Henderson v. Griffin

Filing 3

DECISION AND ORDER: ORDERED that petitioner must either (1) pay the required filing fee of five dollars ($5.00) or (2) submit a complete IFP Application that has been certified and signed by an appropriate prison official within thirty (30) days of the date of this Decision and Order. The Clerk is directed to provide petitioner with a blank IFP Application. If petitioner fails to submit either the required filing fee or a complete, certified IFP Application, this action will be dismissed wi th no further orders from the court. ORDERED that the Clerk send petitioner a copy of the petition, Dkt. No. 1, along witha blank signature page. Petitioner must sign and date the signature page of his petition, and return it to the court by no la ter than thirty (30) days from the filing date of this Decision and Order. If petitioner fails to comply, this petition will be dismissed with no further orders from the Court. Signed by Judge Brenda K. Sannes on 10/12/16. (Notice of Compliance Deadline 11/14/2016, Case Review Deadline 12/12/2016) (served on petitioner with dkt. no. 1 and form IFP by regular mail)(alh, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

WILLIAM A. HENDERSON
Petitioner,
v.

9:16-CV-1181
(BKS/DEP)

THOMAS GRIFFIN
Respondent.

APPEARANCES:

OF COUNSEL:

WILLIAM A. HENDERSON
06-A-2008
Petitioner Pro Se
Green Haven Correctional Facility
P.O. Box 4000
Stormville, New York 12582

BRENDA K. SANNES
United States District Judge
DECISION and ORDER
I.

INTRODUCTION
Petitioner William A. Henderson filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to

28 U.S.C. § 2254. Dkt. No. 1, Petition ("Pet.").1 Petitioner is currently confined at the Green
Haven Correctional Facility. According to petitioner, he is currently serving a sentence of 30
years to life upon a conviction in Warren County Court of Murder in the Second Degree
(Felony Murder), Manslaughter in the First Degree, Burglary in the First Degree, Assault in
the Second Degree, and two counts of Burglary in the Second Degree. Pet. at 1.

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system.

The cited page numbers for the Petition refer to those generated by the Court's electronic filing

II.

FILING FEE / IFP APPLICATION
Habeas petitions filed in the district courts must be accompanied by either the

statutory filing fee ($5.00) or an application to proceeding in forma pauperis without
prepayment of the filing fee ("IFP Application"). See Rule 3, Rules Governing Section 2254
Cases in the United States District Courts. An IFP Application m ust include a certificate from
the warden or other appropriate officer of the place of confinement showing the amount of
money or securities the petitioner has in any account in his or her name at the facility. See
Rule 3(a)(2), Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts.
Petitioner submitted an IFP application along with his habeas petition. Dkt. No. 2,
Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis ("IFP Application"). Upon review, however,
the Court finds that the IFP Application submitted by petitioner was not certified by a warden
or other authorized officer as required by the rules governing Section 2254 cases. As a
result, petitioner's IFP Application is denied as incomplete.
If petitioner wants to pursue this action, he is directed to do either of the following two
things within thirty (30) days of the date of this Decision and Order: (1) pay the court's filing
fee of five dollars ($5.00); or (2) submit a complete IFP Application that has been certified
and signed by an appropriate prison official. If petitioner fails to submit either the required
filing fee of five ($5.00) dollars or a complete IFP Application, this action will be dismissed
with no further orders from the court.
III.

THE PETITION
In his petition, petitioner challenges a 2011 judgment of conviction in Warren County

Court of murder in the second degree, manslaughter in the first degree, burglary in the first

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degree, assault in the second degree and burglary in the second degree (two counts). Pet.
at 1. Petitioner states that the Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed his conviction,
and that the New York State Court of Appeals affirmed on June 30, 2015. Pet. at 2. See
People v. Henderson, 110 A.D. 3d 1353 (2013); People v. Henderson, 25 N.Y.3d 534 (2015).
Petitioner raises the following grounds for habeas relief: (1) the evidence was legally
insufficient to convict him of felony murder; (2) the trial court erred in "refusing to charge the
lesser-included offense of manslaughter in the second degree;" and (3) the trial court erred in
refusing to provide a "missing witness charge." Pet. at 5-10. For a complete statement of
petitioner's claims, reference is made to the petition.
Rule 2(c)(5) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District
Courts requires that a habeas petition be "signed under penalty of perjury by the petitioner or
by a person authorized to sign it for the petitioner under 28 U.S.C. § 2242." Petitioner has
not signed the petition in accordance with Rule 2(c)(5), and, in fact, has not included a
signature page with the petition. Dkt. No. 1.
The Clerk is directed to send petitioner a copy of his petition, along with a blank
signature page. Petitioner must sign and date the signature page of his petition, and return it
to the court by no later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Decision and Order. Failure
to comply with this order will result in the dismissal of the petition.
If petitioner complies with this Decision and Order, as set forth above, respondent will
be required to answer the petition.
IV.

CONCLUSION
WHEREFORE, it is hereby

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ORDERED that the Clerk shall serve a copy of this Decision and Order on petitioner;
and it is
ORDERED that petitioner must either (1) pay the required filing fee of five dollars
($5.00) or (2) submit a complete IFP Application that has been certified and signed by an
appropriate prison official within thirty (30) days of the date of this Decision and Order. The
Clerk is directed to provide petitioner with a blank IFP Application. If petitioner fails to submit
either the required filing fee or a complete, certified IFP Application, this action will be
dismissed with no further orders from the court; and it is
ORDERED that the Clerk send petitioner a copy of the petition, Dkt. No. 1, along with
a blank signature page. Petitioner must sign and date the signature page of his petition, and
return it to the court by no later than thirty (30) days from the filing date of this Decision and
Order. If petitioner fails to comply, this petition will be dismissed with no further orders from
the Court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 12, 2016

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