Burgess was convicted of murdering his girlfriend and her two children. The jury voted to sentence Burgess to life without parole, but the judge set aside the jury's recommendation and sentenced Burgess to death. The circuit court denied Burgess' petition for post-conviction relief, and Burgess appealed.

Burgess' petition related primarily to claims of ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial and at sentencing. Among other things, Burgess claimed that his counsel should have called an expert witness on FAS, and should have obtained a neuropsychological assessment to investigate possible organic brain impairment. The circuit court concluded, and the appellate court agreed, that Burgess' counsel conducted a diligent investigation and introduced evidence in support of mitigation, and Burgess' claim was therefore denied.

Interestingly, the circuit court based its holding in part on the fact that the jury voted in favor of life imprisonment, implying that counsel's penalty-phase strategy was therefore successful. This apparently disregards the impact additional testimony on FAS or other mitigating factors may have had on the trial judge's decision to set aside the jury's recommendation and impose the death penalty.