Hutchins v. State
Hutchins v. State
Opinion
Appellant, Larry W. Hutchins, was convicted of rape in the first degree, a violation of §
The appellant originally appealed this case to this court in 1987. At that time, we affirmed the conviction without an opinion. 531 So.2d 67. We are required to review appellant's allegations for the second time because the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama has granted the appellant an out-of-time appeal.
The state's evidence tended to show that on the night of September 21, 1986, the victim was raped and sodomized by the appellant. Earlier that evening, the victim had gone to the grocery store to get diapers for her baby. While she was on her way home, a man, later identified as this appellant, pulled up behind her automobile with his emergency lights flashing. The victim stopped and the appellant parked behind her. He then approached the driver's side of her car and showed her a badge and a police identification card. The victim testified that the appellant asked her for some identification and walked back to his vehicle. He then came back and asked her for some proof of ownership of the car. As she reached over to the glove compartment, the appellant tried to open her car door but it was locked. When she asked the appellant what he was doing, he pointed a gun at her and told her to get out of the car. He forced her to get into his car and put her head between her knees. He held a gun to her head. Several minutes later he stopped the car and blindfolded the victim with tape. The appellant then drove for several minutes, stopped, and then bound her wrists. The appellant then forced the victim into the back seat and told her to take off her clothes. At that the time the appellant performed oral sex on the victim, then forced her to perform oral sex on him. The appellant then attempted *Page 397 to have sexual intercourse with her but was unsuccessful. The victim stated that appellant then opened the back door and became upset when the light came on. He ripped the light out, pulled her out of the car and threw her on the back of the car. The appellant again performed oral sex on her and again attempted to have sexual intercourse but was unsuccessful. The appellant was very irritated by this time. He took her back to her car and told her to go to a certain grocery store. He told her that he would kill her if she did not do this. He also made repeated references concerning her husband and son. Fearing for her life and the lives of her family, she drove to the store with the appellant following closely behind her. After arriving at the store she got into appellant's car, where he taped her eyes and her wrists. Appellant then took her to his home where he raped and once again sodomized her.
The United States Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington,
Appellant does not state on what grounds the search could have been challenged. Nothing in the record supports the theory that the statement made by the appellant was anything but voluntary. As to the failure of trial counsel to proceed with the defense of insanity, we do not consider this to be ineffective assistance. At trial the defense asserted was that the victim consented. Nothing is set out that tends to show the deficiency of trial counsel. "Even if counsel committed what appears in retrospect to have been a tactical error, that does not automatically mean that petitioner did not receive an adequate defense in the context of the constitutional right to counsel." Ex parte Lawley,
We find, therefore, that appellant has failed to meet his burden of showing that his counsel committed errors which would have resulted in a different outcome of his trial.
We have previously addressed and affirmed this issue on appellant's first appeal to this court. It is clear from the record that the state presented a prima facie case. The evidence, as stated above, showed that the appellant engaged in sexual intercourse and deviate sexual intercourse with the victim by force. The fact that the appellant claimed that the victim consented is a question left to the jury. As this court stated in Parker v. State,
" 'Conflicting evidence should be reconciled by the jury, if possible, and if they cannot reconcile it they may base their verdict on that part of the testimony which they consider worthy of credit, and reject that which they deem to be unworthy of belief. . . .' "
"An act of a witness which is inconsistent with his present testimony about a material matter is a self-contradiction and, as such, is provable for purposes of impeachment."McElroy's, § 155.02(3). See also Willis v. State,
The evidence was admissible for purposes of impeachment.
Furthermore, no objection was made concerning the indictment and none was made at the sentencing hearing. Thus, this is not preserved for our review. See Vinzant v. State,
Appellant also raises several issues concerning the fact that no objections were made at trial. As stated above, "Effectiveness of counsel does not lend itself to measurement by picking through the transcript and counting the places where objections might be made."Stringfellow, 485 So.2d at 1243. Appellant also argues that the indictment was defective and he was illegally sentenced under the Habitual Felony *Page 399 ny Offender Act. These issues were not preserved for our review.
Appellant admitted that he had been convicted of two prior felonies. Additionally, during his sentencing hearing, certified copies of prior convictions were introduced into evidence. Appellant also states that he was not informed that he would be sentenced as a habitual offender. However, there is nothing in the record to support this contention.
AFFIRMED.
All the Judges concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Larry W. Hutchins v. State.
- Cited By
- 19 cases
- Status
- Published