Williams v. Kemp, 87-8698

• Decision Date: 17 May 1988
• Docket Number: No. 87-8698,87-8698
• Parties: Harold Glenn WILLIAMS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Ralph KEMP, Warden, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center, Respondent- Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 1276

846 F.2d 1276

Harold Glenn WILLIAMS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Ralph KEMP, Warden, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center, Respondent- Appellee.

No. 87-8698.

United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit.

May 17, 1988.

Rehearing Denied Aug. 30, 1988.

Steven Kiersch, Kiersch & Buckman, Nicholas Karabelas, Harmon & Wilmot, Washington, D.C., for petitioner-appellant.

Paula K. Smith, Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, Ga., for respondent-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

Before KRAVITCH, JOHNSON and EDMONDSON, Circuit Judges.

EDMONDSON, Circuit Judge:

Harold Glenn Williams, a Georgia prisoner under a sentence of death, appeals from a decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. For the following reasons, we affirm.

Williams was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of his grandfather, Archie Lane. ¹ At trial, the prosecution submitted evidence of the estranged relationship between Williams and his grandfather. The two had enjoyed a close relationship until about nine months before the murder, when a dispute arose involving the proceeds of a life insurance policy of Lane's late wife (Williams' grandmother) who had recently died. Evidence indicated that during this nine month period Williams had made various threats against the victim.

On the day of the murder, Lane's body was discovered by firemen summoned to the victim's house to put out a fire. The walls near the victim's body were splattered with blood. An investigation of the crime scene indicated that the rear screen porch of Lane's house was broken though and the back door forced open, but nothing of Lane's was determined to have been stolen. At trial, the medical examiner testified that Lane had been beaten over the head with a blunt object and had died from a combination of skull injuries and smoke inhalation.

Almost immediately, suspicion focused upon Williams because of the verbal and written threats he previously had made on his grandfather's life. During the trial, to demonstrate the hostility between Williams and Lane, the prosecution produced evidence of a peace warrant ² that Lane had taken out against Williams nine months before the murder when Williams tried to force Lane to pay over the disputed insurance money. Also produced was a handwritten letter that Williams sent to Lane stating,

Hi, old man. We know how much momma's life was worth. But how much is your life to you. Its not worth anything. But if you want to keep it tell Charles yes or no. If yes $3000.00 and I'll tell you where to send it. If no kiss your ass goodby!

In addition, two weeks before his death, Lane reported that his house had been burglarized. Also, a note discovered at Lane's house the day after the murder reading: "Two weeks. Love, Glenn," was entered into evidence.

Two statements made by Williams to the police were also admitted into evidence. In the first statement, which he made the day following the murder and after his having been arrested and advised of his constitutional rights, Williams admitted burglarizing Lane's house, but denied ever seeing the victim. During this interview, the police noticed some reddish-brown stains on the boots Williams was wearing and asked Williams to remove his boots. When informed that the stains looked like blood, Williams requested an attorney and terminated the interview. ³

Testimony was also admitted about Williams' second statement made during a subsequent interview which had been arranged at Williams' request. According to this statement, Williams and his half-brother, Dennis, broke into the victim's house and waited until Lane returned. When Lane returned and brandished a pistol, a struggle ensued between Lane and Williams during which Williams claimed only to have knocked Lane down. Williams further stated that Dennis then appeared and repeatedly beat Lane about the head with a tire iron. Williams then claimed that while he tried to help his grandfather, Dennis set the victim's house on fire.

Before this later interview Williams was again advised of his constitutional rights and told by his attorney that no promises had been made for his statement and that he was free to say nothing. His attorney did advise Williams to give the statement in hopes of entering a plea agreement at a later date. ⁴

In sharp contrast to Williams' statements, the prosecution produced the testimony of Deanna Glass, the ex-wife of Dennis. She testified that Williams and her ex-husband had visited her the night of the murder and that Williams' clothes were covered with blood, while Dennis' were not. Glass also testified that Williams had boasted about how difficult it was to kill Lane.

After the prosecution concluded, the defense produced no evidence. Instead, the defense relied upon the argument that the prosecution had failed to prove Williams' guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury, however, found Williams guilty of murder ⁵ and burglary. During the sentencing hearing, the prosecution relied on the evidence adduced during the guilt phase. Williams refused to testify on his own behalf and instructed his attorney Robert Smith not to present any mitigating evidence. Notwithstanding Williams' objections, Smith presented the testimony of three ministers who testified concerning Williams' good character. Also, Williams' mother--the daughter of the victim--testified, among other things, about her son's distinguished career in the United States Marine Corps in which he was assigned to the White House and Camp David to guard the President.

In connection to testimony about Williams' military service, the prosecutor, during closing argument in the sentencing hearing, stated:

[Y]ou've got every right to conclude that one thing they do teach you in the Marine Corps is how to kill.... [And] is that not the act of a trained United States Marine, a man who was trained to kill, a man who was trained to the point that you can even conclude that he enjoyed killing.

Williams was sentenced to die for the murder of his grandfather.

Williams' convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal in Williams v. State, 250 Ga. 553, 300 S.E.2d 301 (1983). He then filed a state habeas petition, alleging among other things that the trial court's instructions to the jury on malice and on the presumption of intended consequences were unconstitutionally burden-shifting under Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510, 99 S.Ct. 2450, 61 L.Ed.2d 39 (1979). This state petition was denied at trial and on appeal; the United States Supreme Court, however, remanded his petition to the Georgia Supreme Court for reconsideration in light of Francis v. Franklin, 471 U.S. 307, 105 S.Ct. 1965, 85 L.Ed.2d 344 (1985). Williams v. Kemp, 474 U.S. 806, 106 S.Ct. 41, 88 L.Ed.2d 34 (1985). Upon reconsideration, the Georgia Supreme Court again denied Williams' request for habeas relief. Williams v. Kemp, 255 Ga. 380, 338 S.E.2d 669, cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 106 S.Ct. 3341, 92 L.Ed.2d 744 (1986). Williams then filed for federal habeas relief.

Williams contends that the district court erred when it denied his petition for habeas corpus. Specifically, Williams raises ten claims: (1) that he was denied effective assistance of counsel; (2) that the admission of a peace warrant into evidence rendered his trial fundamentally unfair; (3) that the admission of certain photographs rendered his trial fundamentally unfair; (4) that involuntary statements were admitted against him; (5) that the prosecutor's closing argument rendered his sentence fundamentally unfair; (6) that the Sandstrom error committed by the trial court was not harmless; (7) that the sentencing jury was not properly instructed regarding the consideration of mitigating circumstances; (8) that his death sentence was arbitrarily imposed; (9) that his death sentence was discriminatorily imposed; and (10) that the death penalty is unconstitutional.

Williams contends that his attorney, Robert Smith, was ineffective during both the guilt and sentencing phases of the trial. ⁶ First, he argues that Attorney Smith failed to hire expert witnesses. Second, Williams states that Smith failed to conduct an adequate investigation during his trial and sentencing hearing.

Preliminarily, we note that Attorney Smith has considerable experience and expertise in handling criminal matters. In the years preceding his representation of Williams, Smith tried at least six murder cases, one of which involved the death penalty. Thus, it is apparent that Smith was a well-respected lawyer, thoroughly familiar with practice and with sentencing juries in the local community. In fact, the record indicates that one reason Williams had requested Smith was that he had recently obtained an acquittal in another murder case.

The proper standard for evaluating Smith's representation is "reasonably effective assistance." Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Generally, "counsel is presumed to have rendered adequate assistance and made all significant decisions in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment." Id. at 690, 104 S.Ct. at 2066. Accordingly, judicial scrutiny of an attorney's performance is highly deferential, and appellate courts must not attempt to second guess strategic decisions. Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065. Instead, we must evaluate the reasonableness of Smith's conduct in light of the then existing circumstances. Id. Thus, to prevail in his ineffective assistance claim, Williams must show: (1) that Smith's representation was outside the wide range of reasonable professional conduct, and (2) that Smith's deficient representation prejudiced the defense. Id. at 687-91, 104 S.Ct. at 2065-66.

Regarding Williams' first ground for his Strickland claim, he contends that Smith should have hired expert witnesses to challenge ...