Boyd v. State

• Citation: 913 So.2d 1113
• Decision Date: 27 May 2005
• Docket Number: CR-02-0037.
• Parties: Anthony BOYD v. STATE.
• Court: Supreme Court of Alabama

Page 1113

913 So.2d 1113

Anthony BOYD v. STATE.

CR-02-0037.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

September 26, 2003.

Rehearing Denied December 2, 2003.

Certiorari Denied May 27, 2005 Alabama Supreme Court 1030438.

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David A. Brown, Boston, Massachusetts; and Raymond Charles Bryan, Anniston, for appellant.

William H. Pryor, Jr., atty. gen., and Nathan A. Forrester, deputy atty. gen., and Tracy Daniel and James R. Houts, asst. attys. gen., for appellee.

COBB, Judge.

In March 1995, Anthony Boyd was convicted in the Talladega Circuit Court of murder made capital because it occurred during the course of a kidnapping in the first degree. See § 13A-5-40(a)(1), Ala.Code 1975. The jury recommended by a vote of 10-2 that the death sentence be imposed. The trial court accepted the jury's recommendation and sentenced Boyd to death. This court affirmed the conviction and sentence. Boyd v. State, 715 So.2d 825 (Ala.Crim.App.1997). Boyd now appeals from the circuit court's dismissal of his postconviction petition filed pursuant to Rule 32, Ala. R.Crim. P. We affirm.

On direct appeal of Boyd's conviction and death sentence, this court, quoting the trial court's order, summarized the evidence presented at Boyd's trial:

"`The victim of this crime was Gregory Huguley. The participants in this capital murder are the defendant, Anthony Boyd, Shawn Ingram, Marcel Ackles and Quintay Cox. All of these participants played an active role in the abduction and the murder of the victim. All were coconspirators and accomplices.

"`On July 31, 1993, Anthony Boyd, along with Shawn Ingram and Marcel Ackles, were looking for Gregory Huguley, a/k/a "New York," because Gregory Huguley had gotten cocaine from them several days before and he had failed to pay up. The charge for the cocaine was $200.00. These men were later joined by Quintay Cox, who provided a 9-millimeter Mack 11 automatic pistol. These men continued their search for Gregory Huguley and in the early evening of July 31, 1993, they spotted "New York" on 15th Street in Anniston, Alabama. At this time they were riding in a blue van that Marcel Ackles had rented. The van approached "New York" and then stopped. Shawn Ingram took the Mack 11 automatic pistol and walked over to "New York" and told him to come here. "New York" hesitated and then Shawn grabbed "New York" and pushed him into the van and onto the floor by the first bench seat. After leaving the scene of the abduction, Quintay Cox [was] let out at Cooper Homes and [was] instructed to follow the others. The first stop of the defendant and the participants was at a gasoline station, where Marcel Ackles got out and purchased some gasoline in a plastic container. Then all of the participants, including the defendant and the victim, proceeded to a baseball field in the Munford community in North Talladega County, Alabama. During this trip Gregory Huguley was made to lie down on the floor board of the van by defendant Boyd and co-defendant, Shawn Ingram. He kept saying to his abductors, "Do not kill me. I will get your money." When the participants arrived at the baseball field between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., Shawn Ingram made "New York's" lie down on a bench. Then Marcel Ackles taped "New York" hands and mouth and the defendant, Anthony Boyd, taped his feet, all with duct tape. Then "New York" was taped to the bench. At this time, Shawn Ingram doused gasoline on "New York." Then he made a two-foot trail of gasoline from the bench where "New York" was lying. Then he lit the trail of gasoline which led to "New York" and caused him to be caught on fire. The defendant and the other participants watched "New York" burn for 10 to 15 minutes until the flame went out. During the burning "New York" rolled over a few feet. Then at this point in time he died as a result of the burning. Then the defendant and Shawn Ingram left in the van and returned to Anniston, and Quintay Cox and Marcel Ackles returned to Anniston in Quintay's car. On the way back to Anniston, Marcel said to Quintay, "We are all in this together. If one goes down, all go down." They arrived back in Anniston around 7:45 to 8:00 p.m.

"`The murder of the victim, Gregory Huguley, was of the intentional killing type while the defendant committed murder during kidnapping in the first degree. The defendant possessed all of the requisite intent to sustain a conviction as charged in the indictment. He was an active and full participant in the death of the victim, Gregory Huguley.'"

715 So.2d at 832 (quoting the trial court's order in the record on direct appeal, C. 83-86).

The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed this court's judgment, Ex parte Boyd, 715 So.2d 852 (Ala.1998), and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari review, Boyd v. Alabama, 525 U.S. 968, 119 S.Ct. 416, 142 L.Ed.2d 338 (1998). The certificate of judgment was issued on June 9, 1998.

On October 20, 1999, Boyd, through counsel,¹ filed a Rule 32, Ala. R.Crim. P., petition in the Talladega Circuit Court. On December 20, 1999, the State filed an answer to Boyd's petition. On that same date, the State also filed two motions for partial dismissal: one motion sought dismissal of claims pursuant to Rule 32.2(a), Ala. R.Crim. P., and the other sought dismissal of claims pursuant to Rule 32.6(b), Ala. R.Crim. P. The parties took no further action in the matter until December 29, 2000, when Boyd filed motions for discovery of the prosecution's files and of all "institutional records" pertaining to Boyd that had been generated by the Department of Corrections, the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and any medical or mental-health provider. Boyd also filed ex parte applications for funds to pay a forensic pathologist and a private investigator.

On January 31, 2002, the State filed an amended answer to Boyd's petition, accompanied by a motion for leave to file the amended answer.² In addition, the State filed a motion for dismissal. On February 28, 2002, Boyd filed a motion in opposition to the State's motion for dismissal; in his motion, Boyd averred that he intended to file an amended petition.

On May 23, 2002, Boyd filed an amended Rule 32 petition. In the amended petition, Boyd presented additional facts relating to claims contained in his original petition, as well as several new claims not contained in his original petition. The record reflects that Boyd never moved for leave to file the amended petition and that the circuit court never entered an order granting Boyd leave to do so.

On June 14, 2002, the circuit court held a hearing on the State's motion to dismiss Boyd's petition. At the hearing, the circuit court also heard arguments regarding Boyd's motions seeking discovery of the prosecution's files and of his institutional records and regarding Boyd's ex parte applications for funds to pay a forensic pathologist and a private investigator. Also at the hearing, Boyd submitted an offer of proof and affidavits allegedly in support of his petition.

On July 2, 2002, the State filed a reply to Boyd's offer of proof, arguing, among other things, that Boyd should not be allowed to amend his petition to include the offer of proof. On July 19, 2002, Boyd filed an additional motion in opposition to the State's motion for dismissal. On July 29, 2002, the State filed a response to Boyd's additional motion in opposition to the State's motion for dismissal. On August 28, 2002, the circuit court entered an order dismissing Boyd's Rule 32 petition.³ The circuit court's order of dismissal did not refer to any matters contained in Boyd's amended petition. The record reflects that the circuit court never ruled on Boyd's discovery motions or on his ex parte applications for funds to pay a forensic pathologist and a private investigator. On October 8, 2002, Boyd filed a notice of appeal from the dismissal of his petition.

I.

At the outset, we note that the following principles apply to appellate review of a circuit court's dismissal of a Rule 32 petition. Because Boyd was convicted of capital murder, his direct appeal included not only review of the issues presented by Boyd, but also included a "plain error" search of the record. See Ex parte Boyd, 715 So.2d at 856; Boyd v. State, 715 So.2d at 836. Thus, "even though this petition challenges a capital conviction and a death sentence, there is no plain-error review on an appeal from the denial of a Rule 32 petition." Dobyne v. State, 805 So.2d 733, 740 (Ala.Crim.App.2000), aff'd, 805 So.2d 763 (Ala.2001).

"[W]hen the facts are undisputed and an appellate court is presented with pure questions of law, that court's review in a Rule 32 proceeding is de novo." Ex parte White, 792 So.2d 1097, 1098 (Ala.2001). However, where there are disputed facts in a postconviction proceeding and the circuit court resolves those disputed facts, "[t]he standard of review on appeal . . . is whether the trial judge abused his discretion when he denied the petition." Elliott v. State, 601 So.2d 1118, 1119 (Ala.Crim.App.1992).

"`"If the circuit court is correct for any reason, even though it may not be the stated reason, we will not reverse its denial of the petition."'" McGahee v. State, 885 So.2d 191, 201 (Ala.Crim.App.2003) (quoting Grady v. State, 831 So.2d 646, 648 (Ala.Crim.App.2001), quoting in turn Reed v. State, 748 So.2d 231, 233 (Ala.Crim.App.1999)).

II.

Boyd first contends that the circuit court erred when it dismissed his Rule 32 petition without considering the additional facts and claims presented in his amended petition. (Issues I and II in Boyd's appellate brief.) As noted above, the circuit court's order of dismissal did not refer to any matters contained in Boyd's amended petition. Boyd argues that the circuit court's order of dismissal should be vacated and that the cause should...