not believe Rubio suffered from psychosis. Nor
was Dr. Welner a “star witness” for the prosecution, as was the case in Glossip, because
other sources introduced substantial evidence of Rubio’s sanity. See id. at 623; id. at 634
(Barrett, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). The State elicited testimony from
one of Rubio’s fellow inmates, Jose Luis Gutierrez, that Rubio stated “[t]hat his attorney
had tell [sic] him not to pass the IQ test so he can get insane - - not insane, or insane. He
was trying to plea he was crazy.” Another inmate, Rolando Garza, later testified that he
overheard Rubio telling Gutierrez “that he was going to say that he was insane.” When
Garza “told [Rubio] he wasn’t crazy or insane,” Rubio “shushed him and said, yeah, but
they don’t know that.” These statements were corroborated by others. Before his
incarceration, Rubio had told a friend that he “kn[ew] how to commit the perfect crime;
just say you are insane.” This testimony, among other evidence, casts doubt that, even if
there were a Napue violation, it “prejudiced the defense.” Id. at 629.
18
Case Information
- Court
- 5th Cir.
- Decision Date
- May 21, 2025
- Status
- Precedential