FAY, Circuit Judge.
Gerald Eugene Stano appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (1982). Stano asserts fourteen errors claiming violations of his rights under the fifth, sixth, eighth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution. Among the violations, Stano claims a denial of his right to state-held exculpatory evidence concerning both the guilt/innocence and sentencing phases of his trial, to present fully evidence necessary for his defense, to a reliable and unbiased jury recommendation regarding the death sentence, to effective assistance of counsel, to confront the witnesses against him, and to a fair and impartial trial. We find no violation of Stano’s constitutional rights as asserted in these claims and therefore affirm the district court’s order denying habeas relief.
1. BACKGROUND
In 1981 Gerald Stano confessed to killing a young woman in 1974, and a grand jury indicted him for first-degree murder. Sta-no was twice tried for the murder of Cathy Scharf in Brevard County Circuit Court. The first trial in September, 1983 ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The jury in the second trial returned a guilty verdict on December 2, 1983 and recommended the death sentence. Stano appealed the conviction and sentence to the Florida Supreme Court, which affirmed.1 Stano v. State, 473 So.2d 1282 (Fla.1985). The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on January 21, 1986. Stano v. Florida, 474 U.S. 1093, 106 S.Ct. 869, 88 L.Ed.2d 907 (1986).
Stano’s application for executive clemency was denied on May 22, 1986. His execution was scheduled for July 2, 1986 at 7:00 a.m. Stano then filed a postconviction relief motion on July 1, 1986, pursuant to Rule 3.850 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, which the state circuit court denied.2 The Florida Supreme Court grant[904]*904ed an initial stay of execution pending review of the state circuit court’s order, but ultimately affirmed the denial of relief on October 16, 1986 finding no error in the trial court’s determination that an eviden-tiary hearing was not required. Stano v. Florida, 497 So.2d 1185 (Fla.1986). The United States Supreme Court refused certiorari on May 18, 1987. Stano v. Florida, 481 U.S. 1059, 107 S.Ct. 2203, 95 L.Ed.2d 858 (1987). On June 4, 1987, the Governor signed Stano’s second death warrant for the murder of Cathy Scharf. Stano was then rescheduled for execution. On July 6, 1987, the Florida Supreme Court denied Stano’s motion for a five day extension of time to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Stano filed no further collateral motions for relief in the state courts.
On August 22, 1987, Stano filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus with the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Of the numerous grounds claimed in the petition, the district court concluded that only the ineffective assistance of counsel claim merited eviden-tiary development. After a limited eviden-tiary hearing, the district court denied ha-beas relief. Stano appealed the district court’s ruling to this court alleging multiple violations of his constitutional rights. We now review each of these claims in turn.
II. ANALYSIS
A. BRADY CLAIM
Stano argues that the district court erred in refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing on his claim that the prosecution suppressed material exculpatory evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). Stano asserts that the state violated his constitutional right to due process by suppressing evidence showing that: 1) A police detective, J.W. Gadberry, believed that Sta-no had falsely confessed to and was not responsible for a prior murder for which Stano had been convicted3; 2) The state colluded with defense counsel in obtaining confessions from Stano; 3) A defense counsel psychologist instructed the detectives on psychological methods of extracting confessions from Stano; 4) The detectives coerced Stano into confessing by promising him escape from the electric chair, life imprisonment, and hospitalization; and 5) Other courts had rejected Stano’s various prior confessions as unreliable. The district court, agreeing with the Florida Supreme Court, found that the petitioner’s allegations were of nothing more than unfounded improprieties and, at most, inadmissible evidence. See Stano, 497 So.2d at 1186-87. The court held that no credible or reliable record evidence supported the allegations. Additionally, the court stated that the allegations did not constitute evidence so favorable to the defense that its suppression deprived the petitioner of a fair trial. We agree.
In certain circumstances, the district court is mandated to conduct an evidentiary hearing in a habeas proceeding. Where the facts are in dispute, a federal habeas court must grant an evidentiary hearing “if the habeas applicant did not receive a full and fair evidentiary hearing in a state court, either at the time of the trial or in a collateral proceeding.” Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293, 312, 83 S.Ct. 745, 756, 9 L.Ed.2d 770 (1963); Agan v. Dugger, 835 F.2d 1337, 1338 (11th Cir.1987), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 108 S.Ct. 2846, 101 L.Ed.2d 884 (1988). However, an evidentiary hearing is not required unless [905]*905the petitioner alleges facts which, if proved, would entitle him to federal habeas relief. Townsend, 372 U.S. at 312, 83 S.Ct. at 756-57; Porter v. Wainwright, 805 F.2d 930, 933 (11th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 482 U.S. 918, 107 S.Ct. 3195, 96 L.Ed.2d 682 (1987). Thus, assuming Stano’s allegations to be true, he must state a valid claim for relief under Brady.
Brady holds “that the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution.” 373 U.S. at 87, 83 S.Ct. at 1196-97. To establish a due process violation under Brady, the petitioner must show that: 1) The prosecution suppressed evidence; 2) The evidence suppressed was favorable to the defendant or exculpatory; and 3) The evidence suppressed was material to the issues at trial. United States v. Burroughs, 830 F.2d 1574, 1577-78 (11th Cir.1987), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 108 S.Ct. 1243, 99 L.Ed.2d 442 (1988); United States v. Stewart, 820 F.2d 370, 374 (11th Cir.1987). The Supreme Court in United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985), defined the standard of materiality required to show a Brady violation. “The evidence is material only if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A ‘reasonable probability’ is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” Id. at 682, 105 S.Ct. at 3384; Burroughs, 830 F.2d at 1578.
1. Alleged Governmental Suppression of Evidence
Stano alleges that the state improperly withheld evidence that a police detective believed Stano falsely confessed to a prior murder for which he was convicted; that a conspiracy existed to obtain Sta-no’s confessions; that Stano was a pathological liar; and that Stano’s prior confessions were coerced. To analyze whether the prosecution improperly suppressed evidence, factors such as the prosecutor’s duty to search out and disclose certain evidence, as well as the availability of the evidence to the defense, must be considered. “A prosecutor is not constitutionally obligated to obtain information dehors his files for the purpose of discovering information which defense counsel can use_” Morgan v. Salamack, 735 F.2d 354, 358 (2d Cir.1984). Moreover, relief is not warranted whenever a combing of the prosecutor’s files after trial reveals evidence possibly useful to the defense but unlikely to have changed the verdict. Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 154, 92 S.Ct. 763, 766, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972). The Supreme Court has held that the prosecution is not constitutionally required to “make a complete and detailed accounting to the defense of all police investigatory work on a case.” United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 109, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 2400, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976) (quoting Moore v. Illinois, 408 U.S. 786, 795, 92 S.Ct. 2562, 2568, 33 L.Ed.2d 706 (1972)). In addition, the state has no obligation “to communicate preliminary, challenged, or speculative information.” Agurs, 427 U.S. at 109 n. 16, 96 S.Ct. at 2400 n. 16 (quoting Giles v. Maryland, 386 U.S. 66, 98, 87 S.Ct. 793, 809, 17 L.Ed.2d 737 (1967) (Fortas, J. concurring)).
Detective Gadberry’s difference of opinion with other detectives, his superiors, and the state attorney regarding Stano’s responsibility for a prior murder, is not the type of evidence that a prosecuting attorney is constitutionally required to communicate to the defense. Such preliminary police investigatory work, which stands challenged by other members of the department and which is speculative at best, need not be revealed. This evidence was equally available to the defense, as well as to the prosecution, since Detective Gadberry made no secret of his opinion among his peers. See Appendix 16, p. 6. Thus, the prosecution did not suppress this evidence.
Stano’s other allegations of suppression fail to satisfy this prong of Brady for the same reason. Allegations of a conspiracy to obtain confessions and of coer[906]*906cion in other cases do not constitute the type of evidence the state must investigate and disclose, particularly where the prior confessions and pleas resulted in valid, final convictions. The state owes no duty to the defense to explore and undermine the validity of prior final convictions. The prosecutor may rely on the petitioner’s guilty pleas in other cases, which result in convictions subject to independent appellate review, as waiving most non-jurisdictional challenges to the convictions’ constitutionality. See McCoy v. Wainwright, 804 F.2d 1196, 1198 (11th Cir.1986). Although a challenge to the voluntary and knowing nature of a guilty plea may be raised on direct appeal or collateral attack of that conviction id., the validity of a guilty plea in one case may rarely be challenged in the collateral attack of another. Regarding the remaining allegations, the record reflects that the defense was in possession of evidence prior to trial that other jurisdictions considered Stano’s confessions unreliable and declined to prosecute based on them, and that Stano was a pathological liar.4 Consequently, since the defense was either not constitutionally entitled to the evidence or it had equal access to the material, Stano’s allegations fail to establish a Brady violation under the first step of inquiry; that the state suppressed evidence.
2. Evidence Favorable to the Petitioner
Assuming however, that the state did indeed suppress some evidence, the second prong of the Brady analysis requires that the evidence be favorable to the petitioner. From our consideration of the record, we agree with the district court that the alleged exculpatory evidence is not evidence favorable to the accused. To be favorable here, the evidence first must be admissible and subject to consideration by the trier of fact. In this case, Detective Gadberry allegedly would have testified regarding his reservations about Stano’s guilt in another case. Detective Gadber-ry’s proposed statement regarding a wholly separate murder for which Stano has been convicted, like Detective Kappel’s proffered testimony concerning other cases, would not be admissible at any stage of this homicide proceeding. See Argument B, infra. The detective’s differing opinion about a case not at issue here is irrelevant and speculative as to the determination of Sta-no’s guilt or sentence in the Scharf murder. The same reasoning applies to the evidence dealing with the actions of other jurisdictions. The refusals by other jurisdictions to prosecute Stano in no way creates an inference that this case was erroneously prosecuted or that Stano’s Scharf confession is unreliable. Thus, such inadmissible evidence can hardly be deemed exculpatory.
Similarly, Stano’s allegations that his pri- or confessions were coerced and the result of a conspiracy involving collusion of the state and defense counsel establish no basis for relief. If we accept Stano’s allegations as true, the fact that coercive techniques were used in previous cases to elicit confessions does not create an inference that the same coercion was applied in this case. The evidence would be inadmissible in considering Stano’s guilt or sentence for the Scharf murder. We cannot draw the conclusion that coercion exists here, especially when the record reflects that Stano’s confessions regarding Scharf were made voluntarily and knowingly. See Trial Transcript, Advanced Appendix Vol. 3, A, p. 867-68, 969-71, 979. Because this evidence would not establish such an inference, and indeed would not even be a proper consideration for the factfinder, it is not exculpato[907]*907ry. The requested evidence simply is not Brady material.
We stress that procedurally, the collateral attack in this case of Stano’s prior confessions and guilty pleas is improper. The proper forum for presenting the issues exists in the courts where those cases can be directly or collaterally challenged, not in a habeas proceeding for a separate case. A need for finality and certainty exists regarding the convictions and judgments of the courts. According to the United States Supreme Court, “the concern with finality served by the limitation on collateral attack has special force with respect to convictions based on guilty pleas.” United v. Timmreck, 441 U.S. 780, 784, 99 S.Ct. 2085, 2087, 60 L.Ed.2d 634 (1979) (footnote omitted). The petitioner seeks to place a burden on this court which would disrupt the finality of prior judgments. Were this allowed, the parties and the courts would be subject to the risk of inconsistent results and interminable litigation. We decline to permit such a result.
3. Materiality
The final prong under Brady requires a showing that a reasonable probability exists that had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Were Stano able to satisfy the first two prongs of the analysis, his allegations would fail under this inquiry.
Our review of the record indicates that even if the evidence had been admissible, and the defense had used Detective Gad-berry’s statement, the outcome of the case nevertheless would not have changed. Gadberry’s statement refers to his involvement with Stano not on the Scharf murder, but on a wholly separate case. He was not even present during segments of the Stano interrogation regarding the prior homicide. See Appendix, 16 p. 2. Contrary to Gad-berry’s assertion that another detective’s psychological influence pressured Stano into confessing, Stano confessed numerous times to multiple homicides independent of this detective’s influence, including confessing at his own sentencing proceeding in this case. See Advanced Appendix Yol. 4, B, p. 1825-26. Moreover, the record discloses that Stano’s detailed confessions rebut Gadberry’s opinion that Stano was vague in describing the murder. Thus, the record clearly refutes Gadberry’s evaluation of Stano.
As for the remaining allegations of coercion and conspiracy, the record indicates that Stano’s confessions were freely and voluntarily given. The petitioner alleges no concrete instances of coercion in the obtaining of the Scharf confessions, but only a long history of a psychologically pressured relationship between Stano and various detectives and defense team members in unrelated cases. The speculative nature of these assertions does not meet the requisite level of materiality under Brady and Bagley, especially when the record contains several instances of reliable Scharf confessions, including Clarence Zacke’s testimony that Stano confessed to him in prison. See Trial Transcript, Advanced Appendix Vol. 3, A, pp. 893-96.
Neither would the outcome of the case likely have changed had the defense utilized the alleged exculpatory evidence at sentencing. Had the defense attacked the conviction to which Detective Gadberry’s statement related, several other prior convictions remained, and Stano himself recon-fessed to eight murders while on the stand at his sentencing hearing. See Advanced Appendix Vol. 4, B, p. 1829. Stano therefore, has failed to state allegations sufficient to set out a constitutional violation under Brady. The prosecution did not improperly suppress evidence favorable to the petitioner which would have materially altered the outcome of the case. No due process claim is cognizable under Brady which would entitle Stano to an evidentiary hearing. Thus, the district court properly denied the petitioner’s request for relief.
B. RESTRICTION OF EVIDENCE CLAIM
Stano claims that the trial court erred in restricting his presentation of evidence at both the guilt/innocence and sentencing phases of trial. He seeks reversal [908]*908of his conviction, or at a minimum, reversal of his death sentence. Stano argues that the evidence that he falsely confessed to other murders which he did not commit, and the testimony of a psychiatrist that mentally ill people often confess to crimes which they do not commit and that Stano may be such a person, was exculpatory and should have been admitted by the trial court. Stano asserts that his sixth, eighth and fourteenth amendment rights to establish a defense and prove the unreliability of his own confessions were violated by the trial court’s exclusionary ruling, and thus, his conviction should be reversed. The district court denied habeas relief on this ground and found that the evidence was both irrelevant and speculative regarding the murder of Cathy Scharf. We agree.
As the district court noted, for this claim to be cognizable the trial court’s evidentiary ruling must have deprived the habeas petitioner of fundamental fairness. Osborne v. Wainwright, 720 F.2d 1237, 1238-39 (11th Cir.1983). Generally, “a federal court in a habeas corpus case will not review the trial court’s actions in the admission of evidence.” Nettles v. Wainwright, 677 F.2d 410, 414 (5th Cir. Unit B 1982) (citations omitted). However, when a constitutional question is presented, the federal court will inquire into the nature of the evidentiary ruling to determine whether the alleged error denied the petitioner a fundamentally fair criminal trial. Id. at 414-15; Shaw v. Boney, 695 F.2d 528, 530 (11th Cir.1983).
The disputed evidence must be material, and rise to the level “of a crucial, critical, highly significant factor.” Smith v. Wainwright, 741 F.2d 1248, 1258 (11th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1087, 105 S.Ct. 1853, 85 L.Ed.2d 150 (1985) (quoting Jameson v. Wainwright, 719 F.2d 1125, 1127 (11th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 975, 104 S.Ct. 2355, 80 L.Ed.2d 827 (1984)). Unless the evidence is critical or significant enough to have denied the petitioner a fair trial, he is not entitled to relief. For example, in Smith, the defendant was tried for first degree murder. During the course of the proceedings, the trial judge admitted testimony regarding the facts of a second murder for which the defendant was charged, but not on trial. The defendant objected to the admission of the narrative regarding the second murder and claimed that the evidence was inflammatory, prejudicial and inadmissible. On appeal from the denial of habeas relief, this court upheld the trial court’s evidentiary ruling admitting the testimony and found that the petitioner failed to establish a violation of fundamental fairness. Smith, 741 F.2d at 1258. Although we recognized that the admissibility of such evidence presented a close state law question, under the materiality test, evidence concerning the second murder did not violate the petitioner’s constitutional rights. Id. Likewise, Stano’s challenge to the trial court’s evidentiary ruling merits no habeas relief in this appeal. The defense asserts that its theory of the case was to establish Stano as a liar, not a murderer. Stano argues that the trial judge excluded evidence material to this defense at the guilt/innocence phase of the trial, and material to mitigation at sentencing. The analysis in this case concerning an exclusionary ruling as compared with that in the Smith case dealing with an admissibility ruling remains the same; whether the disputed evidence was material and deprived the petitioner of fundamental fairness.
The trial court here correctly ruled that the evidence was not probative, was irrelevant and was inadmissible at the guilt/innocence phase since it did not indicate that Stano’s confession in the Scharf case was false or tainted. Evidence that Stano falsely confessed to other murders he did not commit or for which he was not charged does not reflect that his confession regarding the murder of Cathy Scharf was also false. The petitioner’s reliance on the eases cited in his brief is misplaced. Those cases deal with a defendant’s right to compel presentation of relevant, material, reliable, and critical testimony; not irrelevant, speculative and conjectural testimony as here. See Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 87 S.Ct. 1920, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967) (eyewitness testimony); Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 [909]*909L.Ed.2d 297 (1973) (critical evidence bearing substantial assurances of trustworthiness regarding another individual’s confessions to the same crime for which the defendant is on trial); Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683, 106 S.Ct. 2142, 90 L.Ed.2d 636 (1986) (evidence regarding the circumstances under which the confession at issue was secured).
Moreover, the proffered testimony of Dr. Stern, a psychiatrist, that people often confess to crimes which they did not commit constitutes mere speculation in connection with Gerald Stano.5 Since the evidence was neither relevant nor probative regarding Stano’s guilt or innocence for the murder of Cathy Scharf, it did not rise to the level of a “crucial, critical, highly significant factor” constitutionally necessitating its admission under a fundamental fairness inquiry. Consequently, its exclusion did not deny Stano a fair trial.
The defense also argues that Stano was prohibited from presenting the evidence in mitigation at the sentencing phase of his trial due to the trial court’s exclusionary ruling. We note that a defendant must be permitted to introduce any mitigating evidence at sentencing in a capital case if the evidence relates to the defendant’s character, record or the circumstances of his offense. Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U.S. 1, 106 S.Ct. 1669, 90 L.Ed.2d 1 (1986); Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 102 S.Ct. 869, 71 L.Ed.2d 1 (1982); Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 98 S.Ct. 2954, 57 L.Ed.2d 973 (1978). However, a trial judge still retains the discretion to exclude irrelevant, nonprobative evidence. Lockett, Id. at 604 n. 12, 98 S.Ct. at 2965 n. 12; Fla.Stat. § 921.141(1) (1985). Conjectural evidence, such as that sought to be introduced by Stano, should not play any role in the capital jury’s sentencing determination. See California v. Brown, 479 U.S. 538, 542, 107 S.Ct. 837, 840, 93 L.Ed.2d 934 (1987). We conclude that the trial judge acted within his discretion in finding the evidence irrelevant and in precluding its introduction at sentencing. No adverse constitutional implications arose from the exclusion of the evidence.6 Therefore, we affirm the district court’s denial of habeas relief on this claim.
C. CALDWELL CLAIM
In this claim, Stano alleges that the prosecution misinformed the jury of its sentencing responsibility in violation of Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 86 L.Ed.2d 231 (1985). The defense asserts that the prosecution improperly elicited testimony by the petitioner on cross-examination at sentencing, that Stano planned to attack all his prior convictions and sentences on grounds of ineffectiveness of counsel. See Advanced Appendix Vol. 4, B, p. 1836-37. Additionally, the prosecutor argued during closing argument that the jury needed to return one appeal-proof death penalty since it was likely that the petitioner’s prior two death sentences would be reversed. Id. at 1279. Stano claims that he was deprived of a fundamentally fair sentencing proceeding as required by the eighth amendment, and therefore a new sentencing proceeding is necessary. [910]*910The district court found this claim merit-less and held that the prosecutor’s comments did not diminish the jury’s sense of responsibility. We affirm.
Caldwell states “that it is constitutionally impermissible to rest a death sentence on a determination made by a sentencer who has been led to believe that the responsibility for determining the appropriateness of the defendant’s death rests elsewhere.” 472 U.S. at 328-29, 105 S.Ct. at 2639. In Caldwell, the prosecutor told the jury that its decision was not final, but that it was reviewable. Id. at 325, 105 S.Ct. at 2637-38. The state told the jury that its decision was automatically subject to review in an effort to minimize its sense of the importance of its role.7 Id. The Supreme Court found that the comments deprived the defendant of a sentencing determination which rested on the jury’s awareness of its awesome responsibility. Id. at 341, 105 S.Ct. at 2646.
As the district court determined, Caldwell is inapplicable to the facts of this case. The state at sentencing attempted to show that Stano’s confessions were motivated by a strong desire to avoid the death penalty rather than a need to gain psychiatric help. The prosecution’s strategy was to rebut the defense’s claim that the death penalty would be meaningless and cumulative since Stano had already received two other death sentences. Moreover, the state wished to show that Stano continued to kill despite psychiatric treatment.
The United States Supreme Court set out the standard regarding improper prosecu-torial comment in Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168, 106 S.Ct. 2464, 91 L.Ed.2d 144 (1986). Inquiry must be centered on “whether the prosecutors’ comments ‘so infected the trial with unfairness as to make the resulting conviction a denial of due process.’ ” Id. at 181, 106 S.Ct. at 2472 (citation omitted). This court reviewed Caldwell in light of Florida’s statutory sentencing scheme in Adams v. Wainwright, 804 F.2d 1526 (11th Cir.1986), modified on reh'g on other grounds, 816 F.2d 1493 (11th Cir.1987), cert. granted, Dugger v. Adams, — U.S. —, 108 S.Ct. 1106, 99 L.Ed.2d 267 (1988). In Adams, we held that a trial judge’s repeated instruction that the court was not bound by the jury’s recommendation, that no responsibility for the defendant's death rested upon the jury’s shoulders, and that the jury was merely an advisory group whose recommendation the court could readily reject created an impermissible likelihood that the sentence imposed was unreliable. Id. at 1528-29.
Similarly, in Mann v. Dugger, 844 F.2d 1446 (11th Cir.1988) (en banc) we held that the prosecutor and trial court misled the jury as to its critical role in sentencing, and minimized the jury’s sense of responsibility by allowing repeated comments stressing that the ultimate responsibility for the death sentence rested with the court, and that the jury’s role was merely advisory. Id. at 1457-58. However, in Harich v. Dugger, 844 F.2d 1464 (11th Cir.1988) (en banc), we held that certain prosecutorial and judicial comments did not minimize the jury’s sense of its role in sentencing. In Harich, the trial judge informed the jury on several occasions that the final decision regarding sentencing is for the court to decide. Also, the prosecutor at voir dire stated that the jury's sentencing decision was a recommendation and that the court decides the actual punishment. Unlike in Mann however, we stated that “[njeither the prosecutor nor the trial judge implied that the jury’s recommendation was superfluous. The fact that the jury knew they were making a recommendation did not detract from the importance of their decision.” Id. at 1475. Moreover, this court explained that comments which accurately [911]*911state the respective functions of the judge and jury are permitted so long as the importance of the jury’s role is sufficiently emphasized. Id. We stressed that review will be on a case by case basis.
We agree with the district court that the jury’s role in this matter was not diminished by the prosecutor’s comments. Our review of the record indicates that this trial judge made no statement which would diminish the jury’s perception of its important responsibility. The prosecutor’s comments actually made the jury more aware of its central role in recommending the death sentence. The prosecutor emphasized that it was the jury’s responsibility to hold the petitioner accountable for his crime and that they were the ones needed to return an appeal-proof sentence. See Advanced Appendix Vol. 4, B, p. 1279-80. We find that these comments did not operate to deprive Stano of a reliable, carefully determined sentence from a jury fully aware of its critical sentencing responsibility. Consequently, the district court properly denied Stano a new sentencing proceeding.
D. INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL CLAIMS
Stano next contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in several respects in the presentation of his defense at both the guilt/innocence and sentencing phases of his trial. First, Stano claims that the district court erred in denying him a full and fair evidentiary hearing on this issue. Second, Stano alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge all of the confessions introduced at guilt/innocence and for failing to attack all of Stano’s previous convictions and sentences introduced at sentencing. Finally, Stano argues that his counsel was ineffective for failing to cross-examine and impeach adequately a key state witness, to object to the testimony of two psychiatrists regarding Stano’s competency, and to ensure that Stano received competent mental health assistance at trial.
The district court, after an exhaustive analysis of this issue, concluded that Sta-no’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims were procedurally defaulted under Wainwright v. Sykes, 438 U.S. 72, 97 S.Ct. 2497, 53 L.Ed.2d 594 (1977) (procedural default will bar federal habeas review unless the petitioner can show cause for the default and actual prejudice from the alleged constitutional violations). However, in an abundance of caution, the district court held an evidentiary hearing to develop a more complete factual record concerning the actions of Stano’s counsel. Since the district court ultimately considered the merits of this claim, we now examine Sta-no’s contentions as well.
The United States Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), delineated a two-pronged standard for evaluating ineffective assistance of counsel claims:
First, the defendant must show that counsel’s performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the ‘counsel’ guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel’s errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable.
Id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064.
Strickland requires the petitioner to show that counsel’s alleged acts or omissions, upon consideration of all the circumstances, fell outside the wide range of professionally competent assistance. Id. at 690, 104 S.Ct. at 2066; Harich, 844 F.2d at 1469. There is a strong presumption that counsel provided effective assistance. 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065-66. The court will not find counsel ineffective if their approach to a case was reasonable. 844 F.2d at 1469.
The test for prejudice involves considerations similar to those under Brady; whether “there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to under[912]*912mine confidence in the outcome.” 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. at 2068. We note that effective counsel is not errorless counsel, and hindsight should play little role in measuring ineffectiveness. Solomon v. Kemp, 735 F.2d 395, 402 (11th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1181, 105 S.Ct. 940, 83 L.Ed.2d 952 (1985); Proffitt v. Wainwright, 685 F.2d 1227, 1247 (11th Cir.1982), modified, 706 F.2d 311 (11th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1002, 104 S.Ct. 508, 78 L.Ed.2d 697 (1983).
1. Evidentiary Hearing
Under the Strickland standard, our review of the record indicates that the district court afforded Stano a full and fair evidentiary hearing on the ineffectiveness claims. The court heard testimony on August 24 and 25, 1987 from two witnesses who could directly address the ineffectiveness issue; Stano’s trial counsel, Mr. Russo and Mr. Friedland. (R. 6, p. 104-313; R. 7, pp. 326-414). The witnesses testified regarding their trial tactics and strategy, and the reasonableness of their performance. The state proffered testimony concerning the proper standard of attorney conduct required under the circumstance of this case. Thus, the district court developed sufficient facts at the evidentiary hearing to afford Stano a fair hearing, to render judgment on the claim, and to provide an adequate record for review in this court.
2. Challenges to Confessions
Stano’s claim of ineffectiveness of counsel for failing to challenge both the prior confessions and convictions used in aggravation at sentencing, and the Scharf confessions used at guilt/innocence and sentencing, is without merit. Defense attorney Russo testified that procedurally, he did not know how he could have attacked the prior convictions and litigated them within the time frame of the trial, and that he had never heard of defense counsel collaterally attacking convictions used in aggravation. (R. 7, p. 403-06). Mr. Russo felt that his resources were better spent representing Stano at trial than collaterally attacking other convictions of which he had no indication were involuntary. Id. at 407. He further testified that his strategy would not have involved collaterally attacking the prior life convictions when the result of the challenges could mean death sentences. Id.
Trial counsel also testified at the eviden-tiary hearing regarding the Scharf confessions. Mr. Russo stated that it would not have been feasible to attack Stano’s confessions since he had confessed to so many people for the murder of Cathy Scharf in direct contravention of counsel’s advice.8 Id. at 360. Additionally, Mr. Russo and Mr. Friedland both testified that the defense’s strategy at guilt/innocence was to admit all the Scharf confessions to emphasize the inconsistencies among them and prove that Stano did not commit the murder, but rather, falsely confessed to it. Id. at 272-74, 355-56. Trial counsel stated that Stano’s confession at sentencing to a murder for which he was previously not convicted, but which was not Cathy Scharf, fit into the defense’s strategy that Stano was a false confessor. Id. at 391.
After careful consideration of the record, we conclude that counsel’s performance in their investigation of the facts, consideration of the law, securing of evidence and conduct at trial, was competent. The approach taken by the defense was one which falls well within the objective yardstick that we apply when considering the question of ineffectiveness of counsel. “[Strategic choices made after thorough investigation of law and facts relevant to plausible options are virtually unchallengeable.” Sinclair v. Wainwright, 814 F.2d 1516, 1519 (11th Cir.1987) (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. at 2066). Competent attorneys completely informed [913]*913of the circumstances and law of this case could well have taken action identical to counsel here.
Even if we were to find that competent counsel would not have taken the approach defense counsel used in this case, the petitioner cannot establish the second prong of Strickland by showing any prejudice from counsel’s alleged errors. No reasonable probability exists that but for defense counsel’s alleged omissions, the result of the proceeding would have been different. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. at 2068.
Had the six prior convictions at sentencing been successfully challenged and suppressed as aggravating circumstances, three other aggravating factors remained to support a jury recommendation of death: 1) The murder was committed while Stano was engaged in the commission of a kidnapping; 2) The murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel; and 3) The murder was cold, calculated and premeditated without any pretense of moral or legal justification. When challenging the imposition of capital punishment, the petitioner must show that “there is a reasonable probability that, absent the errors, ... the balance of aggravating and mitigating circumstances did not warrant death.” Id. at 695, 104 S.Ct. at 2069. We cannot say that the sheer number of prior convictions influenced the jury to recommend a death sentence. Ample record evidence supports a jury recommendation of death based on the circumstances of the Scharf murder alone, especially absent mitigating circumstances. Stano alleges no error in the remaining aggravating circumstances found by the jury. Thus, even if the prior convictions were omitted from the sentencing hearing, the petitioner has shown no reasonable probability that the outcome of the case would have changed.
The same reasoning applies to the allegations concerning the Scharf confessions. If Stano had shown that trial counsel erred by failing to attack his first confession to Detective Crow in March, 1981, the subsequent confessions to Investigator Manis in August, 1982 would still be admissible. Likewise, if those confessions were also suppressed, the testimony of Clarence Zacke in July, 1983 still remained. Finally, Stano voluntarily reconfessed in September, 1983, to a psychologist, Dr. Mussen-den, who examined him pursuant to an order on defense motion. Assuming that an attorney rendered ineffective assistance in failing to present additional argument for suppression of the initial confession, the defendant was not prejudiced where the second confession occurred in entirely different surroundings and would have been admissible. See Elledge v. Dugger, 823 F.2d 1439, 1443-44 (11th Cir.1987). Consequently, this claim fails under Strickland.
3. Cross-examination of State Witness
Stano alleges that his counsel was ineffective for failing to cross-examine and impeach adequately Clarence Zacke, a jail inmate to whom Stano had confessed the Scharf murder. We find that under Strickland, this claim lacks merit. The jury and trial judge were aware that Zacke was an untrustworthy witness. Trial counsel brought out that Zacke met Stano while both were in jail, see Advanced Appendix Vol. 3, A, p. 898, and that Zacke was a five-time convicted felon. Id. at 905. Zacke testified that he traded his testimony for a reduced sentence, return of property, and a prison transfer. Id. at 906-07. Defense counsel elicited testimony that Zacke did not come forward with his testimony until after Stano’s first mistrial, and that he knew the state’s case was weak. Id. at 910-11. Counsel also brought out that Zacke watched the first trial on the news every night and that his account of the murder did not match Stano’s exactly. Id. at 912-13, 905. Finally, the jury and trial judge learned, through the testimony of other witnesses, that doubt existed whether Zacke even had the opportunity to talk with Stano. Id. at 942. Accordingly, the trial counsel’s approach to handling this witness was reasonable and competent as measured by Strickland.
[914]*9144. Psychiatric Testimony
Stano claims that his counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the testimony of two court-appointed psychiatrists that Stano was sane, competent and not entitled to the statutory mitigating circumstance of “extreme mental and emotional disturbance” and “substantially impaired.” See Fla.Stat. § 921.141(6)(b) and (f). We find that this testimony, presented at the sentencing phase of the trial, did not violate Stano’s constitutional rights under the fifth, sixth, eighth and fourteenth amendments.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that the admission of findings from a psychiatric examination of the defendant, proffered by the state during the guilt phase of a trial to rebut psychiatric evidence presented by the defendant, did not violate the defendant’s constitutional rights where the prosecution and defense had jointly requested the examination, and where the defendant had attempted to establish a “mental status” defense. Buchanan v. Kentucky, 483 U.S. 402, 423-24, 107 S.Ct. 2906, 2918, 97 L.Ed.2d 336 (1987). In Buchanan, the Supreme Court stated that the prosecution may rebut the defense’s presentation of psychiatric evidence with evidence from the reports of the examination requested by the defense. Id. In this case, Stano placed his mental status at issue in mitigation at sentencing, and relied on the psychological report of Dr. McMillan, the defense’s expert. The state, therefore, could properly offer the results of the psychological reports the defense itself requested. In light of this, defense counsel’s failure to object to this testimony was a correct decision. Thus, under Strickland, counsel rendered reasonably effective assistance.
5. Mental Health Assistance
Stano alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to ensure that he received competent mental health assistance at the guilt/innocence and sentencing phases of trial. Stano relies on Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985) as establishing his right of access to a psychiatrist when the state indicates that it will present evidence of the defendant’s future dangerousness as an aggravating factor at sentencing. Stano claims that Dr. McMillan was incompetent, failed to accurately utilize one of the psychological tests given to the petitioner, and erroneously compared Stano’s psychological profile with those of mass murderers.
Upon review of the record, we conclude that Stano has failed to make a colorable showing of ineffective assistance of counsel on this issue under Strickland. Defense counsel ensured that Stano was examined by several court-appointed psychiatric experts at various stages of the proceedings. One of the experts, Dr. McMillan, interviewed and evaluated the petitioner in depth, explored his life history, and psychologically tested Stano. See Advanced Appendix Vol. 7, G, p. 92. Dr. McMillan found that Stano had suffered gross emotional and physical neglect as a child, had abnormal and antisocial behavior, suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, committed acts which were the product of mental disease or defect, and exhibited characteristics of a neurologically impaired personality. Id. In addition, defense counsel procured a court order permitting Stano to undergo a CAT scan to test for neurological damage.
Trial counsel’s actions concerning Sta-no’s mental health assistance were reasonable and competent. The psychiatric experts involved in the case adequately assisted in the defense. An indigent defendant has no “constitutional right to choose a psychiatrist of his personal liking or to receive funds to hire his own.” Ake, 470 U.S. at 83, 105 S.Ct. at 1096. Although Dr. McMillan was appointed by the court and was not Stano’s personal choice, the record reveals no evidence supporting Stano’s allegation of incompetence. Stano’s claim therefore, fails under Strickland.
E. REMAINING CLAIMS
Stano also asserts the following claims: 1) The trial court improperly admitted, at Stano’s second trial, the testimony of the victim’s parents given in the prior Stano [915]*915mistrial; 2) The trial court erred in permitting the court clerk to testify, through the victim’s parents’ testimony, as to the authenticity of certain exhibits; 3) The trial court improperly allowed the state’s dental expert to testify beyond his expertise regarding identification of the victim; and 4) The trial court erred in permitting specific evidence regarding Stano’s prior convictions as aggravation at sentencing. We find that each of these rulings by the trial judge was proper, and did not deprive the petitioner of a fundamentally fair trial. Shaw v. Boney, 695 F.2d 528, 530 (11th Cir.1983).
Further, Stano claims that the district court erred in denying an evidentiary hearing on whether the state’s witness, Clarence Zacke, was a state agent. We agree with the district court that this claim has no basis in the record, is highly speculative, and that no evidentiary hearing was required. Finally, Stano asserts the district court erred in finding procedural default on the ineffective assistance of counsel claims. Because we agree with the district court that the underlying substantive claims are without merit, we need not reach the procedural issue.
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the district court’s denial of habeas relief.