Terrell v. State
Terrell v. State
Concurring Opinion
concurring specially.
While I concur with all else in the majority opinion, I must take issue with the conclusion in Division 5 of that opinion holding that the decision in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U. S. 466 (120 SC 2348, 147 LE2d 435) (2000), does not render unconstitutional the Georgia procedure of listing the statutory aggravators that support a death penalty through means other than the indictment. The absence of the statutory aggravators from the indictment was error. However, “Apprendi error is susceptible to harmless error analysis. [Cit.]” United States v. Matthews, 312 F3d 652, 665 (5th Cir. 2002). Under the circumstances of the present case, I conclude that the error was harmless. I concur, therefore, in the judgment of affirmance.
Opinion of the Court
A jury convicted Brian Keith Terrell of malice murder and ten counts of forgery. The jury recommended a death sentence for the murder conviction based on three aggravating circumstances: (1)
Approximately seven weeks after he was paroled from prison, Terrell shot and beat to death seventy-year-old John Watson to prevent Watson from reporting to the police that Terrell had forged Watson’s signature on stolen checks totaling several thousand dollars. In addition to being a crime, stealing Watson’s money violated the terms of Terrell’s parole.
Watson lived alone and suffered from many health problems, including kidney difficulties that required dialysis three times a week. Terrell’s mother, Barbara, had assisted Watson with meals and errands since 1989, and she had introduced Terrell to Watson.
On Saturday, June 20, 1992, Watson discovered ten checks with forged signatures, amounting to $8,700 in withdrawals. Three of the checks had been made out to Terrell, while the other seven checks were made out to one of Terrell’s friends. Barbara Terrell identified her son’s handwriting on some of the checks. Watson reported the forgeries to the police, but requested the opportunity to work the problem out with Barbara Terrell and her son. Because of his fondness for Barbara Terrell, Watson told her that, provided his money was returned on Monday, June 22, he would not take out an arrest warrant for Terrell. After being told about Watson’s ultimatum, Terrell admitted that he had stolen the checks and promised to pay Watson by Monday. On Sunday June 21, however, Terrell told his mother that he did not have the money.
The crime scene evidence supported the following sequence of events. The assailant fired at Watson from the rear corner of the house when Watson was near the pickup truck and missed low with all of his shots, except one that ricocheted and struck Watson’s leg. The assailant reloaded, dumping the spent shells on the driveway, chased Watson, knocked him down, shot him three more times while standing over him, and then dragged him into the brush and beat him with the revolver. To explain why the gunman would shoot low, the State introduced evidence that Terrell, who was right-handed, had a congenital defect of his right wrist that made it point downward.
Terrell’s cousin, Jermaine Johnson, confessed that he and Terrell had been involved in Watson’s murder. Johnson stated that he and Terrell checked into a motel near Watson’s house on the night of June 21 and locked the keys in Terrell’s car. Nobody else was with them. After unsuccessfully attempting to retrieve the car keys, they went to bed. They arose at 6:30 a.m. on June 22 and broke a window to get into the Cadillac. Johnson dropped Terrell off near Watson’s house, and Terrell instructed Johnson to return at 9:00 a.m. Terrell had a .38 or .357 caliber revolver with him.
Johnson returned to pick up Terrell, and Terrell appeared nervous when he rejoined Johnson in the car. He still had the gun. The men went back to the motel and checked out. They went clothes shopping and then went home where Terrell bathed and Johnson washed the car. Terrell then went to the zoo. Later, Terrell told Johnson what had happened: he shot at and missed a man; the man tried to run; Terrell knocked him down, shot him, and then dragged him away. The police never recovered the murder weapon. Terrell told Johnson he “got rid of it at the zoo.”
Other witnesses testified that they saw individuals matching Terrell or Johnson’s descriptions that morning in the vicinity of Watson’s house. Barbara Terrell testified that she saw Terrell and Johnson together at her house around 10:15 a.m. on the morning of June 22, and Terrell stated that he did not have Watson’s money.
1. Taking the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, a rational trier of fact was authorized to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Terrell was guilty of malice murder and ten counts of first-degree forgery.
2. In the guilt-innocence phase, the trial court gave the jury the following charge on using a deadly weapon:
[I]f a person of sound mind and discretion intentionally and without justification uses a deadly weapon or instrumentality in the manner in which the weapon or instrumentality is ordinarily used and thereby causes the death of a human being, you may infer the intent to kill.
Shortly after Terrell’s trial, this Court held in Harris v. State
3. Terrell contends that the trial court erred when it prevented
The trial court has discretion regarding the scope of voir dire.
4. Terrell raises two challenges to his death sentence based on the jury’s deadlock over Terrell’s guilt in an earlier trial for Watson’s murder. First, he contends that double jeopardy bars his death sentence because the jury in an earlier trial deadlocked 9-3 in favor of conviction for malice murder. Second, he contends that imposing a death sentence after an earlier jury deadlocked on whether he was even guilty is a disproportionate punishment that is barred by this Court’s prior cases. Neither contention has merit.
Terrell was initially tried on malice murder, felony murder, and armed robbery charges. The jury in that trial deadlocked on all charges. The State retried Terrell on the malice murder charge, dropped the felony murder and armed robbery charges, and added ten counts of forgery. The jury in the second trial convicted Terrell and sentenced him to death, but those convictions and sentences were reversed.
(a) Terrell contends that, because the first jury deadlocked over Terrell’s guilt or innocence, it by definition failed to find the statutory aggravators that were used to support his death sentence, and double jeopardy bars any subsequent jury from finding statutory aggravators that the first jury did not find. Contrary to Terrell’s position, double jeopardy does not bar Terrell’s death sentence.
The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment protects a
In Bullington v. Missouri,
In Miller v. State,
(b) Prior to the United States Supreme Court’s Bullington deci
The jury at Terrell’s first trial never considered Terrell’s sentence, much less imposed one, because it could not agree on his guilt. Terrell’s argument would take the Court’s statutory duty to ensure comparative sentencing and extend it to encompass juries’ reactions to comparable evidence in other cases. Terrell’s position reads more into the statute than exists, and we decline to convert the comparative sentencing review of OCGA § 17-10-35 (c) (2) into a comparative trial review. Because the jury in Terrell’s first trial never considered what sentence should be imposed on Terrell, the jury’s actions in that first trial are not considered in determining whether his current death sentence is disproportionate to sentences for other, similar crimes involving a similar defendant. Accordingly, we find that the jury’s deadlock on Terrell’s guilt in his first trial does not render his current death sentence disproportionate.
5. Terrell submits that the State’s failure to list in the indictment the statutory aggravators that were used to support his death sentence violates his constitutional rights. Terrell points to the following language from the recent United States Supreme Court opinion in Apprendi v. New Jersey
Under Georgia law, the State is not required to allege the statutory aggravating circumstances in the indictment,
Apprendi was the second of three recent Supreme Court cases addressing the ability of a trial court to use facts that had not been found by the jury beyond a reasonable doubt to increase the defendant’s sentence beyond the maximum sentence that was authorized by statute for the crimes for which the jury had found the defendant guilty. The first of the trio was Jones v. United States,
The holdings in the two cases involving state criminal sentences CApprendi and Ring) are summed up by the following language from Ring: “If a State makes an increase in a defendant’s authorized punishment contingent on the finding of a fact, that fact - no matter how the State labels it - must be found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Here, Terrell was put on notice that the State was seeking the death penalty and the statutory aggravators that would be used to support a sentence of death when the State filed several months before trial a renewed notice of intention to seek the death penalty. We conclude that Terrell was provided constitutionally sufficient
To the extent Terrell is arguing that the language from Apprendi regarding charging in an indictment requires a grand jury to consider the statutory aggravators, we find that contention also is without merit. The federal constitution’s grand jury presentment clause does not apply to the states,
Finally, the most important point, insofar as Apprendi or Ring are concerned, is that a jury found beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of all three statutory aggravators that were in the State’s notice of intention to seek the death penalty. That same jury recommended that Terrell be sentenced to death, and consistent with the jury’s findings and recommendation, the trial court sentenced Terrell to death. Under these circumstances, we find there was no violation of Terrell’s constitutional rights that are described in Apprendi and Ring, and the State was not under a constitutional obligation to place the statutory aggravators in the indictment.
6. During the guilt-innocence phase, the State called Raymond Graham to testify about inculpatory statements made by Terrell. Graham was serving a life sentence for a murder conviction. Graham testified that he had known Terrell “all [his] life” and that, before Watson’s murder, Terrell approached him about participating in the robbery of Terrell’s mother’s employer. Graham testified that he
A witness may be impeached by proof of conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude, but the details of that crime are not relevant unless the witness attempts to rehabilitate himself by explaining the circumstances of his conviction.
Terrell argues, however, that he was attempting to show specifically that, contrary to Graham’s testimony, Graham was not averse to murder. Although a witness may be impeached by disproving facts testified to by him, “a witness may not be impeached based upon a discrepancy relating to a wholly immaterial matter.”
The proffer regarding the details of the crime that led to Graham’s felony murder conviction does not impeach Graham’s stated aversion to murder. According to Terrell, Graham was involved in the rape of a 78-year-old woman who subsequently died, but nothing in the record suggests what role Graham’s rape may have played in the rape victim’s death.
Finally, there was no evidence that Graham participated in Watson’s murder or the theft and forgery of the checks.
“[T]he trial court, in determining the scope of relevant cross-examination, has a broad discretion.”
Terrell argues that the trial court erred by transferring venue to Walton County after the first trial. However, his allegation that he was prejudiced because the percentage of African-Americans in Walton County’s population is 17% and the percentage of African-Americans in Newton County’s population is 21% is without merit.
8. Georgia’s statutory death penalty scheme is not unconstitutional, and prosecutors do not have unfettered discretion to seek the death penalty.
9. Terrell also contends that this Court does not properly review sentences of death for proportionality, as required by OCGA § 17-10-35 (c) (3). This Court rejected a similar argument in Gissendaner v. State,
10. With regard to the proportionality of Terrell’s death sentence, the record reveals several aggravating factors. Terrell used his mother’s relationship with a sick, elderly man, who Terrell described as like a father to him, to gain access to his house and belongings and steal his checkbook. He then forged $8,700 worth of checks, admitting at trial that he did not think the victim would go to the police
11. The death sentence in this case was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor.
Judgment affirmed.
Appendix.
McPherson v. State, 274 Ga. 444 (553 SE2d 569) (2001); Colwell v. State, 273 Ga. 634 (544 SE2d 120) (2001); Esposito v. State, 273 Ga. 183 (538 SE2d 55) (2000); Gissendaner v. State, 272 Ga. 704 (532 SE2d 677) (2000); Gulley v. State, 271 Ga. 337 (519 SE2d 655) (1999); Palmer v. State, 271 Ga. 234 (517 SE2d 502) (1999); Lee v. State, 270 Ga. 798 (514 SE2d 1) (1999); Cromartie v. State, 270 Ga. 780 (514 SE2d 205) (1999); Mize v. State, 269 Ga. 646 (501 SE2d 219) (1998); Waldrip v. State, 267 Ga. 739 (482 SE2d 299) (1997); Jones v. State, 267 Ga. 592 (481 SE2d 821) (1997); Carr v. State, 267 Ga. 547 (480 SE2d 583) (1997); Crowe v. State, 265 Ga. 582 (458 SE2d 799) (1995); Ledford v. State, 264 Ga. 60 (439 SE2d 917) (1994); Ferrell v. State, 261 Ga. 115 (401 SE2d 741) (1991); Ford v. State, 257 Ga. 461 (360 SE2d 258) (1989).
OCGA § 17-10-30 (b) (2), (7).
The murder occurred on June 22, 1992. The Newton County grand jury indicted Terrell for malice murder, felony murder, and armed robbery on July 13, 1992. The State dropped the felony murder and armed robbery counts after Terrell’s first trial ended in a mistrial in the guilt-innocence phase. Terrell was indicted for ten counts of first degree forgery on June 10, 1993. Terrell’s second trial on the malice murder and forgery charges resulted in conviction on all counts and a death sentence for the malice murder, but this Court reversed the convictions due to an error injury selection. Terrell v. State, 271 Ga. 783 (523 SE2d 294) (1999). Terrell’s third trial began on January 29, 2001, and the jury again convicted him on all counts. The jury recommended a death sentence for the murder on February 6, 2001. In addition to the death sentence, the trial court sentenced Terrell to ten consecutive ten-year sentences for the forgeries. Terrell filed a motion for a new trial on February 26, 2001, and an amended motion for new trial on July 3, 2001. The trial court denied Terrell’s motion for a new trial on July 23, 2001, and he filed a notice of appeal on August 9, 2001. The case was docketed with this Court on January 14, 2002, and orally argued on April 15, 2002.
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).
Id.; OCGA § 17-10-35 (c) (2).
273 Ga. 608, 610 (543 SE2d 716) (2001).
See Austin v. State, 275 Ga. 346, 347-348 (566 SE2d 673) (2002); Harris v. State, 274 Ga. 422, 426-427 (554 SE2d 458) (2001).
See Austin, 275 Ga. at 347-348; Harris, 274 Ga. at 426-427; compare Harris, 273 Ga. at 610.
See Carr v. State, 267 Ga. 547, 554 (480 SE2d 583) (1997) (improper to ask prospective juror to enumerate hypothetical circumstances where he or she might or might not vote to impose the death penalty); Crowe v. State, 265 Ga. 582, 588 (458 SE2d 799) (1995); Blankenship v. State, 258 Ga. 43, 45 (365 SE2d 265) (1988).
See Gissendaner v. State, 272 Ga. 704, 709 (532 SE2d 677) (2000); Henderson v. State, 251 Ga. 398, 400-401 (306 SE2d 645) (1983).
Barnes v. State, 269 Ga. 345, 351 (496 SE2d 674) (1998).
Barnes, 269 Ga. at 351-352.
Terrell, 271 Ga. 783-784.
See Perkinson v. State, 273 Ga. 491, 494 (542 SE2d 92) (2001).
Griffin v. State, 264 Ga. 232, 233 (443 SE2d 612) (1994).
451 U. S. 430 (101 SC 1852, 68 LE2d 270) (1981).
237 Ga. 557, 558-559 (229 SE2d 376) (1976).
Miller, 237 Ga. at 558-559; see also Hill v. State, 250 Ga. 821, 821-822 (301 SE2d 269) (1983).
Id.; see also OCGA § 17-10-31.
Miller, 237 Ga. at 558-559; Hill, 250 Ga. at 821-822.
239 Ga. 205 (236 SE2d 365) (1977).
Coley v. State, 231 Ga. 829 (204 SE2d 612) (1974).
Ross v. State, 233 Ga. 361, 366 (211 SE2d 356) (1974) (emphasis supplied).
530 U. S. 466 (120 SC 2348, 147 LE2d 435) (2000).
Apprendi, 530 U. S. at 476 (citation omitted; emphasis supplied).
See Blankenship v. State, 247 Ga. 590, 594 (277 SE2d 505) (1981) (overruled in part on other grounds by Thompson v. State, 263 Ga. 23 (426 SE2d 895) (1993)); see also Bowden v. Zant, 244 Ga. 260 (260 SE2d 465) (1979).
Unified Appeal Procedure, Rule II (C) (1).
526 U. S. 227 (119 SC 1215, 143 LE2d 311) (1999).
536 U. S. 584 (122 SC 2428, 153 LE2d 556) (2002).
Ring, 122 SC at 2439; see also United States v. Matthews, 312 F3d 652, 662 n. 12 (5th Cir. 2002).
See Beck v. Washington, 369 U. S. 541, 545 (82 SC 955, 8 LE2d 98) (1961); Hurtado v. California, 110 U. S. 516 (4 SC 111, 28 LE 232) (1884).
Ring, 122 SC at 2437 n. 4 (“Ring does not contend that his indictment was constitutionally defective”); Apprendi, 530 U. S. at 477 n. 3 (“We ... do not address the [Fourteenth Amendment] indictment question separately today.”).
OCGA § 16-5-1 (d).
Jenkins v. State, 269 Ga. 282, 285 (498 SE2d 502) (1998); McClain v. State, 267 Ga. 378, 389 (477 SE2d 814) (1996); Crowe v. State, 265 Ga. 582, 595 (458 SE2d 799) (1995); see also Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U. S. 153, 199 (96 SC 2909, 49 LE2d 859) (1976) (Stewart, Powell, Stevens, JJ.) (rejecting constitutional challenge to prosecutors’ discretion to choose when to pursue the death penalty against an indicted murder defendant).
Vincent v. State, 264 Ga. 234, 235 (442 SE2d 748) (1994).
Brown v. State, 260 Ga. 153, 156 (391 SE2d 108) (1990).
Compare Henderson v. State, 255 Ga. 687 (341 SE2d 439) (1986).
260 Ga. 737 (399 SE2d 199) (1991).
Kolokouris v. State, 271 Ga. 597, 600 (523 SE2d 311) (1999).
See OCGA § 17-7-150 (a) (1).
See Gary v. State, 260 Ga. 38, 41 (389 SE2d 218) (1990).
See Jenkins v. State, 269 Ga. 282, 285-286 (498 SE2d 502) (1998).
McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U. S. 279 (107 SC 1756, 95 LE2d 262) (1987); Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U. S. 153; Crowe v. State, 265 Ga. 582, 595 (458 SE2d 799) (1995).
See Rower v. State, 264 Ga. 323, 323 (443 SE2d 839) (1994).
272 Ga. 704, 716 (532 SE2d 677) (2000).
OCGA § 17-10-35 (c) (1).
Concurring Opinion
concurring.
This Court’s duty to determine whether a sentence of death is
Our most recent explanation of our proportionality review was in Gissendaner v. State,
The Court reviews each sentence of death to determine whether there are other cases that have been appealed with similar facts in which the defendant was sentenced to death. These similar death penalty cases are cited in the Appendix to the Court’s opinion. The Court does not determine whether the death sentence under review represents a large or small percentage of sentences in factually comparable cases. Rather, the Court examines the sentence on appeal to ensure that it is not an anomaly or aberration.
As a plurality of the United States Supreme Court recognized in Gregg v. Georgia,
Perhaps the process for determining whether a sentence is disproportionate can be improved and, if so, then it should be done. However, I am not convinced at present that categorizing each murder case using different factors or sub-categories, as Terrell suggests, improves our overall goal of ensuring that a defendant’s death sentence was not wantonly or freakishly imposed. Accordingly, as
Pulley v. Harris, 465 U. S. 37 (104 SC 871, 79 LE2d 29) (1984).
Compare Ross v. State, 233 Ga. 361, 366 (211 SE2d 356) (1974) with Stephens v. State, 237 Ga. 259, 262 (227 SE2d 261) (1976) with Horton v. State, 249 Ga. 871, 880 n. 9 (291 SE2d 685) (1982).
272 Ga. 704 (532 SE2d 677) (2000).
428 U. S. 153 (96 SC 2909, 49 LE2d 859) (1976).
428 U. S. at 199 (Stewart, Powell, Stevens, JJ.).
Reference
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