Brownfield v. State, No. CR-04-0743 (Ala. Crim. App. 4/27/2007)

• Decision Date: 27 April 2007
• Docket Number: No. CR-04-0743.,CR-04-0743.
• Citation: Brownfield v. State, No. CR-04-0743 (Ala. Crim. App. 4/27/2007), No. CR-04-0743. (Ala. Crim. App. Apr 27, 2007)
• Parties: James Ben Brownfield, Jr. v. State of Alabama
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

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James Ben Brownfield, Jr. v. State of Alabama

No. CR-04-0743.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Decided April 27, 2007.

Appeal from Jackson Circuit Court (CC-02-99; CC-02-100; and CC-02-101).

MCMILLAN, Judge.

The appellant, James Ben Brownfield, Jr., was convicted of three counts of capital murder for killing Brenda McCutchin, Joshua Hodges, and Latham McCutchin. Count I charged Brownfield with murdering Latham McCutchin during the course of a burglary. See § 13A-5-40(a)(4), Ala. Code 1975. Count II charged Brownfield with murdering Brenda McCutchin, Joshua Hodges, and Latham McCutchin during one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct. See § 13A-5-40(a)(10), Ala. Code 1975. Count III charged Brownfield with murdering Joshua Hodges who was under 14 years of age. See § 13A-5-40(a)(15), Ala. Code 1975. The jury recommended by a vote of 11-1 that Brownfield be sentenced to death. The trial court accepted the jury's recommendation and sentenced Brownfield to death. This appeal followed.

The trial court set out the following statement of the evidence, which we adopt:

"At some time in the late evening hours of December 23, 2001, or the early morning hours of December 24, 2001, Brenda Whitehead McCutchin, Joshua Dewayne Hodges, and Latham Durwood McCutchin were murdered in their homes in Scottsboro, Alabama. At the time of their deaths, Brenda was forty-seven years old, Joshua was three years old, and Latham was sixty-four years old.

"After consuming Xanax pills on the night of December 23, 2001, the twenty-seven year old defendant, James Ben Brownfield, Jr., became enraged with his sister, Brenda Whitehead McCutchin, over drugs and money. While Brenda and her grandson, Joshua Dewayne Hodges, were sleeping in their bed, the defendant decided to kill his sister and her estranged husband, Latham Durwood McCutchin. The defendant took a claw hammer into the room where Brenda and Joshua were sleeping and hit Brenda with it. When the defendant hit Brenda, Joshua awoke crying. At that time, the defendant began hitting both Brenda and Joshua with the claw hammer. Brenda suffered approximately twenty forceful blows to the head and other injuries to her body. Joshua suffered approximately sixteen blows to the head and other injuries to his body. Both Brenda and Joshua died from multiple blunt-force injuries. Before he left Brenda's house, the defendant attempted to burn the house with kerosene and a cigarette.

"After killing Brenda and Joshua, the defendant took the claw hammer and a set of clean clothes and drove across town to the residence of his brother-in-law, Latham Durwood McCutchin. The defendant initially pretended a friendly visit with Latham but later inside the residence, the defendant informed Latham that he was going to kill him. The defendant and Latham struggled for the claw hammer with the defendant subduing Latham by hitting him with his fists and the hammer. Latham suffered numerous injuries. He suffered at least ten forceful blows to the head with the claw hanimer, bruising to the lower chest, arms, and hands, fractured ribs and a fractured vertebra. Later, the defendant stabbed Latham in the heart and cut his throat with a knife. Latham died from multiple blunt-force injuries. After killing Latham, the defendant showered and dressed in the clean clothes. He gathered the soiled clothes, claw hammer, and knife and placed them in a garbage bag that he found at Latham's house.

"The defendant left Latham's house and went to a Christmas party where he saw friends and acquaintances. He told his friend, Nick Logan, that he was moving to Tennessee because he and Brenda had argued and she had kicked him out of the house. Later, the defendant left the party and drove toward Tennessee to Stevenson, Alabama. He placed the garbage bag of evidence in a dumpster in Stevenson and drove back to Scottsboro. The defendant had contact with friends throughout the day of December 24, 2001. The night of December 24, 2001, the defendant went to Tammy Farmer's apartment. During conversations with Tammy, his girlfriend, the defendant confessed to the murders of Brenda, Joshua, and Latham.

"Concerned about his father, Rodney McCutchin traveled to Latham McCutchin's house. Rodney and his son found the body of Latham and called 911. The Scottsboro Police Department immediately began an investigation into the death of Latham. During the investigation, they obtained information that implicated Brenda McCutchin and her brother, the defendant, James Ben Brownfield, Jr. On the morning of December 25, 2001, the Scottsboro Police Department obtained a search warrant to search the home of Brenda McCutchin. Upon searching the home, the police discovered the bodies of Brenda and her grandson, Joshua. The Scottsboro Police Department intensified their search for Brenda's car and the defendant.

"At approximately 10:00 A.M. on December 25, 2001, the Scottsboro Police Department located Brenda's car and the defendant at the apartment of defendant's girlfriend, Tammy Farmer. The defendant was apprehended and transported to the Scottsboro Police Department. On December 25 and 26, 2001, the defendant gave Investigators Robert Petty and Doug Hood of the Scottsboro Police Department a statement of confession to the murders."

(C. 345-347.) The trial court also noted that the evidence indicated that Brownfield wrote messages on the walls of both residences: At Latham's house Brownfield wrote "This was necessary Ben. I'm sorry for your family. They deserved it." (C. 351);¹ and at Brenda's residence those messages were throughout the house and included comments such as "`Fuck this God,' `Fuck this world,' `I'll be dead too,' `It's about to pick up,' `Don't look for me,' `Tammy I love you Always Never 4-get Baby,' `Killing is my business,' and `My whole life I have been ran over. It's stopping now.'" (C. 353.)

The evidence further indicated that although Brenda McCutchin and Latham McCutchin were married, they were separated and no longer lived together, and that Brownfield lived with Brenda and Joshua at Brenda's house on Wallace Lane in Scottsboro. The evidence also indicated that the victims did not die immediately upon the striking of the first blows; rather, they survived for some period before succumbing to their injuries. Further, each of the victims had what were characterized as defensive wounds, indicating that they attempted to ward off at least some of the blows from the hammer. Finally, Brownfield presented evidence indicating that he had consumed seven or eight Xanax pills on the night of the murders and that he had also used crystal methamphetamine a number of times in the week preceding the murders.

The jury convicted Brownfield of three counts of capital murder. A separate sentencing hearing was held, at which the State relied on the following aggravating circumstances to support a death sentence: that Latham was killed during a burglary; that the murders of two or more people were committed by one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct; and that the murders were especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel when compared to other capital offenses. After the sentencing hearing, the jury, by a vote of 11 to 1, recommended that Brownfield be sentenced to death. The circuit court held a separate sentencing hearing pursuant to § 13A-5-47(c), Ala. Code 1975, and sentenced Brownfield to death. This appeal, which is automatic when a defendant has been sentenced to death, followed. See § 13A-5-53(a), Ala. Code 1975.

Standard of Review

Because Brownfield has been sentenced to death, this Court must review these proceedings for plain error. Rule 45A, Ala.R.App.P., states:

"In all cases in which the death penalty has been imposed, the Court of Criminal Appeals shall notice any plain error or defect in the proceedings under review, whether or not brought to the attention of the trial court, and take appropriate appellate action by reason thereof, whenever such error has or probably has adversely affected the substantial right of the appellant."

When discussing the application of the plain-error standard of review, this Court has stated:

"The standard of review in reviewing a claim under the plain-error doctrine is stricter than the standard used in reviewing an issue that was properly raised in the trial court or on appeal. As the United States Supreme Court stated in United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985), the plain-error doctrine applies only if the error is `particularly egregious' and if it `seriously affect[s] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.' See Ex parte Price, 725 So. 2d 1063 (Ala. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1133, 119 S.Ct. 1809, 143 L.Ed.2d 1012 (1999); Burgess v. State, 723 So. 2d 742 (Ala.Cr.App. 1997), aff'd, 723 So. 2d 770 (Ala. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1052, 119 S.Ct. 1360, 143 L.Ed.2d 521 (1999); Johnson v. State, 620 So. 2d 679, 701 (Ala.Cr.App. 1992), rev'd on other grounds, 620 So. 2d 709 (Ala. 1993), on remand, 620 So. 2d 714 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 905, 114 S.Ct. 285, 126 L.Ed.2d 235 (1993)."

Hall v. State, 820 So. 2d 113, 121-22 (Ala.Crim.App. 1999), aff'd, 820 So. 2d 152 (Ala. 2001). Although the failure to object will not preclude our review, it will weigh against any claim of prejudice. See Dill v. State, 600 So. 2d 343 (Ala.Crim.App. 1991), aff'd, 600 So. 2d 372 (Ala. 1992).

I.

Brownfield contends that he is entitled to a new trial based on a number of alleged evidentiary errors.

A.

Brownfield argues that the trial court erred in admitting his confessions into evidence because, he claims, the confessions were involuntarily given without a knowing waiver of his Miranda² rights.³ Specifically, Brownfield contends that he lacked the capacity to knowingly and voluntarily waive his rights because he had ingested seven or eight Xanax pills before the commission of the murders and had been...