Crawford v. State

• Decision Date: 19 November 1987
• Docket Number: No. 44563,44563
• Citation: 257 Ga. 681,362 S.E.2d 201
• Parties: CRAWFORD v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

Page 201

362 S.E.2d 201

257 Ga. 681

CRAWFORD v. The STATE.

No. 44563.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Nov. 19, 1987.

Reconsideration Denied Dec. 16, 1987.

August F. Siemon III, Atlanta, for Eddie Crawford.

Johnnie L. Caldwell, Jr., Dist. Atty., J. David Fowler, Asst. Dist. Atty., Thomaston, Michael J. Bowers, Atty. Gen., Eddie Snelling, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., for state.

HUNT, Justice.

Including one interlocutory appeal, this death penalty case is here for the third time. In its original appearance, we reversed the conviction because of the possibility that Crawford was convicted of felony murder--a crime not charged in the indictment on which he was originally tried. Crawford v. State, 254 Ga. 435(1), 330 S.E.2d 567 (1985). After remand to the trial court, the defendant filed a motion to enjoin the state from seeking a death sentence a second time. The trial court denied the motion, and on appeal, we affirmed, holding that the state was not prohibited for any reason from "seeking anew the death penalty." Crawford v. State, 256 Ga. 57, 58, 344 S.E.2d 215 (1986). The case then proceeded to trial, and the defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. ¹

The facts are set forth in our previous opinion. See Crawford v. State, supra, 254 Ga. at 436-37, 330 S.E.2d 567. Stated briefly, the evidence shows that while defendant was recently separated from his wife, he unsuccessfully propositioned his wife's sister, threatened to "get" her, and, later that night, raped and murdered her 29-month-old daughter.

1. As we noted previously, forensic evidence was introduced at the first trial "that several head and pubic hairs consistent with those of the defendant were found on the victim's body[,]" and that "[c]arpet fibers found on the victim's body were consistent with the fibers of the carpet in the defendant's car." 254 Ga. at 437, 330 S.E.2d 567.

There was also a hair admitted in evidence at the previous trial, which ostensibly was removed in a "vaginal swabbing" of the victim, and which was consistent with hair from the defendant's arm. In the retrial, this particular hair was excluded from evidence because of the state's failure to establish a sufficient chain of custody. Defendant now argues that without this "critical piece of alleged evidence," the state's case is insufficient to establish guilt. We do not agree.

Other hair and fiber comparisons remained in evidence. Moreover, although no one actually saw defendant murder his niece, the circumstances of her disappearance, conjoined with his admissions, strongly establish his guilt. Crawford threatened to "get" the victim's mother the night the victim disappeared. Sometime after 3:00 a.m., Crawford's car was seen by a neighbor outside the victim's home, with its lights on and its engine running, and the victim's grandfather saw Crawford walking through the darkened house into the victim's bedroom. At 5:00 a.m., the victim's mother returned and discovered the victim to be missing. Soon afterwards, Crawford was seen in the area, and, when asked about the victim's whereabouts, replied "Randy [the victim's father] done it." Although he denied any memory of committing rape or murder, Crawford admitted to law enforcement officers that the victim was in his automobile at the critical time, that she would not wake up, and that he exited the car with her in his arms and returned without her. The victim's body was found in a wooded area. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's determination, supports the conviction for felony murder in the commission of an aggravated assault beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

2. Defendant argues that his motion for a change of venue should have been granted.

As defendant points out, most of the prospective jurors were aware that defendant had been convicted previously of the crime for which he was now being tried. A lesser, but significant, number of prospective jurors were aware of the prior sentence. Defendant argues that the level of knowledge about the earlier proceedings was sufficient to disqualify this venire, and to require a retrial in some other venue. We do not agree. Comparatively little publicity attended the retrial of the case. Indeed, the trial court observed, "Some of the jurors made mention of a brief news account about the retrial, and that's the only evidence before this court that there has been any recent publicity." The setting of the trial was not "inherently prejudicial as the result of the pretrial publicity[.]" Chancey v. State, 256 Ga. 415, 430, 349 S.E.2d 717 (1986).

Nor did the "jury selection process show actual prejudice to a degree that rendered a fair trial impossible." Id at 431, 349 S.E.2d 717. Compare Coleman v. Kemp, 778 F.2d 1487 (11th Cir.1985), cert. denied Kemp v. Coleman, 476 U.S. 1164, 106 S.Ct. 2289, 90 L.Ed.2d 730 (1986).

Here, 90 prospective jurors were examined on voir dire; of these, 40 were excused for cause. However, less than 30 were disqualified for bias resulting from prior knowledge of the case. ² "The relevant question is not whether the community remembered the case, but whether the jurors at [this] trial had such fixed opinions that they could not judge impartially the guilt of the defendant [or the sentence that might be imposed]." Patton v. Yount, 467 U.S. 1025, 1035, 104 S.Ct. 2885, 2891, 81 L.Ed.2d 847 (1984).

The 50 jurors qualified in this case (to select 12 jurors and two alternates) did not have such fixed opinions. The trial court's finding that defendant could receive a fair trial in Spalding County is supported by the record. We find no error in the denial of the defendant's motion for change of venue.

3. The voir dire examination was conducted as follows: Each panel of 12 was brought into the courtroom and asked the statutory voir dire questions contained in OCGA § 15-12-164, and some general questions. Then the panel was removed to a jury assembly room, and the members of the panel were brought into the courtroom one at a time to undergo an individual, sequestered examination concerning their knowledge of the case and their attitudes about the death penalty.

Handley, the second prospective juror in the fourth panel, was challenged for cause by the state based on her conscientious objection to the death penalty and her stated preference for life imprisonment as a punishment. This challenge was denied on the ground that the prospective juror had testified that, in an appropriate case, she could impose a death sentence. However, she was subsequently excused for cause on another ground; she had taught the defendant in school, knew his parents, and had often transported the defendant home from ball games, and she felt she could not be an impartial juror.

Later, prospective juror Lane, number seven on this panel, reported that he had "heard one comment [in the jury assembly room] to the effect that he didn't give her a second chance, why is he getting a second chance." Prospective juror Lane testified that this kind of remark "riles me up," and he did not himself "have that attitude," and did not "understand it." He testified that he "probably was the only one that heard it." Lane identified Handley as the person making the remark to no one in particular, while reading a magazine.

The trial court re-summoned Handley, who, as noted above, had been excused, and examined her in chambers, outside the presence of the attorneys. She admitted making the comment, but stated that she was referring to "an article about cocaine, about a child not getting a second chance on cocaine ..." She stated that she "was not referring to Eddie Crawford," pointing out: "If I had said that, I wouldn't be against the death penalty."

Handley identified two other prospective jurors who might have heard the remark, Lane (who had reported it) and Daniel.

The trial court reported its finding to the attorneys. The court noted that, during her voir dire examination, the third juror (Daniel) had been asked whether she had heard any prospective jurors comment on the case and whether she had discussed the case with any prospective juror, and had answered in the negative.

Defendant's attorney made two motions; one, that he be allowed to voir dire former prospective juror Handley again, and, two, that he be allowed to question further all of the qualified prospective jurors that were in that room at the time the remark was made, to determine whether they had heard it and whether it had affected them.

The court did not rule immediately on these motions, but ultimately denied them, as follows:

"First, as to juror number one [Handley] and juror number two [Daniel], I specifically asked juror number two whether or not she had discussed it with any other jurors, and she answered no. I further have satisfied myself, by talking with juror number one, that juror number two is the only person that possibly could have heard it. But in addition to that, I have asked all of the qualified jurors if they have heard any opinions of other[s] or expressed any opinions themselves, and the ones that are qualified all answered that question in the negative. Based upon this, I decline to grant your motion for any further voir dire or interrogation of juror number one and juror number two."

Defendant argues that the trial court's "failure ... to allow adequate voir dire of prospective jurors" concerning a "seriously prejudicial remark" requires the reversal of this case. We disagree.

First, all prospective jurors, before and after the incident, were questioned extensively about their knowledge, if any, of the case, and about what, if anything, they had heard.

Second, after prospective jurors completed their examinations on voir dire, they were excused. Thus, many prospective jurors whose examinations preceded that of juror Lane would not have been in the jury...