The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently denied the habeas corpus petition of double murderer and Iranian national Mohammad Sharifi, upholding the Northern District of Alabama’s decision to deny relief.
Sharifi came to the United States in December 1998 from Iran on a six-month tourist visa. Before that visa expired, he married Sarah Kay Smith and petitioned to have his immigration status changed to legal alien status.
Sharifi and Smith separated in late 1999, and shortly thereafter, Smith and Derrick Brown met with Sharifi’s caseworker at the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services. Sharifi’s petition was denied, and his immigration status made him an illegal alien.
Sharifi purchased a pistol and forcibly entered the apartment he and Smith shared. He left when the police were called, but returned later that day.
Smith’s body was found on the banks of the Tennessee River on December 26, 1999, and Brown’s was found nearby on New Year’s Day. Both had been shot in the head with Sharifi’s pistol. The pair were shoved into trash bags and thrown into the river.
Sharifi was arrested by the FBI in Los Angeles, California, and extradited to Alabama. He was ultimately convicted of capital murder in Madison County and sentenced to death. All of his attempts to appeal his conviction have been rejected by multiple courts.
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