Alderman v. Zant
| Decision Date | 14 April 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-8705,92-8705 |
| Citation | 22 F.3d 1541 |
| Parties | Jack E. ALDERMAN, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Walter D. ZANT, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
G. Terry Jackson, Jackson and Schiavone, Savannah, GA, for appellant.
Mary Beth Westmoreland, Sr. Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, GA, for appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.
Before TJOFLAT, Chief Judge, ANDERSON, Circuit Judge, and FAY, Senior Circuit Judge.
On June 23, 1992, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia denied Alderman's petition for habeas corpus relief. On October 23, 1992, the district court granted Alderman a certificate of probable cause and thus this appeal. Because we find Petitioner's multiple allegations to be procedurally barred, an abuse of the writ, or in the alternative without merit, we AFFIRM the ruling of the district court.
The Petitioner, Jack E. Alderman ("Alderman"), and his wife, Barbara Alderman ("Mrs. Alderman"), lived in an apartment in Chatham County Georgia. Alderman was employed as an assistant manager at the local Piggly Wiggly supermarket. Mrs. Alderman was employed in the Tax Assessor's office for the City of Savannah. In conjunction with her employment, Mrs. Alderman maintained a $10,000.00 life insurance policy that paid double benefits in the event of accidental death. Mrs. Alderman also had another life insurance policy in the amount of $25,000.00 which named her mother as beneficiary.
Alderman met John Arthur Brown ("Brown"), later convicted as an accessory to Mrs. Alderman's murder, when both Alderman and Brown were employed in the vehicle maintenance department for the City of Savannah. Brown testified that on September 19, 1974, Alderman phoned Brown and asked him to meet him at the Piggly Wiggly supermarket. Brown stated that during this meeting Alderman asked Brown to kill Mrs. Alderman in exchange for half the insurance proceeds. Brown, although claiming not to take Alderman seriously, accepted the proposition.
On Saturday, September 21, 1974, Alderman asked Brown to come to his apartment. When Brown arrived, Alderman handed Brown a twelve-inch crescent wrench and instructed Brown to go into the bedroom and kill Mrs. Alderman. Testimony indicates that Brown was initially reluctant, but agreed to strike Mrs. Alderman when persuaded by the gun wielding Alderman. Brown entered the dining room and struck Mrs. Alderman in the head with the wrench. Mrs. Alderman cried out and ran into the living room where she confronted her husband. Alderman tackled Mrs. Alderman, then assisted by Brown, placed his hands over Mrs. Alderman's nose and mouth until she was unconscious.
Alderman and Brown carried Mrs. Alderman's limp body to the bathroom and placed it in the bathtub. Alderman started to fill the tub while Brown cleaned the blood stains from both the living and dining rooms. Alderman and Brown changed clothes and left the apartment for several hours. The two men went to the Piggly Wiggly supermarket where Alderman borrowed $100.00. Alderman and Brown then went to two local Savannah bars. At some time during the evening Alderman gave Brown the $100.00.
Alderman and Brown returned to the apartment around 10:00 p.m., removed Mrs. Alderman's body from the bathtub and wrapped it in a green quilt. The two men carried the body to Alderman's 1974 Pontiac and placed it in the trunk. Brown drove Alderman's car as Alderman followed on his motorcycle. Alongside a creek in Rincon, Georgia, Brown and Alderman removed the Later that evening, on September 21, 1974, Randy Hodges ("Hodges") and Terry Callahan ("Callahan") were driving home on Baker Hill Road and Highway 131. As they turned onto Highway 131 and approached Dasher's Creek, they noticed a car in the creek. Hodges jumped out, saw that there was a woman in the car and sent Callahan to Lamar Rahn's house to call for help. Effingham County Sheriff Lloyd Fulcher ("Fulcher") responded to the call. Upon his arrival at the scene, Fulcher found the victim's car in the water adjacent to the bridge. Fulcher noticed no apparent physical damage to the car. He ordered Mrs. Alderman's body to be removed from the car and taken to the hospital. Fulcher observed that there were no skid marks from the car but that motorcycle tracks were apparent in the area. Fulcher also noticed blood stains on the seat of the car and that the trunk mat was missing.
body from the trunk and placed it in the driver's seat. At Alderman's direction, Brown reached in the driver's window and released the emergency brake allowing the car to roll into the creek. The car stopped halfway into the creek. Again at Alderman's direction, Brown opened the car door, pulled Mrs. Alderman's body halfway out and allowed her face to fall into the creek. The two men removed the green quilt and the rubber trunk mat from the car and fled the scene on Alderman's motorcycle.
At the direction of Fulcher, Garden City police officer J.D. Crosby ("Crosby") went to Alderman's apartment only to find it locked. Crosby later returned to the apartment at approximately 2:30 a.m. and found Alderman there with a woman. Crosby informed Alderman that his wife had been involved in a traffic accident, and asked him to accompany Effingham County authorities to the hospital. Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent H.H. Keadle ("Keadle") was present at the Effingham County hospital. Keadle and Fulcher noticed red/brown stains in the seat and crotch of Alderman's pants and on his belt. At that time, Alderman's clothes were taken from him.
Keadle's investigation confirmed Crosby's findings at the accident scene. Keadle also recovered a stained portion of a green rug and Alderman's motorcycle helmet, which had been removed from the Alderman's apartment by Mrs. Alderman's mother. Alderman's father, Jack Alderman, Sr., also gave the police the twelve inch crescent wrench that he had removed from Alderman's apartment.
Forensic Serologist Elizabeth Quarles, of the Georgia State Crime Laboratory, examined the blood found on Alderman's clothes. The blood type was consistent with Mrs. Alderman's blood. An examination of the vehicle revealed one palm print and four fingerprints which were stipulated as Alderman's. Brown's fingerprints, however, were not found on the car.
Dr. Charles Sullinger ("Dr. Sullinger") performed the autopsy upon Mrs. Alderman's body. Dr. Sullinger concluded that the laceration on the back of Mrs. Alderman's head was inflicted by a blunt instrument. Dr. Sullinger also concluded that because there existed only a small amount of blood in the car, the blow to Mrs. Alderman's head did not occur as a result of the accident. Dr. Sullinger found no evidence of any abnormalities in the heart, no scratches on the forearms and no evidence of strangulation. Dr. Sullinger concluded that the liquid in Mrs. Alderman's lungs revealed that Mrs. Alderman died as a result of asphyxia due to drowning.
Keadle's investigation led him to Brown. Brown eventually gave a statement incriminating himself and Alderman. At trial, Alderman testified on his own behalf and denied that he killed his wife. 1 Alderman testified that on the night of September 21, 1974, he and his wife had an argument and that he left the apartment alone. He allegedly took a bus to Savannah where he spent some time at two local bars. Alderman testified that he returned home at approximately 10:00 p.m. but his wife was not at home. Alderman decided to go to Rincon, Georgia to see if Alderman testified that on his way to Rincon, he observed his car on the side of the bridge at Dasher's Creek. Alderman stopped his motorcycle and went to the car where he discovered his wife's body. Alderman stated that he picked up Mrs. Alderman's head and placed it in his lap. Upon hearing a noise, Alderman fled the scene in shock and fear. Alderman allegedly forgot about his wife's body, drove to Savannah and returned to a local bar. Alderman then went to Johnny Ganem's for breakfast with friends. While at breakfast, Alderman offered Gerlina Carmack (the female present in the Alderman's apartment when Officer J.D. Crosby arrived) a ride home. Alderman had allegedly stopped at his apartment to pick up a jacket when the police arrived and took him to the hospital where he identified his wife's body.
Mrs. Alderman was at her grandparent's home.
Alderman testified that he did not know why he had left his wife's body in the creek; that he recalled nothing of his trip back to Savannah; and, the fact that his wife was dead had completely left his mind. Appellant testified that he first realized the full facts surrounding his wife's death after being treated by a psychiatrist who was able to refresh his memory as to the events surrounding her death. He further testified that after being treated by the psychiatrist he realized that fear had caused him to leave his wife's body in the creek because he knew her family would blame him for her death.
Alderman was originally convicted in the Superior Court of Chatham County for the murder of his wife, Barbara Alderman. The jury determined guilt accompanied by two statutory aggravating circumstances: (1) Ga.Code Ann. Sec. 27-2534.1(b)(4), i.e., murder "committed ... for the purpose of receiving money or any other thing of monetary value"; and (2) Ga.Code Ann. Sec. 27-2534.1(b)(7), i.e., murder which was "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture, depravity of mind, or an aggravated battery to the victim." The jury sentenced Alderman to death. On direct appeal, the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed his conviction and sentence. Alderman v. State, 241 Ga. 496, 246 S.E.2d 642, cert. denied, 439 U.S. 991, 99 S.Ct. 593, 58 L.Ed.2d 666 (1978), reh'g. denied, 439 U.S. 1122, 99 S.Ct. 1036, 59 L.Ed.2d 84 (1979).
Alderman sought state habeas corpus relief in an...
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