was-douprea-required-to-establish-a-reasonable-probability-of-a-total-acquittal

QUESTION PRESENTED Sheyna Douprea was convicted of first degree murder after she stabbed her boyfriend with a pocketknife while he tried to strangle her. At trial, Douprea’s counsel argued that Douprea stabbed Mooney in self defense. Under the clearly established rule in Strickland v. Washingon, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), the district court found that Douprea’s trial counsel was professionally unreasonable when she failed to investigate and present evidence that Douprea was a battered woman, that she had a long history of serious mental illness and that she suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. The question presented is: was Douprea required to establish a reasonable probability of a total acquittal, as opposed to a conviction of a lesser included offense, in order to show that she was prejudiced by trial counsel’s errors?