Boyd v. Allen

• Citation: 592 F.3d 1274
• Decision Date: 08 January 2010
• Docket Number: No. 07-14908.,07-14908.
• Parties: William Glenn BOYD, Petitioner-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. Richard F. ALLEN, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections, the Attorney General of State of Alabama, Respondents-Appellants, Cross-Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit)

592 F.3d 1274

William Glenn BOYD, Petitioner-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. Richard F. ALLEN, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections, the Attorney General of State of Alabama, Respondents-Appellants, Cross-Appellees.

No. 07-14908.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

January 8, 2010.

J. Clayton Crenshaw, Montgomery, AL, for Allen.

Ruth Elissa Friedman (court-Appointed), Washington, DC, for Boyd.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

Before BIRCH, BARKETT and MARCUS, Circuit Judges.

MARCUS, Circuit Judge:

In this capital case, the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections, Richard F. Allen, appeals from the district court's order granting in part William Glenn Boyd's petition for a writ of habeas corpus, filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The district court granted relief on Boyd's claim that his trial counsel were constitutionally ineffective during the penalty phase of the trial, holding that trial counsel performed deficiently when they failed to conduct a reasonable investigation of mitigating evidence, particularly concerning his childhood, and, thereafter, failed to present this evidence to the jury and the sentencing judge. Boyd, in turn, cross-appeals from the district court's rejection of three additional claims: first, that some of the jurors impermissibly considered extra-judicial evidence during their deliberations; second, that the State knew its key witness had perjured himself; and, finally, that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to adequately challenge the testimony offered by a co-conspirator, and failed to seek expert assistance.

After thorough review, we affirm in part and reverse in part. Applying the law to the record before us, we conclude that there is no reasonable probability the performance of Boyd's counsel, even if deficient, prejudiced the outcome of the penalty phase of his trial. Moreover, we can discern no merit in Boyd's cross-appeal. Accordingly, we reverse the district court's order granting habeas relief, and remand with instructions to reinstate Boyd's original sentence.

I. Facts and Procedural History

A. The Guilt Phase of the Trial

The brutal facts surrounding the kidnaping, robbery, and murder of Fred and Evelyn Blackmon are these. The Blackmons disappeared from their home in Anniston, Alabama, on March 26, 1986. Between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m. that morning, Mr. Blackmon, accompanied by a slender white male with long dark hair, cashed a $5,000 check at the drive-in window of an Anniston branch of the First Alabama Bank, where Mr. Blackmon maintained an account. At around 9:00 p.m. that night, Julie Greenwood, petitioner Boyd's ex-girlfriend and Evelyn Blackmon's twenty-year-old daughter, returned to the Blackmons' house, where she lived, only to discover that Fred and Evelyn Blackmon were missing, along with their black Cadillac Eldorado. Two days later, Julie and her father, Wayne Greenwood, filed a missing person's report with the Anniston Police Department. The Blackmons were never seen alive again.

At about 8:40 a.m. on March 26, 1986, the day the Blackmons disappeared, Anniston Police Officer Ken Murphy was on routine patrol in the Blackmons' neighborhood. He noticed a 1976 white, two-door Chevrolet Camaro illegally parked near the intersection of Sunset and Fairway Drives, a quarter of a mile from the Blackmons' home. The license plate number on the illegally parked vehicle had been issued to William Glenn Boyd.

Soon thereafter, Boyd was arrested on the charge of first degree kidnaping on April 3, 1986. After being advised of his Miranda rights, Boyd signed a waiver-of-rights form and gave a statement to the police concerning the Blackmons' disappearance. In addition, Anniston Police Officers Robertson and Hall impounded Boyd's automobile. The same day, the police arrested Robert Milstead, who also gave a statement to the police about the Blackmons.

In the afternoon of April 3, 1986, the police—accompanied by Milstead—went to the locations where each of the Blackmons had been separately killed. At the scene of Mrs. Blackmon's murder, police found a trail through the woods. Officer Watson discovered bleached hair entwined with white fiber. Watson collected soil and debris samples which contained blood-stained leaves and soil. A .25 caliber shell casing was found close to the blood stain. The hair found near the blood stain later was microscopically compared to a hair sample taken from Mrs. Blackmon's body and determined to be the same.

Mr. Blackmon's 1985 Cadillac Eldorado was recovered from the Coosa River on April 4, 1986. Fred Blackmon was found dead, stuffed into the trunk of the car. The windows were down, the doors were unlocked, the ignition key was in the on position, and the car was in first gear. Upon discovering that the car's tail light was broken, the officers went to the area in Calhoun County where Milstead said Mr. Blackmon had been murdered. At that location, in the middle of a dirt road, the officers found broken pieces of a red plastic tail light lens, a silver plastic Cadillac emblem, two spent .25 caliber shell casings, and a long white fiber. On the same day the Blackmons' car was recovered, Officer Townsley went to Milstead's house, where he discovered an ax and several blue metal drums.

The state medical examiner, who performed an autopsy on Mr. Blackmon, found a torn strip of white cloth tied around his mouth as a gag. Mr. Blackmon had been shot twice. One of the gunshots penetrated his neck and the other passed through the heart. Both bullets were recovered. Mr. Blackmon also had suffered a minor blunt force injury to the back of his head. The gun shot wounds were determined to be the cause of his death.

Officers Watson and Bradley inventoried the contents of Boyd's Chevrolet Camaro on April 7, 1986. They found a piece of white and yellow entwined cloth, knotted on one end, with hair entwined in the knot, as well as a black mesh shirt, a pair of blue underwear, a black jacket, and another piece of cloth on the right front floorboard. They also discovered a roll of gauze in the console of the car along with a yellow-gold necklace inside an envelope. The necklace later was identified as belonging to Mrs. Blackmon. Two spent .22 caliber shell casings were found on the dashboard.

On April 9, 1986, a metal drum containing Evelyn Blackmon's body was recovered from the Coosa River too. Mrs. Blackmon's mouth had been gagged and a piece of cloth had been tied around her ankles. She had sustained three gunshot wounds: a superficial wound to her head; a wound to the right side of her neck; and a wound to her back. Mrs. Blackmon also had sustained a laceration to her right forehead, numerous fractures to her nose and face, and an ax wound to her lower back that broke her backbone. The gunshot wounds were determined to be the cause of her death.

At trial, there was conflicting testimony regarding whether Boyd had murdered Fred Blackmon, Evelyn Blackmon, or both victims. Anniston Police investigator Gary Carroll testified that Boyd insisted in his first statement to the police that his accomplice, Milstead, had killed both victims. Specifically, Boyd told the police that on the morning of March 26, 1986, he and Milstead, both armed, gained entry into the Blackmons' home. Boyd and Milstead had previously discussed robbing the Blackmons. Boyd admitted that he accompanied Mr. Blackmon to the bank, where Mr. Blackmon withdrew $5,000 and turned it over to Boyd, and returned to the Blackmons' house. Boyd and Milstead then forced the Blackmons into Mr. Blackmon's Cadillac Eldorado and drove to an area in Ohatchee, Alabama, near the river. After the car was parked, Milstead, according to Boyd, physically assaulted Mrs. Blackmon, and then shot her. Mr. Blackmon tried to barter for his life, but Boyd hit him on the back of the head, and then Milstead shot him too. Boyd and Milstead left the crime scene in the Cadillac Eldorado, only to return later that night. They stuffed Mr. Blackmon's body in the trunk of the Cadillac Eldorado and rolled the car down a boat ramp into the river. They left and returned to the crime scene still again the next morning, stuffed Mrs. Blackmon's body into a 55-gallon barrel and rolled the barrel into the river. They later disposed of the two guns used during the crime by throwing them into a creek.

On April 4, 1986, Boyd gave a second statement to the police that provided a detailed description of how to find the locations of the crime scenes. Boyd provided a third statement on April 6, 1986, claiming that he had remained in the car with Mr. Blackmon while Milstead took Mrs. Blackmon into the woods. Boyd said that Milstead was just supposed to leave her there, but decided to kill her instead. Boyd accompanied police to a creek on April 11, 1986, to show them where the guns had been discarded after the murders. A nickel-plated Raven Arms Company .25 caliber automatic pistol and a black .22 caliber pistol were recovered. There was one unfired round in the .25 caliber pistol, and five rounds still in the .22 pistol.

Milstead's statements and testimony, on the other hand, said that Boyd had killed both victims. Milstead pleaded guilty to capital murder and testified for the State against Boyd, in exchange for a sentence of life without parole. Prior to testifying, he had given five statements to the police, which varied in certain respects, but four of them consistently accused Boyd of shooting both victims as well as assaulting them.

Milstead testified that on the morning of the crime, Milstead, who did not know the Blackmons, gained entry into the Blackmons' house along with Boyd; they were both armed with loaded pistols. Boyd then gagged and blindfolded Mrs. Blackmon, and threatened the Blackmons that Mrs. Blackmon's daughter, Julie, had been taken hostage and would be killed if the Blackmons did not pay a...