Christmas v. State
| Decision Date | 13 January 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 79044,79044 |
| Citation | 632 So.2d 1368 |
| Parties | 19 Fla. L. Weekly S35 Marc CHRISTMAS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Teresa J. Sopp of Sasser & Sopp, Jacksonville, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Richard B. Martell and Mark C. Menser, Asst. Attys. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
Marc Christmas appeals his convictions of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed robbery, his sentences of death for each of the murder convictions, and his sentence of life imprisonment for the armed robbery conviction. The death sentences were imposed by the trial judge despite the jury's recommendation of life imprisonment. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, Sec. 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons expressed, we affirm Christmas's convictions and sentence of life imprisonment; however, we reverse the death sentences.
The record reflects the following facts regarding this case. 1 Christmas, Steven Stein, and Kyle White were roommates. Stein was employed as a cook at a Lem Turner Road Pizza Hut in Jacksonville, Florida. Christmas was unemployed, but was a previous employee of the Edgewood Avenue Pizza Hut in Jacksonville, Florida. White testified that, about a week before the murders, Stein and Christmas had a conversation about how to rob a Pizza Hut restaurant. During the conversation, the Pizza Hut on Edgewood Avenue was mentioned, and both Stein and Christmas stated that there could be no witnesses to the robbery. On the day of the murders, Christmas, Stein, Stein's girlfriend, and White were home together. About 9:30 p.m. Christmas and Stein left, taking with them Stein's .22 caliber rifle. They stated that they were going to see Christmas's father about selling him the rifle. They returned home around 11:30 to 11:45 p.m.
The next morning, Dennis Saunders and Bobby Hood were found shot to death at the Edgewood Avenue Pizza Hut and the sum of $980 was missing from the restaurant. The victims were shift supervisors of the restaurant and their bodies were found in the men's restroom. Bullet fragments and cartridge casings were recovered from the restroom area. Hood had suffered five gunshot wounds--four to the head and one to the chest. The medical examiner testified that the shots had been fired from four to six inches away and that Hood was sitting at the time he was shot. Saunders had suffered four gunshot wounds--one through the neck, one in the right shoulder, one in the chest, and one in the right thigh. The medical examiner testified that Saunders was sitting on the floor at the time the shots began and, given the position of the bullet wounds, that he was moving around during the shooting.
Ronald Burroughs was an employee of the Edgewood Avenue Pizza Hut. He testified that, on the night of the murders, he left the restaurant at 11:15 p.m. When he left, Hood and Saunders were still inside the restaurant and only two customers remained at the restaurant. Burroughs later identified those two customers as Stein and Christmas. Additionally, an unpaid guest check on a table in the restaurant contained a fingerprint belonging to Christmas. Testimony also revealed that three expended .22 caliber casings were found at the residence of Stein and Christmas. A ballistics expert testified that the casings found at the scene and the casings found at the residence were fired from the same firearm. Additionally, Christmas's father testified that Stein and Christmas did not come to his house on the night of the murders.
During the course of the trial, Christmas made certain statements to two part-time bailiffs about the crimes. Apparently, Christmas told the bailiffs that the testimony presented was "bullshit." After some discussion, one of the bailiffs asked Christmas who shot the victims. Christmas told the bailiff that Stein had killed the victims, but that if Stein had not killed the victims, he would have done it, and that "I'm just as guilty as he is." Christmas then described how the crimes had occurred, including the fact that he held a gun on the victims as they were shot by Stein. Subsequently, Christmas filed a motion to suppress these statements. The trial judge denied the motion, finding that the bailiffs to whom Christmas made the statements were not law enforcement officers, that the statements had been freely and voluntarily made, and that Christmas had initiated the conversation.
At trial, Christmas was convicted as charged. At the penalty phase proceeding, the State introduced no evidence, relying instead on the evidence presented during the guilt phase to support the factors in aggravation. Christmas presented fifteen witnesses on his behalf. The witnesses indicated that Christmas suffered from a personality disorder (dependent personality), that he was very young (twenty-one) at the time of the murders, that he was a follower rather than a leader, that he had been involved in a number of burglaries and had served time in prison, and that he was easily influenced.
The jury recommended that Christmas be sentenced to life imprisonment for the two murders. The trial judge, however, overrode the jury's recommendation and imposed a death sentence for each murder and a sentence of life imprisonment for the armed robbery. In doing so, the trial court found six aggravating circumstances: 1) previous conviction for a violent felony based on the contemporaneous murders of the two victims; (2) the homicides occurred during the commission of a kidnapping; (3) the homicides were committed to avoid arrest; (4) the homicides were committed for financial gain; (5) the homicides were especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and (6) the homicides were cold, calculated, and premeditated. The judge found no factors in mitigation.
Christmas raises only one issue as to his convictions, claiming that the trial judge erred in denying his motion to suppress. In support of that contention, Christmas asserts that the bailiffs were law enforcement agents who wrongfully elicited the statements made by Christmas without first giving him Miranda 2 warnings. The State, however, argues that the bailiffs were unsworn civilians who had no arrest powers and that Christmas initiated contact with the bailiffs, without prompting, by stating that the testimony was "bullshit." The State additionally notes that the trial judge specifically found that Christmas was not interrogated in any manner, that Christmas initiated the conversation, and that the statements were freely and voluntarily made. Consequently, according to the State, Miranda warnings were unnecessary because such warnings must be given only in situations where a defendant is interrogated or coerced. In making this argument, the State cites Illinois v. Perkins, 496 U.S. 292, 110 S.Ct. 2394, 110 L.Ed.2d 243 (1990), in which the United States Supreme Court held that Miranda warnings are not always required in custody situations where a defendant converses with a government agent.
First, we find that the trial judge erred in ruling that the bailiffs were not law enforcement officers for the purpose of determining whether Miranda warnings must be given before questioning. The bailiffs were paid employees of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Department; they were hired to maintain security in the courtroom and to maintain security over prisoners who were brought to and from the detention center to...
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