The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has repeatedly made it clear that a state trial court judge's failure to instruct on a lesser-included offense is not a federal constitutional matter. Creel v. Johnson, 162 F.3d 385, 390 (5th Cir. 1998); Valles v. Lynaugh, 835 F.2d 126, 127 (5th Cir. 1988); Alexander v. McCotter, 775 F.2d 595, 601 (5th Cir. 1985); Easter v. Estelle, 609 F.2d 756, 758 (5th Cir. 1980).
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