Capital Defense Weekly 

Leading off this edition is the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in Commonwealth v. Bradley Martin.  During the course of ordering a new penalty phase trial, the Martin Court holds trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present mental health mitigation evidence. Mr. Martin "did not want to discuss his mental health problems with counsel." "Defendant's parents provided counsel," however, "with a list of institutions and psychologists who had provided treatment to Defendant .. . . a letter written by them to Judge Haas indicating that Defendant sustained  psychological damage from the abuse of [his uncle] and a Presentence Investigation Report indicating that Defendant has been treated for mental issues."  Counsel did nothing with the materials.  The mere "fact that Defendant did not want to discuss his mental history with counsel did not render counsel's failure to pursue such evidence reasonable."

In David Scott Detrich v. Ryan the Ninth Circuit granted relief on trial counsel's representation of  Mr. Detrich at the penalty phase of the state court proceedings. "Trial counsel did not use a expert mitigation investigator: and the investigator used was unqualified to do a life history. His investigation was minimal at best. No defense mental health expert was used nor defense evidence presented. Counsel failed to investigate and present the extensive mental health history. This ineffectiveness was prejudicial." [via John Sands @ Ninth Circuit Blog] As the Arizona Capital Representation Project notes,  "Mr. Detrich was represented by the Project’s own Jen Bedier, as well as Greg Kuykendall . . .. Notably, Mr. Detrich’s sentencing counsel fulfilled his duty under the ABA Guidelines to facilitate the work of habeas counsel, which undoubtedly played an important role in this resolution."

In the news, an Oklahoma federal District Court Judge Stephen P. Friot stayed the scheduled execution date of Jeffrey David Matthews. Earlier in the week counsel for Mr. Matthews discovered the state possessed no available stocks of sodium thiopental. Oklahoma DOC wanted to replace the sodium thiopental in its executionprotocol with methohexital sodium. The district court granted the stay as methohexital sodium has never been used in an execution protocol and there is no proof it is a humane alternative to sodium thiopental.

Elsewhere, "A report released today by two former FBI agents, commissioned to review North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation laboratory in the wake of the Greg Taylor exoneration, finds that the convictions of three people executed in North Carolina were based in part on forensic reports and testimony that were, to be kind, misleading.  The report is available online here.The executed persons identified in the report are Desmond Carter (report confirmed the presence of blood on an item when the test was in fact negative), John Rose (report stated that there were chemical indications for the presence of blood and no further tests were done when in fact further tests were done and were negative), and Timothy Keel (report stated that blood test was inconclusive when in fact subsequent tests were negative)." [via Death Watch North CarolinaDPIC also has more.

In addition to the indefatigable work of Steve Hall, this edition relies heavily on the work of several legal bloggers as, such as AFPD John Sands andProf.  Ben Trachtenberg, for expert commentary to provide detail that likely would have simply missed.  As always thanks for reading.  - karl

Pending Executions
September
2 Holly Wood* (Ala)
9 Holly Wood* (Ala)
10 Cal Brown* (Wash)
15 Kevin Keith* (Ohio)
23 Teresa Lewis* (Va)

October             
6    Michael Benge* (Ohio)
14  Gayland Bradford* (Tex)
14  Donald Wackerly II* (Okla)
16  Jeffrey Matthews* (Okla)
20  Roderick Nunley* (Mo)
21  Larry Wooten* (Tex)

Stays
August
17 Jeffrey Matthews* (Okla)

Executions

August
17 Peter Cantu* (Tex)
* "serious" execution date / (s) stay believed likely / (V) Volunteer / note this list may erroneously exclude some dates [via DPIC]

Week of August 16,  2010:  In Favor of the Accused or Condemned (initial list) 
  • David Scott Detrich v. Ryan, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17397 (9th Cir 8/20/2010)  Mr. "Detrich contends that Higgins devoted unreasonably little time to penalty phase preparations, failed to seek reasonably available mitigating evidence, and unreasonably failed to enlist the assistance of a mental health expert. We agree." A  MemOp, filed separately and unpublished, denied relief on remaining claims; "alleged violations of his constitutional rights to a fair trial, an impartial jury, and due process during the guilt phase of his trial, when the trial court (1) excused jurors based on their opposition to the death penalty, and (2) refused to allow voir dire on jurors’ racial biases." John Sands at the Ninth Circuit Blog has more.
  • Commonwealth v. Bradley Martin, 2010 Pa. LEXIS 1806 (Penn 8/17/2010) Trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present mental health mitigation evidence. "[W]hile Defendant did not want to discuss his mental health problems with counsel, Defendant's parents provided counsel with a list of institutions and psychologists who had provided treatment to Defendant. In addition, Defendant's parents provided counsel with a letter written by them to Judge Haas indicating that Defendant sustained  psychological damage from the abuse of [his uncle] and a Presentence Investigation Report indicating that Defendant has been treated for mental issues. Therefore, the fact that Defendant did not want to discuss his mental history with counsel did not render counsel's failure to pursue such evidence reasonable, as Defendant's parents gave counsel information clearly indicating that Defendant had mental health issues in his past. Upon careful review, it is clear that the PCRA court's factual finding that Martin never directed trial counsel to refrain from investigating or presenting expert psychiatric testimony is supported by the record. " 
  • Steven Edward Crittenden v. Ayers, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17401 (9th Cir 8/20/2010)  "The 9th ordered a remand for a hearing on a Batson issue. At trial, the state struck the only African American prospective juror, supposedly for a reluctance to impose death. The prosecutor, however, kept other jurors that expressed the same qualifications when it came to the death penalty. Under Batson, the petitioner has to have presented a prima facie case, which he did; and the State has to come forth with a race-neutral explanation. If time has passed, and memories faded, the state can produce reasons that are race neutral based on the record and circumstantial evidence. At the third step, a court has to assess whether the strike was "motivated in substantial part" by race." [via John Sands @ Ninth Circuit Blog has more.]Remaining claims denied relief: "[A] whether Crittenden’s trial counsel were constitutionally ineffective; [B] whether the shackling of Crittenden during trial was objectively unreasonable; and [C] whether a juror’s consultation of the Bible at home and her discussion of a biblical passage with other jurors during penalty-phase deliberations constituted prejudicial juror misconduct." John Sands at the Ninth Circuit Blog has more.
Week of August 16,  2010:  In Favor of the Prosecution or Warden (initial list)
  • Rodney Gray v. Epps, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17273 (5th Cir 8/18/2010)  Mr. "Gray contends that his counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence during the sentencing phase of trial. Concluding that the state court's adjudication of  [Mr.]Gray's claims was not an unreasonable application of clearly established Federal law," relief denied.  "Inmate failed to establish Sixth Amendment ineffective assistance based on counsel's failure to investigate and present certain mitigating evidence during sentencing phase of capital murder trial because, when weighed against aggravating evidence, presentation of new mitigating evidence probably would not have resulted in sentence less than death." [via LexisOne]
  • Milton Wunzael Mathi v. Thaler, No. 08-70021(5th Cir 8/20/2010) Atkins claim denied on procedural grounds. "We hold that [Mr.] Mathis’s successive federal habeas petition did not meet the standard under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(2)(A) and therefore must be dismissed. Even if the petition met the standard, we hold that the petition was time-barred under AEDPA’s statute of limitations, and the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied equitable tolling."
  • Michael Bell v. Fla. AG, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17112 (11th Cir 8/16/2010)  Grant of a COA vacated and remanded so that the district court can examine the propriety of granting a COA in light of the AEDPA's governing standards.
  • State v. Louis Michael Winkler, Jr., 2010 S.C. LEXIS 292 (S.C. 8/16/2010) Relief denied on claims of whether:  A) "the trial court err in admitting an audio tape recording as a prior consistent statement;" B) "[d]id the trial court err in allowing the jury to review the transcript of the 911 tape;" C)  "[d]id the trial court err in refusing to allow Appellant to represent himself during the sentencing phase of trial;" D) "[d]id the trial court err in not conducting a full Faretta inquiry;" E)  "[d]id the trial court err in allowing defense counsel to present mitigation evidence to which Appellant objected;" and F)  "[d]id the trial court err in denying Appellant's motion for a directed verdict on the aggravating circumstance."
  • State v. Robert W. Bethel,   2010 Ohio 3837; 2010 Ohio App. LEXIS 3242 (Ohio 10th App 8/19/2010) Relief denied on Brady allegations. "Finding no Brady violation and finding the 'newly discovered evidence' forming the basis of appellant's motion fails to satisfy the standard for a new trial, we find no error in the trial court's decision denying appellant's motion for a new trial."
  • State v. Bixby, 2010 S.C. LEXIS 294 (S.C. 8/16/2010) (dissent) "The appeal raised several interesting issues, including questions concerning the proper scope of voir dire in a capital case, the relevance of proffered evidence excluded by the trial judge concerning the family's prior experience with property disputes, and how ignorance of the proper location of South Carolina records concerning highway rights of way can disqualify a witness from testifying. . . . After the jury convicted [Mr.] Bixby of the murders, the court held a penalty phase proceeding to determine whether to impose the death penalty.  During the hearing, 'it admitted a seven minute video showing portions of [one victim's] funeral.'" [via Evidence Professor Blog]
Week of August 16,  2010: Other  (initial list)
  • State v. Phillip L. Jones, 2010 Ohio 3850; 2010 Ohio App. LEXIS 3252 (Ohio 9th App 8/18/2010) The trial court erred by determining that Mr. Jones' postconviction relief was premature.  The trial court held that thanks to a technical flaw in sentencing, the judgment was void.  Under state law, however, the error in the judgment made it merely voidable and not actually void. Matter remanded for merits determination.
Week of August 9,  2010:  In Favor of the Accused or Condemned
  • State v. Gary Wayne Snelling,  2010 Ariz. LEXIS 38 (Az 8/9/2010)  “Absent any evidence of defensive injuries, a struggle, or pleas for help, the record shows only that [the victim] was suddenly confronted by an assailant who promptly strangled her to death.” “Strangulations are not per se physically cruel absent specific evidence that the victim consciously suffered physical pain.”  “On independent review [ ] we find the record insufficient to support the (F)(6) aggravator because the evidence does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Curtis consciously suffered mental anguish or physical pain sufficient to render the murder especially cruel. Therefore, we vacate Snelling’s death sentence and sentence him to imprisonment for natural life.”
  • Angle Joe Perrie Vasquez  v. State, 2010 S.C. LEXIS 286 (S.C. 8/9/2010) “[T]he solicitor’s characterization of Petitioner, a Muslim, as a “domestic terrorist” and correlation between Petitioner’s acts and the events of September 11th was so egregious, Petitioner has proven he was prejudiced by counsel’s deficient performance. Thus, the PCR judge erred in failing to find Petitioner was denied effective assistance of counsel. Given the solicitor’s improper remarks occurred primarily during the penalty phase of Petitioner’s trial, we find Petitioner is only entitled to a new sentencing hearing and not a reversal of his convictions.”
  • Timothy Howard v. Norris, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16693 (8th Cir 8/12/2010) “The district court stayed [the capital habeas] proceeding to give Howard a chance to return to state court to exhaust certain claims. Norris contends the district court abused its discretion in granting the stay because the unexhausted claims are procedurally defaulted, that is, Howard already had, and is limited to, one round of post-conviction review in state court. Norris therefore claims there is no presently available state court remedy for Howard to pursue his unexhausted claims. Howard responds, in part, by moving to dismiss this interlocutory appeal on the grounds we lack jurisdiction. Howard contends the collateral order doctrine does not apply to this appeal because the disputed issue – whether Howard’s unexhausted claims are procedurally defaulted – can be addressed in an appeal from a final order. We agree. We therefore grant Howard’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
  • Alvin Bernal Jackson v. Norris,  2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16989 (8th Cir  8/11/2010) Remand to the district court for an Atkins hearing. Prisoner was entitled to an Atkins hearing on his claim that his execution would violate the Eighth Amendment; he sufficiently alleged that he was mentally retarded under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-618(a) based on IQ scores of 70 and a deficit in adaptive functioning prior to age 18 and a deficit in adaptive behavior with no age limit."[via LexisOne]
  • Virgilio Maldonado v. Thaler, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16734 (5th Cir 8/10/2010)(unpublished) COA granted on whether Mr. Maldonado is mentally retarded within the meaning of Atkins v. Virginia.  COA denied, however, on a litany of other claims as they are held to be procedurally defaulted.

Week of August 9,  2010:  In Favor of the Prosecution or Warden
  • United States v. Kenneth Jamal Lighty, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17003 (4th Cir. 8/11/2010) "As to Lighty: First, the court rejected Lighty's argument that his trial should have been severed from Flood's as their defenses were not antagonistic (though they were occasionally at odds), did not restrict the evidence Lighty could present to the jury, and did not violate his Eighth Amendment right to individualized sentencing. Second, the court rejected several arguments about the admission of evidence, including the Afton Street Shooting evidence addressed above (harmless error), the exclusion of testimony from Lighty's witnesses about another potential perpetrator (no error), and the admissibility of a Government witness's answer to the question of whether she had any "doubt" about statements Lighty made to her (no error). Third, the court rejected Lighty's argument that the Government's closing arguments during the penalty phase referencing the victim's family's desire that Lighty be executed denied him a fair trial, holding that while improper the statements did not affect Lighty's substantial rights. Fourth, the court rejected Lighty's arguments that the district court improperly excluded several bits of mitigating evidence during the penalty phase. Fifth, the court rejected Lighty's argument that the district court erred by refusing to give the jury an instruction that it was not required to impose the death penalty, regardless of its  findings on mitigating/aggravating factors. Sixth, the court rejected Lighty's argument that the use of the Afton Street Shooting as a non-statutory aggravating factor required it to be charged in the indictment. Seventh, the court concluded that Lighty's death sentence was not the result of "passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor." Eighth, the court rejected Lighty's argument that his consecutive sentences under 924(c) were improper or that the entire process was rife with cumulative error. Finally, the court rejected Lighty's argument that he should receive a new trial on newly discovered evidence, as it did in Wilson's case." [via Fourth Circuit Blog] "In a federal prosecution of defendants for kidnapping resulting in death and related crimes, district court's imposition of a life sentence upon one defendant and a sentence of death upon the other defendant are affirmed as, while the actions of the Assistant United States Attorneys handling the defendants' joint trial unnecessarily introduced error into it, such error is not reversible, as both defendants each received a fair trial." [via Findlaw]  "Capital murder defendant and his co-conspirator’s defenses were not mutually antagonistic; jury could disbelieve both versions and conclude both participated in kidnapping and murder, so denial of severance was not error. Witness's redacted recounting of defendant's statements did not require severance." [via LexisOne](track for cert potential)
  • Richard Vasquez v. Thaler, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16824 (5th Cir 8/11/2010) Relief denied on “(1) whether Vasquez received ineffective assistance of trial counsel when his attorneys failed to investigate and present significant mitigating evidence during the penalty phase of his trial; and (2) whether Vasquez received ineffective assistance of appellate counsel because his attorney labored under an actual conflict of interest arising from the attorney’s undisclosed, simultaneous service as a special prosecutor in multiple death penalty cases in the same jurisdiction.” “We hold that although it was objectively unreasonable for the state court to conclude that Vasquez’s trial counsel’s performance was constitutionally sound, Vasquez was not prejudiced by his trial counsel’s deficient performance. We also hold that it was not objectively unreasonable for the state court to conclude that Vasquez’s appellate counsel did not labor under an actual conflict of interest.” "The denial of the habeas claim of an inmate, who brutally murdered a four-year-old girl, was proper because it was not objectively unreasonable for the state appellate court to conclude that the outcome of his capital sentencing would not have been different if his trial counsel had investigated evidence of his family life and social history." [via LexisOne]
  • Curtis Matthews v. United States,  2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16429 (2nd Cir 8/6/2010) “This case requires us to decide whether the Fifth Amendment guarantees an unwaivable right to indictment by grand jury if the statute under which the defendant is charged authorizes capital punishment under some circumstances. We hold that such an unwaivable right exists only where the charging instrument exposes the defendant to the risk of capital punishment.”
  • People v. Franklin Lynch, 2010 Cal. LEXIS 7729 (Cal 8/12/2010) “Conviction of defendant for first degree murders of three victims, residential burglary, robbery and other crimes, and sentence of death are affirmed over claims of error regarding: 1) asserted absence of counsel at lineup; 2) denial of Faretta motions; 3) excusing prospective jurors for cause due to their views concerning the death penalty; 4) failure to sever counts; 5) removal of a juror; 6) defendant’s absence from certain proceedings; 7) asserted evidentiary errors; 8) denial of motion for judgment of acquittal; 9) asserted prosecutorial conduct; 10) asserted instructional error; 11) refusal to strike robbery-murder special-circumstance allegation; 12) instructional error; 13) constitutionality of California’s death penalty statute; 14) violation of international law; and 15) cumulative error.”
  • People v. Martin Carl Jennings, 2010 Cal. LEXIS 7728 (Cal 8/12/2010) "Conviction of defendant for first degree murder of his five-year-old son, jury's finding true the special circumstance that the murder was intentional and involved the infliction of torture, and a sentence of death are affirmed in its entirety on automatic appeal over claims of error regarding: 1) sufficiency of the evidence; 2) admission of out-of-court statements; 3) alleged instructional errors; 4) jury's mid-deliberation question regarding torture; 5) intracase proportionality review; 6) challenges to California's death penalty scheme; and 7) asserted substantial cumulative effect of errors." [via FindLaw]  “There was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding that defendant was guilty of the first-degree murder of his five-year-old child on each of the three theories advanced by the prosecution – murder by poison, murder by torture, and premeditated murder. Defendant’s death sentence was not disproportionate to his personal culpability. “[via LexisOne]
  • People v. Roger Hoan Brady, 2010 Cal. LEXIS 7625 (Cal 8/9/2010) “Conviction of a defendant for first degree murder of a police officer and a sentence of death are affirmed on automatic appeal over claims of error regarding: 1) trial court’s exclusion of certain evidence including third party culpability and possible bias in key witness’s testimony; 2) the sufficiency of the evidence to support the first degree murder verdict; 3) asserted Griffin error; 4) jury instruction on consciousness of guilt; 5) trial court’s admission of victim impact evidence; 6) prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument; 7) jury instruction on a juror’s refusal to deliberate; 8) denial of defendant’s automatic application for modification of the death verdict; 9) arbitrary imposition of the death penalty; 10) delay in the appointment of appellate counsel; 11) execution following lengthy confinement; and 12) constitutional challenges to California’s death penalty statute.” [via Findlaw ] “In a capital case in which defendant was convicted of the first degree murder of a police officer, a rational trier of fact could have concluded defendant, knowing he illegally possessed a firearm, rapidly and coldly formed the idea to kill the officer and therefore acted after a period of reflection rather than on an unconsidered or rash impulse.”[via LexisOne]
  • Ex parte Brent E Martin,  2010 Ala. LEXIS 139 (Ala Crim App 8/13/2010)  Relief denied on “the State’s strike of one prospective juror, B.B., an African-American female, on the ground that the State’s reasons for striking that juror were pretextual;” whether “trial counsel were ineffective because [ ] they failed to conduct an adequate investigation into mitigating circumstances for the penalty phase of the trial. Martin argues that counsel’s detailed billing statements presented to the trial court and contained in the record, indicate that counsel spent a total of only six hours investigating mitigating circumstances. He also argues that the record reflects that counsel failed to request funds for a mitigation expert, a social worker, or a psychological expert to help prepare for the penalty phase of the trial;” and statutory review.

Noncapital

  • People v. Johnnie Hill, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 773 (Ill App 8/4/2004) “[D]efendant claims that the State failed to timely file its notice of intent to seek the death penalty. This claim alone does not meet defendant’s burden of showing that he suffered prejudice as a result of the State’s failure to timely file, where, as here, he was afforded all of the protections that would be given to defendants who are deemed to be potentially death  eligible. Therefore, we find that the trial court did not err in denying defendant’s motion to strike the State’s notice of intent to seek the death penalty.” “Defendant was not entitled to have his 60-year sentence for first degree murder vacated because the State’s notice of intent to seek the death penalty under Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 416(c) was untimely because the rule was directory and defendant’s rights were protected as he was provided with additional attorneys who specialized in death penalty cases.” [via LexisOne]

If you have problem with this edition it is available at http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/100823.htm for printing. Almost all cases can be found by going to Lexisone.com and typing in the appropriate lexis cite OR going to Google Scholar and typing in the name of the condemned. We'd simply ask that before printing consider our environment and saving our trees.  If you find this email useful, feel free to forward it or excerpt it. We prefer attribution, but don't require it. As always, thanks for reading, and a special thanks go to Steve Hall whose Stand Down website is often borrowed from here, as well as our "researchers" and "reporters" who have asked not to be named.  - k

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OPEN RESEARCH DATA: Search terms for the weekly are, using Lexisone.com, ::
"capital habeas" or "capital postconviction" or "death penalty" or "capital murder" or "sentenced to death" or "penalty phase" or "special questions" or "sentence of death" or "death sentence" or "capital punishment" or "witherspoon" :: . Please note the terms dramatically "overproduce" results, including all federal habeas corpus opinions. FindLaw.com & various listservs are also used to cross-check results. Execution and other news information derived from DPIC, Steve Hall, Rick Halperin, & media accounts.

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