Edwards v. State
| Decision Date | 29 March 2013 |
| Docket Number | CR-12-0121 |
| Parties | Terrence Tyree Edwards v. State of Alabama |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0649), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is printed in Southern Reporter.
Appeal from Jefferson Circuit Court
The appellant, Terrence Tyree Edwards, was convicted of murder, a violation of § 13A-6-2, Ala. Code 1975. The circuit court sentenced Edwards to 30 years' imprisonment andordered Edwards to pay $12,250 in restitution, $25 to the crime victims compensation fund, and court costs.
The record indicates the following pertinent facts. Edwards and his longtime girlfriend Nina Gardner were living together in a house with their three children in Birmingham. On January 17, 2011, Verna Gardner, Nina's mother, picked Edwards up from his job at Birmingham Fasteners and took him to Church's Chicken, a fast-food restaurant where he worked part-time. When Edwards's shift at Church's ended, he went to a friend's house and waited for Nina to pick him up and drive him home. Verna testified that after midnight that evening, Nina telephoned her; Verna could hear Nina and Edwards loudly "arguing on the phone." (R. 39.) Verna drove to the house and was met by Nina, who told her that she and Edwards had been arguing about "picking up" around the house. Verna helped Nina clean the house and then returned to her own house. Edwards was in the house while Nina and Verna were cleaning, but he refused to acknowledge Verna and remained on the living-room couch for the duration of her visit.
Later that evening Verna received a telephone call from Edwards. Edwards told Verna, "Maw-maw, I need you," but he didnot tell Verna why he needed her. Verna testified that Edwards was not crying or screaming and did not sound upset when he made the telephone call. After Edwards ended the telephone call with Verna, he telephoned Chastity Gardner, Verna's granddaughter and Nina's niece. Chastity was living with Verna at that time, and Verna could tell something was not right while Chastity was speaking with Edwards on the telephone. When Chastity hung up the phone after speaking with Edwards, she telephoned emergency 9-1-1. The police first arrived at Verna's house to pick her up, and Verna accompanied the police to Nina's house. By the time Verna arrived, there were already three or four other police cars and an ambulance at the house. Verna learned that Edwards had shot Nina in the chest and that she had died from the gunshot wound.
At trial, Chastity testified that she had been babysitting Nina and Edwards's children for a few months before Nina was killed. Chastity testified that Nina had sent her a text message on the night she was killed stating that "she was ready to leave [Edwards]" because Edwards was "making her a bad mother," and because Edwards did not like the way Chastity was caring for the children when she was babysitting.(R. 68.) Chastity later received a text message from Edwards that said "[y]ou better know who you are fucking with," accompanied by an "angry face." (R. 68-69.) Chastity further testified that later that evening she received multiple telephone calls from Nina's telephone, but that until the last call Nina never said anything. On the last call, Chastity heard Edwards say and Chastity heard "[her] auntie in the background saying 'please, stop.'" (R. 70.) Chastity subsequently telephoned 9-1-1.
Birmingham Police Officer Ronald Brown responded to Chastity's 9-1-1 call. Brown arrived at Edwards and Nina's residence as a second 9-1-1 call was being placed, and Officer Brown informed dispatch he was already on the scene. As Officer Brown approached the house, he looked into a window and saw Edwards kneeling on the floor over Nina, shaking her. Officer Brown approached the door, and he was met by Edwards who said, "help my wife, help my wife," but Nina was already dead. (R. 98.) Officer Brown testified that Edwards was handcuffed and detained in the back of a police car until the detectives and crime-scene investigators arrived at the scene.
Officer J.D. Strickland was the crime-scene investigator who collected the evidence at Edwards's house. Officer Strickland collected a spent bullet and a Taurus brand Raging Bull .480 caliber handgun that had one shell casing in it. There was a partial fingerprint on the gun but not enough of a print for police to attempt to match the fingerprint with their records. Officer Strickland turned the gun over to Mitch Rector, the forensic-services manager for the Birmingham Police Department.
Rector testified that he inspected the handgun recovered from the scene of the crime and determined that the bullet that killed Nina had been fired from that gun. Rector then examined the clothing that Nina was wearing when she was shot. According to Rector, there was very little powder residue on the clothing, which indicated that the gun was not fired at close range. Rector then conducted a "distance estimation" test, whereby he "fired a series of shots from various distances" to determine how far away from Nina Edwards was when Nina was shot. (R. 196.) After conducting these tests, Rector estimated that Edwards was four to five feet away from Nina when he fired the handgun.
Dr. Gregory Davis was the pathologist with the Jefferson County Medical Examiner's Office who conducted the autopsy on Nina. Dr. Davis testified that even though Edwards had fired only one shot, the bullet caused significant injuries. The bullet first struck Nina's right wrist, which was resting on her right breast. The bullet then traveled into Nina's right breast, and through her chest, where it hit her liver, heart, diaphragm, stomach, and spleen. The bullet subsequently exited to the rear of her left armpit. When the bullet exited Nina's chest, it struck her left arm, leaving a bruise. Dr. Davis testified that he did not see powder markings on Nina's body or clothing to suggest that the gunshot wound was a contact wound, or that the gun was fired from either close or intermediate range.
Birmingham Police Detective Henry Lucas interviewed Edwards after the shooting. Detective Lucas testified that he informed Edwards of his Miranda1 rights, and, after waiving those rights, Edwards gave the following statement, as summarized by Detective Lucas:
(R. 171.)
Edwards testified in his own defense and provided a description of the incident that contradicted the forensic evidence presented by the State. Edwards testified that he and Nina agreed to purchase the handgun because their house was in a bad neighborhood. Edwards stated that he did not know where Nina kept the handgun and that they had an agreement that the handgun was to remain unloaded because they had young children in the house.
According to Edwards, Nina picked him up from a friend's house after his shift was over at Church's. When they arrived home, Edwards told Nina they needed a new babysitter and that Chastity was not fit to continue in that capacity because she was inattentive and had burned one of the children with a cigarette. Nina argued with Edwards, stating that Chastity needed the money she got from babysitting. Eventually, Vernacame to the house because of the argument, but at that point Edwards had decided he was going to go stay at his mother's house.
When Edwards told Nina he intended to leave, Nina told him, "[he] wasn't going nowhere." (R. 264.) Edwards testified that when he went to the laundry room to put on his coat, Nina appeared with the gun in her hand. According to Edwards, Nina was " (R. 266.) Edwards testified that he then reached for the handgun, and as he and Nina struggled over the handgun, the handgun discharged and Nina was shot.
Edwards testified that after Nina was shot, he telephoned Verna and Chastity to ask for help. Edwards then telephoned the police, and, after giving them his address, Edwards hung up the telephone. When the police arrived, Edwards was cooperative. Edwards testified that the shooting was an accident and that he never intended to cause Nina's death.
On cross-examination, the State asked Edwards a number of questions about his and Nina's positions during the struggle over the gun. The State pointed out that Nina was righthanded, so it would have been impossible for Nina to be shot in her right hand if she was holding the gun in her right hand, leading to the following exchange:
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