Platt v. United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

How later courts describe this case

• holding that it is “well-settled” that “a probability” need not be defined in the court’s charge to the jury
• holding that it is “well-settled” that neither “deliberately” nor “a probability” need be defined in the court’s charge to the jury
• demonstrating mitigation through testimony of family and friends “may well cause the jury to react unfavorably when it has the full knowledge of the brutal crime and the criminal’s prior felonious record.”
• discussing potential devastating effect of character testimony that “backfires”