Garrett v. State
Garrett v. State
Opinion
The defendant was indicted for the capital murders of Marie Woods Vintson and Dennis Robbins in violation of Section 13-11-2 (a)(10), Code of Alabama 1975. A jury convicted him for manslaughter in the first degree for the killing of Ms. Vintson and for murder in the first degree for the killing of Mr. Robbins. Sentences were ten years' imprisonment and life imprisonment respectively. Five issues are presented on appeal.
The indictment tracks the language of Code of Alabama, Section 13-11-2 (a)(10), defining the capital offense of "(m)urder in the first degree wherein two or more human beings are intentionally killed by the defendant by one or a series of acts." Clearly, the indictment alleged the aggravating circumstance relied on to elevate a non-capital offense to a capital offense. Ex parteKyzer,
The defendant alleges that Section 13-11-2 (a)(10), under which the indictment was drawn, was not in force at the time of the offense (February 17, 1978). This section became effective on March 7, 1976. Alabama Code Section 13-11-9 (1975).
The record reflects that the trial judge ordered an investigation by the pardon and probation officers of Walker County "for the purpose of determining whether the defendant should be tried and sentenced as a Youthful Offender." The judge's order denying youthful offender treatment reflects that the court conducted a hearing and heard evidence "as presented in support of said application."
Summarizing what we said in Morgan v. State,
Walker County Sheriff's Investigator Frank Cole obtained a warrant for the defendant's arrest on January 5, 1981, based on information he had received from a "confidential and reliable informant", a portion of which he had corroborated. The informant stated that Jimmy Vintson had told him that the defendant shot Ms. Vintson and Vintson shot Mr. Robbins. Cole verified the fact that Jimmy Vintson had purchased some shotgun shells from Richard Jeans at an unusual hour on the night of the homicides.
However, Cole did not arrest the defendant until January 8th, three days after he had obtained the warrant. In those three days, he obtained additional information which established probable cause to arrest the defendant for murder. Barr v.State,
After Cole had obtained the arrest warrant but before he arrested the defendant, he had obtained sufficient information to make an arrest without a warrant pursuant to Section
In Brown, this Court condemned a Miranda warning which was subject to the construction *Page 1154 that appointed counsel would be available only in the future. We specifically held that, where the accused was not informed that he had a right to refuse answering any questions until such time as he had an appointed attorney, his confession was not made pursuant to an intelligent and voluntary waiver.
The Miranda rights in this case are not subject to the criticism of those in Brown. On two separate occasions the defendant was specifically informed, "If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before being questioned if you wish."
The Miranda warnings given the defendant were not deficient, for they fully informed the accused of his right to consult with an attorney prior to any questioning and did not link the offer of appointed counsel to some future time after interrogation. California v. Prysock,
"Prysock thus stands for the proposition that a Miranda warning is adequate if it fully informs the accused of his right to consult with an attorney prior to questioning and does not condition the right to appointed counsel on some future event. A Miranda warning need not explicitly convey to the accused his right to appointed counsel `here and now', and to the extent that Lathers (v. United States,
396 F.2d 524 (5th Cir. 1968)) and other precedents of this court require such explicit warnings, they are overruled."United States v. Contreras,
667 F.2d 976 ,979 (11th Cir. 1982).
The warnings in Contreras were not as explicit as those given the defendant in this case.
At the hearing on the defendant's motion to suppress his confession held outside the presence of the jury, Investigator Cole testified that his informant told him that Jimmy Vintson told the informant that the defendant shot Ms. Vintson rather than Mr. Robbins. Other evidence indicated that the defendant shot Mr. Robbins.
On recross examination of Cole, defense counsel inquired "one more time", "Did your confidential informant say that Randy Garrett had shot Marie Vintson?" Cole responded, "I would like to have a recess to look over my notes before I answer that. I have some personal notes I would like to look at."
After the recess, Cole testified that he "briefly" used his notes to refresh his memory and stated that his notes reflected "about what" he had already testified to before refreshing his memory on the narrow point in question.
"While it is true that a court's refusal to permit defense counsel to see and examine a memorandum used by the witness on the stand to refresh his memory constitutes reversible error, . . . yet the rule is subject to reason. . . ." Cooks v. State,
The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
All Judges concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Randy Garrett, Alias Randy O'Neal Garrett v. State.
- Cited By
- 28 cases
- Status
- Published