Ex parte Hutcherson
| Decision Date | 31 July 1998 |
| Citation | 727 So.2d 861 |
| Parties | Ex parte Larry Eugene HUTCHERSON. (Re Larry Eugene Hutcherson, alias Larry Eugene Bonner v. State). |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Therese H. Green, Mobile, for petitioner.
Bill Pryor, atty. gen., and A. Vernon Barnett IV, asst. atty. gen., for respondent.
Larry Eugene Hutcherson petitioned this Court for a writ of certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals, for review of that court's judgment affirming his capital murder conviction and his death sentence. We granted the petition, pursuant to Rule 39(c), Ala. R.App. P., and now affirm.
Hutcherson's case has been before this Court on an earlier petition. See Ex parte Hutcherson, 677 So.2d 1205 (Ala.1996). In that proceeding, this Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals, holding that the improper admission of deoxyribose nucleic acid evidence was not harmless error.
On remand, Hutcherson withdrew his plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty to capital murder.1 Section 13A-5-42, Ala.Code 1975, provides:
The State presented its case to the jury. The jury convicted Hutcherson of capital murder and recommended by a vote of 11 to 1 that Hutcherson be sentenced to death. The trial court then proceeded to determine the sentence, considering the jury's advisory verdict, the presentence investigation report, and other relevant evidence that was presented.
The trial court found two aggravating factors: (1) that the murder was committed while Hutcherson was engaged in a burglary; and (2) that the offense was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. Hutcherson broke into the home of 89-year-old Irma Gray. He mercilessly beat Irma, smashing her nose and breaking her ribs. Hutcherson then raised his knife and, despite Irma's desperate plea for mercy, slashed deep into her throat time and time again. He discarded Irma's almost decapitated corpse as her blood seeped onto the floor of her home. Hutcherson then stole Irma's microwave oven, television, and radio.
The trial court found the following nonstatutory mitigating circumstances: (1) that Hutcherson's mother had not provided a nurturing, caring environment, and (2) that Hutcherson suffered periods of depression caused by the death of his adoptive father. The trial court also...
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