Edwards v. State
| Decision Date | 08 August 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. SC 86895.,SC 86895. |
| Parties | Kimber EDWARDS, Appellant, v. STATE of Missouri, Respondent. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Melinda K. Pendergraph, Office of the Public Defender, Columbia, for Appellant.
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., Evan J. Buchheim, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for Respondent.
Kimber Edwards was convicted of hiring Orthel Wilson to kill his ex-wife, Kimberly Cantrell, and was sentenced to death. This Court affirmed. State v. Edwards, 116 S.W.3d 511 (Mo. banc 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1186, 124 S.Ct. 1417, 158 L.Ed.2d 92 (2004). Edwards filed a post-conviction motion pursuant to Rule 29.15, which was overruled after a partial hearing. Edwards now appeals. Because Edwards was sentenced to death, this Court has jurisdiction. Mo. Const. art. V, sec. 10; order of June 16, 1988.
Edwards and Cantrell were divorced in 1990. Edwards was ordered to pay child support for the couple's daughter. Edwards fell behind in his payments and did not pay support from March 1999 to March 2000. He was indicted on a felony non-support charge. Cantrell was listed as a witness. A scheduling conference was set for August 25, 2000.
Edwards worked as a correctional officer in St. Louis County and also owned several apartments with his second wife, Jada. In the summer of 2000, Orthel Wilson was living in one of these apartments rent-free in exchange for maintenance and other work. Edwards was seen at Wilson's apartment during the week preceding Cantrell's murder. Sometime in the month before the murder, Wilson's brother saw a .38 caliber handgun in Wilson's bedroom. Edwards told Wilson to put the gun away. Wilson's brother later identified the gun as similar to the gun used to murder Cantrell.
The afternoon of the murder, August 22, 2000, Cantrell's neighbor, 14-year-old Christopher Harrington, saw a man, whom he later identified as Wilson, carrying a black backpack, knocking on Cantrell's door. Wilson's roommate testified that he dropped Wilson off near Cantrell's apartment at approximately 4:30 that afternoon. Between 5:15 and 5:30 that evening, Harrington's 12-year-old brother heard gunshots and the sound of a woman screaming coming from Cantrell's apartment.
Cantrell's body was discovered, shot twice in the head, on the evening of August 23. Detectives visited Edwards' home in the early morning of August 24 to see if he had any information that might aid the investigation. Edwards agreed to go to the police station. Detectives drove Edwards, Jada, and Edwards' three daughters to the station. Edwards stated that he did not kill Cantrell and did not know who would want her dead. Cantrell's daughter — who was the only child of Cantrell's marriage to Edwards — was placed in an aunt's custody, and the remaining family members were driven home.
A few days later, detectives went to Edwards' apartment building to interview the tenant that Edwards claimed to be helping with an electrical problem on the day of the murder. Detectives saw Wilson sitting on the steps in front of the building and approached him because he matched the description of the person knocking on Cantrell's door. He agreed to go to the police station. In Wilson's apartment, detectives found a black backpack matching the backpack described by Christopher Harrington. From a photographic lineup, Harrington identified Wilson as the man he saw. Wilson was charged with first-degree murder.
The next day, Wilson took the police to a vacant house where they located the murder weapon and some ammunition. Edwards was interviewed again later that day. Edwards confessed that he had agreed to pay an individual named "Michael" $1600 to kill Cantrell. Edwards said he gave Cantrell's address and routine to "Michael," and that he told "Michael" that he could get a key to Cantrell's apartment. Edwards said he told "Michael" that he wanted Cantrell dead before a scheduled appearance in the non-support case. Edwards denied that "Michael" was really Wilson, but stated that he thought "Michael" might have involved Wilson in the operation. Edwards made a written statement detailing this information.
Wilson did not testify at trial. Some police officers, however, testified about their interactions with Wilson, specifically that Wilson had led officers to the murder weapon and that Wilson's statements were used to confront Edwards during his second interrogation.
Edwards testified at trial and denied any involvement with Cantrell's murder, although he did admit making a statement implicating himself. Edwards claimed that he only made the statement because he was afraid that the police would bring his wife and daughters to the station again and would accuse his wife of involvement in the murder.
The jury found Edwards guilty of first-degree murder.
During the penalty phase, Edwards presented nine witnesses who were family, friends, and co-workers. The defense strategy was to present Edwards as a hard worker who loved his family, treated his co-workers and tenants well, and was close to and loved by his family. The defense wanted to show that Edwards' family would be hurt by his execution. Edwards' mother, Mildred, testified that Edwards had a "good relationship" with his deceased father, was close to his father, and was a hard worker. She testified that Edwards was a good parent and treated her foster children like his own brothers and sisters. Many witnesses testified that they loved Edwards and would continue to visit him in jail. The jury found one aggravating circumstance: that Edwards hired another person to murder Cantrell. The jury recommended the death penalty, which the trial court imposed.
Edwards then filed a Rule 29.15 motion. The motion court held an evidentiary hearing on several issues but denied relief.
Edwards' mother, Mildred, testified at the Rule 29.15 hearing about Edwards' childhood. This testimony conflicted with Mildred's testimony during the penalty phase at trial, where she had stated that Edwards had a good relationship with his father. During the penalty phase, Mildred did not mention any problems with abuse or neglect in the home while Edwards was growing up. At the Rule 29.15 hearing, however, she testified that her husband, Emmrie, continually beat and abused her throughout the marriage. She testified that Emmrie did not show any interest in or affection for any of the children. When she was pregnant with Kimber, she did not receive prenatal care, was beaten by Emmrie, and had a high fever at one point during the pregnancy. When Kimber was a baby, he did not cry or respond normally. Mildred was hospitalized for depression when Kimber was a child. Mildred testified that Emmrie would wake the children up at night to beat them and that Kimber would not cry, run away, or complain. She testified that when Emmrie would beat her, Kimber would act like nothing was happening.
Edwards' attorneys called his cousin, Tangalayer Mansaw, who did not testify at trial. Mansaw testified at the Rule 29.15 hearing that she was never contacted by Edwards' trial counsel or their investigator. Mansaw spent a lot of time at Edwards' house when she was a child and testified that she witnessed extensive domestic violence incidents between Edwards' parents.
Both of Edwards' trial counsel testified that they had difficulty communicating with Edwards in preparation for trial. Edwards would focus on minute details that he wanted accomplished without seeing the big picture. When counsel would not do something he wanted, Edwards would not cooperate, would withhold information, and would threaten to tell his family not to talk to counsel. Edwards' counsel on direct appeal also testified that Edwards was difficult to communicate with.
Edwards tried to have both his trial and post-conviction counsel removed because he was dissatisfied with their performance. In both instances, the court found that his counsel was adequate and refused to appoint new counsel.
Trial counsel had Edwards evaluated by three experts prior to trial: Doctors Cross, Stacey, and Rabun. The purpose of these evaluations was to determine whether Edwards was competent to stand trial and whether he had any mental disease or defect that could provide a defense or significant mitigating evidence. These experts met with Edwards and family members, conducted testing on Edwards, and reviewed school, work, and medical records. None of these experts concluded that Edwards was incompetent to stand trial or that he had a mental disease or defect that could provide a defense. Dr. Cross did mention to trial counsel that he thought Edwards might have an unspecified developmental disability.
The three experts who testified as part of the Rule 29.15 hearing were Dr. Logan, a psychiatrist, Dr. Draper, a developmental specialist, and Dr. Cross, a clinical psychologist. All three agreed that Edwards showed signs consistent with Asperger's Disorder,1 a developmental disorder that is related to, but separate from, autism. Prior to the Rule 29.15 evaluations, no one had ever diagnosed Edwards with Asperger's Disorder. His school records did not indicate any serious developmental problems.
Dr. Draper, a "developmentalist" and professor with a Ph.D., testified that Edwards "has the characteristics of" Asperger's Disorder, but did not make a diagnosis of Asperger's. Dr. Draper wrote her report after interviewing Edwards and family members and reviewing records.
Dr. Cross evaluated Edwards both prior to and after trial. He has a Ph.D. and is a licensed psychologist in Missouri. Dr. Cross did not diagnose Asperger's Disorder or any other condition prior to trial.
At the Rule 29.15 hearing, Dr. Cross testified...
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