McCree (D) was charged with capital felony murder. During voir dire, over D's objections, eight jurors were excused by the trial judge because they stated that they could not under any circumstances vote for the imposition of the death penalty. D was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. D's conviction was affirmed on appeal. D then filed a federal habeas corpus petition claiming that the removal of the jurors violated his rights under the 6th and 14th Amendments to have his guilt or innocence determined by an impartial jury selected from a representative cross-section of the community. The 8th Circuit affirmed the granting of habeas relief.